That’s the day you know bottom has been reached
3 Likes
Just remember, those free to play games are generally created with you paying for a subscription in mind, so if anything you are basically just getting a sub par free and payed version and can’t win either way, thus why MMORPs of that type never get much of a playerbase.
1 Like
I find it really difficult to justify paying a subscription for this game.
It just doesn’t offer me anything that other free to play games don’t.
Feel like playing some casual random bg’s?
Could just play a moba
Feel like leveling and questing?
Could just play one of the many single player RPG’s on my shelf
Want to grind for some new powerful gear?
Could just play an ARPG like PoE or grimdawn
Honestly unless I was raiding and had a nice guild or community I was part of, I can’t consider this game worth the price.
That’s why I only sub once a month occasional, like this month runs out on the 25th and I won’t be back again until 8.2
I used to justify it by the quality received and the amount of content, along with the care shown by Blizzard to their fans.
Today I don’t know… I don’t feel valued, personally, due to their choices.
So I think it should be a one-time sum by now, but not being replaced by any microtransaction either.
So it’s a tough one, I guess… or I am just tired.
1 Like
Several things to address here.
Pay per play: First of all this isn’t what I was saying, read it again. Pay TO play means you buy the game once and then it’s forever yours to play. That can never be more expensive than a subscription model unless you quit after a short while and never return.
The assumptions regarding a F2P model - Some are valid concerns, but others are assumptions. It’s as though you are ignoring that the store is already quite expansive and with an added mount roughly every 6 months, it’s clearly not looking to slow down. It’s like one reply said
“it would become pay 2 win”
You mean like how you can buy gold tokens and have an advantage over other fresh level 120’s by purchasing upgrades via the auction house? Yeah, no. WoW already has pay 2 win elements even if they are minor and don’t get you far. Especially early on in expansions, they can actually get you significantly further than others who have to rely on drops. Not to mention boosts that are bought with in-game currency, which whether you like it or not, Blizzard directly enables with Gold Tokens. Yes I’m aware they’re attempting to quell advertisement for such services. No it is not enough.
I’d argue that said steps have already been taken when they implemented the mission table. To a more vague extend when RNG within RNG became the standard for all things progression related + timegating being so extensive nowadays. All of those are near-mandatory elements in phone games.
Mounts dropping from raids do not justify putting mounts on the store. Sorry.
For each mount put on the store, there’s a missed opportunity for content.
Eighjan’s replies in general: You’re being quite antagonistic here. Why?
You’ll be pleased to know that I have unsubscribed. The forums provide more of a social climate than I could ever hope WoW’s in-game experience would. You’ll also be pleased to know I’m sure, that I made the mistake of extending my subscription by a month a week prior to arriving at the conclusion that it simply isn’t worth the money anymore.
Finally, it’s not about the lack of money, but rather a principle matter. WoW is a luxury privilege, not a charity.
Lowering subscription cost is a great alternative. I like this idea a lot.
It shouldn’t be sitting anywhere near a double digit price tag at this point.
I’m sorry, but many of you seem to ignore that WoW is already regularly starved from content somehow. I don’t understand why you persist with this notion that it’s still going strong as though we were in the game’s heyday or even close to that.
1 year content droughts are a standard now remember? Even if we assume a major content patch will provide entertainment for 6 months, how on earth is another 4-6 months with no content considered agreeable business practice? Where’s your justification for this in a subscription-based game?
Add to this fact that we are in a progression system that is so plagued with randomization that a lot of content doesn’t feel engaging in the first place so people like me can’t even be helped just refraining from participating at all. I don’t even do BG’s anymore which used to be my favorite pastime, not just in WoW, but for my gaming needs.
Maybe look into more recent additions for P2P/F2P, because I feel some of you have an outdated, misinformed or simply ignorant (no offense) outlook. I want WoW to be the kind of MMO that doesn’t make me think twice about a small fee, just as much as you do, but realistically, this game is looking a lot better as a p2p classified experience or even f2p.
Start with Path of Exile if you’re curious.
I’d rather it remains subscription based. The costs are fine, it’s the quality of the expansions that is lacking, and not even the overall quality since the art and music are great, just the game design that is lacking. Less focus on engagement metrics, more focus on fun and we are gucci.
2 Likes
Better stay with sub instead P2w.
1 Like
Just take a look at Starcraft 2 if you want to see how WoW would be if it wasn’t subscription based. It’s more shop than game by now.
Alternatively, the game could be priced seasonally. An expansion launch has us paying 39.99 euro so shouldn’t said expansion come with a free month? Any patch that goes beyond a 6 month mark should not charge people beyond that point.
I think you should be able to refund you sub time if you haven’t used it yet. I bought 6 months and I’ve stopped playing after about two weeks of this terrible expansion.
@Zod: Very simple answer, as is, absolutely not.
Im fine with subscription most of the time.
That said, I don’t think that their current design philosophies justify a subscription.
“We will fix it year later” does not justify a subscription. That’s why most people are quitting.
1 Like
This. Game has a monthly sub already, so expansions should be free, imo.
(Although with the number of people who play for 3 months after an expansion then quit for 2 years, I can see why Blizz don’t want to do that!)
Sub or no sub the current style how they develop the game doesn’t make me want to play it anyway.
I’m fine with the subscription format however with the expansion included it’s risky for new players to get into, if they don’t like it they wasted a lot of money, IMHO they should lower the monthly sub/xpac price, would bring in more players.
Also some regional price differences wouldn’t be so bad, i mean I live in Hungary and paople in Germany literaly make up to 4-5x times as much money as i do (sure some things are cheaper but not 1/4 or 1/5 of the german prices) but i’m stil lexpected to pull the same money as they do. I can afford it but not all of the people i know do.
The problem with every business is that they are always humble until the money starts rolling in.
Blizzard will keep the subscription model as long as they can.
Hell, I’ll go as far as to say they’d rather shut this game down accompanied by a “thank you/apology” post.
1 Like
The model you describe is called buy-to-play not pay-to-play but regardless…
Of the three successful MMOs I can think of that do this (ESO, BDO and GW2), they all have obscene, intrusive cash shops and BDO and GW2 charge real money for the most basic of services like bag space.
ESO is not so bad in that you can pay for extra storage but what you get for free, or pay for with gold, is much more generous than the other two games and even WOW. In my opinion GW2 is the worst because it has every feature of a truly awful F2P model (chests that can only be opened with keys bought with real money) but also has the audacity to charge you for the base game, the additional episodic content (if you weren’t around to play it when it was released) AND the overpriced expansions. It’s one big money pit.
On the other hand, WOW has a sub model and you can obtain almost everything by playing the game BUT, in my opinion, what’s on offer is severely limited and low quality compared to the B2P titles I mentioned.
The level of character customisation in this game is kind of a joke compared to the only other successful sub model FFXIV and certainly compared to every other game which relies on selling cosmetics in its cash shop and anything worth getting in this game is locked behind massive time gates and abysmal RNG.
I’m not sure any game gets it completely right but I wouldn’t mind if WOW went the ESO route with an optional sub and expanded cash shop if it meant more effort was put into making our characters look the way we want them to but I admit that this stuff is really important to me. It’s part of the fantasy and that doesn’t include the painted-on, blurry armour from the turn of the century you’re forced to wear at level 1 and it doesn’t really get better until level 80
F2P MMO’s actually work out way more expensive than WOW if you want to get anywhere quickly within them.
unless things have changed in GW2, i dont recall anything in them that you could buy to increase getting you anywhere quickly? the only 2 i might accept but are pathetic examples are the permanent gathering tools so you didn’t need to buy gathering tools every time their charges ran out, and the buff buttons like xp, speed boost when killing etc. and these buff buttons often were rewarded in game. i have loads in my bank ive never used. if i wasn’t so addicted to wow, i would be back in gw2 like a shot.
this i think.
Add LOTRO to that list. I have a couple of 120s over there, hunter and RK. It wasn’t so bad until the Mordor xpac came along. Now the single fastest way to BIS that you need for T3 and raiding is to buy in store keys for loot boxes. They used allow you to get the keys in world from twice weekly meta quests, now you can only get them in the store.
On top of that you have to have a subscription (I know it is F2P and sub!) to be able to easily access mail and other features. F2P is a mess of a road and I hope wow avoids it.