Can WoW Survive Becoming F2P?

[Rotted]

Maybe Im in the minority here, but just because I'm paying for wow each month I don't feel obligated to log in. Sometimes I go 2 weeks without touching it, I don't get annoyed or fustrated thinking I've wasted cash

[Deleted]

Right now WoW is a cash cow for blizzard, the subscription fee is more viable than the f2p version

No, it is not, if that was the case the gold token would have never been introduced into the game.

F2P game: A game played by a group of people, where only some of them pay real money for playing it.

Now we can discuss about the existant different models of F2P games, but wow is one of them.

FFXIV it is not F2P, that is the only subscription based MMO i can think of.

[Pickynerd]

No, it is not, if that was the case the gold token would have never been introduced into the game.

But the gold token costs more than a sub fee, and now people are buying gold with a token vs some shady website.

F2P/B2P has too much gambling in it for my taste. Hell every time need something, you need to find your wallet first. Gw2 is a perfect example of making you feel like a stupid child, 40 dollars later you still need probably 6 more keys, so that you have enough scraps of shit currency to buy that one weapon - fuck that shit.

[Aggrophobic]

Of course it can.
Why wouldn't it?

Blizzard will keep the subs becuase it makes them money but the game doesn't need subs.

[Deleted]

But the gold token costs more than a sub fee, and now people are buying gold with a token vs some shady website.

Sure, and? i still can play the game without paying a dime for the sub, others pay more for me? yeah as it happens with all F2P games.
Look i am playing POE nowadays, i am only playing it for free because enough people are buying cosmetic microtransactions to cover the cost of the dev/publisher, if that would not be the case not me nor anyone else would be playing POE, the game would cease to exist.
In wow is the exact same situation, some people play for free, because others pay for them, but that is the core definition of any F2P game.

[Swalload]

Yes but what exactly makes it "good"? Is it the features, the clean interface, the many add-ons or what exactly?
I know it also depends on the individual so what makes it good for you, for example?

As you said it depends on the individual, which in itself is something very special. Most games have a pretty specific target audience. Look at Last of Us for exemple, everyone will tell you they like the game for the same reason because there is one strong point they worked on and that's why it worked for them. In WoW however, the strong point is accessibility, the game is easy to pick up and there doesn't seem to be any end to progression, however you play. Either very classic, or with a ton of addons, you can customize your game to be your own. Wanna just quest? Dungeons? Raids? PvP? Everything is easy and accessible, but everything also have its niche peak of possibility to do at a high skill lvl that people can aim for and hope to reach.

Or you can just chill with friends, the social aspect plays a big role in WoW even if for a lot of people it's just trolling /2.

[glowpipe]

No. Not at all. The amount of trash players and toxicity in the current game is allready too high. Thats paying customers. Imagine getting inn all those who don't want to pay ontop of that. It would be a cesspool few would survive. The amount of trolls and trash with no paywall stopping them. And not to even mention bots. Sub price is stopping a lot of people from botting. Remove all value of the accounts and i can guarentee you that botters would rise with 1000%+

[Deleted]

pointless thread.

please delete

[Deleted]

No. Not at all. The amount of trash players and toxicity in the current game is allready too high. Thats paying customers.

How do you know that?, i am no longer capable of knowing if the players i am interacting with are paying customers or not, not even in MOP i was able to know that, because as i discovered back then, there were already a lot of players playing the game without paying a cent, they were selling gold to other players who paid them back with game time.

[CerealLord]

How do you know that?, i am no longer capable of knowing if the players i am interacting with are paying customers or not, not even in MOP i was able to know that, because as i discovered back then, there were already a lot of players playing the game without paying a cent, they were selling gold to other players who paid them back with game time.

This happens in literally every single MMO.

[cuafpr]

could it survive sure... would it change drastically yes. is it an issue to worry about no.

[Deleted]

This happens in literally every single MMO.

Yeah i guess, specially if the company who owns them turns a blind eye on players selling boost services, because i do not think anyone would pay for gold, if the only use for gold were repairing gear.
But of course if you build an MMO, and place an AH in the center of it, this has to be expected.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

If anything, there would be more players. Doesn't matter to me, I'll be playing either way.

[Pickynerd]

Sure, and? i still can play the game without paying a dime for the sub, others pay more for me? yeah as it happens with all F2P games.
Look i am playing POE nowadays, i am only playing it for free because enough people are buying cosmetic microtransactions to cover the cost of the dev/publisher, if that would not be the case not me nor anyone else would be playing POE, the game would cease to exist.
In wow is the exact same situation, some people play for free, because others pay for them, but that is the core definition of any F2P game.

I mean POE probably spends a shit ton less on operation costs vs a game like WoW so yeah they probably can do very well by selling cosmetics. An actual MMO operation costs force them to monetize as much as they can.

[Deleted]

I mean POE probably spends a shit ton less on operation costs vs a game like WoW so yeah they probably can do very well by selling cosmetics. An actual MMO operation costs force them to monetize as much as they can.

And probably that is why the F2P model that wow has chosen is different, but still it is a F2P model.
I see that most people in this thread are against certain F2P models, specially the most infamous P2W ones, not exactly against wow becoming F2P, because it already is F2P.

[Soon-TM]

Despite the wishful thinking of several people ITT, I think that recent features like heavy RNG in every aspect of the game, Facebook-like long term stuff like Garrisons/Order Halls, heavily gated content and generally speaking, the desire to keep players logged in even if they aren't liking what they are doing, are paving the way for a F2P twist in the middle term. All those features appear in nearly every single F2P game over there (or at least in those that I have tried).

[Deleted]

Many people have a single subscription based game they pay mothy for, and WoW has been this one for many.
It creates a sense of attachment and simultaneously prods you to log in so as to avoid a feeling of "wasting your money".

Do you feel something like this? How could this be overcome if ever?
I played the Turbine games LotRO, Eberron, then other ones like Guild Wars 2, Everquest 2 and Rift - they are good but not superb like WoW.

Is WoW different just because of the subscription or is there something even more to it?

WoW is a Blizzard game. The ones you mention arent.

I dont see why wow would go f2p. I see absolutely no reason for it

[Jademist]

IDK...a lot of F2P MMORPGs suck, imo. I've tried a ton of MMOs and many of them cannot reach the scope of WoW in terms of content.

[Pickynerd]

And probably that is why the F2P model that wow has chosen is different, but still it is a F2P model.
I see that most people in this thread are against certain F2P models, specially the most infamous P2W ones, not exactly against wow becoming F2P, because it already is F2P.

I am against b2p/f2p because the developers really suck the fun out of the game in order to monetize, they have to, or it doesn't work. I don't think about the 50 cents a day it is costing me to enjoy my free time, unless all my goals in a game are gated behind money. Even if it isn't pay to win, the new exciting weapons an armor are not as exciting when you can just buy them, or farm endlessly for gold to get them.

Gw2 was my first b2p game, and I admit it was extremely fun until they started nerfing drops to profit more off gems. Which I agree is better than 99% of all the other F2P games that sell potions you have to have to run dungeons, or whatever P2W feature they have, but honestly 50 cents a day? Not having to grab my wallet every time a new armor set comes out is pretty nice, besides I like to play for my rewards, not buy them.

[Schmilblick]

Does it have to become F2p first ? NO.