The extended trial of WoW only goes to level 20, but it's not limitied in how many days you can play the game.
Is that what BioWare wants? Is that why they makle a F2P option? So that players just shrug their shoulders and play something else? In that case, good move!
Flawed argument when talking about a game that is going Free to Play.
There is a right way and a wrong way to go about making a game free to play and while I have yet to try out swtor's version of F2P yet, what I have read does not sound like the correct way. Limiting character slots and access to certain things like the legacy system is fine, but slower XP gain (unless the quest progression has been adjusted to support the slower gain), limiting quickbars and having to pay for things like being able to hide your head slot item is just going to frustrate people.
You don't want to make people feel like they have to pay to make the free to play game enjoyable, you want to entice them to pay to enhance their already good gameplay experience. I am still looking forward to checking it out again (I played for a couple months when the game launched but did not see the value in paying $60 + $15 a month for the 1-50 game as that is all I am really interested in), but I am less excited then I was upon first hearing they were going F2P
But what is there to enjoy with no epic gear, limited FP and WZ for each week, only 2 character slots. One big point was that people could play all the class stories, but with only 2 characters you can forget that.
And 2 bucks for unlimited access to FPs for a week? That's 8 bucks a month for WZ access alone. What are they thinking?
---------- Post added 2012-11-15 at 08:41 PM ----------
That's exactly it.
Delete your previous characters and start anew. If you're hellbent on playing the character stories and have no intentions of staying in for the long haul as a max level player then surely you shouldn't have a problem with that option?One big point was that people could play all the class stories, but with only 2 characters you can forget that.
Look I'm not saying the thing they have set up with this f2p model is flawless but you shouldn't expect there would be no major restrictions whatsoever with a f2p model that allows you to play to max level.
Why would you care about legacy as a f2p player, legacy itself has restrictions for you.So if I want to see all 8 class stories I have to split my characters to 4 different realms under 4 different legacies. It's one of those restrictions that is there to make players pay, because they know it's more convenient to level them under the same legacy.
The majority seem to agree based off all the threads and posts since Bioware released the free to play press that the entire thing is a complete joke. They failed horribly trying to cash in on the MMO market by doing a monthly fee when it became very clear that the game was not worth it. It crashed and burned and people left in ridiculous amounts to the point where after only a shockingly 6 months, they released a statement that this game would become F2P down the road. They had a chance to rebound and bounce back in a big way and they blew it again. This game wasn't worth the monthly fee upon release and it's not even worth the F2P with all the restrictions. JMO and something that a hell of a lot of people seem to agree on. I'm not trying to bash the game, that's just the sad reality. IMO SWTOR will go down as the biggest flop in MMO history and they have no one to blame but themselves.
Delete my characters? As an altoholic? You might as well ask me to burn my CE.
Of course I want to hang around and take a look at the end game. I did every FP and every operation that was available over the LFG tool. But it's something to do every once in a while. Not something I do every week. Not something I would pay for.
I don't level my characters just to delete them at the end. The idea alone is moronic.
I personally don't see why using more than one realm to experience the class stories would bring any limitations to the gaming experience itself..
who cares about the legacy
If the game wasn't enough to really draw players in at 15 bucks a month, what is so amazingly fantastic that's been placed into the game that's going to drive players to want to play now? The number of dumb micro-transactions alone make me not want to look at this game again. I've sub'd a few times since quitting back in Dec of last year to take a look at the game and as of patch 1.4 playing a marauder, nothing really said - yes, this is the MMO which really stands out that I want to devote my gaming hobby to. But that's just me.
After looking at the lists of things that you can buy with Cartel points, I'm having a hard time finding real value add in what's going to really not just get players BACK into the game but what's creating stickiness to keep them there. Clearly other MMOs are able to create sustainable business models with F2P but I think BioWare and EA are again making some really big mistakes with the micro-transactions. Buuut that's just me..
---------- Post added 2012-11-15 at 01:04 PM ----------
Because you form no bond with your hobbies the same way another does, there's NO reason to be a rude jerk.
I don;t know, its going to be tough to dethrone Sony with SWG for that title!
---------- Post added 2012-11-15 at 08:20 PM ----------
When you advertise your game as free to play, I personally, would expect it to be free.
This would be like me advertising Free Potato Chips, but you are only allowed to eat 1 per day. If you wish to close and seal the bag, there is a fee. if you wish to move to bag from its current spot in the store, there is a fee. etc.
This is a level 50 unlimited trial. Nothing more. Saying its a "true" free to play model is incorrect.
---------- Post added 2012-11-15 at 08:22 PM ----------
Dude, but you can totally by an axe for $$$$$ for your Jedi!!!!
Last edited by ariakul; 2012-11-15 at 08:22 PM.
I don't enjoy it enough to pay the subscription. There's nothing to do for me at the "endgame" right now. If it's still the case that the last tier of raiding is excluded from the group finder. And since the group finder is not crossserver it takes too long. There's nothing for me to do in the world, while I'm waiting for an invite either.
I'm generally an altoholic, not just in SWTOR. I have only 2 level 50s, Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior, because those were the class stories I was most interested in. I would've loved to play more characters, but I stopped when I reached around 25 on my Gunslinger. Most of the quests are the same. The class quests only make up a small amount of the quests. That's where I stopped paying and playing. I'm still interested in the class stories, but it's not worth the money to me. That's where I thought F2P would be a possibility to level a couple of characters.
I'm still interested in the game. I would still pay for a month now and then when I see there's new content that interests me. Sure there's some fun in the game. Just right now not enough for me to cough up the money for month's subscription.
You don't have to pay for the software, and you do not pay a subscription fee.
To subscribe you will still need to pay for the software and then subscribe to the fee as well.
So Lets clarify here F2P No charge for software No Subscription Fee. By the time you hit level 50 you can decide if you are content with what you have and have become used to at that point.
Subscribers Pay for the Software and Pay the Fee.
Now if Bioware was Charging its F2P players for the software like Guild Wars 2 does, then yes I can see a need to complain. But since they are offering a client for no Charge and a Client for $14.99 (which comes with one month subscriber included). They reserve the right to reduce the functionality of the Free Software.
I hate dogs.
Why would I delete those characters? What if I felt like jumping into the endgame on one of my characters, but I can't because I deleted it. Level up again? Characters in an MMO are not just savegames. When an expansion drops or a new content patch, you can pick up where you left off.
I hit that in Wow, had 4 85s when SWTOR came out, Kept falling back to the Star Wars one. (I always have been a bit of a Space nut) poke my head in for Mists when that came out and wonder why the hell I bought it. I couldn't stand it. I think everyone hits that Lul in MMOs. There are times I take a break for a few Weeks and then come back. WoW I have completely quit after 8 years.