LarryRow
-
Posts
1,743 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Blogs
Events
Articles
Downloads
Gallery
Posts posted by LarryRow
-
-
There is an easier way to fix this problem - REMOVE the Warzone restrictions on Preferred players. More and more are switching to preferred because lets face it, PvP won't be feeling the love any time soon and paying £8.99 a month to wait another 18 months for a 'new' 8v8 map is laughable.
They should seriously consider this.
The money they lose from preferred players not buying warzone passes (let's face it, most use the GTN anyway) will be made up for by keeping subs happy with fresh warzone queues, so they don't drop to preferred.
The counter argument is that subs will switch to preferred exactly because they can get warzones for free, but there are many other benefits to subbing that current sub won't want to lose.
-
It is a balance...you would not want to make it TOO appealing as they certainly want subs to remain having value. Here are some of the things (not all) that would remain in place if they adopted the changes I suggested.
No ability to mail to other players
Restricted chat in general
Credit cap remains in place
No forum access
All unlocks for appearance would remain locked
Reduced XP
Higher costs at vendors
Quick travel options would have longer cooldowns
Warzones and the like would still have restrictions in place
And many more. There is still a whole slew of restrictions in place for free players. This suggestion, IMO, only removes or alters those items that I feel DISCOURAGE subs.
This is a fascinating discussion because there are so many opinions about how to do this. You are focusing on what will encourage players to sub, which is hardly cut and dry. It's a delicate balance between annoying them just enough without annoying them too much.
However, there is a completely different way to think of free players: they (we: I go back to free to play tonight I think) are content for subscribers. We populate the world to make the game feel not empty, we make queues pop faster, we contribute to the game's economy, etc. Restrictions which impact our ability to improve the experience for subscribers may be doing more harm than good. I've identified the most punitive of these as:
1. Restrictions on trade
2. Respec cost (since being able to queue dual role reduces queues significantly)
Obviously being able to queue for warzones is also on this list, but it's not as restrictive since you can buy passes.
-
So to summarize, I agree with the OP that
credit cap spam (not the credit cap itself) could be toned down.
A F2P chat channel would be a great idea
I disagree that being able to mail credits around is absolutely necessary, since credits can be earned without too much pain. As long as you can mail items one message at a time and mail stacks of items, it's fine.
I also think:
F2P should be able to post on the forums in some capacity
Respec cost should be a reasonable flat rate (e.g., $10k at level 55)
Warzone limitations should be eased to improve queue times for subs
Someone was saying that earning xp is too slow as F2P but I disagree with this also. With all the activities to do and daily quests you can pick up, side quests, space missions, etc. xp generation is, if anything, too fast for subs. That makes it about right for F2P so you don't overlevel the content. Heck, they even give you those xp boosts as mission rewards and you can buy more if you want.
-
That's... silly. In order for paying customers to have a better experience, we should make non-paying customers have a better experience.
If we go far enough with that train of thought, maybe we can run that locomotive right off the bridge of profitability! Brilliant!
No. The restrictions are incredibly lenient as they are. Anyone who can't find a way to scrounge 2 quarters a day should be thrilled they get to play this game for free. Anyone who can scrounge 2 quarters a day but chooses not to should be embarrassed at being selfish prigs and can suck on the restrictions.
Thanks for outing yourself as a subbing elitist who can't fathom that things might not be the way they assume. "I pay money, and can't handle the idea that people who don't pay might enjoy themselves, so keep their restrictions high even if it's bad for the game." Please exit the thread.
-
I've been grouped with far too many F2P players. They don't improve my experience
Well you are obviously biased, and there are plenty of terrible subs in the queue too.
But the point, which you continually miss, is that by lifting some restrictions free players would have more incentive to play the game and acquire skills more quickly, thus improving the experience for subs.
-
The F2P / Preferred system is not too prohibitive.
Try going to a car dealership ....
Bad analogy is bad. For starters, when I drive a car on the freeway, it doesn't improve the experience for the other drivers.
-
You're wrong.
In real life you don't invest more when you're satisfied.
Then why does it seem like most of the money is being spent by subs on cosmetics and hypercrates and stuff? They are satisfied enough to sub, but they still spend money. Why? Because they are all about the game. F2P restrictions prevent free players from getting to that same level of commitment, so they don't spend as much.
if respec was really worth it for you, you would either sub or just do what you are doing. It really isn't worth for you. So be an adult and live with it.I am "doing what I'm doing" and that is making queue times longer for subs because I run around leveling in dps spec while I wait for queue to pop.
-
That's exactly what is expected. And that's why Bioware does not necessarily need F2p players' subscription.We all know subs spend the most on the marketWay to truncate my words and miss my point. I said subs spend the most because they are most invested in the game. In other words, lower certain F2P restrictions so F2P can become more invested in the game and they will spend more money too.
-
I think a lot of posters here are basically getting it: free and preferred players do a lot of things that benefit subscribers. They queue for flashpoints and warzones, and they spend money in the cash shop that can be used on development.
But F2P restrictions are getting in the way. Weekly limits on content lengthen queue times and severely inhibit the learning curve of free players, so when you do get them in your group they are less effective. And other general restrictions like artifact gear and respec cost inhibit free players getting invested in the game, which in turn decreases how much they spend in the cartel market. We all know subs spend the most on the market and it's because they are the most invested in the game.
By the way it's funny to see the various opinions on what restrictions are most annoying. Rested xp doesn't bother me at all, but respec cost is such a frustrating thing!
-
I recently returned as preferred status and have just been leveling my lowbie, so the credit sound spam didn't bother me. I haven't tried mailing items. Can't you send multiple mails with 1 item each? You can still send stacks, right?
What is driving me NUTS is having to pay to respec. Doesn't BW realize it severely limits our ability to queue for multiple roles for Flashpoints, thus making pops take longer for subs? And you know, I don't even mind the fee so much as the fact that it increases exponentially. A flat fee based on your character level would be perfectly fine. But don't let me respec for 1k credits without telling me it will be 15k credits to spec back.
I also think the warzone limit should be rethought, since that also provides content for subs. Maybe chop the rewards in half after the first five warzones or something? I dunno, maybe that's not as important since there are passes you can buy. (Ops I can understand, and you can still do unlimited FPs, just not roll on the last item)
If you're wondering how I'm typing this, I found a refer-a-friend link that granted me a week's subscription. I used the opportunity to consolidate credits among my toons, delete the ones I didn't want, and buy a couple of unlocks, like the account-wide artifact gear unlock. Also, the refer-a-friend gave each of my toons a bind-on-pickup unlock for an inventory slot, crew skill, and a couple cosmetics (titles and unify colors I think).
-
Some of your quotes are re-ordered because it made more sense to address them in that order.
Actually lets rewind to the beginning. Originally Bioware made it so set bonuses were only obtainable from raiding. So if we use your own logic, it seems the addition of purchasable set bonus gear is the outlier, and things have now been restored to their original design intention.As I recall, the endboss on hard mode flashpoints dropped a tionese token based on what the flashpoint was (e.g., gloves from Taral V) and this piece had a set bonus.
Do you have a source to the contrary?
I will reiterate that the previous tier of gear and content is the "mistake" and gave players something they should not have had to begin with: BiS raid gear without raiding.Craftable 63's is what enabled people to get BiS raid gear without raiding. The set bonus had nothing to do with that.
So we have circled back to the original statement. You acknowledge that you do not need the raid gear for anything but raiding. Your whole argument is based upon the fact that you "used to have it" and now you don't. I have proven that the original design intent was that you shouldn't have received it in the first place and it was corrected with 2.0. So therefore your argument is invalid and baseless.You haven't proven anything. You've just shown that the system is "back" to the way you think it should be. I could just as easily say that making the bonuses more obtainable was the design intent that fixed the original oversight (after all, it was left like that for a much longer time). I always find kids who claim to have "proven" anything on an internet forum to be quite amusing.
Your argument falls flat once you were asked to provide a valid reason why you need the gear. And as such you cannot so you simply deflect the question with statements implying that it is "elitism" that is preventing you from obtaining the gear.You need to work on your reading comprehension and debating skills. I clearly said above that I am doing fine obtaining the set bonuses, though I still think the design decision was stupid. With reading skills like that, it's no wonder you claim false proofs and reject valid arguments out of hand.
In the end, the set bonuses are unnecessary but they also don't do any harm if they are widely available. So it's a matter of opinion. The OP expressed his frustration and I echoed it. I thought it was really asinine that I had to temporarily give up my set bonuses as part of a progression that earns them back. I suppose I should have expected a wave of people to rush in and stand up for every last bit of game mechanics that allows them to claim superiority over other gamers. The fault was mine for having too much faith in the community.
But you have taught me not to make that mistake again.
-
And what, do tell, do you need those set bonuses for if you aren't raiding?
You don't. You also don't need level 66 or level 69 gear, which you can get from HM FPs, if you aren't raiding, since the story modes are easily done in full 63s. So I'm confused. Is your point that we should be able to get set bonuses from flashpoints? Or that we shouldn't get 66/69 gear from flashpoints?
-
You have yet to explain the problem with the set bonus not being widely available on purchasable gear is causing?
Actually I said it many times, but your elitist hat must cover your eyes. Bioware took something away that we used to have, instead of providing a new step in the progression. It was a stupid and needless design decision on their part, which the OP decided to point out.
But hold on, here come all the "hardcore raiders" (by the way, I do raid, and have bonuses on a couple of toons) to defend any move by bioware that creates a separation between the haves and the have-nots. Anything they can point to and say, "Look I have this and you don't, so I am good and you are bad," is sacred and must be staunchly protected.
Your cute little reversal of my question was a sad attempt to hide this pathetic attitude.....
edit: .....although here is an example of you being pretty brazen about it.
You have SM Operations which are puggable for average and mediocre players. Stick to that, and leave the "raiding" gear to the players who actually need it.You have already reached the ceiling of your capacities, and gear is not going to help you, even if it was purchasable.
Fortunately, the odds of you being on my server are relatively slim.
-
Larry calm down, your personal attacks are unsightly and yes I have reported you for acting out so much.
Then you need to work on your reading comprehension. I critiqued his comment (not him) and offered some friendly advice.
The rest of your comment fails, not surprisingly, to address what exactly the problem was with set bonuses on widely available gear (probably because there was no problem). Bioware has taken something away from the players and I have to wonder of the motivation of the people who approve. Right now my working theory is that they (you?) like having something other players don't. They get their feelings of superiority from a video game, which is pathetic.
Until there is an explanation provided for how set bonuses on easily obtained gear damages the game or the players who are raiding current hard modes, I have no choice but to stick with this theory.
-
All of the whiners and complainers just don't get it. The roll is what makes operatives and scoundrels unique. It makes them what they are, mobile and stealthy.
As usual, these all-or-nothing threads fail to address how operatives would cease to be unique, mobile and stealthy if their roll got a 4-second cooldown. Think of it as a buff to energy regen if that helps.
-
The reason you can not get a set bonus without raiding anymore is simple. It's what steave said. It rewards raiders with the necessary bonuses to continue completing the hardest content in the game. The set-bonus should be thought of as "raid bonus." If you are not raiding then there is no need for a set-bonus.
So what was wrong with the old system where set bonuses were obtained from flashpoint gear and comms? Exactly how did it negatively impact anyone?
Remember that level 63 gear was only obtainable from raiding (and crafters, a whole other conversation), and that's what you needed to raid NiM. Now you need level 72 gear (level 69 to start doing HM Ops). Good luck getting that without raiding.
There is no single player or even flashpoint HM that requires players to have the set-bonus: no tight enrage timers, no high burst damage tanks are taking, nothing that would require the additional benefits of raid gear.There is also no Flashpoint HM that requires gear obtainable with elite comms, but they still reward them.
If you want the set bonus then you can join a guild and run story mode TFB and/or SaV and receive a set-bonus from the arkanian gear. These operations are laughably easy and even a PUG should be able to clear it after a few hours of actual raiding. Heck you don't even need to figure out the strategies, they're all spelled out for you now on dulfy.net.If they're as easy as you say - and I agree they are pretty easy - then the set bonus is hardly a big deal and should be purchasable with comms instead of relying on rng. I'm glad we can agree on that point at least.
-
Ultimate comms reward the same gear level as raiding, except for the bonus.
Tell me more about how easy it is to get ultimate comms if you're not raiding.
Tell me also how it would hurt you if they allowed gear sets to be purchasable. Don't forget to mention how it was negatively impacting you in 1.7
PVP gearing can't be compared to PVE - in PvE you have to play with other people, so a long gearing process would lock you out from joining late when everyone else is already min-maxed, while in PvP you fight with bolstered gear, so you can decide to join in late and have the same (or easier with the rest of the group already geared) experience as the people that started day 1.That paragraph needed some touching up. Now it's much easier to see how bad your argument is. Set bonuses used to be widely available to players who were doing all group content, with Tionese gear. There was no reason to remove them, certainly no reason to make new gear destroy old bonuses. Basic gear should have had a set bonus that stuck to the gear after black market, etc. gear was slotted in. If you disagree, you probably just got lucky out of the gate with rolls on arkanian drops and want something other players dont have. How mature.
Now bring up arguments instead of personal attacks or I'll simply ignore you.If the shoe fits...
-
I agree that the decision to gate our access to set gear was very stupid. They compounded that by having the new set-less armorings erase an existing set bonus on a tionese, columi or rakata piece.
It's like they designed it specifically to be as obnoxious and frustrating as possible.
-
OP that is such a good story. I really can't pick "one part" that I liked the best. But if you were to hold a gun to my head, I would go with the part with the pictures. I just got off the phone with an armored truck company. They will be arriving in the morning to pick up my back up disk, which I just saved your story on to. There probably won't be much traffic, because I forwarded the police your story, and they agreed to escort the armored truck to its destination. At first the police chief didn't want to help, but then I guided his attention to the incredible pictures that you embedded along with your story. I mean, the story was good enough. But as soon as I saw the pictures that went along with it, I called my grandmother, who is blind and has Alzheimer’s disease to tell her. As far as her doctors in the nursing home are concerned, she is cured of all her ailments now that she heard your cool story. She is actually preparing to run the Boston marathon this year now. Thank you OP.
This may be the post of the year.
-
Cathar - Am I the only person who doesn't think Cathar are anything to write home about?
No, sir. You are not.
-
Actually, you rolled that backwards: Your KPM is about 0.81.
On the other hand, its nice to know it takes him 1.23 minutes to kill someone. Sounds about right for a healer.
-
The difference is each smasher does that crazy amount in an "AOE" circle. All of the other classes are single target dps and generally those attacks require a cast and have longer cooldowns.
Nice try, but I was FIRST!!! ----->
First!!!... to point out that none of those are AoE.
-
That one's more about falling down than real jumping. But it takes time for sure unless u are quite skilled.
Well the OP said he is afraid of hieghts. Talk about immersion therapy! lol
-
Ok here is why. I can't jump. Period. I just CAN NOT jump. I fell into every 2nd chasm, which always ports me back to the start and I am gosh darn afraid of heights. Like some people are afraid of spiders or what. I just can't jump, when there is a deep chasm below. Virtual or not, it makes no difference.
Damn! Why did this story instance HAVE to be in a jumping sequence!
A word of advice for you bro: abandon your dreams of getting the Makeb +10 datacron now.
Is the F2P/Preffered system too prohibitive, and if so, what should change?
in General Discussion
Posted