Bioware is TRYING to turn off returning players

[-IceHawk-]

Wait...

 

Bioware gave you enough free coins to purchase a full set of non-class restricted adaptive armor or a slew of Legacy Unlocks or 4 Cartel Packs...

 

...and is providing you with a minimum of 500cc/month free for maintaining your sub...

 

...and you construe that as being taken advantage of?

 

 

I quite frankly fear for the future of this nation...

[marvellus]

All but the WZs is a one time cost. You aren't paying a sub. You have to pay something. This just shows that most of you all feel you're entitled to something for free. You're not.

 

No it's not, 10$ is for unlock WZ for a month.

 

Wait...

 

Bioware gave you enough free coins to purchase a full set of non-class restricted adaptive armor or a slew of Legacy Unlocks or 4 Cartel Packs...

 

It's not free if you have to pay to get them (resubscribe)...

[GrandMike]

It's not free if you have to pay to get them (resubscribe)...

 

Dont worry, he has a problem discerning what is free and what isnt.

[Samaul]

You can't sell as many cartel coins to people who bought the box and have established characters with cargo bays, bags and professions.

 

So you stick a bunch of restrictions on them to either force them to pay to get back what they are used to or you push them away from crowding your servers.

 

Well played Bioware, well played.

 

BioWare no longer exists. Its EA now.

[OMGrant]

This game isn't here solely for our enjoyment. It is a business product that, to remain viable, HAS to earn money.

 

Want to play but not pay, fine but you are not going to get the full benefit that you would by subscribing. Want to "al la carte" your game? Fine, but expect to pay for coins to "unlock" what you want.

 

F2P does not mean you get everything for nothing. It never has. Be thankful you get to go to 50 free since most F2P don't allow access to level cap without paying for it.

 

This is my biggest problem with Bioware and you jaded players... Call them perks for subscribers, but really these restrictions are punishments for not paying. It's called poor experience by design. What happens when you strangle hold the experience of a game that already has trouble maintaining subscribers... Yea...

 

And by the way, these restrictions affect everyone, not just the F2Pers. The games economy is hurt, the PVP/End game participation is hurt, Hell I can't even sprint if I'm grouped with a F2Per, I'm getting punished now for wanting a MMO experience.

 

Remember that phrase - - Poor experience by design.

[Scan]

100% agree with poster, the sad thing is the devs were told repeatedly how to implement F2P successfully and how to change the game to bring success, instead they listened to the players that have a sense of entitlement, players that want ALL the good gear and to complete ALL the hardest content wihtout the dedication or skill required to make the game worthwhile.

 

What do you end up with? The clustercluck that IS swtor.

[Kudach]

BioWare no longer exists. Its EA now.

 

^

EA is dragging the game down... one can only hope Disney takes over XD

[Ailie]

I want to finish some stories, because lets be honest, this game's endgame sucks and the pvp is meh. But have you played a juggernaut past level 30? I could play it with 2 bars but why would I suffer that frustration over a game that's suppose to be fun?

 

Think you might be doing it wrong...

[oakamp]

whats making me laugh is the people mostly replying who will happily watch this game burn.

 

People who didn't sub had no access .....thats why we lost server after server , why on mega servers they were near dead. SO you would rather we lost all f2pers and went back to dead servers?

yup, f2p doesn't help,

q GF for 30mins still get nothing,

hm tfb still no ppl,

(all my guild RLs leaved, guild went to ash,

half members gquit or unsub)

ppl don't happily watch it burn,

they just SAID the truth, which fanboi don't want to admit it.

[tzagheru]

yup, f2p doesn't help,

q GF for 30mins still get nothing,

hm tfb still no ppl,

(all my guild RLs leaved, guild went to ash,

half members gquit or unsub)

ppl don't happily watch it burn,

they just SAID the truth, which fanboi don't want to admit it.

 

despite the poor state since march 2012, despite the number of servers then and now (upgraded servers is bs, server lag every day where its crowded), despite what everyone on every mmo website says about it, despite the fact that the game went 'f2p' after not even 1 year, etc.. the FANBOIS will always deny and come with delusional arguments, no matter what you say.

Edited November 20, 2012 by tzagheru

[MyPetMonkey]

(Ex SW ToR player here).

 

Logged on . Seen my 50 Juggernaut with only 2 action bars and 5 War Zones / week , item restrictions . Checked prices for buying Quickbars and the must have unlocks on ToR. Checked available credits in game (escrow ftw). Logged back out.

 

Thank you Bioware...for nothing. Seriously...2 action bars? Why not make us all wear white items while you re at it ?

 

Logged on. Didn't see FkLex on. Didn't care.

[JimboJankins]

F2P isn't designed for returning whiners but for fresh faces. Why on earth would a game want the locust players back that eat thru content in a day and complain about everything before returning to wow?

 

This is the one that makes me laugh. Don't get me wrong I agree with you. Lets look at WOW.. released in 2004 first expansion was 3 years later. Was there so much content they didn't need an expansion? Not likely. 2007 Crusade comes out next year Lich King comes out, and finally 2012 Pandas comes out. 4 expansions in 8 years with not that much content comming out inbetween and the WOW finatics that compare TOR to WOW complain about content? Now personally I only played wow to lvl 20 on one toon before I couldn't stand playing a cartoon and wanted to go back to an MMO with a degree of difficulty that not every 6 year old could play.

 

So why should SWTOR cater to a population that repeatedly says I won't pay to play? Why are those that hate this game so upset that F2P doesn't give them everything? If you left this game to go back to WOW cause "it's not worth the money" or "the game sucks" or "XX mmo is better" why the hell are you back? Don't get me wrong I enjoy more people playing as much as anyone else but it seems like no matter what they do you will never be happy unless you are playing your one true love. Admit it you don't like the Star Wars genre and prefer the fantasy games like WOW, EQ2, Vanguard, etc. Noone will blame you for going back. We didn't the first time. But you seem to find your way back to this game, back to these forums and continue to complain about how your game you just left again is so superior. "Oh I played LOTRO and their f2p is so much better" Shoo... Go play LOTRO. It's that simple.

 

As for the subscribers defending F2P having to many restrictions we all know why. The moment Bioware changes and gives everyone everything you will save your money and unsub. I WOULD. I'll hop on that bandwagon with you. TAKE AWAY ALL RESTRICTION MAKE IT COMPLETELY FREE TO PLAY SO I CAN SAVE MY MONEY!!!! I don't care if it's business suicide I want my money.

Sorry but that just sounds dumb.

 

Bioware keep making the game the way it is beneficial to you. I will continue to pay and play until the day I get bored with the game and eventually split ways (without comming on your forums to bash your game and come back later). But you have my word when I leave I will not come back to the forums and complain about a game I hate or have no desire to play. I will simply go to another MMO and join their community.

[Kelilareyn]

So why should SWTOR cater to a population that repeatedly says I won't pay to play? Why are those that hate this game so upset that F2P doesn't give them everything? If you left this game to go back to WOW cause "it's not worth the money" or "the game sucks" or "XX mmo is better" why the hell are you back? Don't get me wrong I enjoy more people playing as much as anyone else but it seems like no matter what they do you will never be happy unless you are playing your one true love. Admit it you don't like the Star Wars genre and prefer the fantasy games like WOW, EQ2, Vanguard, etc. Noone will blame you for going back. We didn't the first time. But you seem to find your way back to this game, back to these forums and continue to complain about how your game you just left again is so superior. "Oh I played LOTRO and their f2p is so much better" Shoo... Go play LOTRO. It's that simple.

 

As for the subscribers defending F2P having to many restrictions we all know why. The moment Bioware changes and gives everyone everything you will save your money and unsub. I WOULD. I'll hop on that bandwagon with you. TAKE AWAY ALL RESTRICTION MAKE IT COMPLETELY FREE TO PLAY SO I CAN SAVE MY MONEY!!!! I don't care if it's business suicide I want my money.

Sorry but that just sounds dumb.

 

This is completely true and it is funny that people are too blind to see this. Nothing is truly ever free, otherwise no one would make money. It is all a way for you to come back and try to sub to get full features. Like said if Bioware takes away all restrictions then they cannot pay for the servers, management, and overall the company would collapse.

[disent]

Lol at people who think THIS is the bad version of F2P.

There's almost nothing to play anymore because those "F2P" games actually cost $300 a month to compete (TRUST ME) with the top while in this game you will need MAX €14 a month to compete. How is this so hard to understand?

I seriously don't know many F2P games where spending more money doesn't mean getting "better".

Only games that are still worth playing are the subscription games that are extremely cheap compared to F2P games.

 

PS: I like how GW2 does it, but the game itself I don't like.

[MaximusRex]

Welcome to the entitlement generation people.

 

This is kind of a lame argument, they went F2P to attract business, so if the model doesn't achieve that its counter to the intent and hurts the game.

 

I want to game to succeed, that means I want F2P players to feel like the game is a good value to invest in, even if they do so a la carte. If the F2P restrictions feel too nickle and dime then people won't stay to pay dollars. In some F2P games the so called Free players actually provide more revenue then the paid players, so the a la carte system can be effective if done correctly.

 

Most other F2P games don't lock their former players out of things they had earned before on a character, though some do lock out characters over the free cap. This creates a market expectation, and not following the market expectation can lead to lost sales.

[MaximusRex]

This is completely true and it is funny that people are too blind to see this. Nothing is truly ever free, otherwise no one would make money. It is all a way for you to come back and try to sub to get full features. Like said if Bioware takes away all restrictions then they cannot pay for the servers, management, and overall the company would collapse.

 

There is a vast difference between some restrictions being too petty, and taking away all restrictions. The reason BioWare kept giving for going F2P was a lot of lost subs said they didn't want to pay $15 a month, so saying its some fancy kind of trying to get people to sub still means they aren't going to be able to get that market they said they are trying to get.

[SithInitiate]

imo, they should have just kept the trial option tbh. in going f2p, they should have done some research. most f2p games dont have nearly the restrictions TOR does. its just ridiculous. yes, people should have to grind as f2p, yes, they should have to pay for convenience.. and yes. they should have to pay for new content (i.e. stuff like hk-51, new FPs that might be coming, new ops, new planets, etc).. they need to make money somehow..

 

but requiring licenses for things like purple gear, head slot, and color unity is just a bad strategy.. its only going to alienate people from coming back or joining up. sorry it is. you can deny it all you want, but you guys are kidding yourselves if you think we are going to get a larger playerbase than what we have now. sorry, its not going to happen.

[Rhynien]

Before I start the rest of my reply: I'm subbed and have been since the beginning.

 

I had several guildies, family members, and friends who had all been subbed for varying lengths of time in the past, but for one reason or other had unsubbed before F2P. Once it was announced, they were excited to come back and just poke around, and of course realized there would be some restriction to their accounts. That wouldn't have been near so terrible except for the fact that none of them can get their coins without resubbing. One brother has checked for sure, none of his. My old duo partner, same issue, and he should have a good chunk. Making former subscribers resub just to get their coins is a bit inane, imo. Even FFXIV didn't require someone to be subbed up to the end of 1.0/release of 2.0 to get Legacy status and that game tanked harder than this one. You needed 3 months, wherever they fell, and you were good to go. Bonuses and whatnot when 2.0 goes live. For any 3 months of sub. Why is it that Bioware and EA are essentially making these returning players (of which there are many) resub just to get their coins? The whole allotment of coins to current subs/returners was really a big point for a lot of people, and it's turned into another point of contention now. Some of the tension at the moment would be alleviated if they'd just give the returning players their allotment that way they could lift some of the more bizarre restrictions this game places. I see nothing in the comparison chart that says this is bugged, and in fact remember seeing a little 'ad' on the main page about resubbing before Dec 20th to receive your coins so obviously this is WAI.

 

I'm all for restrictions on Operations, Ranked WZ, and GTN slots (more because of RMT on that last), but basic UI slots and just to hide your headslot or customize your colors/companion looks? Really? That to me is just a bit of a silly, petty restriction. Honestly I think even normal mode FPs ought to be available to free people, or at least permanently unlockable for the account; there's some nice story in some of those. LotRO doesn't restrict your Quickslots, dye colors, headslots... in fact I've never been in a game that moved to F2P that had so many random, mind-boggling little restrictions outside of the 'norm' that I would expect.

 

So I'm actually a bit upset about this, myself, because if they'd only been given their coins without having to resub, I would have had several more people to play with once again. They might even have resubbed at some point. But this petty little condition on receiving their coins has turned them off before they even got their feet wet in the game again to care. I think it would've been a smarter marketing move to give the previous subbers their coins, whether they had a sub at the moment or not. They'd be more likely to stay, unlock some restrictions and then buy more coins for those little silly gambling boxes, or other things instead of logging in, looking at it all and getting discouraged and promptly logging back off.

[thamightyboro]

I as a paying player would like to see them lower the barrier to entry as it is simply far too restricting of 10 friends that tried it 1 is still playing the others just got so frustrated and your not going to spend money on a game you are not yet fully convinced of but they where enjoying it.

 

For me the following must be changed.

 

Quickslots -- Just give them all to F2P or lower the cartel coin cost dramatically so that paying players will be more inclined to buy and list on GTN at a price the 20-30 range can afford presently on my server these sell for a minimum of 400k and at the cartel coin cost that they are I wouldn't list it for any less anyway.

 

In fact lower the coin cost of al unlockables you will still receive the same amount of money for coins but us paying players can list at a much smaller cost to allow more to buy and stick around.

 

Inventory space - allow a few purchaseable with credits and then just the final couple as unlockables.

 

Hide head slot and unify - nobody wants to run around like a clown and when you can't associate with a character you don't stick around just give them to F2P.

 

Leave operation/warzone etc access unlocks as is.

 

Surely your own figures already show that its 10% or so of us who will pay for everyone myself having already paid the equiv of 15 players subs, Your key to a successful F2P is cartel packs and cycling the packs 2-3 monthly with cool new FLUFF items and a dedicated team should be assigned to this.

 

In short, remove the core gameplay requirement and character relation unlocks or dramatically lower the cartel coin cost so paying players can sell them at an affordabe to 20-30 level range cost, leave character slot, access, species unlocks in place, cycle cartel packs bi or tri monthly.

Edited November 20, 2012 by thamightyboro

[HoloTweed]

The whole point of this thread, I assume was:

 

The returning players, or players looking to see if the game has improved any, who BOUGHT the game, or even had PAID SUBS in the past, are coming back to restrictions. Why would I want to even play a game that has every little thing locked out?

 

Obviously I am just here to see the differences from last time I was a paying subscriber. I laughed when little things like my titles, my credits, color schemes, hide helmet, UI bars, etc were all locked. I mean I even have a collectors edition account, with 2000 cartel creds waiting for me just to sub, but why should I? EA is still trying to continue to milk the money out of its player base.

 

I digress though: This thread wasn't about new players having access to what old players had. It was a thread about old subs being locked out of what they paid to have access to from the beginning.

 

But you're not paying for access to it NOW so you shouldn't get access NOW. You were paying rent. You don't get to leave the house then come back (with no money) and complain that after finding the front door open the heat and water aren't on.

 

This game doesn't need leeches. Pay some money to support the game and get the more rounded game experience you want. Otherwise, you saying you'll just leave again MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO THIS GAME.

 

I subscribe. You don't - so pay in a little or deal with what you get FOR FREE.

[HoloTweed]

I as a paying player would like to see them lower the barrier to entry as it is simply far too restricting of 10 friends that tried it 1 is still playing the others just got so frustrated and your not going to spend money on a game you are not yet fully convinced of but they where enjoying it.

 

For me the following must be changed.

 

Quickslots -- Just give them all to F2P or lower the cartel coin cost dramatically so that paying players will be more inclined to buy and list on GTN at a price the 20-30 range can afford presently on my server these sell for a minimum of 400k and at the cartel coin cost that they are I wouldn't list it for any less anyway.

 

LOWER THE COST? It's only, like, THREE BUCKS to get the additional slots.

 

SOOOO entitled!!