I don't understand the credit cap on premium members.

[Elric_VIII]

Due to my inability to play as much I am getting ready to become a premium member from a subscriber for a while. It seems to me that nearly everything you get by subscribing can be attained via CC, essentially giving you the option of buying it all in one lump, rather than periodic subscription. I am curious why the credit cap is the thing that you cannot buy outright. It will certainly be annoying, but it won't stop me from ending my sub.

 

It just strikes me as odd that they would choose something that limits the in-game economy. I buy cartel packs with credits from time to time, and I'm sure there are preferred members who would like to, as well. I feel like persuading people to sub can't be the only reason for this. Why do they have that terrible temporary escro withdrawal rather than a purches (or multiple) to up the cap?

[dr_mike]

2200 threads on the topic: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aswtor.com%2Fcommunity+preferred+credit+cap&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

Knock yourself out.

 

Simple answer: Some games allow it, some don't. They chose not to.

Edited March 13, 2016 by dr_mike

[Elric_VIII]

2200 threads on the topic: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aswtor.com%2Fcommunity+preferred+credit+cap&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

Knock yourself out.

 

Simple answer: Some games allow it, some don't. They chose not to.

 

I was hoping by posing it in the form of a rational question rather than a rant/whine I could avoid sifting through the vitriol of those threads to get the real answer. Thank you, though.

[spectreclees]

Things that F2P should get rid of:

 

1. Credit Cap
   
2. Additional Bars Unlock
   
3. Crew Skill limit
   

 

All of these are just annoying and turn people away. Subscribers already get plenty of goodies for subscribing. I should know, I'm a subscriber and the restrictions are plain silly.

Edited March 13, 2016 by spectreclees

[Stoofa]

Things that F2P should get rid of:

 

1. Credit Cap
   
2. Additional Bars Unlock
   
3. Crew Skill limit
   

 

All of these are just annoying and turn people away. Subscribers already get plenty of goodies for subscribing. I should know, I'm a subscriber and the restrictions are plain silly.

 

Yup - they should do that.

Then watch subscriptions fall by 50%

As I've said before, SWTOR is not free to play.

SWTOR is a paid subscription based game with a free option - NOT the other way around.

[Tsillah]

Call it what you want if it makes you feel better but for me preferred and f2p are the same to me...people who don't pay to play. Sure you have some benefits because you did pay in the past but as soon as you stop paying I don't see why people would feel entitled.

 

As this thread basically proves, the credit cap is a big deal and that's one of the big reasons why it makes sense to have it, because it should mean something to be a sub and there should be a significant reason for people to sub.

 

I think the game industry is slowly starting to see the downside of f2p themselves and BW clearly chose to refocus on subs with their current strategy. What you want would go against that.

[Eanelinea]

This game may have a free to play option, but it is not a true free to play game, never was and never will be. They WANT you to subscribe. Think of free to play as a trial. Yes, you get to level from 1-50 but you must buy everything else.

 

If you want all the bells and whistles you need to pay for them either via subscription or unlocks.

 

If you don't like free to play but plan to still play, well, you either live with it, or keep your sub going. I work almost 40 hours a week AND I plan to go back into the military as a reservist (weekend warrior). I get maybe 2 days a week to really sit down and play from waking up to going to bed. I'm not stopping my sub. One, I'm not a cheap skate. Two, $15 a month is nothing, I spend more than that every two days on cigarettes for me and husband. Three, I keep buying coins, paying my subscription AND coin cards to SUPPORT the game.

 

I know the game could be better, I wish it was better. But I'm having fun and getting my money's worth for $15 a month. I've done free to play on other games, I didn't like it. I won't go back to WoW unless this game is shut down. And I really don't have the computer space or care to play all the games out there. I barely have enough time to play this game and I'm not ADHD like most gamers...oo shiny!

[branmakmuffin]

If you could permanently unlock the cred cap, the game would lose subscribers by the boatload.

 

If you don't want to subscribe, OP, that's your choice, but making the game easier to play for free doesn't help anyone but people who want to play for free.

[horrorfaneightys]

If you could permanently unlock the cred cap, the game would lose subscribers by the boatload.

 

If you don't want to subscribe, OP, that's your choice, but making the game easier to play for free doesn't help anyone but people who want to play for free.

 

Quoted for truth.

[Elric_VIII]

Do people even bother reading past the title? I am a sub and I plan on purchasing CC to get the various unlocks. Something as paltry as a cred cap isn't going to keep me paying $15 a month while I might not get to play for weeks at a time. I guess you guys can have fun foaming at the mouth because I brought up what is apparently still a hot-button topic. I mean, TBH, they are actually LOSING business from me if the stuff I can buy as preferred makes it such a hassle to play.

 

I think the fact that only subs can post here mean you guys just have a sever case of incestuous amplification. So much for rational discussion.

[Yomitako]

Do people even bother reading past the title? I am a sub and I plan on purchasing CC to get the various unlocks. Something as paltry as a cred cap isn't going to keep me paying $15 a month while I might not get to play for weeks at a time. I guess you guys can have fun foaming at the mouth because I brought up what is apparently still a hot-button topic. I mean, TBH, they are actually LOSING business from me if the stuff I can buy as preferred makes it such a hassle to play.

 

I think the fact that only subs can post here mean you guys just have a sever case of incestuous amplification. So much for rational discussion.

 

I think you're jumping the gun here, and simply lambasting people for disagreeing with your opinion, which, in turn, makes your own discussion rather irrational.

 

The thing you need to realize is exactly what was said before. By giving F2P and Preferred members more freedoms and fewer restrictions, it will cause a downturn in subs, because there won't be any reason to sub. These restrictions are in place, because they have to be, in order for the company to have a chance at remaining profitable (which, above all else, is the priority).

 

Another reason for credit caps, is because of gold farmers and credit sellers. It doesn't eliminate the problem (as evidenced by their existence across almost all games with a multiplayer community), but it does keep the problem somewhat in check.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

The op makes a point though that might be overlooked here.

 

The main things we are ( or should ) be talking about using credits to buy are things that bypass preferred limits ( operations passes, PVP passes, etc. etc. ).

 

If you remove the credit cap you greatly increase the demand on those items ideally because they become affordable regardless of your status. Thus there will be more people paying real cash for them.

 

Personally if I were BW I would look at this cap removal and at the same time possibly get more strict on some play based restrictions to encourage even more the need to buy unlocks from the GTN ( or with CC ).

 

Also look at removing the referral program because I would wager most CC generated via "referrals" aren't referrals as much as they are from players already playing clicking a link ( or at least adjust it to get rid of the loophole ).

Then you can say all CC unlocks had real cash paid for them.

 

The packs/crates etc. is another great example, more people able to spend credits on them is more demand thus supply need increase to meet this and supply can only be increased by spending cash.

 

Conclusion ... credit cap is detrimental to the revenue of this game imo unless I'm missing something.

[Elric_VIII]

I think you're jumping the gun here, and simply lambasting people for disagreeing with your opinion, which, in turn, makes your own discussion rather irrational.

 

The thing you need to realize is exactly what was said before. By giving F2P and Preferred members more freedoms and fewer restrictions, it will cause a downturn in subs, because there won't be any reason to sub. These restrictions are in place, because they have to be, in order for the company to have a chance at remaining profitable (which, above all else, is the priority).

 

Another reason for credit caps, is because of gold farmers and credit sellers. It doesn't eliminate the problem (as evidenced by their existence across almost all games with a multiplayer community), but it does keep the problem somewhat in check.

 

I'm talking about comments that clearly miss the point beyond the title:

"As this thread basically proves, the credit cap is a big deal and that's one of the big reasons why it makes sense to have it, because it should mean something to be a sub and there should be a significant reason for people to sub."

 

Or passive-aggressively accusing me of being cheap: "One, I'm not a cheap skate."

 

 

I don't think I should get everything for free (especially since I'm planning on paying via CC unlocks). Having to buy passes for endgame content and not getting the latest content right away makes sense to me. Suffocating the economy does not. And once again, I am perfectly willing to "buy" this game via cartel unlocks. I don't expect everything free. They are not going to force me to sub with just the credit cap, so they are not getting that either way. What they are doing is potentially losing my business if that inconvenience is enough to make me seek a less limited game. The whole idea of varied pricing structures is to attract business from different levels on consumers. That's why sales work.

[Rankyn]

Translation: I want to keep playing the game without restrictions but I don't want to pay for it.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Translation: I want to keep playing the game without restrictions but I don't want to pay for it.

 

Your ability to translate is about as poor as your reading ability it would seem.

[Elric_VIII]

Conclusion ... credit cap is detrimental to the revenue of this game imo unless I'm missing something.

 

This is my point right here. I'm actively buying things that cost CC with credits. This creates demand for something that SOMEONE purchased with cash. But instead you have clueless people like this spouting out their canned responses:

 

Translation: I want to keep playing the game without restrictions but I don't want to pay for it.

[branmakmuffin]

Conclusion ... credit cap is detrimental to the revenue of this game imo unless I'm missing something.

You are. As noted, making the game easier to play for free does not encourage people to subscribe, it encourages them to play for free.

 

I mean, TBH, they are actually LOSING business from me if the stuff I can buy as preferred makes it such a hassle to play.

They are losing your "business" as a Preferred player? Dos not compute. And don't say you are prepared to spend oodles of cash on CC. If you were going to do that, it'd be cheaper to simply subscribe.

Edited March 13, 2016 by branmakmuffin

[Elric_VIII]

You are. As noted, making the game easier to play for free does not encourage people to subscribe, it encourages them to play for free.

 

 

They are losing your "business" as a Preferred player? Dos not compute. And don't say you are prepared to spend oodles of cash on CC. If you were going to do that, it'd be cheaper to simply subscribe.

 

Some cash spent is more than no cash spent. It's not up for debate whether I'm subbing or not. I'm not sure how anyone can think $15/month is a reasonable price if all you want is credits. Do you understand how microtransaction games work?

[branmakmuffin]

Some cash spent is more than no cash spent. It's not up for debate whether I'm subbing or not. I'm not sure how anyone can think $15/month is a reasonable price if all you want is credits.

If you think it's not reasonable, that's your call. You'll just have to live with the cred cap and use escrow transfers. Or quit playing entirely. Whatever works best for you. They are not going to raise the cred cap. Why should they?

 

TOR is not a primarily MT-supported game, so whatever I may or may not know about MTs is irrelevant to this discussion.

[Elric_VIII]

If you think it's not reasonable, that's your call. You'll just have to live with the cred cap and use escrow transfers. Or quit playing entirely. Whatever works best for you. They are not going to raise the cred cap. Why should they?

 

TOR is not a primarily MT-supported game, so whatever I may or may not know about MTs is irrelevant to this discussion.

 

I don't want them to increase it. I want to pay them for an increase.

[beattlebilly]

Do people even bother reading past the title? I am a sub and I plan on purchasing CC to get the various unlocks. Something as paltry as a cred cap isn't going to keep me paying $15 a month while I might not get to play for weeks at a time. I guess you guys can have fun foaming at the mouth because I brought up what is apparently still a hot-button topic. I mean, TBH, they are actually LOSING business from me if the stuff I can buy as preferred makes it such a hassle to play.

 

I think the fact that only subs can post here mean you guys just have a sever case of incestuous amplification. So much for rational discussion.

 

How many months do you plan on not having your sub active?

 

How many CCs do you need to purchase to buy all the unlocks you plan on using while you're not subbed?

 

Also, I think the credit cap is in place to discourage credit sellers from trading the credits in game

Edited March 13, 2016 by beattlebilly

[Jeweledleah]

Some cash spent is more than no cash spent. It's not up for debate whether I'm subbing or not. I'm not sure how anyone can think $15/month is a reasonable price if all you want is credits. Do you understand how microtransaction games work?

 

they probably don't.

 

there is a lot of mytoptic outlook on this forums when it comes to f2p and its implementation.

 

but here's an example.

 

right now, I'm playing World of warcraft for "free" in fact, I'm playing it for "free" on 2 accounts. its not actualy free though and off my continued patronage, Blizzard ultimately makes $40 a month instead of $30. because I'm allowed to play for "free" through the use of in game currency purchased subscription.

 

do they care that this $40 a month doesn't come out of MY personal pockets? I guarantee you - not in a slightest. they only care that they are getting $40 a month that they wouldn't have gotten had they not implemented this opportunity. (best case scenario, they would have gotten 30 a month, but.. I'll be honest, if I didn't have opportunity to subscribe via gold? I wouldn't be subscribing)

 

now, while I do think with currently inflation preferred credit cap is far too low, my personal pet peeve for f2p preferred restrictions is inability to accept some of the quest rewards. especially now that so many more quests reward those particular quest rewards (boxes, I'm talking about boxes)

 

but even that personal pet peeve aside.. bioware is missing a great deal of potential profit by both restricting credit limits this much AND not allowing more unlocks to be purchased individually. selling restrictions removals (like unifying colors and hiding headpiece) was the step in a right direction... and then they royally screwed it over. instead we get.... gambling boxes inside of gambling boxes :/

 

oh well.

 

P.S. absolute best way to discourage credit sellers is to make them obsolete by making a more robust sanctioned credit to services exchange system. why go through illegal and dangerous means to get something, when you can just do so without inviting identity and credit card theft?

Edited March 13, 2016 by Jeweledleah

[Kagekeishu]

Due to my inability to play as much I am getting ready to become a premium member from a subscriber for a while. It seems to me that nearly everything you get by subscribing can be attained via CC, essentially giving you the option of buying it all in one lump, rather than periodic subscription. I am curious why the credit cap is the thing that you cannot buy outright. It will certainly be annoying, but it won't stop me from ending my sub.

 

It just strikes me as odd that they would choose something that limits the in-game economy. I buy cartel packs with credits from time to time, and I'm sure there are preferred members who would like to, as well. I feel like persuading people to sub can't be the only reason for this. Why do they have that terrible temporary escro withdrawal rather than a purches (or multiple) to up the cap?

 

Well lets see... First thing - yes I've read the first post... There it was said that the OP finds it odd that BW has a restriction for F2Ps and Prefs in place which limits the in-game economy and that if those players would be able to remove it via a CM-Unlock a lot of them would buy more things which would improve the economy...

 

As it was already mentioned by others here this would lead to different things:

• an increase in Bot- and Farm-Accounts (because easier to create and no need to pay for them)
  
• less subs because one important reason to have a sub (no credit cap) is missing
  
• prices for CM-Unlocks will increase beyond reasonable Limits
  
• and some more
  

 

It was also mentioned that if there would be no cap for F2Ps and Prefs CM-Unlocks would be sold more often... Well that maybe right but only from the point of view of someone who wants to make a huge fortune because he is selling unlocks for 1mio. Credits and more... Sorry to say it but the result from that way of thinking will only be an increase in the demand for credits and therefore extand the market for Bots / Farmers / Sellers..!

If someone would really want to sell those CM-Unlocks he would put them up on the GTN for a price F2Ps and Prefs could afford with their cap..! But as greedy and arrogant as some players are they always want as much as they can get from someone ...

The best and easiest thing which could be done to increase the demand or to put it in an other way to increase the amount of unlocks sold via the GTN would be that BW puts price limits on those CM-Unlocks... For example all CM-Unlocks can't be sold for more than 250.000 credits via the GTN and personal trades... That would be the best way (but I can already see the next posts here mentioning that I am just stupid and that this will destroy the market and so on because the only thing important is to get as much credits from someone as possible )...

 

At the end the conclusion would be a fact already mentioned by *Eanelinea*...

 

This game may have a free to play option, but it is not a true free to play game, never was and never will be. They WANT you to subscribe. Think of free to play as a trial. Yes, you get to level from 1-50 but you must buy everything else.

 

You must not like it but it is a fact..! BW is a company and their goal is to earn profit therefore they lure people by giving them some scraps and if they want more they will have to pay for them (Unlocks via CM or a Sub)...

 

This whole *F2P = I can play a game for free, use and do everything and don't have to pay for anything* thinking is just entirely stupid... You always have to pay for something with something - money, goods or something else..!

 

 

Best regards

Kage

[MeNaCe-NZ]

You are. As noted, making the game easier to play for free does not encourage people to subscribe, it encourages them to play for free.

 

But it won't be any easier to play for free will it? It will just be easier to buy items from within the game and the majority of those items ideally come from real cash.

 

For example if I want to run operations and PVP all week long I need to buy an unlock each week and someone has had to pay real money for the CC to buy those ( well they can get them from referral too but that whole system is flawed ).

The trick for BW is ensuring the real world $ equivalent to the amount of CC required for the unlocks is more than the price of subscription. Thus those that are indeed encouraged to play for free means for them to do so requires more money being given to BW as a result of them doing playing for free.

 

With such a model I would get more strict on the preferred/f2p content too personally to the point I would have it as no operations/pvp at all without an unlock and have the artifact gear unlock as a weekly pass too thus you can simply sub and bypass it all or get ready to pay a lot of credits which is fine as I see it for BW if someone else is spending the real money for that to be achieved.

 

 

 

They are losing your "business" as a Preferred player? Dos not compute. And don't say you are prepared to spend oodles of cash on CC. If you were going to do that, it'd be cheaper to simply subscribe.

 

The idea is more people with the qability to buy CM items for credits means more CM items being purchased from those that turn them to credits.

 

It does of course rely on the idea that the supply would increase and isn't actual at some sort of maximum value already ...

[TX_Angel]

If you could permanently unlock the cred cap, the game would lose subscribers by the boatload.

 

If you don't want to subscribe, OP, that's your choice, but making the game easier to play for free doesn't help anyone but people who want to play for free.

 

I don't often agree with bran, but in this case, he is spot on the money.

 

I would unsub in a heartbeat if the credit cap went away. I'm very wealthy in the game, I could afford to buy unlocks and anything else I needed for the rest of the life of the game, if I could just avoid the credit cap.

 

So, um... Hey, lets get rid of the credit cap!