Sub companions with CC?

[Ratajack]

I am not really attached to Rico or Shae because of anthropomorphic companions "stance" which consists of staring at you non stop and bent over oddly if elevated above you.

 

However I do feel that companions that are purchased with cc or via subscriber gift should come pre-loaded with a substantial (if not maxed out) amount of influence.

 

Unfortunately, that would probably fall into the "pay to win" category.

[ArkhaanPremiare]

Let's look at the BONUS chapter.

 

The forums were FULL of people openly bragging that they were unsubscribing after chapter 9 and would subscribe again for ONE MONTH after chapter 16 was released. They openly admitted they know they weren't going to get the BONUS chapter, but they felt it would be garbage and weren't concerned about not getting it.

 

Then the BONUS chapter is released, and it was MUCH better then anyone ever expected it to be.

 

Now you have those same people who were openly bragging about unsubscribing crying "FOUL!!!" and demanding that BW let them "buy" the BONUS chapter for a PITTANCE.

 

If BW allowed them to do that, then going forward, there would be no "subscribe at this time to get this reward" incentive. The message that BW would be sending by making ANY subscriber reward available again would be "Don't worry about subscribing now, even though the terms and conditions say you have to be subscribed on X date. Let the reward be released, see if you like it, then if you do, cry "foul" on the forums until we let you buy it for a pittance."

 

As previously stated, making any past subscriber rewards available again would only undermine any future subscriber rewards.

 

You can try to deny this fact all you want, but the truth remains.

 

How is getting the reward months ahead and for free not incentive enough? Face it, this isn't about having incentive to stay subbed. Most of the people here talking about "incentive" know damn well they'd resub even if there was no reward. This is just your typical "I don't want other players to have this because blah blah blah" childish nonsense. There is no reason or logic behind your argument.

[Ratajack]

How is getting the reward months ahead and for free not incentive enough? Face it, this isn't about having incentive to stay subbed. Most of the people here talking about "incentive" know damn well they'd resub even if there was no reward. This is just your typical "I don't want other players to have this because blah blah blah" childish nonsense. There is no reason or logic behind your argument.

 

The reasoning and logic have been explained numerous times.

 

The fact that some want to ignore and dismiss those reasons because those reasons do not mesh with their personal desires makes those reasons no less true.

 

In the end, though, it really will likely make no difference. BW has a history of not making subscriber rewards available again, by any means This means that those who did NOT meet the criteria for any specific subscriber rewards will likely have to learn to live with those rewards, while those that DID meet the criteria will continue to enjoy the rewards that they earned and are entitled to have.

[casirabit]

No it wouldn't. This is pure nonsense. Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay an extra $15-$25 bucks for a companion or jetpack when they can get it for free after subscribing? You have the same incentive to sub as if it's not made available later, and that's that you don't have to pay for it. You're getting it for FREE. F.R.E.E. What is so hard to understand about that?

 

Except that it is not actually free. You had to pay for a sub. Sure you got something more but if it was actually free then you wouldn't have had to have a sub and everyone would have got it if it was actually free.

 

If you didn't sub then if they decide to let others get it pay the price people had to pay depending on the terms of the said reward. If you had to sub for say 6 months to get the reward then to be available in the cartel shop it should cost the price of a 6 month sub.

 

It is sort of like going to the store and buying one item and getting it for free when you are not actually getting the item for free, you get a deal sure, but you still have to spend money to get the item.

[casirabit]

How is getting the reward months ahead and for free not incentive enough? Face it, this isn't about having incentive to stay subbed. Most of the people here talking about "incentive" know damn well they'd resub even if there was no reward. This is just your typical "I don't want other players to have this because blah blah blah" childish nonsense. There is no reason or logic behind your argument.

 

Actually sometimes a person is debating whether to remain sub for a particular time and this may have encouraged them to stay sub. I know I debated whether to unsub for a few months when they announced Shae would be a reward so I stayed subbed even though I didn't play much at the time.

[Tfranco]

Do you think they will add the sub by date companions for CC eventually? Feels pretty crappy missing out on baller companions because I wasn't subbed at the time due to real life. Ultimately the rewards are to get subs which are money but if you put them for CC equivalent to a month's sub...you still make money. I was here for Nico but I missed HK-55 and Shae due to my job.

 

You missed it. Deal with it. I've missed a lot of stuff in mmos due to not being subscribed or not playing. I missed the dvl companion, I missed the hk chapter, I missed maybe 5 years worth of anniversary events on wow, I missed every exclusive on gw2, but that doesn't mean I deserve to get them when I start playing again and God knows I wouldn't pay for them.

 

Besides there is 0 story relevance to these companions. Hk just has a "talk with me while I reboot" mission, you make a drink for Nico then he never does anything again, you have a small convo with shae then she never talks again.

 

I'm glad you chose rl over a game, but that doesn't mean you should get rewards you missed out on. Paid or otherwise.

[chlds]

I hope they do, the only things I hope they don't make available are the Collectors and Pre-order editions vendors.

[ArkhaanPremiare]

Except that it is not actually free. You had to pay for a sub. Sure you got something more but if it was actually free then you wouldn't have had to have a sub and everyone would have got it if it was actually free.

 

If you didn't sub then if they decide to let others get it pay the price people had to pay depending on the terms of the said reward. If you had to sub for say 6 months to get the reward then to be available in the cartel shop it should cost the price of a 6 month sub.

 

It is sort of like going to the store and buying one item and getting it for free when you are not actually getting the item for free, you get a deal sure, but you still have to spend money to get the item.

 

You get a deal that other players aren't getting. If they want the item, they have to pay an additional fee. As for the circumstances of the reward, perhaps not every reward should be made available. Obviously the founder's title is an example or rewards where you had to be continuosly subscribed for a long period of time. But if the circumstance was that you had to be subscribed in the month of February or something simple like that, there's no reason that reward shouldn't be made available for purchase. Nobody did anything special or extra to get that reward.

Edited January 17, 2017 by ArkhaanPremiare

[Khaleg]

I completely agree. Special Snowflake Syndrome at its finest. And its not like this type of content is difficult to get, you pay a subscription for a month or two at the right time and its given to you. People who got this stuff didn't "achieve" anything, you're not showing off an in-game accomplishment with a fancy title, you were just there at the right time. Allowing this stuff to be acquirable again, for a price, doesn't hurt anyone.

 

And I think this whole issue of subscriber rewards could be easily solved for everyone if they just adopted a new subscriber rewards program that rewards everyone on an individual basis (like some other games). So instead of granting rewards to people subscribed by a certain date, it would grant rewards individually based on how many months you are subscribed in total (not consecutively). "Subscribe for X months and unlock companion Y!" The rewards would work very similarly to those of the current referral program.

 

I couldn't agree more with both of you. People who feel special/actually think they are just because they were there during a given time are beyond pathetic and pitiable.

Items/companions is one thing but I see an even bigger issue with chapters. As a paying customer I find it absolutely unacceptable and atrocious to have no access to content just because I didn't even play the game during the promotion time (in case of the HK chapter I started one month later...).

[AlienEyeTX]

I couldn't agree more with both of you. People who feel special/actually think they are just because they were there during a given time are beyond pathetic and pitiable.

Items/companions is one thing but I see an even bigger issue with chapters. As a paying customer I find it absolutely unacceptable and atrocious to have no access to content just because I didn't even play the game during the promotion time (in case of the HK chapter I started one month later...).

 

It's a stand-alone chapter. You aren't really missing out on anything. Nothing of consequence, anyway. It's all just for a laugh.

 

But now you start to see the point. You missed out on an extra shiny. You wish you hadn't missed it. Are you more or less likely to sub for the next one?

[Anduhar]

It's a stand-alone chapter. You aren't really missing out on anything. Nothing of consequence, anyway. It's all just for a laugh.

 

A stand-alone chapter is a big deal. This is actual developed content that is permanently unavailable now. Its very different than a "reward" such as a companion or a mount, its something that you actually play through. This entire game revolves around story content like this, its the main reason why many people play the game in the first place, to experience the story. And this isn't your average story chapter either, you play as another companion which has never been done before. In addition, you even gain a new companion. Brushing this off as "nothing of consequence" is simply untrue.

 

But now you start to see the point. You missed out on an extra shiny. You wish you hadn't missed it. Are you more or less likely to sub for the next one?

 

The big issue that I don't think you realize is that many people who would have paid the subscription at the right time either didn't know about the promotion or didn't start playing the game until after it happened. When the biggest reasons why people miss out on something like this are due to factors not entirely within their control, then the promotion itself is flawed. This isn't as simple as "If you want it, then you should have been there" because many people simply couldn't have been there even if they wanted it.

 

Arbitrarily granting free stuff to people for being present at the right time and then never giving anyone else a chance is not something that is "earned" or "achieved" its just a random giveaway. And yes, I know you had to pay a subscription fee, but as I said, there are plenty who would have and are willing to pay for the rewards who don't have them. Which means the main thing separating those who have it versus those who don't are things not within their control.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Anduhar

[Ratajack]

A stand-alone chapter is a big deal. This is actual developed content that is permanently unavailable now. Its very different than a "reward" such as a companion or a mount, its something that you actually play through. This entire game revolves around story content like this, its the main reason why many people play the game in the first place, to experience the story. And this isn't your average story chapter either, you play as another companion which has never been done before. In addition, you even gain a new companion. Brushing this off as "nothing of consequence" is simply untrue.

 

You have a great incentive to remain subscribed so you do not miss out on any future subscriber rewards such as the BONUS chapter, then, don't you?

 

The big issue that I don't think you realize is that many people who would have paid the subscription at the right time either didn't know about the promotion or didn't start playing the game until after it happened. When the biggest reasons why people miss out on something like this are due to factors not entirely within their control, then the promotion itself is flawed. This isn't as simple as "If you want it, then you should have been there" because many people simply couldn't have been there even if they wanted it.

 

Arbitrarily granting free stuff to people for being present at the right time and then never giving anyone else a chance is not something that is "earned" or "achieved" its just a random giveaway. And yes, I know you had to pay a subscription fee, but as I said, there are plenty who would have and are willing to pay for the rewards who don't have them.

 

It's not random chance. EVERYONE who met the criteria received that BONUS chapter. Everyone had the same opportunity to subscribe. Whether or not Johnny "knew about" the promotion does not negate the fact that he DID have the chance to subscribe and receive the reward.

 

Billy goes to the sci-fi convention and meets "Big sci-fi star" and gets his autograph.

 

Johnny does not. Johnny claims he did not know about the sci-fi convention or that "Big sci-fi star" would be there. Should the convention arrangers give Johnny a "second chance" to meet "Big sci-fi star" since Billy did "nothing special", he just happened to be in the right place at the right time?

 

Sometimes in games, as in life, things are only available for limited times and later become unavailable. That is just life.

[insanegod]

Sheesh must've triggered some people. I get that the reward was for being subbed during "x time frame". It was just a question. No entitlement felt. No entitlement deserved. I was thinking along the lines of cartel packs. They've brought packs back before that were only available during "x time frame" so if you didn't play then you were SOL. Shae Vizla was the reason I asked cause I always liked that character and it would improve my own little SWTOR experience. I play a BH so like my own little BH mentor/mandalorian buddy. Some people say "just stay subbed even when not playing". I don't feel like wasting money. Not all of us are well off enough to do such things. Priorities and all that jazz. Once again..no entitlement...it was just a question...I will live without it...guess I shouldn't discuss things on the general discussion forums...

[Ratajack]

Sheesh must've triggered some people. I get that the reward was for being subbed during "x time frame". It was just a question. No entitlement felt. No entitlement deserved. I was thinking along the lines of cartel packs. They've brought packs back before that were only available during "x time frame" so if you didn't play then you were SOL. Shae Vizla was the reason I asked cause I always liked that character and it would improve my own little SWTOR experience. I play a BH so like my own little BH mentor/mandalorian buddy. Some people say "just stay subbed even when not playing". I don't feel like wasting money. Not all of us are well off enough to do such things. Priorities and all that jazz. Once again..no entitlement...it was just a question...I will live without it...guess I shouldn't discuss things on the general discussion forums...

 

While to you, it may have been "only a question", there have been FAR too many people who feel entitled to special treatment in the form of BW changing the rules for them so they can have something they KNOW they are not entitled to have.

 

Many of those who believe BW should remain true to the clear and explicit criteria they set forth in the terms and conditions surrounding each specific subscriber reward are just tired of these demands from the entitled that keep cropping up and that no one seems to know how to use the forum search tool.

 

A simple forum search would have turned up numerous threads about limited time subscriber rewards, if people could be bothered to do a quick search. Those threads would have shown you how your "only a question" was likely to be received and also let you know that BW has a history of not making any past subscriber rewards available again, thus possibly negating the need for this thread to ask "only a question".

[casirabit]

The big issue that I don't think you realize is that many people who would have paid the subscription at the right time either didn't know about the promotion or didn't start playing the game until after it happened. When the biggest reasons why people miss out on something like this are due to factors not entirely within their control, then the promotion itself is flawed. This isn't as simple as "If you want it, then you should have been there" because many people simply couldn't have been there even if they wanted it.

 

Arbitrarily granting free stuff to people for being present at the right time and then never giving anyone else a chance is not something that is "earned" or "achieved" its just a random giveaway. And yes, I know you had to pay a subscription fee, but as I said, there are plenty who would have and are willing to pay for the rewards who don't have them. Which means the main thing separating those who have it versus those who don't are things not within their control.

 

 

My friend had unsub from the game yet she saw that there was a chapter she could have got and even the Shae companion if she had sub. So there was a notice that if sub you would receive xx even if you were not even playing the game.

 

I am not against them giving the item on the cartel shop but not for $20 as we had to keep a sub for the entire time to be eligible and that was from Jan to August so for them to make that chapter available it needs to be the same as a 6 month sub (90.00) or thereabouts.

Edited January 17, 2017 by casirabit

[Anduhar]

I am not against them giving the item on the cartel shop but not for $20 as we had to keep a sub for the entire time to be eligible and that was from Jan to August so for them to make that chapter available it needs to be the same as a 6 month sub (90.00) or thereabouts.

 

$20 seems reasonable to me, maybe a bit more. You have to realize that these rewards are bonuses for subscribing, its something that was given away for free. The main thing you're getting from the subscription are the perks of subscribing, not the companion or other rewards. If someone chooses to subscribe solely for the bonus rewards, then that's their prerogative. But the monetary cost of subscribing during the promotion is no more or less than during a time without a promotion.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Anduhar

[Ratajack]

$20 seems reasonable, maybe a bit more. You have to realize that these rewards are bonuses for subscribing, its something that was given away for free. The main thing your getting from the subscription is the perks of subscribing, not the companion or other rewards. If someone chooses to subscribe solely for the bonus rewards, then that's their prerogative. But the monetary cost of subscribing during the promotion is no more or less than during a time without a promotion.

 

The fact remains that those that actually MET the criteria to receive the BONUS chapter DID pay 8 months worth of subscription ($120 at the single month rate), so NO ONE who has access to that BONUS chapter paid less than 8 months worth of subscription.

 

IF BW were to make that BONUS chapter available again, (and they should NOT, IMO), they should charge at least $120 real money (NO CC's, as there are way too many FREE CC's floating around) and it should be closer to $130-$150. There should, after all, be some sort of cost to get a 'second chance".

 

Would Johnny be willing to pay $150 for that BONUS chapter that he KNOWS he is not entitled to have?

 

Of course, Johnny can try all he wants to justify asking to pay only a pittance of the amount paid by those who actually DID meet the requirements and are therefore entitled to have the BONUS chapter, but all he would be doing is TRYING to justify a patently unreasonable request.

[Theeko]

Agree they should even have to pay more than the required amount of months tbh, since it was there choice not to sub up

[casirabit]

$20 seems reasonable to me, maybe a bit more. You have to realize that these rewards are bonuses for subscribing, its something that was given away for free. The main thing you're getting from the subscription are the perks of subscribing, not the companion or other rewards. If someone chooses to subscribe solely for the bonus rewards, then that's their prerogative. But the monetary cost of subscribing during the promotion is no more or less than during a time without a promotion.

 

I am going to disagree. I stayed subbed during that time without actually playing as I had college and various other things which I did't get to play but I stayed subbed. I did not use my sub to play.

 

I know several people that did this as well. They stayed sub to get the reward even when they were not playing for months. One person I know was in the service at basic and therefore was unable to play during that time but kept the sub up as well.

 

So no, I don't think $20.00 is right considering that is just barely over a sub amount. If someone wants something that was available during the time it was a reward then they should be willing to pay more than just barely over the amount of a sub.

[AlienEyeTX]

Arbitrarily granting free stuff to people for being present at the right time and then never giving anyone else a chance is not something that is "earned" or "achieved" its just a random giveaway. And yes, I know you had to pay a subscription fee, but as I said, there are plenty who would have and are willing to pay for the rewards who don't have them. Which means the main thing separating those who have it versus those who don't are things not within their control.

 

But, it's not arbitrary. This is the period of time that BW wanted people subbed. They gave them an incentive to keep paying for the game. It's not about randomly throwing things at players. It's about drawing in dollars for a period of time and hopefully getting people hooked on the game.

[Ingsoc_XT]

They won't.

Never in the history of the game have they made a sub reward available by any other means.

They won't start now.

I'll bet money on it.

 

Sorry to tell you, but you lost the bet.

 

One of the KotFE sub rewards was the KOTOR inspired swoop bike Kakkran Daggerstar. To get it, you had to be subscribed on Oct 19, 2015, as can be seen below:

 

http://i58.tinypic.com/2qutanl.jpg

 

But now, anyone who buys the Knights of the Eternal Throne – Origin Eternal Empire Pack will get 60-day game time, 1,050 CCs and... the Kakkran Daggerstar! See for yourself:

 

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/star-wars/star-wars-the-old-republic/deluxe-pack

 

I got the mount as a sub reward and after buying the Origin pack, can confirm it's the same mount.

[Andryah]

Sorry to tell you, but you lost the bet.

 

One of the KotFE sub rewards was the KOTOR inspired swoop bike Kakkran Daggerstar. To get it, you had to be subscribed on Oct 19, 2015, as can be seen below:

 

http://i58.tinypic.com/2qutanl.jpg

 

But now, anyone who buys the Knights of the Eternal Throne – Origin Eternal Empire Pack will get 60-day game time, 1,050 CCs and... the Kakkran Daggerstar! See for yourself:

 

https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/star-wars/star-wars-the-old-republic/deluxe-pack

 

I got the mount as a sub reward and after buying the Origin pack, can confirm it's the same mount.

 

While the person you responded to violated the rule of pragmatism in MMO forums ---> never speak in absolutes....

 

.... How about you get back to us with more /smug when they release a limited time subscriber incentive in the form of a companion... being as that is actually the topic of this thread.

 

Personally, I don't care who gets what really, but I do care that subscriber incentives ARE .... subscriber incentives with specific start/end date requirements.

 

Demanding something because someone missed the window, or chose deliberately not to subscribe in the window dictated for the incentive ------> weak sauce entitlement syndrome.

 

I took a break during 3.0 as I was frustrated with so much studio nonsense surrounding early 3.0... so I did not get the exclusive reward for continuously subscribing since launch. But I'm not in the forum demanding and crying a river to get it some other way. And the fact that the reward was lame in my view has nothing to do with it either.

 

If they cave on this.. none of us will ever take a subscriber incentive program seriously every again... so that would be the studio well and truly shooting themselves in the foot if they do.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Andryah

[Kurj]

If the bonus companions could be customized like original companions, I would either have stayed subbed to get them or joined the folks requesting the option to purchase them by CC. As it is, I regard any companions beyond 9 (8 max on missions/crafting, 1 extra for combat) nothing but fluff.

 

I mean, who doesn't want to see Shae Vizla in a dancer's outfit?

[jimmorrisson]

Unfortunately, that would probably fall into the "pay to win" category.

Not really in regards to sub companions but in general we are in the pay to win era when there are CXP boosts in the cartel store.

[AlienEyeTX]

If the bonus companions could be customized like original companions, I would either have stayed subbed to get them or joined the folks requesting the option to purchase them by CC. As it is, I regard any companions beyond 9 (8 max on missions/crafting, 1 extra for combat) nothing but fluff.

 

I mean, who doesn't want to see Shae Vizla in a dancer's outfit?

 

I think it's funny that you picked for your example the one new companion that CAN wear different armor.