Does anyone think the cartel market is killing this game?

[Andryah]

Agreed. The F2P model and subsequent blatant cash grabs via the cartel market are both really unhealthy for the long term benefit of the game and its players. Maybe the cartel market is enough of a band aid to keep the game running, but for what? It's not going anywhere. It's underfunded and understaffed, sees close to no content updates and currently only serves the greed of EA, rather than being treated with the respect it deserves.

 

SWTOR has had so much wasted potential, and the cartel market just seems like the culmination of mishandling.

 

If they had not moved to a flexible access model (which is what their F2P model is) back in late 2012.. the game would have not lasted this long.

 

Note: almost the entire MMO genre has moved to one form flexible access model... I doubt we will even see any new MMOs that are subscriber only business models.. so I'm guessing your time left playing MMOs is in sunset.

 

So... since you feel F2P killed it long ago...and you feel victimized by alleged "cash grabs".... why are you here?

 

As for the Cartel Market...... the nice thing about it.. it is possible to play this game and possess every item they release in the CM... and never pay the company an extra dime of real money. You should try it. Some MMOs seal off "market" content behind BoP or some version of BoL.... but SWTOR has kept it free market open.. allowing players to freely trade in CM items (which is to everyone's benefit). Not to mention... at any given time... about 1/3rd of the billions of CCs in circulation with players are actually not purchased with incremental real money... because they are freely granted to subscribers as well as issued in large quantities via the long running referral program.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Andryah

[lightSaberAddiCt]

If they had not moved to a flexible access model (which is what their F2P model is) back in late 2012.. the game would have not lasted this long.

 

Note: almost the entire MMO genre has moved to one form flexible access model... I doubt we will even see any new MMOs that are subscriber only business models.. so I'm guessing your time left playing MMOs is in sunset.

 

So... since you feel F2P killed it long ago...and you feel victimized by alleged "cash grabs".... why are you here?

 

As for the Cartel Market...... the nice thing about it.. it is possible to play this game and possess every item they release in the CM... and never pay the company an extra dime of real money. You should try it. Some MMOs seal off "market" content behind BoP or some version of BoL.... but SWTOR has kept it free market open.. allowing players to freely trade in CM items (which is to everyone's benefit). Not to mention... at any given time... about 1/3rd of the billions of CCs in circulation with players are actually not purchased with incremental real money... because they are freely granted to subscribers as well as issued in large quantities via the long running referral program.

 

Not to mention, if you are a sub (which the OP is since he is posting here) the CM is an easy to get rich with your 500cc monthly grant. Instead of the OP complaining about it, he should learn how to use it for his/her benefit.

[Decxswx]

I should also add that Subscriptions model this game currently has is also questionable after buying say 2 or 3 months of sub you shouldn't be restricted anymore. Just give current subscribers small benefits like early access to expansions for 1 month or a discount in cartel market. Like the ESO or GW2 model

[PennyAnn]

I should also add that Subscriptions model this game currently has is also questionable after buying say 2 or 3 months of sub you shouldn't be restricted anymore. Just give current subscribers small benefits like early access to expansions for 1 month or a discount in cartel market. Like the ESO or GW2 model

 

There are zero restrictions when you buy a sub - from day 1 of sub, not after 2 or 3 months. If you are suggesting you should no longer be restricted when you QUIT paying for a sub then you are out of your mind. You do get some of the restrictions lifted when you quit paying a sub and are granted "preferred" instead of going back to "free to play", but no company in their right mind is going to give you full access for free.

 

Subscribers DO get benefits: monthly cartel coin grants, they are always granted FREE expansions and early access to those (the problem is, they haven't done an expansion in a year and a half), and access to game content that no one else has (raids, unlimited PvP, etc).

 

So... sorry but you are just asking for things that you already get as a subscriber.

 

Also, to the OP: The Cartel Market is doing the opposite of killing this game - it is the only reason this game is still here. Be thankful for the Cartel Market and the existence of the players who shell out money to buy things from it. They are all that is keeping this game around right now.

 

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[Trollokdamus]

I feel like the CM is largely responsible for the game still being alive at this point. Without it, SWTOR would be long gone. Thing is, character progression needs to be a thing, in one form or another. So you want to either focus on providing your players with quality and abundant end-game content, or an abundance of cosmetics to collect. Assuming Bioware doesn't have resources and manpower for the former anymore, the latter is their only option. Edited July 30, 2018 by Trollokdamus

[xordevoreaux]

There are zero restrictions when you buy a sub - from day 1 of sub, not after 2 or 3 months. If you are suggesting you should no longer be restricted when you QUIT paying for a sub then you are out of your mind. You do get some of the restrictions lifted when you quit paying a sub and are granted "preferred" instead of going back to "free to play", but no company in their right mind is going to give you full access for free.

 

I must agree with Penny's assessment. Wanting to retain game features when no longer paying for them won't happen. Welcome to the world of preferred unlocks.

Edited July 30, 2018 by xordevoreaux

[Tenacity]

The problem is that basic game features were restricted from f2p when that model was implemented. Rather than giving bonuses or incentives to people who subscribe, they simply revoked access to basic features for those who dont.

 

You can call it semantics all you want, but it matters. ESO doesnt suddenly remove the ability to use chat channels, or dye stations, or restrict your skill points or crafting options simply because you dont subscribe. Instead, they give subscribers a monthly allotment of store credit (15$ worth, instead of the worthless 5$ that swtor gives), as well as perks like unlimited storage space for crafting materials and free access to dlc content.

 

Instead of incentivizing customers to subscribe, bioware is punishing those who dont. It's an altogether different approach to this business model, and one that I do not believe earns them any loyalty whatsoever from their past customers.

 

 

On an additional note, swtor prevents anyone from even posting to the forums if they arent a subscriber. No other game that I've had experience with does that - even if your subscription lapses you're still able to gain full access to community features. This is just another example of how bioware is going about this business model in all of the wrong ways.

[DanNV]

Put bluntly: Absent the Cartel Market -- this game would have shuttered completely several years ago. I'm too lazy to find it (it's 6 a.m. on the West Coast of the USA and I'm on my first cup of coffee), but I remember one developer quipping a couple years ago something to the effect of (i.e., I'm paraphrasing), "yeah, right, let's get rid of a system that brings in millions of dollars a year."

 

Dasty

 

Unfortunately, this fits with what I've seen as well. The crazy part is they also reported that subs spent way more on the CM than FTP players. But the CM is what's kept the lights on for a long time now and is part of what EA required to keep the game going after launch crashed.

[Phahe]

Agreed. The F2P model and subsequent blatant cash grabs via the cartel market are both really unhealthy for the long term benefit of the game and its players. Maybe the cartel market is enough of a band aid to keep the game running, but for what? It's not going anywhere. It's underfunded and understaffed, sees close to no content updates and currently only serves the greed of EA, rather than being treated with the respect it deserves.

 

SWTOR has had so much wasted potential, and the cartel market just seems like the culmination of mishandling.

 

I have to agreed with you. Example: no F2P, buy this game for $XY, and you have to earn items from the CM with missions. ESO give you more things, "freedom" to the F2P players. Gather, loot credits in SWTOR .... but GM is not cheap. You wrong: " the cartel market just seems like the culmination of mishandling" ... that is not mishanded, never was.

[Holocron]

Sadly I feel the game is going more and more towards life support, and the flurry of cartel sales are what's keeping things afloat, as well as the last ditch effort to get as much money as possible. Look how much effort they have put into the Rishi stronghold, and getting it right. We would have never seen those types of changes before if they were secure in their jobs.

 

It's sad too, cause I really love this game, but it's hard to ignore the signs. Hell, look at how dead the forums are already. It never used to be this way. Honestly, I'm already queuing up for my next big mmo Ashes of Creation. Which is shaping up to be a truly complex and open world mmo very much like SWG/EQ, and likely cause it even has devs from both.

 

I love SWTOR, and I will be here till they turn the servers off, but I fear 6.0 or shortly after will be the end. It's sad cause SWTOR has so much untapped potential.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Holocron

[Karameck]

Sadly I feel the game is going more and more towards life support, and the flurry of cartel sales are what's keeping things afloat, as well as the last ditch effort to get as much money as possible. Look how much effort they have put into the Rishi stronghold, and getting it right. We would have never seen those types of changes before if they were secure in their jobs. .

I think it's a complete non-sequitur to assume that listening to consumer feedback means they are insecure in their jobs.

[Holocron]

I think it's a complete non-sequitur to assume that listening to consumer feedback means they are insecure in their jobs.

 

When in the entirety of swtor have they ever been this invested in a trivial aspect of the game like this? Now all of sudden they care what players think/want? They have only recently become this way, because every little thing counts now, and that to me implies a lot.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Holocron

[Quraswren]

When in the entirety of swtor have they ever been this invested in a trivial aspect of the game like this? Now all of sudden they care what players think/want? They have only recently become this way, because every little thing counts now, and that to me implies a lot.

 

I think that is more correct than most want to believe.

[Karameck]

When in the entirety of swtor have they ever been this invested in a trivial aspect of the game like this? Now all of sudden they care what players think/want? They have only recently become this way, because every little thing counts now, and that to me implies a lot.

SHs make them money, and from my understanding they only recently really started working heavily with the PTS server. Looks like the means may be the change, not the motivation.