Suggestion: Have a B2P option for Age of Conan

[ExileOfPatria]

Have a B2P (Buy 2 Play) option for Age of Conan

I have noticed a couple of f2p threads, but I think it would make more sense if AoC offered a B2P option IN ADDITION to the f2p and subscription. I really can't justify paying a subscription of this game, specially in light of the recent announcement from another MMO going B2P. I was a subscriber to AoC for ~4.5 years and I would return to play on a casual basis, but this f2p option is way over priced to buy passes and, since I would only like to play on a casual basis, I do not feel it justified to subscribe.

Basically the current F2P model in AoC is just a glorified game trial. Once you reach the end game you really have no other option but to subscribe since the 3 and 7 day passes pricing makes no sense (even for a casual gamer)

-----------------
350 Vistrix - 7 Day pass
550 BRC - 7 Day pass
550 Thoth-Amon - 7 Day pass
-----------------
1450
x4 = 5800/mth

$48.33/mth,
unless I'm missing something why would anyone pay that? even half that is well over the monthly sub cost, and this is not including the Khitai passes.


If they had a B2P option geared towards causal gamers they would benefit by attracting new casual players. There are so many mmo why should someone dedicate themselves to this one, a 6 and half year old mmo. There are so many other mmos with much more open B2P and F2P models.


I like to suggested to have a ONE TIME special offer to UNLOCK all the solo content in the game and greatly reduce the cost of the multi-player content. This special offer could be purchased from the online store with the following features:
- 70% discount off of the 3-day and 7-day passes
- Full access the the Khitai Adventure Zones
- Remove the restrictions on: Mount Training, Character Slots, Gold Per Character, Alternate Advancement (allowing it's gained through normal game play, but not off-line)
- maybe include a bag upgrade and a special mount.


Additionally have all new and current content purchasable
Dragon's Spine as a DLC for $10
The Savage Cost of Turan as a DLC for $10

The Benefits of a Subscription could be
- 10% discount on items on the store
- AA off-line leveling
- Veteran points
- Bonus Points
- Early access to new content
- Occasional loyalty bonuses

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of the top rated games are B2P, and are successful. (see => http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/s...nk/sOrder/desc)

TSW (Buy: $30, DLC ~$10, subscription optional) - if you subscribe you get bonuses of $10 bonus points each month, xp booster, monthly bonus item, 10% discount on store. Purchases of DLC to access new content.
GW2 (Buy: ~$60, NO subscription) - No content is lock off, recently announced expansion
ESO (Buy: $60, starting March 17th subscription optional) - if you subscribe you get 1500 points each mth, xp boost, and free access to upcoming DLC. Future DLC will be purchasable with points.

* all have in-game stores that for the most part have cosmetic items.

B2P - is good because you pay for what you are getting, the game and DLC are clearly described to you and its features. Also takes less pressure off of the online store.
Subscription Only - You are paying money to a company on the hopes they will provide good content in the future, often times you are just paying them to keep the game going and to FIX the game, with hit and miss content updates
F2P - just becomes a giant cash shop, with P2W items

B2P with Sub optional - positively motivates people to subscribe by giving additional Benifits to having the subscription
F2P with Sub optional - negatively motivates people to subscribe by locking off Features / Content of the game

Age of Conan
is a cross between Subscription and F2P - Sure the subscription discounts are great (upto 45% off) but you need to commit ~$100 up front, with the hopes they provide good content in the future (historically from my point of view that has been hit and miss, aka shires of boring). AoC is a major cash shop mentality with some P2W items. The negatively motivate players to subscribe by limiting features and access to end game content, with EXTREMELY over priced unlocks. All this does is punish a player for Not subscribing, giving very little wiggle room between a glorified game trial and a fully committed subscriber to the game.

If AoC had a B2P option (of some sort) it would positively motivate players to become subscribers (allowing for a causal gamer option), giving Funcom some revenue from the purchase of a one-time unlock, taking pressure off of the online store. They could continue to make money from DLC allowing the company to focus their marketing to bring in new customers.

[-Deukalion-]

Have a B2P (Buy 2 Play) option for Age of Conan

I have noticed a couple of f2p threads, but I think it would make more sense if AoC offered a B2P option IN ADDITION to the f2p and subscription. I really can't justify paying a subscription of this game, specially in light of the recent announcement from another MMO going B2P. I was a subscriber to AoC for ~4.5 years and I would return to play on a casual basis, but this f2p option is way over priced to buy passes and, since I would only like to play on a casual basis, I do not feel it justified to subscribe.

Basically the current F2P model in AoC is just a glorified game trial. Once you reach the end game you really have no other option but to subscribe since the 3 and 7 day passes pricing makes no sense (even for a casual gamer)

-----------------
350 Vistrix - 7 Day pass
550 BRC - 7 Day pass
550 Thoth-Amon - 7 Day pass
-----------------
1450
x4 = 5800/mth

$48.33/mth,
unless I'm missing something why would anyone pay that? even half that is well over the monthly sub cost, and this is not including the Khitai passes.


If they had a B2P option geared towards causal gamers they would benefit by attracting new casual players. There are so many mmo why should someone dedicate themselves to this one, a 6 and half year old mmo. There are so many other mmos with much more open B2P and F2P models.


I like to suggested to have a ONE TIME special offer to UNLOCK all the solo content in the game and greatly reduce the cost of the multi-player content. This special offer could be purchased from the online store with the following features:
- 70% discount off of the 3-day and 7-day passes
- Full access the the Khitai Adventure Zones
- Remove the restrictions on: Mount Training, Character Slots, Gold Per Character, Alternate Advancement (allowing it's gained through normal game play, but not off-line)
- maybe include a bag upgrade and a special mount.


Additionally have all new and current content purchasable
Dragon's Spine as a DLC for $10
The Savage Cost of Turan as a DLC for $10

The Benefits of a Subscription could be
- 10% discount on items on the store
- AA off-line leveling
- Veteran points
- Bonus Points
- Early access to new content
- Occasional loyalty bonuses

Also, i want an appartment in dubai for 70% discount, coz its way to expensive. And i want food for the rest of my life for 300€ one time payment.

[ExileOfPatria]

$48.33/mth (just for the T1 to T3 7 day unlocks, not including Khitai unlocks)

with 70% off it would work out to $14.50 which is the cost of a monthly sub
48.33 - (48.33 * 0.7 = 33.83) = 14.499 (so $14.50)

So I think a 70% discount is reasonable

[Rolfmario]

Also, i want an appartment in dubai for 70% discount, coz its way to expensive. And i want food for the rest of my life for 300€ one time payment.

He has a point. Game is way to expensive to offer less than most other MMOs out there.
To stay competitive against other MMOs something has to be done to attract more players.

But to me it seems the developers has jumped the ship and there is no further support. I have been asking for support for high end computers since the release and made a joke that DX11 will be out before they are done working on DX10 and soon we have DX12. Still no support for eyefinity or nvidia surround, and with 4K screens and 21:9 screens getting more popular and still no support. And let's not get started on SLI or CF...

Shame since I really like the design of the game and hope there will be a sequel to this game. But next time more optimized.

[Fass]

$48.33/mth (just for the T1 to T3 7 day unlocks, not including Khitai unlocks)

with 70% off it would work out to $14.50 which is the cost of a monthly sub
48.33 - (48.33 * 0.7 = 33.83) = 14.499 (so $14.50)

So I think a 70% discount is reasonable

If you seriously buy access passes over subing then.. I'm speechless. It's "supposed" to be expensive to "force" people into paying a sub. Lowering the prices of access passes would kill the purpose of paying a subscription.

But if you prefer to pay roughly 50$ a month instead of what is it? 13?15$? a month then go a head but don't complain because NOTHING is stopping you from subbing

[Roragar]

He has a point. Game is way to expensive to offer less than most other MMOs out there.
To stay competitive against other MMOs something has to be done to attract more players.

But to me it seems the developers has jumped the ship and there is no further support. I have been asking for support for high end computers since the release and made a joke that DX11 will be out before they are done working on DX10 and soon we have DX12. Still no support for eyefinity or nvidia surround, and with 4K screens and 21:9 screens getting more popular and still no support. And let's not get started on SLI or CF...

Shame since I really like the design of the game and hope there will be a sequel to this game. But next time more optimized.

Those technical aspects aside I would like to know what it doesnt offer?

Wildstar in all its new found 4k glory is as dead as dodo, raids, dungeons, crafting...mmo standard
Neverwinter isnt even really an mmo, more an mmo/arpg lite with a huge push for the cash store
ArcheAge...lol
WOW The standard fleshed out goodness you would expect from an mmo....oh & minions
Rift I would say was the best f2p mmo out there but Trions shift towards lockboxes & in game store have all but nailed that
GW2 Probably the best option via the B2P option but the dungeons are lacking, new expansion hopefully will give it a kick.

Apart from GW2 all of those above will cost you more if you either sub or spend monthly on the cash shop, AoC with its last offer of 16 months for £68 equates to a whole $6.50 / £4.20 a month
All of the above have bugs/glitches/exploits thrown in for good measure as well so no difference there.

For its age & Funcoms current financial position Im more than happy to throw them some money to keep this game alive, none of us really know whats going on behind the scenes but its fair to say that AoC is in some form of intermittent life support.
Which due to a combination of extremely bad marketing & not being the "in" thing its unlikely ever to fully recover.

The one thing AoC doesnt have that im extremely glad for is dwarves with golden crossbows, Bear shamans with blunderbus..oh god please keep this low fantasy setting alive!

[ExileOfPatria]

If you seriously buy access passes over subing then.. I'm speechless. It's "supposed" to be expensive to "force" people into paying a sub. Lowering the prices of access passes would kill the purpose of paying a subscription.

But if you prefer to pay roughly 50$ a month instead of what is it? 13?15$? a month then go a head but don't complain because NOTHING is stopping you from subbing

It is amazing how a person can miss the point i'm clearly trying to make ......there is NO Point in paying that ridiculous price for the unlocks! .....THAT IS THE POINT!

Also in the light of recent announcement and with other games with F2P models,
why should I pay a sub (or be "forced" to sub) if I would only want to play on a casual basis.
Part of the reason I don't want to sub is I don't want to be feeding Funcom money so that can put it into the development of another game.
I sub to this game for 4.5yrs from the beginning and I would say we got some really hit and Miss content updates over that time period. The other game that recently announced F2P has accomplished more in that 1yr then AoC has done in 6.8yrs.

If the unlocks where more reasonably priced I would have no issue with playing this game on a casual basis, and if I become more involved then it would make sense to sub.
But this SO CALLED free-to-play model in AoC is, in reality, is NOT free-to-play ...its a glorified game trial with over price unlocks.

[cins]

excessive silly

How much money do you think they really make from those "unlocks"? I'm gonna bet close to zero, because even a 2nd grader would understand enough maths to tell shop prices are bullshit. And, speaking as an expayer froob myself, I see no reason to sub to AoC with so many other freeish games out there. Almost every F2P MMO has one thing they do better than AoC and I just go play them when I want some of that specific thing, and FC gets zero money from me since forever.

They could maybe wring some cash out of me if there was a permanent unlocking of, for example, Grasslands outdoors or BRC for a sane number of euros. Because the only thing their idiotic pass prices are "forcing" me to do is to play DCUO/DDO/CO/NWO/Rift, none of which I paid any money for and had dozens of hours of entertainment.

[serow081]

It's the same with SWTOR, sort of an extended free trial. Sub for full experience.

[-Deukalion-]

If you seriously buy access passes over subing then.. I'm speechless. It's "supposed" to be expensive to "force" people into paying a sub. Lowering the prices of access passes would kill the purpose of paying a subscription.

But if you prefer to pay roughly 50$ a month instead of what is it? 13?15$? a month then go a head but don't complain because NOTHING is stopping you from subbing

Inreed, besides i thinking sub is cheap compared to otherntypesmof entertainment. Go to a cinema and you pay 12 euro for only 2 hour of entertainment. I happily pay aoc sub considering the time i spend enjoying it.