I would have been happy with a mount thrown in, or maybe that ring from the march sub (3 would be nice). Every other sub offer has offered a mount in the past as far as I can recall: why not this time?
The only reason I am buying it is for the extra time and I have been on a monthly sub waiting for this offer. If I had known that nothing would drop that I had any use for (30 gildings over 18 characters...they will be sitting in claims til something decent shows up in the list) I would have just bought the regular sub last April when I found out that Funcom was not putting out a sub offer for the anniversary month and saved the money.
Kept assuming and asking if another sub offer was coming. Thought maybe in July, since I was told wait for a holiday. Then it was November. Then put off til December.
So I bought the pvp one to stick gear I wont use on a demo or necro or something.
And, yes, I will bring up my frustration: I've been asking about the new subscription offer since I found out the March one (two months before the anniversary) was the 'anniversary one' after the fact. And was told that something was coming in November. So I've been paying a full sub hoping for some new goodies.
And got this.
Thanks Funcom.
I'm going to sound like a famous troll now, but I'm serious:
AoC is slowly falling apart, people leaving, basically no new people coming in.
If they want to ride this cashcow until it drops, make it worthwhile for people coming along.
Marketingwise this doesn't make sense either; giving people free months while you could give them free crap they really want and like, while thinking about what free crap to give them in 6 months..
Gives them more revenue, makes people resub more often, win-win.
Yeah why don't they sell us a lvl 80/10 with full PvE t4 gear, full PvP t3 gear, all AA, 1 year of extra time and why not a social pet of conan. also make it 50% discount.
lol
meh...
According to my account page, the special offers last until Jan. 2nd.
But those prices are NOT new ... the only thing "New" is the fact you get a couple extra months tagged on. Now if you want to say "well, if you do the math and spread out the cost vs. the time give; it'll be a "deal" " ... then I give you a nod and say sure. BUT what I think most of us are trying to say is that we understand the concept that was already in place with discounting for large subscription times (IE: 6-months, 12-months, etc). We're not necessarily interested in FUNCOM extending our time here for a "savings" ... because with any video game; we're not sure how long we're going to play. AND some of us are content (at least the folks I know) with the savings as it was. How about giving us real savings NOW vs. something that pays out over time. If I pay for 12-months and only PLAY for 8 or so ... then I don't really reap any of the benefits.
Give me 12-months for an additional 10-percent discount during the month of DEC. Then you have my attention and I may even buy a free level 80 ... or [2]. Thus; you make up the difference FUNCOM. We both win.
.
You know, it is sort of funny, I would be much more inclined to purchase another 12 month sub if it gave only the 12 months, and something nice like those rings from the previous offer, but account wide for all my toons. Or heck, even a nice mount for each of my characters, or the Tokens of Gilding on all my characters. The extra few months of time isn't a huge draw. Cool little stuff (account wide), especially if useful to a vet is what would really pique my interest.
But for the last couple of years, Funcom has forgotten this fact, and has switched over to giving more game time, stuff only brand new players would really care about, or an interesting single item for 1 character.
I wrote this on the TestLive forum:
"Is there, though, much difference between having 500 offline levels and instant-eighties? No. That means that the offer is not directed at veterans; but what one would expect from a company that is trying to milk out the last penny from the instant gratification generation that will get this, play for a year or less, and quit the game forever? This is what World of Warcraft did (instant maximum-level characters for cash), and Bylos just follows the strategy.
But I do believe that we still have veterans who understand that this is just a business move. I compare it to the worst pop music being distributed in every shop (most musicians do not buy it, but it sells well to indiscriminating buyer who will listen to it for a month and throw the CD away).
What effect will it bring? Fewer low-level groups and action and clueless players at 80 causing wipe-outs are the least of the evils that might happen. In real life, if a person could buy a membership in a NFL team for $100 and play against the same team on the field, how would fans and players on the field react? But I do agree that one can buy a university diploma in real life (that happens here often) that might help him ruin the economy and culture a bit but bring happiness to their loved ones with the money he earns; but money is money!
I would also suggest selling full AAs and full T5 sets (just be sure not to list the company itself in there by mistake) in the Item Shop in a year. I remember Noobcomics having the jest out of this.
http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=442
http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=443
P.S. I recently heard that SWTOR removed all feat trees: imagine Age of Conan offering to follow "General", "Possession", or "Avatar" paths without the ability to become hybrid. :-) "
The one-year offer is one-third of a monthly salary. Hmm.
- Remove daily rewards and the raid finder;
- remove membership bonuses;
- disable PVE XP for daily challenges;
- remove WBs forever on Crom;
- slow down the AA gain;
- lower the PVP XP gain or remove the streak system;
- remove AoE looting;
- add the missing mobs back to Khesh., F. of the Dead, and Eigl. Mount.;
- fix the 250+ms ping;
- take the key away from Saddur;
- revert T3, T3.5 (10.21.15), T4 (10.21.15), and GGG changes;
- remove energy and add skills (like taunt) back.
The difference between offline levels and an instant 80 is that offline levels can only be used on a toon that is level 30+. An instant 80 gets to skip those levels. But that isn't really enough for most vets I think.
I also wouldn't blame any of this on Bylos. He doesn't run the marketing department, and probably has very little sway with them.
- Remove daily rewards and the raid finder;
- remove membership bonuses;
- disable PVE XP for daily challenges;
- remove WBs forever on Crom;
- slow down the AA gain;
- lower the PVP XP gain or remove the streak system;
- remove AoE looting;
- add the missing mobs back to Khesh., F. of the Dead, and Eigl. Mount.;
- fix the 250+ms ping;
- take the key away from Saddur;
- revert T3, T3.5 (10.21.15), T4 (10.21.15), and GGG changes;
- remove energy and add skills (like taunt) back.