Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
5 Reason why LOTRO going f2p should scare gamers
brostyn
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 3,092
5) No longer with getting that rare horse drop be so presitgious. Everybody will have one. Only 8.99 this week!!! Limited supplies get one now!! Or worse, you can only obtain an item through the shop. Are we grocery shopping here, or playing a game trying to build a legacy? Its a total sham that you can't obtain items through the game you are playing. Instead you have to buy it through an item shop. Is that what we all envisioned this genre to be? Paying for items from outside sources instead of playing the game to get ingame rewards?
4) No more economy from things like healing potions, or any other potion these shops deem non-essential to crafters. Would WoW even have an economy if you could just buy enchants and potions from the online store? No, it wouldn't. Buying goods in EC tunnels in EQ was a unique experience that I loved. Why is that devs thinks it OK to leave out the economy? In DDO, the only way to get powerful potions is through the online store.
3) Our games will become less about accomplishments. Hard to believe, but yes after all those 100% XP pots, and 100% increased loot potions what will anything mean? It used to be prestigious. Now, its a sellout.
2) Our MMORPGs are quickly turning into a quick-serve chain. Need a healer? Buy one for 1 hour for only 2 dollars!! Need a quick heal? Buy it!! Need that extra XP? Buy it!! Need a boost in stats? Buy it!! Need help taking down Da Crusher? Buy your help!!
1) Content being adjusted to shop items. This will happen. XP will be reduced to a crawl to entice people to buy. Loot will be rare, unless you buy a potion. That mob will need everyone in the raid to buy that special potion that reduces damage, or increases damage, or gives more HP.
I was once all for online shops. But then I thought about how the items in the shops can't be found ingame. That makes no sense for a MMORPG. That only hurts the spirit of what this genre once was. Can we even call that gaming? Or just shopping?
MMORPGs are quickly becoming less about the adventure and interaction amongst players, and more about giving players an immediate service for a fee.
Comments
5) Depends on how it is set up. You don't get prestige buying the flying horse in WOW but people do it for the fun of riding it (I did). There are still other ways to get prestige. Just look at WOW. Prestige is now in achievements. And no one says a F2P game has to let you buy everything. And BTW, if prestige is all you want, MMO is not the best way to get it. MMOs are also supposed to be entertainment .... FUN .. you know.
4) Again .. so? There are other items that can hold up an economy. You don't need everything. What about craft materials or items? Or even some potions? Just look at WOW. Health potion is a VERY small part of the economy.
3) Uh? When is leveling about achievement? It is quite clear that bringing down difficult bosses brings achievement (with achievement or titles).
1) Too much grinding and people switch games. There is always a balance. People playing F2P games hop a lot more. If the game is not fun, i am gone in 60 sec. So i highly doubt it will be that way. In fact, i have play DDO and there isn't any grind. All the dungeon runs are pretty fun.
Well, im hoping this is just because sub numbers for LOTRO were bottoming out, rather than a sign of things to come for 'all' MMO's ... because quite frankly, i dont like cash shops, the buy to win mentality is something i particularly dislike, and no matter what the game, i will avoid them - if a game isnt good enough to be viable through subscriptions, then its because the game is flawed in some way, either through initial design, or a lack of evolutionary development. Rather than this being a sign of things to come, i would recommend it be used as a warning to MMO devs, of the consequences of inaction, or perhaps, lack of direction.
Some people enjoy challenges. Believe it or not leveling was about achievement. Getting things in game meant you put hard work into getting it. It took dedication, or luck. Levels and gear weren't handed out.
If you want your MMORPG to be about instant gratification I'm not sure you should be scared. You're winning the battle, right now. When you watch a movie do you skip to the end, or do you watch it through? Which way is more satisfying?
Crafted stuff sold in an item shop? Where's that idea come from? Was it in their announcement somewhere?
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Crafted gear is already a joke, since Mines of Moria and the introduction of Radiance gear!
And it has gotten even worse since Mirkwood.
There may be one bright spot…. They can go fully instanced with chat/toon lobbies and quit calling themselves mmo’s
I mean instancing is a boon for saving on bandwidth costs. Seems like so many companies just jumped on the mmo bandwagon to get subs. But if the item shop will work for them, they can just make multi-player games with item shops and leave the mmo community alone…damnit. Then maybe we can get back to persistent worlds as the f2p crowd filters out into the f2p multi-player games.
M59, UO, EQ1, WWIIOL, PS, EnB, SL, SWG. MoM, EQ2, AO, SB, CoH, LOTRO, WoW, DDO+ f2p's, Demos & indie alpha's.
This.
I liked LotRO enough to play it, but not enough to buy the expansions.
.
So I stopped playing it. Why? Because I couldn't get to max level without an expansion.
.
Maybe now I'll play LotRO again.
.
Will it have henchmen healer NPCs you can rent like DDO?
.
Will you have to buy access to Rivendale before you can enter it?
.
I'm waiting to see.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
Did you ever play a mmorpg? There is dick-waving everywhere in these games. If it wasn't than why the hell would so many peoples buy a stupid pet for 25$?
The OP is just upset because he has to spend money to have the biggest epeen now.
Really none of those reasons are applicable or legit.
No Lotro going to F2P only makes me feel like i was correct in the decison i made not to by that pile after Open Beta. Games that have to go F2P are crappy games to begin with. They are in my mind only there to fill that gap of nothing to do while you wait till the next Premium MMO comes out. F2P games could make alot more money if they made the market not about obtaining items but rather an item graphic like EQ does with there marketplace. You still have to go and get that prestige item but you can turn into some other kind of graphic to make it unique. And with me saying that i mean have alot of customizable graphics for the items. People will buy them. And make a game have AA's like EQ so that EXP is needed so people will buy XP pots because there is 4k+ AA's they can earn after max level. Dont make heal pots because that should be a Crafters item i agree but running or leviate type pots have them on the market but at a low price. That way people would rather buy them from a crafter in game because they can make the money in game money to buy the item from crafters it would only be a last resort to a player to buy them off the market place because crafters just havent put any on the market to buy at the time you need it. F2P could actually be a good format if they follow some of my advise. Yeah you wont make a killing but you should make a F2P game with a 50buck price tag at launch like Guild Wars. Not saying the game should play like guild wars just saying that model. You will make your inital money which will pay for the budget and you will make a lil coin not alot but a little profit and then just use the market place to keep the servers up n pay the crew that fixes bugs. If you need money just release good content through expansions and i mean good content not this crap we seen with EQ when they were releasing xpacs every 2 days. I love EQ but i think they lost alot of luster when they did that. Because i remember playing and i was just starting to get into the first game then Kunark came out. so i go explore kunark to see velious come out and im like damn i still havent even finished EQ original yet. Then i just couldnt keep up with the costs to play and not even get to use the content. Hell i bought luclin and i dont even think i did anything in luclin till OOW came out. other then goto bazaar. I know people dont want to hear it but Capitolism is what is killing the genre and i know you want to make money but if you love the genre you will be happy with not raping your playerbase and you will have a solid game.
Its crazy that so many people are whining about LotrOs hybrid model which actually benefits us players. And its funny that so far no one have been able to come up with even 1 valid reason why it is a bad thing.
But where were you when Blizzard started selling mounts in WoW for $25???
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
At least Lotro is going the f2p way with their shop instead of charging a sub AND operating a shop like that steaming turd john smedly for eq1/eq2.
As I read it, it's not really free to play. For the value content beyond strict limits you still need to pay so called VIP stuff.
Yeah crafter always seam to get the shaft.
You cant get nothing of value from EQ/EQ2 shops except xp pots so wtf you talkin about. Sub or not the shop doesnt benefit any player unless you want xp pots. LOTRO is going to have real items on there shop so get a clue.
You are obviously ignorant of what the word "value" means. It means different things to different people.
Example, the furniture items that are offered on the eq2 shop are items that could have been added as recipes for crafters, making their skillset worth more.
The other items in the shop, including pets and costumes and whatnot are all things that truthfully belong as items that can be quested for or bought in game, not with your visa card.
If eq2 would go the true free to play route and put game changers in their store, then that would be fine. That's the model, go with it.
But to withhold items from the game unless you buy them seperate, it shows you as a greedy gus.
Kudos to lotro for having the guts to go ahead with their model. They aren't hiding anything. It is up front and honest. They know not everyone will like it, but if it keeps them in business and makes them more profitable, cool.
How does buying a xp pot benefit me as a gamer? It shortens the amount of time I can play the game. Why are you playing a game if you its so horrible you want to shorten it? Why are these pots not accessible through gameplay?
How does buying a potion that increases my stats, ergo my damage output, mitigation, and increased HP not effect the balance in later content? Do you really want to have to rely on that to down that boss mob? Get ready for it as this "hybrid" model evolves, and gamers start to complain that the fights are too easy due to item shop enhancements. Again, pots that aren't accesible through gameplay.
Why is buying a horse off an online website beneficial to the people playing the game? How does this foster a gaming experience? Yet another example of an item that can't be found while playing the game. Diminishing the value of the community, and the gaming experience.
How can you claim that buying items that don't even exist in the game is a valid reason to sell it to players? Are you serious about this?
A few examples for what you need to pay extra for "FREE" to play Lotro.
If you want to be a "free" player, you'll pay extra for:
- In game mail
- To be allowed more than 5 Gold
- To unlock Quest givers in certain parts in the game
- To unlock complete zones
- Have access to Monster play
All the rest is "buy to win" - even for the VIP, Founders, Life subscribers and whatever name they will invent to seperate players.
From play boosting potions to complete deeds.
That sure is "FAIL" written all over it.
And that's just a handfull of examples: --- > in fact the MOST access of free to play Lotro will be to your CREDIT card.
Its embarrassing when an NPC compliments you in an MMo, the only relevant, cool and epic things come from players whispering you Grtz, mate, we did it. copyright Pilnkplonk
No i interpret VALUE to things that can CHANGE the aspect of the game. Furniture and and costumes and COSMETIC things are not of any VALUE to the game. They are just trinkets that look cool or differant then what other people have. You cant BUY yourself and EPIC weapon, You CANT BUY yourself epic armor, you cant BUY anything that will help you in a raid that you cant already get for free if your raiding other then XP pots. Yes people may think of those things as valubale to them but it doesnt change the game in any way at all. So no im not ignorant you are because you cant understand wtf im tell you because your fixated on stupid cosemetic value crap thats on the damn marketplace.
Thank you for posting this and saving me the hassle! After reading the OP I was thinking the exact same thoughts and was prepping myself to post a response, but you completely hit the nail on the head here. As I continue on through my years of gaming I find it seriously pathetic how many folks complain because for whatever reason (change in payment method, changes to game play, etc) they get "digitally castrated" and cant fathom the idea of not being able to wave their giant epeen around. When did MMO's stop being about having fun with groups of online friends and all about showing off your new nifty-difty *Insert game item here*?
Just a simple note to those of you out there that do "wave the epeen around", the rest of us really dont care. When you show off that special item you got after only 33 hours straight of gaming, the rest of us with outside of the game world, simply sit back in our chairs, shake our heads and laugh at you. I understand a large percentage of MMO player base is comprised of younger teens that have a lot of free time, are going through "changes" in their lives, and who dont fully understand how to control themselves, but it really saddens me when folks who claim to be 18, 25, 30+ years of age still feel the need to act out in this manner or try and convince the rest of us that a specific game is no longer worth playing just because they no longer have that ability. Honestly, I welcome LOTRO F2P with open arms. Im not a huge fan of most F2P games, but Turbine did a bang up job with DDO if you ask me and once its F2P I may actually spend some quality time back in LOTRO again. On top of that I will likely have friends who normally dont play MMO's due to subscription fee's right there along side me if I do.
I didn't read about these limitations when I read the news story. Do you have a link?
I also wanted to point out that F2P LOTRO is the best format for players such as me and my wife. We're super casual players. We both have jobs, a child, and many other responsibilities that take up most of our time. But at the same time we love mmos and over the years we've decided that it's impossible to play them just because of the amount of money it takes to constantly have 2 subscriptions going and the gargantuan time investment required to progress. If we had a decent F2P mmo (and yes we've tried DDO and we didn't like it much) it would allow us to casually invest some time and pay for things at a slower pace when we needed them.
I wish more MMOs would adopt similar payment models. I'm not saying make them all F2P but I think monthly subscriptions are outdated, especially in the world of optional downloadable content that we live in now.
He obviously hasn't experience Turbine's free-to-play model it is not like those "asian" f2p models by no means
Well people say WOW crafting is a "joke" or "worthless", despite it offering competitive items at virtually every phase of progression in WOW.
So are we talking about WOW-style "worthlessness", where people are simply overexaggerating things?
Or are we talking about crafted gear genuinely being harder to get or less powerful throughout every phase of the game?
(...and no it doesn't count if 90% of it is crap, because it's the 10% which isn't crap that makes a tradeskill worthwhile.)
But really my original point is the OP seems to be fabricating ways in which F2P is bad. If F2P was actually that bad, he wouldn't have to make stuff up -- but I wanted to make sure whether or not it actually was made up before pointing it out.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver