Agnarr, time to change it to F2P?

Discussion in 'Time Locked Progression Servers' started by globeadue, Oct 4, 2019.

  1. globeadue Lorekeeper

    It's progression is over, its now a paid for special rules server no different than the RP or PVP servers, so why keep it behind a paywall.

    To be clear, I'm not saying make it a normal server, we should keep the content lock to LoY/POP. The thought is to allow non premium accounts to play on it.

    I joined a few weeks before the 20th anniversary went live and I'm still playing but if the bazaar contents and small huddled mass of folks nightly around the soul binder are any indication of server heath, we are not the effective server we were a few months ago. With P99 preparing to launch their own progression server, I wouldn't be surprised if we lost another chunk of our playerbase soon.

    Originally posted here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Agnarr/comments/dd2gg3/unlock_agnarr_to_be_f2p/
    S
    o far no negative reactions to the idea.
    Makta likes this.
  2. Dythan Ban Lev in Plane of Fire guy

    Nope, I want you contributing to EQ, if you want your own special sandbox to play in.
    FubarEQ and Oakenblade like this.
  3. Montag Augur

    I'd rather see feeder TLP servers to feed the population of Agnarr all the way to live, but barring that, I wouldn't mind this either.
    Makta and globeadue like this.
  4. Machen New Member


    Because DBG actually wants to have some income from players that choose to play there? They are not a non-profit.
  5. northstar Augur

    Regardless of all the post saying pay or don't play there would be the income of more Krono to the server if it were free to play, I agree it should be free its had its day in the sunlight, keep it pop locked and true box. I think its a good idea. otherwise it will be like 2-3 people on the server boxing there own raids.
    Makta likes this.
  6. Machen New Member


    You realize how free to play works, right? On live you can't play the most recent expansions. If Agnarr were made free to play, players would still have to sub to level past 60, get aa's at all, or access luclin or pop. If you think that that change would suddenly flood the server with new krono purchases, you are nuts.
  7. Accipiter Old Timer


    No kidding? I hadn't seen you express that opinion before. ;)
    Montag likes this.
  8. globeadue Lorekeeper

    This person gets it. There is still reason to sub, access to prestige gear, access to pop/loy, AA caps etc. I have no intention to unsub if this change occurred, it's my hope it brings in fresh bodies to play with and fill /baz with affordable trade skill mats again.
    Makta likes this.
  9. HoodenShuklak Augur

    I think this is actually a good idea.

    I know I would upgrade for the super low investment. But would I fork over any money to play on agnarr today as a returning player? I imagine not many would.

    Making agnarr f2p gets people in the door to modern eq, tempting them...
    Makta likes this.
  10. Darchon_Xegony Augur

    So changing Al'Kabor, the original and superior Agnarr, to F2P ended up spelling doom for the server as they decided that a server no longer providing income for them was not worth the time for CSR and server maintenance. Granted Al'Kabor worked on an entirely separate code base and they had no active employees capable of managing the server.

    However I think F2P options on TLP servers once they reach a certain age is logical to try to get people into those servers after its new-server-smell has worn off. You would need to implement some limitations to the F2P on TLPs though. Perhaps disable the most recent 1 or 2 expansions and level cap current max minus 5 or 10?

    If they could do that it may be workable.
    Makta likes this.
  11. Fluid Augur

    I suggested something like this for pie in the sky way I thought servers ought to be arranged. Since then there has been several posts that DB is not interested in making server transfers. I still think a server level vs pay level is a good way to go, I just need to see DB sign off on it.
  12. Machen New Member

    It's worth noting that the idea behind FTP is to get new people to try the game, in a hope this will boost population. Yet since it has been introduced on live, the population has steadily and consistently declined. FTP is not the answer to bringing new long term subscribers to the TLP's.
    FubarEQ and Zanarnar like this.
  13. globeadue Lorekeeper

    Agnarr is not a TLP anymore, which was the main draw to play on the server. Without progression , that makes it a special rules server. P99 is very similar and free. P99 has a new free progression server coming.The reason that Agnarr is a premium only server is over.

    FTP is not to get new people to try the game, it's to give people who are interested, a way to play without spending money(be they new or returning players) and in turn, providing the paying players, people to play with so they stick around and keep paying, FTP has limits that are unlocked to give F2P players reason to subscribe, free sample of crack.

    When F2P was introduced, they were already in a downward spiral of declining players and interest. I came back and played for about a year as a subbed account even with it being F2P because my friends were logging back in and playing again and I was even able to get some friends to come play for a couple months who had never played.

    F2P or not, EQ was already in a steady declining player-base. F2P obviously stabilized the player-base, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. That tells me F2P worked rather than didn't work.


    Overall though, Agnarr needs something, or I fear we may not have our beloved server to play on this time next year..
    Makta and Bullsnooze like this.
  14. Machen New Member


    So you have a problem here. If FTP on Agnarr follows the live model, then players that actually subscribe and play on Agnarr will not have "peeople to play with" because the FTP players will not be able to access Luclin or PoP, nor will they be able to contribute in any significant way to a level 65 group with a level 60 cap, velious gear and no aa's.

    On the other hand, if you allow FTP players to play in PoP for free, or gain aa's (even with having to purchase aa unlocks) then now you have effectively no one needing to subscribe to play any of the content on the server.

    You guys keep comparing Agnarr to P99, but it is not a fair comparison for one simple reason--DBG is NOT a non profit. They don't care about providing you people to play with, not as an end in itself. P99 exists ultimately for the players. DBG's Everequest does not. And they are not going to move to a free to play model for Agnarr if doing so ultimately reduces their income, which it absolutely would if the second scenario is followed.

    The obvious "best case" scenario for Agnarr players would be a completely free server with no need to ever pay a dime to DBG for anything. That's what P99 offers. That's ultimately what you guys apparently want, since you keep referencing P99. There is zero chance DBG will ever give you that.
  15. Corydon Augur


    Will you please leave the File Transfer Protocol out of this? We're talking F2P ;-)
    Machen likes this.
  16. Karhar Dream Crusher

    Considering Fippy has been basically dead for how long now, and you still need a gold subscription to play the server should speak for itself, they dont care. If it has locked Progression in the name, its paid for.
  17. Nolrog Augur


    Not really correct. Some people were arguing that there was a massive demand for content that locked at a certain point in time and so DBG gave it to them. That was the draw, not the progression aspect.
    Terranos likes this.
  18. HoodenShuklak Augur

    Fact is Agnarr is locked, it's now competing with P99 and soon to be Green99. Those are both free servers, with a lot of come-and-go style players. Those types aren't going to drop a subscription fee just to pop in and say high every once in a while, but they might buy a krono or DBG cash.

    Why not give F2p a try?
    Makta likes this.
  19. Machen New Member

    DBG cannot compete with a free server by offering a free server. If those players come over and play on Agnarr, and every now and then buy a krono, but all the current Agnarr players stop paying their ~15 a month, it's a loss for DBG.

    It is really not economically feasible for a company to even attempt to compete with a non profit that offers the exact same product for free. There is no way for DBG to win that competition no matter what they do. If they want to compete, really, they should just sue the hell out of p99, since it is after all still DBG's product that p99 is giving away for free.
  20. Xeris Augur

    only issue i'm having w/ Agnarr is that it's become pretty impossible to turn plat into krono lately. i've been trying to sell plat at like 1.5x the going bazaar rates for kronos and haven't been able to get rid of my plat :(