The problem is that you have the ability to pay cash for stuff to begin with. Earning it is the biggest draw. People get EXTREMELY mad, cry about it. then try again. Now they can just buy their way, get their fix and move to the next game feeling accomplshed (Youre not, your weak). want to fix EQ? heres how... Eliminate copy/paste gear uniqueness is key HIRE 5 more ELITE devs who have some real vision. and arent lazy. Eliminate being able to buy your way. GM EVENTS But you say they need the cash? no more free to play. want it? pay for it. Youre using FTP to fill a void you brought on yourself with all this easy mode . Make a draw and they will come. The original designer had a vision, and it wasnt the bottom dollar....
I agree. Two swords from different zones should not have almost the exact same stats. That is a loaded comment. In any case, they are not going to hire 5 elite devs. Buying their way through experience pots? If they had GMs still ... these are so limited. I agree it would be nice. The devs dropped the boat on immersiveness. I highly doubt it. I pay for my account, but my kids only pay once in a while, as they only play once in a while. The monthly subscription model only works for the newest most up to date games and only for a limited time. That ship has sailed the Abysmal Sea long ago.
The "newest most up to date games" are packed with microtransactions. Sure, you may be able to log in, but if you want to actually do anything, first hand over your creditcard! EQ was different, there was no pay to win nonsense. Everyone was equal. It didn't matter who you were, or how big your bank account was. FTP was a lousy idea, if they wanted it it should have been much more limited. Use it as basically a short term trial in order to get a feel fr the game, not a long term thing. If you want to play the full game, get access to everything, then pay. Quit expecting everything to be free.
Well, I do agree for the most part that EQ is not "pay to win". That being said, I see you have a point. Some items sold in the market place do give unfair advantages over other players or make content easier on the margin. 1. Large bags - I mean the developers find them so overpowered that they limit the purchases of these bags per account. Think of any other items they don't want to sale and unlimited supply of. 2. You can directly buy consigned gear. 3. Mounts give buffs that give stat advantages. I mean they are still viewed as so overpowered by the developers that they are constantly trying to nerf them either by era, or by "mistake". 4. You can buy potions that increase and decrease faction hits. 5. You can buy a draught of the craftsman that increases chance to salvage components by 100%. They designed tradeskill combines with high fail chances to encourage buying the potion for $25. They had to go and fix the tradeskill combine so that it would work specifically with this item. So yes, there is a lot of aspects that someone can argue that is pay to win, but isn't an instant "win button". Free to play works very well. It would be very hard to encourage players to sink multiple hours into playing a game before they can realistically group with other players at all.
The way EQ will survive is if high level players actually help new players who are likely going to be F2P (as this mode is offered). DB along with the players (guilds) need to convince F2P players to start subscription accounts. This means established players should have an alt who 'gives' gear & items no longer needed to new players in the beginner zones. You know, like, maybe, when you were new some high level player gifted you something that assisted you. So many zones and old content here (& there) to make EQ remain relevant. Cheers.
It's not possible to help FTP players. They become handicapped at 55 and are useless at 85. They can not function without AA. The problem with FTP is that EQ has way too much content for it to work right. It doesn't work as a trial because the level spread is too great for new players to meet anyone. They solo mostly until they fizzle out. Or if they increase the amount of earned AA then there is too much content to bother paying. A new player who can find groups has years of content to play in before they need a sub. I help returning players, sure, but I can't get any one new to play the game. I have tried for a long time.
