F2P and augs

I will agree that at this time a review of older augs, which do not impact endgame but can impact the Free to Play experience while leveling mid levels, could use and probably should be reviewed to see if keeping the Prestige is still the best decision for that game.

Dbl post due to board lag... please delete Dreamweaver if you see this

If you play a DPS or a healer you can really sub one month a year to max aa, wear all non prestige gear and have the very limited choices of non prestige augs and really still do better than a lot of players if you just don't suck.

Tanks kinda need the augs (but I bet you anything there's 115 pug tanks running around with terrible terrible augs)

I'm just glad to see this kind of topic is brought up again. F2P & GAAS is the way to go and it is not limited to EQ or the MMO genre, regardless people like it or not. The mindset of thinking that subscrpition is the only way to make a business functional is about 5 years lagging from the reality.

The current status of EQ is kind of a stalemate: F2P has too many limitations while the content brought up by each expansion doesn't worth all-access subscription compared to other MMOs. The user base is not growing which means there's no extra resources to make better content or even to fix core issues (unstable server, poor engine performance, lack of modern features, etc).

I'm all for converting this game into those kind of lootbox heavy games but keeping the fundamental element intact (social, grouping, importance of CC, dungeon design, etc). However I don't think any of these would be realized under EG7. It's a game holding company, not a game developing company. They will just milk this game dry and sell it off like its previous owner.

I have no clue what a "GAAS" is, but I don't think lootboxes and pay to win will work in this game-community. Most of the costumer-base here consists of "old farts"(I think) who remembers the good old days where you could play a game, without having the immersion broken by reminders of greed.

Tbh I think the fact that we have kronos and RMT is horrible enough as it is. And I think that is driving a lot of potential players away, just look at all the threads in the TLP section. I fail to see how adding lootboxes will attract more players to this game.

I kinda like the fact that you can get the maximum experience out of EQ, with a predictable and modest pricetag...

GAAS = Games as a Service

Lootboxes are bad, but a marketplace where you can buy what you want is good, and we already have that.

Not so fast my friend, a few counterpoints regarding the old folks here:

1) Normalized, subscription based games and established the foundation for Games as a Service (GAAS), subscription and paid expansions.
2) Embraced RMT, EQ was the 77th largest economy in the world at its peak. Smedley even put out a poll regarding SOE based cash shop way before it was introduced.
3) LoN, Heritage Crates, and Overseer Packs are loot boxes.
4) Average account spending is $37.50.
5) Kronos, experience potions, big bags, Bayle marks, Craftsman potion are all popular pay to win items.

In short, the player base values time more than money and would readily accept increased monetization.

I have nothing against subscription based games, as I said I have not heard the term "GAAS" before. Although seen in retrospect, I should have bought one of those "one time payment" lifetime subscriptions...

The other things you mention are not my cup of tea, and I think the game is worse with them. Everything should be earned in-game imo.

But you are right about one thing, I shouldn't speak for others...

October 2020: Kraken joins the forums.
January 2021: Kraken hates loot boxes.
February 2021: Kraken praises volunteer lore feedback.
March 2021: Kraken condemns unpaid volunteering/beta testing.
March 2021: Kraken endorses loot boxes.

Edit: Once-in-a-blue moon cosmetic lootbox is fine with most people. If EG7 "does away" with subscription, expect way more loot boxes or P2W loot boxes (RNG straight stat upgrades).

I’m so confused on, where I endorsed loot boxes? All I did was state counterpoints that the EQ demographic rejects GAAS monetization strategies.

Volunteering lore is different than product testing at scheduled times.

Loot boxes STILL have nothing to do with the topic of this thread.


The dude is obsessed with sliding it there though.


This thread:


Gee it might be nice if someone updated legacy status on old augs.

Then a person who doesn't like that idea, slides it into all sorts of scare tactics, rhetorical spin, slippery slopes and strawmen.

You must go back.

Go read the OP and post on that, huh?

All these Initials and marketing concepts have ZERO to do with this thread.

Obfuscation is a thing.

I feel like augs should keep pace with FTP content. What reason is there not to?

Augs are probably now seen as a premium feature.

The slippery slope equivalent to opening the floodgates will be some advocating that non-current T2 group gear and higher should eventually go non-prestige so F2P can compete in content. The problem is, EG7/Darkpaw makes revenue from 22 years of content through subs. (If you think about it, they created content to make revenue in perpetuity). Not only that, these kinds of changes would only encourage free riding on 22 years of content.

Again, EQ1 F2P is already way more generous than WoW and FF14 F2P. They need some carrots-and-sticks. I am actually worried EG7 could restrict F2P even further. Players are not in a position to beg for more free stuff and, if you get more free stuff (subscription-wise), there's gonna be a catch (i.e. loot boxes, ads).

I have been a subscriber for 21 years. I can beg all I want.

Besides, the armor prestige stays. We are talking about 3-4 year old augs. I would wager the more fun FTP players are having, the more they spend in the DBC store.

Where do the draw the line? The studio makes money off of this nice subscription model (already generous F2P). There is no public financial data to prove otherwise.

Today, F2P players say augments will make the game more fun. Tomorrow, it's going to be T2 gear. The day after? J5 mercs.

I'm sure the game is hella fun with all those cool class AAs.

I think it's pretty well established that 4 expansions back is the point where DPG thinks it's ok to give stuff away. So make the prestige augs usable by F2P at that point and call it a day. The issue here is probably less that they don't want to do it and more that doing it actually takes dev time.

I feel like you are arguing more that there could be a slippery cliff than a slippery slope. Even if T2 gear from 4 expansions back was allowed, would that even matter at this point? I'm not saying they should, just saying they could and most wouldn't care. It F2P can use T1 crafted from an expansion they own, I highly doubt that is worse gear than T2 from 4 expansions ago.

Au contraire, that is a huge assumption.

How do you know that their revenue model does not account for prestige augments and T2+ gear in old expansions as a way to earn revenue from subscriptions from people playing in 22 years worth of development and content?

TBM HA leveling gear is basically raid gear equivalent and can be accessed by FTP.

So what? That's TBM. In what context? Compared to what?

The last F2P augs came from EoK. The model changes and is much more stable/clear now.

You don’t know about the TBM armor?

Overall, it’s worth taking a look at how they can keep FTP close enough to Live to convert players, the financial report was 41% conversion rate. Realistically, the bulk of FTP accounts are just extra accounts for paid memberships anyways. So, it’d probably be best if they looked into “family” plans.