Daybreak - Want new players right now? Ease up F2P restrictions and run some new player promos/packs

Which is nice and all, but it's still money. "Pay to still suck but imperceptibly less" isn't a great pitch, in my opinion.

Once you get a Heroic or All Access grant, you keep the granted AA (usually 5-7k AA at 85 or even 10k AA+ if you redeem a Krono once at 105+). You do not revert to 250 AA. Additionally, as code-zero pointed out, you can purchase AA unlockers (and even a one-time purchase to unlock Rank 2 spells) in the marketplace

Compared to WoW (level cap 20), EQ's F2P is very generous: max level 110 with ala carte AA unlockers AND saved progress (no reversions). Additionally, SOE/DBG/DPG unlocks expansions for F2P for free each year!

I am taken aback by your comment about Tears of Alaris. Tears of Alaris is trivial at 105+ but it's grindy.

Why would you assume anyone who would consider EQ at this point hasnt played an MMO before?

Its similar advice I give to anyone I know thats played an MMO that wants to do group/raid content in FF14. Either start on a server that has double xp bonuses turned on, or be ready to pay for a skip potion for levels and msq, because if you dont care about the storyline, its going to be the least fun you've ever had in an MMO.

In Everquest, its "lets skip to a point you might have a full bar of buttons to press".

You got me. I dont just want to keep multiple accounts open for TLP krono farming, but I also need free 85's to get my box crews on test in better shape (cause heroic gear is obvs the best stuff you can have at 85).

Wait, no, those are dumb things to assert.

This is 100% correct. I have an impossible time getting friends to stick around, and they go to other F2P MMO's that are all much more generous in the F2P department. I love EQ and hate to watch it waste away when some simple choices on Daybreak's part could give it a much needed player injection.

This is 100% false.

As someone with many (almost too many) characters to his name, AA is always incredibly helpful and the more you have the better. Moreover, a lot of guilds on FV refuse to group with a F2P player. As someone that sees this happen with RL friends, I actually know what I am talking about.... Unlike some other people obviously $%&@posting here.

F2P players can NEVER afford a Krono. Look closer at the F2P restrictions please.

If they make AA Unlockers give 1000 AA (for the seam price), it would be entirely different. As is, 100 is just a joke.

Side note: WoW also allows you to play for free by buying a WoW Token for gold. Lots of F2P games have options like that.

There's no point in debating with people who don't want to drop a dime on the game (AA unlockers).

There's even Kronos in game to avoid the cash hit.

A F2P player who doesn't put money into the game will never get to 105. It is not possible without outside help, period. You don't do enough damage or tank well enough, and your mercenary can't pull you through, because A5 mercenaries suck . You top out, depending on class and luck with gear drops and one or two other factors, around 65-70. Having a max level of 110 is purely theoretical, and none of the unlocked content is doable by any F2P players. That stuff is all aimed at people who don't want to buy expansions on their boxes every single cycle, but do keep them subbed for a few months a year to keep current. It has less relevance to new F2P players than gills in the Sahara.

Like Alek, I've also tried to get people into this game, and it's like pulling teeth. Barriand's post rings true too - the best place for F2P players to play is the Test server.

Am I seriously going to debate with someone who finds paying $15 once too rich?

I mean SOE/DBG/DPG is giving a free expansion each year - if you have to look at it from a 'cost to consumer' perspective.

EQ gives you max level 110 with a la carte unlocks. You also get saved progress (no reversions)!

What does WoW give? Level 20 cap, no expansion unlocked, and no a la carte options.

A F2P player will never get a Krono without buying one with cash. No one's buying soloable level 65 items with Kronos on live servers.

To make people spend money, you have to make them like the game. The old paradigms are dead. There's more competition for leisure time than ever before and more demand for eyeballs than ever, too. Between the streaming explosion and the boom in game releases and F2P games in particular, asking folks to pump money into an old game they've no emotional attachment to is a tougher sell than ever.

You know what you get when you're purely F2P in Counterstrike? You get Counterstrike, with no caps or limitations.

Are we supposed to bend over for people who don't support the game?

I am basically arguing with people who feel $15 (one month sub) is too rich for them. (Despite all of the free access such as free expansion unlocks and saved progress).

That, or botters who want to easily create characters closer to end game.

/thread

The only people who say /thread are people who haven't got anything to say.

Yes! Yes you are supposed to bend over for potential customers. That's how you convert them into real customers. Real customers are incredibly valuable to have, especially in a game that encourages multiboxing the way this one does.

I don't understand the weird elitism at work here at all. How does it affect Benito if F2P players cap at 110/10K with J5 mercenaries? More competition for groups? Because I got news - if you're 115 with max AA, and a group would rather have a guy five levels lower with a quarter the AAs, you're a terrible player.

Feel free to complain on the WoW boards:

• Level 20 Cap
• No expansion unlocks
• No a la carte (AA/spell) unlockers

This is forum gold!

Ever heard of people (developers) getting paid and the servers keeping their lights on?

Not everything is free in life....

But also lots of other players, which is the only thing that matters.

Yes. I'm going to say this slowly.

That's. Why. You. Want. To. Convince. People. To. Subscribe.

Saying "play this awful game by yourself for 40 hours and then we'll consider taking your money if you're still around for some reason" isn't convincing. Or, rather, it is. Just not in a particularly productive way.

What are you talking about? F2P players give us another body in this barren world, AND buy things from the cash store piecemeal. Any money going to Daybreak is a good thing.

$15 would get you 600 more AA points. Which amounts to nothing.
Or are you talking to subbing for a month? Once this ends, you will not be able to re-summon your higher end merc, use your EARNED gear, spells, etc.

Have you ever actually done the things you are suggesting?

How can someone actually argue AGAINST reviving a game at a perfect time? We could have thousands of new players log in with some marketing and promotions (and less restrictions on F2P accounts). Lots of other game companies are doing this now. I am getting e-mails from everyone from Maple Story to Allods Online - ALL offering a lot of freebies and better access for a month.
Bandwidth and server hardware are dirt cheap, and this is an ideal time to expand. Arguing against it is just odd, and not taking advantage of the situation WHILE helping people is even weirder.

Feel free to share your feedback on the WoW boards:

• Level 20 cap
• No expansion unlocks
• No a la carte (AA/spell) unlockers

You are looking at the #1 MMORPG in the world. Look at something else. The fact that WoW even has that feature should speak volumes!
Look at Neverwinter, LoTRO, Albion, STO, Allods, or even DDO. All have à la carte options that are much more generous than here.

Side note, buying the latest expansion in WoW, unlocks them all. And they are much cheaper while offering more than what we have here.

EQ is not a public domain or resource folks.

It's a business. Don't like the model? Play the games that you laud so highly....

Spoken like someone that doesn't understand a business at all.

Side note - I do, as do many others.

I play Albion, STO, and LotRO. But I also play EQ. I would love to have more people play EQ with me, since I absolutely adore the game.... But the restrictions are making it impossible for people to stick around.

It does not, and saying that is both insensitive and ignorant. What it does, is present an opportunity for people to come together and help each other out.
Taking advantage of this opportunity WHILE helping folks is amazing, and should not be passed up. Savvy companies are making bank at this time.

I'm thinking hard here so how about if DPG opened Miragul to f2p for 30 days? Would you go there to play? It'd be giving you what you're asking for since it's an Heroic Progression server starting you at 85 with AA's, spells and gear?

I'm 100% sure I could get at least one other person on that server, yeah. And it'd give it a bunch of new bodies, which it could really use.