I don't remember ever getting them and when I have tried to do a free trial recently to see how the game is I just get messages saying I am not eligible. They may do that for some players but if you go to their free trial page you will get a different answer.
I mean I pay to play EQ so I don't know what you are trying to insinuate. I just want more people to play with.
When I started playing again, I looked at the gear on my original character I had been playing before and hadn't been auto-85ed I left to see if I could use anything on new characters. Nearly everything that was hard won on my original character wasn't even worth giving to a level 1 even if they didn't have a recommended tag. In addition to Defiant, I think Recommended/Required was also added after I left. Prestige was definitely added later since the game was still sub only at the time I left originally. When I brushed the rust off her to bring her back into playablity, I was able to do so without the help of other players. Admittedly, I did use other characters to help equip my old one, mostly because I didn't brush her off until I had been back over a year. It would have been difficult to requip her on her own since the gear she did have was little better than nothing. A different character I had played on that account to test the waters of EQ on one of my brief short returns was the one bumped to 85 which, while gear was livable for 80s content, was complicated by the massive dump of spells and AA (as were the other 2 original characters on my other 2 accounts). Some one who is truly returning from a VERY long absence (12 months is not a long absence) will likely come back to one 85 character kitted with Heroic Armor (and a starting city they did not star with ). Someone coming back after just a year is NOT a trial player. Even the just blip in every year for a month and blip out, why should they get that for free when others have been paying to play for that full year?
Because not everyone has the same mindset and experience and expectations as you do. Two people off the top of my head who were returning players SCOFFED at their gear being locked behind a paywall. And I don't know that many people IRL who play EQ. Some of their comments: "Free to Play? This feels like they're holding my toons hostage." "So much for nostalgia. Can't do anything until I give them money." 'They have no clue how to welcome returning players.' (quoted out of context, edited expletives and run-on sentences) Experiences of two returning players soured by Prestige gear. Take it for what you will. I am not asking for the freaking world here, Rijacki. Just to welcome returning players so they have a good experience while deciding whether to fork over money. Seems to me there's a lot more competition in MMO space than there ever has been. It's pretty clear almost no one else sees a problem.
I came up with an idea which might get more people to play. One way is more advertisement. Getting more people to play and sub will benefit the game. Hopefully Daybreak would invest in EQ instead of low population games.
Weird reply as if only two options exist and you're in a position of authority offering the choices. The reality is that FTP doesn't smooth the user experience out into resubscription. As it stands now the player logs in to an effectively naked character without their mercenary, and then logs out because they can't do anything. Not a great way to re-engage the player.
And opening the floodgates to allow people to play without paying isn't going to help keep the game around for longer.
They have setup a system that allows for a good deal of flexibility for returning players to jump back in without having to pay but that doesn't seem to be good enough for some players. Other subscription based games don't offer a F2P option at all or put a lot more limits around it which is something that EQ could have done as well. Giving people more freedom to play without having to pay isn't going to help keep the game running.
I'm not talking about flexibility. I'm talking about smoothing people back into paying subscriptions.
I don't think giving people a free month would be the right solution. A sub gives someone a lot of permanent benefits, such as autogrant AA, leveling up past 115, etc. I think it's best if those things are locked behind the paywall since they are so valuable. To me, the suggestion above to remove the prestige tag once the expansion has gone F2P sounds like the best one. It allows the returning player to have usable gear and be viable in the game without introducing issues of giving out free AA subs. And it doesn't seem like it would really matter all that much if f2p people can use prestige gear from expansions that are several back. Likely, those expansions would be deserted and the person will be leveling solo anyway. Allowing the returning player to use their older armor to level up to the point where they would need to buy an expansion and sub sounds like it would be good for business. Although I don't know the EQ code, I would think removing the prestige tag from older expansions would be relatively simple. I would assume it would be a pretty straightforward database query to find all the gear where expansion=X and prestige=True. Then just set prestige=False for those records and that should be pretty much it. Obviously there is some work to make that happen, but I would think it would lead to overall more revenue due to more returning people staying and playing rather than quitting right away.
Autogrant, yes, but level cap is tied to the purchase of the expansion and not a monthly subscription
Eq is not the kind of game someone is going to look at and want to play. They need to play it. EQ is not pretty or eye catching. One of the biggest criticisms about EQ from people who don't play is they say it looks bad. However you get over a lot of that when you start playing.
I think this line of thinking is exactly why EQ has no new players. People who have been playing and progressing for 20+ years want a 20+ year advantage over someone just starting. Yet why does that matter? EQ is not some sort of competitive collectable game where you win by having the most stuff. It is a group centric dungeon explorer where you win by kill the baddest boss the devs have drummed up. Sure part of the fun is gearing up your character but every xpac everyone basically starts over and has to regear all over again. Why cant everyone start at that point? Why does someone who has never played need to play 20 years worth of content by themselves before they can play with everyone else? Its not a good experience for new people and its not healthy for the game. I would love it if new players could just log in with a full set of group gear from last xpac. They could immediately be useful to group and raids and could starting making friends and participating in the community from DAY 1. The social aspect is all EQ has left at this point why are we throwing that away for some petty elitism?
If you ignore the fact that they don't know what they are doing as it takes more then gear to make a player useful.
I don't exactly agree with that. Free to play, is new players as well. (or, returning with lost old accounts they can't log into). Maybe slightly off topic of the meaning FTP from the OP.... but I notice a lot of times, new players don't have a group window or extended target window. They can't join general channel. It is not easy in these conditions to enjoy the game when you are confused, can't chat, cant see invites, can't target several mobs easilly. I think things in ' free to play ' need to change. (for new players to more enjoy the game ). All my accounts are pay to play and I am experienced to know what and where to find these things, but not new players. They don't even know about veteran rewards etc. I spend so much time with 20 year old returning players that don't know where these things are. So again, I agree their are things wrong with FTP. Hi Skuz EDIT: OP, You think FTP experience is horrible, wait until you pay to play, maxed out 120 Raid geared etc.
So you think someone just starting the game or returning should automatically get a max level character with BIS for everything absolutely FREE? There shouldn't be any disadvantage for a new or returning player (one that only plays a month every twelve) vs one that has been playing and progressing during that time? Right now, you do not need to play through 20+ years of content either as a new player or a returning one, even if you are starting a level 1 character. You absolutely can get to the 80s in less than a month without really trying too hard (maybe longer if you are trying not to level quickly). Getting to the 100s might take a month or two more if you you put in a small bit of effort and all without paying a dime. You would not need to do ALL content that's been added over nearly 25 years, but you might have to do some of it. Oh.. and you can even skip to 85 or 100 for less than the cost of going twice to the movies alone. If you skip to 85 or 100, you even get gear for those level ranges included in the price along with a couple large capacity bags, all your spells/songs/abilities (at base level), Alternate Abilities, and even a pile of platinum. But that shouldn't be for free. No one, including me, has said that "People who have been playing and progressing for 20+ years want a 20+ year advantage over someone just starting." No one even implied that. But, there should be some reason to have a paid account other than just the goodness of your heart. I have even agreed that having the prestige tag removed from items once their expansion is F2P would possibly be worthwhile as well. It would add more flexibility while also having advantage for a paid account. Personally, though, "prestige" on items is annoying even with a paid account. But there are non-prestige items in the 1st part of every expansion. Yes, it's not BIS for a max level character, but it is viable for the entry content of the expansion. EQ2 has a complete switch of gear every expansion with a box to retrieve a starter set of gear when you enter the new expansion/level range. That gear you were chasing the the last 12 months? absolutely worthless in the new content. Pick up the new starter set from the box. In my opinion, that makes it 100% worthless to do any of the content (most of which is now entirely on rails) and absolutely makes is worthless for anyone to group with someone lower level because absolutely nothing, even from an expansion 1 back, is worthwhile and the person leveling up knows that anything they get from the quest line they have to move through for -any- leveling will be worthless once they get to the next expansion content. BLEAH!!!
