Increasing Gold Subscription Value

Currently there is a thread about the upcoming changes to Gold Membership - dealing with the new SC Monthly Voucher. I'm making a new thread because my idea doesn't quite fit with the discussion there.

EQ2 actually has a mechanic in game that could greatly increase the value of subscribing by giving unique awards to subscribers. The Achievements System. Basically as it is it's mostly worthless - but give value to the achievement points as an alternate currency for subscribers - add a vendor in Freeport and Qeynos with unique gear, mounts, housing, decorations, etc... and it would help to encourage many gold members to retain their subscriptions.

Think about it - we've all been accruing these points and getting nothing but an occasional title or fluff decoration. Let's make those points actually mean something for subscribers - it would cost the company nothing and would be fairly easy to implement because the basic system (minus vendor and inventory) is already coded into the game.

Too many Gold Subscribers are feeling shafted these days as more things that were currently unique to paying members are given away for free. Call us spoiled, but dangit, we pay real world money each and every month for almost the same benefits that are being given away for free. We deserve to be treated a bit better.

Just an idea - one that wouldn't take much real-world resources - and one that I expect the "Gold" community would welcome in a heartbeat.

I wouldn't say Gold is feeling shafted, I very much enjoy the double money/tokens.
but a mendor for achievements would be a good idea, as long as the items on merchant are worth anything.
I currently have only 26k achievement points and most are worthless. I've been wanting something like this for a long time

No - not all Gold are feeling shafted - but enough of them are. I love the double tokens immensely and was my number 1 reason for keeping my family's accounts open.

Read the thread about the SC change next month and you'll find a lot of unhappy campers tho. This (if the items on merchant were decent - lol) would appease a lot of them.

I already read them, getting rid of the 500 SC a month and instead you can buy 1 thing up to 2000 SC.
like I said, if the items are decent I would be for it.
how would it work in your mind? is the achievement points money? in such that if you have say 20000 achievement points and bought something for 500 you would be at 15000? or would you just "unlock" the item after a certain number of points and can buy as many as you want

To tell the truth - I hadn't thought it through that far - I was just recalling the TP system in LOTRO - where you could exchange TP (in essence the same thing as EQ2's Achievement Points) for opening new zones and expansions or "fluff" as you wished. Only difference there was the points you received were account wide, as opposed to per character here.

With your suggestion in mind - unlocking would be awesome - for account wide - then your main could open up all the goodies for your alts.

I dislike all this tinkering around the edges. It just makes things more complicated and when SoE decide to change stuff it just makes people mad.

Improvements to the core game is whats needed, itemisation, content MORE reasons to group rather than sit in auction and buy your stuff.

Double tokens is fine for me and if they want to make it more attractive give us treble. Oh and return the sealed etyma scrolls to give 3+3 etyma when they are cashed in, not the paltry 2

The only problem with "spending" achievement points is that there comes a point that you'll run out. It's a finite currency.

yea I am just trying to keep the feedback going.
if you want it to be unlockable through achievements (certain number unlocks item that you can buy all the time) it would kinda be "forcing" people to focus on 1 toon for achievements be like "let me log in my mage to run this zone, he needs the achievements"
I have no issues with that.
where if you do the other way. spending your achievement points as you go. it would be a little lamer imo but it would open up alts. than of course you have the whole argument "whoever has the most alts wins"
and than there is the whole "raider versus casual" argument where people will be like "raiders get more achievements easily cuz raiding"
just listing the possible outcomes of which ways to go

Every 3 days I get 75 plat with my loyalty points. Im good, unless they want to make it more. The achievement points? Useless

Valid points - all of ya... Gonna think on this a bit and see what falls out - lol.
Essentially though - wouldn't it be nice for your "Achievements" to be worth achieving?

also there is the fact that pvp servers have an extra whole tab of achievements (PVP)

They are only really there for the 'box-tickers'. Leave it that way

The permanent increase in money/tokens makes the Gold Subscription a very awesome deal.

Even without any SC awarded.

This same special merchant that has cool fluffy items for Status points if you are a Gold subscriber...would go over well.

I'm currently super middle of the road as a player and have some achievement points, but (as Mae said) it is extremely finite. On the other hand, I'm sitting on 30M status points. Having something to spend it on as a reward for being Gold would be awesome.

There's already stuff to spend those points on if you're guilded. That's what those points are for.

As for the achievement idea, I can't see how that really works for anyone. You would certainly have a lot of crafters feeling left out if purchases were based on point totals.

Overall, I think this latest change to the SC handout, the new loyalty merchant items and the double currency buff makes gold very worthwhile. We've had this discussion before and I believe all 3 of these ideas came out of there and they were the only good ones out of all those pages and pages of odd suggestions.

113,150,028 status, and nothing to really spend it on, other than upkeep, etc.

When you turn in a collection you get 3 scrolls. Why on Norrath should they give more than the 1+1 etyma that they currently do?

I love this idea, if it could be implimented and the rewards were unique to achievement points. It would also give people reasons to go to old zones/raids etc to explore & quest in them to get the points. I think this has some good potential.

Well, a revamp of the status merchant wares has long been overdue as has Heoic Opportunities

I remember when HOs were sorta useful .....I feel old now.