So... I finally got around to toying with EQ2, and... well it looks cool, but, I'm looking at the pricing... and it looks excessive. I'm seeing required sub plus expansions plus features? If for example wanted to play a beastlord to max lvl? I really want to give you guys some money but 40+sub, and +40 more for "features" feels like a scam. Please somebody let me know if I'm reading this wrong or if theres a cheaper way to play this game.
A subscription isn't required, you can play the game for free up to 92 with some restrictions or upgrade to Silver for a one-time $5 and remove some of the restrictions. https://www.everquest2.com/free offers a comparison of the membership levels. The cost of the game itself isn't really out of line with say World of Warcraft which requires you to buy each expansion separately if you want it's content (that currently comes to $120). EQ2 will let you just download the client and play up through Destiny of Velious without having to buy any expansions. The features only cost $40 if you want the bundle of all of them. Many people only want one or two, and you can buy just the ones you want individually through the marketplace for less each (although the bundle's cheaper than buying all of them individually).
The prices are what I'd call standard, and a subscription is not required unless you want the perks that go with it. If you've just started and are in no rush to get to 95, you also don't need to buy ToV right now. The latest expansion always comes with all previous. The features as Jrral mentioned can be purchased separately and none of them imo are necessary until you get to max level, and sometimes not even then. $5 for silver sure doesn't seem excessive to me. Starting in a month or so if you do decide to sub, that sub will also cover all other SoE games including EQN. Maybe wait until that is in play and review subbing again then. For me my sub is well spent. I love the game, there's plenty to do, and the cash shop is not shoved in my face.
As others have said, a sub isn't needed. The main perks of a sub when leveling up imo are free selling on the broker (you have to pay a few cents per item you list otherwise), ability to scribe the highest spell/ability tier (again cost a little to unlock each seperately) and, the most useful, the ability to change how much xp goes into AA points and how much in normal levels. None of this is essential. It makes things a little easier, but it's perfectly viable to go without. There are other perks but until you hit 95 I personally don't think they're important. Paying $5 for silver does remove a lot of bronze restrictions though, and worth it. It's a one time fee. As for the features, these come for SC from the marketplace (as does the silver membership). The thing with SC, is it can be discounted. Although it isn't being discounted as much or as often, you can get it at a discounted cost from time to time, making things seem cheaper. If you can get to a Walmart in the US, their $15 SC cards give $20 worth of SC I believe. Also, as a subscriber, you get 500SC every month. I know it seems like a long way away, but if you get a sub, then in 4 months time you could get the BL class unlock for free, or in 8 months the entire feature pack.
You can get a tremendous amount of gameplay for free. If you want Mercenaries, you can pay a little extra. Same with stat Reforging. Same with Beastlord class. Once you get into the 90's levels, you have the choice of buying the content expansion Tears of Veeshan. You can play for months without spending a nickel, although I do recommend ponying up for at least Silver just to get rid of some of the limitations.
I don't think the pricing is excessive at all. 1-92 for nothing. That's the original game content + 7 expansions and three adventure packs for not a penny out of pocket not even a sub. You can of course get the silver membership (I highly highly recommend that if you plan on playing for any length of time, the totally free has very restricted chat which is annoying). So $5 for a game 7 expansions and 3 packs. The $40 for Tears of Veeshan includes the last expansion as well (Chains of Eternity) and neither one is need for anyone under level 92. Just wait and buy it when you need it. EQ2 will likely release their next expansion in November anyway. It's entirely possibly if you are taking your time and possibly rolling alts & getting comfortable with the game that it'll be almost time for the new expansion when you are of a level to need this last one. And it's quite possible CoE will be made part of the F2P teir when the next expansion releases and ToV will be part of the package with the new one. The Age of Discovery feature pack isn't absolutely really required (though I have enjoyed having most of it). If beastlords are all you really want, you can buy just beastlords for $25 (though really it is cheaper in the longrun to buy the whole pack if you plan to play the game for a while). And if you get your SC cards from somewhere like Wal-Mart or on the semi-rare occasions when there is some SC event the price is even lower. For example, using Wal-Mart cards for the SC makes the AOD feature pack actually cost $30 rather than $40. If you don't feel like you just HAVE to play a beastlord or the other features, you can play to level 95 right now for a grand total of $45 forever. This is all from the perspective of someone who has played the game since release though and bought every single expansion/adventure pack as it has come out. So, yeah. $45 is a drop in the bucket. Even the $85 for both the expansion, feature pack & silver is 2-3 meals eaten out . Unless you just HAVE to have a Freeblood beastlord, then you'd have to spring for another $20 (or $15 if you get the wal-mart cards).
OP you are absolutely right. A game with less than 125k players asking for that much money is ridiculous. There are far more popular games out there that charge much less if anything. Most of us here are just here for nostalgia reasons. For example, this was the first MMO I ever played, so it has some sentimental value for me. That is why I continue to give it chance after chance as it continues to get worse and worse.
When was it confirmed that EQN would be included? Last I read, RadarX was dancing all around avoiding answering if it would be or not. To the OP, just play the game for free for a week or so. Then decide if you feel it is worth spending money on. Personally, I think it is, but only you can decide if it is worth it for you.
That alone is a bit misleading since right afterwards it was announced that several of those games are being shut down this year. I don't think there has yet been a real answer for EU players as to whether or not Prosieben will honor all access. Plus, in the mega-thread where players were requesting more details it was implied that, although EQL would be included, EQN wasn't a done deal..."too soon in the development stages" or something. I'm lousy at forum searches and never can find what I want, so can't link to that thread, let alone the SOE posts in it where EQN was mentioned.
Does it really matter if EQN is included or not, since they have been saying it is going to be F2P for a long time now? It is stated in the FAQ that it is slated to be free. (https://www.everquestnext.com/eqn-faq) I believe they have said they are trying to determine what they can do to make the All-Access Plan have advantages for that game.
Well I guess that's the thing, I've played nearly every AAA MMO released in the last, and I play every class. There's a lot of people like me, who go from game to game and try them out. Except in EQ2, if I want to play a beastlord with a merc and be able to send in game mail, that costs me 95 dollars. Thats INSANE. If I want all features for one month: EVE online - $15 SWTOR - $15 DDO - $15 Rift - $25 WoW - $65 EQ2 - $95 Does this look right to you guys? Making an MMO too expensive makes it a ghost town, this is the whole point the f2p model: using f2p "volunteers" as essentially NPCs to entice paying customers to stick around and spend money in your digital shopping mall. Except in this case, Sony's shopping mall is turning people away at the door. It's costing them business. P.S. - I say this as a lifelong tireless gamer, I want to see every game be amazing and do well and make everyone a lot of money. However, I see Sony's business practices shooting them in the foot, and I'd like to help them change.
The fact that it seems not to matter to you does not mean it does not matter to others. In my case, yes, it matters very much. SOE was excited to reveal its plans for All-Access, and has not been shy at promoting it. Sadly, the release for All-Access is nearly upon us, and SOE has yet to define exactly what All-Access is. From what I have been able to gather, All-Access may not be ALL after all. As for game costs...... The cost of an expansion pack is on par with what one would expect to pay for a good PC game. While a PC game lacks certain benefits such as game events and community, it at least gives me ownership of the game. If one goes with subscription plus expansions plus cash shop purchases, on-line gaming can turn into an expensive proposition. On top of that, the benefits I pay for with on-line games are merely "rented" as I have discovered, being a member of two of the games that SOE has decided to "sunset" in the very near future. Perhaps I am simply of a lower income than the average EQ member, or maybe I'm just cheap, but I feel the fees charged for on-line games are a little out of whack for the value they normally deliver. Not just for the EQ franchise, but for on-line games in general. The ridiculous prices for Alpha access to Landmark are an indication that if anything, on-line games are more likely to increase in play cost as opposed to offering better value in the future. I guess I am just one of those odd birds that wants to know what they are buying before actually paying for it. In the case of All-Access, SOE is selling it hard, but has yet to define what it is they are selling. When All-Access was first brought to our attention, it included four games that will see a "sunset" before, or shortly after All-Access becomes available. Following that announcement, they begin to hint that future titles like EQN may be exempted from the All-Access program. As time goes by, the All-Access pass becomes less attractive, and takes on a lower value. So, yes, it matters to me. It has already gone from all access, to all access except four games we are doing away with and perhaps another to boot. It has already decreased in value by four (perhaps five) games before the first All-Access pass has even been sold. If that does not matter to others, I will respect that opinion. All I ask in return is that they respect the fact that it matters to people like me.
I touched on this in a different post and to an extent I agree with the OP on the cost of entry. The biggest hindrance to All Access, in this family's opinion is the cost of entry to the games. We returned from Vanguard to this game when they announced the closing of Vanguard. We also went All Access at that time wanting to be able to log in now and then to Vanguard and perhaps even Everquest I since we started there almost 15 years ago. Four family accounts x $39.99 for the expansions, and another $20-$30 to unlock Beast Lord, and some features that we wanted and we've spent $240-$300. Not to mention the costs of upgrading from Gold to All Access. The odds of us soon jumping over to play EQ-1 again? Well, not in the near future. It would be nice if there was some feature that discounted the cost of entry to additional games providing you're current in one game. You can argue F2P and ways around restrictions, but lets face it folks, that's not what most long term players enjoy in a game. To expect a family or group of friends to lay out $40-$80 each, for every additional game in the stable they want to play AND pay a subscription feels a bit harsh. People that still commit to subscription based games are the target for All Access in my opinion. Those are the ones that will invest money into a game they enjoy. Making the entry level cost to an additional game too steep detracts from the desire to invest in another game in the stable. Their not looking for F2P, Restricted Play, paid unlocks and the sort. They want a complete game for a monthly fee
The thing is, as a beginning player, you don't really need ToV or CoE (which is included free with ToV). Also, the absence of the other features (such as mercs, beastlords, reforging, dungeon maker, etc.) does not render the core game unplayable*. So you could have access to the broker (without having to purchase broker tokens), using the in-game mail, scribing Master-quality spells/CAs, and earn double on most currencies (to include coin) for $15 / month. If you are willing to do without those, you don't even have to pay the subscription. (However, getting at least Silver, which is a one-time $5 cost, lifts the chat restrictions; unless you like silence - figuratively speaking - you would be well advised to at least upgrade from Bronze to Silver.) If you want everything, then granted, you will have to pay for it. A large majority of it, though, won't even be usable until you get a lot closer to the current end-game content*. So there is really no reason to pay for ToV now. Additionally, if you don't want all the features in the features pack, then pay for the ones that you actually want (unless the total for the ones you want exceeds the price of the features pack - in that case, it is probably more cost effective to purchase the entire pack) and don't worry about the rest. * In fact, many of us were completing all the way to DoV content, solo, before mercs or reforging were even introduced of the game. ** Unless you happen to be one of those players that just grinds straight to end-game without bothering to experience most of what the game has to offer.
I'm still trying to work out how it's going to cost you $95. Are you intending on starting out with a heroic character? A merc is hardly needed at lower levels unless you really enjoy their company. It feels to me like you've picked Beastlord just to start this thread. Roll a ranger, or a Necro, or a Conj, or something. See if you like the game, if you don't, go elsewhere. And why are you including the cost of subbing, and then talking about paying to send mail? Please do not bother comparing this game with Rift. A lot of activity in that game, particularly ALL world events, is hidden behind lockboxes in the ca$h shop. There is none of that here.
Well said, and you're not being cheap. Our move from Vanguard to here costs in excess of $300 for our family to purchase the expansions, some features, upgrade to All Access. I would love to kick the tires on EQ-1 again, or try some other game in the stable but I don't enjoy restricted access on a $19.99 a month subscription. For now we are keeping all access just to return now and then to Vanguard since we enjoyed that game so much as a family. Online games are designed to attract friends and family to play together. With 4 family accounts and three friend with accounts that's a substantial expense to gain access to another game in the stable. The entertainment value is certainly there, but these days funds are tight for everyone. Out of 7 people there are always a couple that just can't swing that expense right away so it's help them along with what we can or hold off till they have the funds.
To be honest, Beastlord was the sole reason that my wife returned to this game. I was a bit put off after paying to go All Access to keep Vanguard active while playing EQ2 (and to not have my old level 80 characters restricted), to pay for a class.
Yes very true. But SoE should not go broke trying to fit in with families budgets. Our own budgets should determine which plan we choose, and how we play the game. If like the OP, players want everything, even though EVERYTHING is not necessary, they should expect to pay for it. EQ2 and every game for that matter are not a charity, they're a business. The fact stands that for NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO, you can play the game to level 92. That is the bottom line. If you want all the extra stuff you pay for it. You decide how much you want to put into it. It is your choice.
I don't even understand this. We've always had to pay for expansions, so why would players now expect them for nothing?
