Endless Conquest - is this a joke?
So I got the message: DAoC free to play, and I was willing to give this aged game another chance. However after finding out where my characters are (thanks for the time you have to wait after logout btw, really makes finding your characters a pain) I realized that I cannot log into a single one of my characters, they all ask me to subscribe instead.
Is this some kind of joke I am not getting?
Is this some kind of joke I am not getting?
Comments
I remember playing these character a lot to get to 50.. Yet a few 20ish level ones I can transfer if I want (which were classes I tried and didn't like, so what's the point). So there are some unlisted limitations.
So I am supposed to play classes I don't like, because the classes I like are locked behind subscription? I don't think that is what is going to happen. I think what happens is that I won't play at all if I am not allowed to play what I consider to be fun.
However some restrictions are odd ... When I created my stash-chars, I didn't care much about the classes - I rather create them like "oh .. this one carrys mage-stuff so lets make a mage as stash" (I do that in all RPGs where i need vault chars btw)
So now I can log in some stash chars but not the others. There isn't much logic behind that thought.
Maybe let log in every lvl1 character (you want people to stick around, don't you?) if they were created before EC, but force a "xp /off" as long as the account is not subscribed.
If you subscribe and level it to lvl2, then all normal restrictions apply once the account is back from subscription to EC.
Or limit /played per week/day/month per archtype, something like "Hey, you already played 20h with [mage]. Want to try out [fighter]?"
But if you want to get people back to a game you must provide them with a fun experience. If there is anything that could be learned from the Star Wars F2P disaster then that making the game tedious and not fun because you are a free player means you loose a lot of players and do not get a single one. DAoC is in a difficult position anyways because the game is of such old age. If I tell my friends to give it a try, they'll be like "Eww... what is this ****?!" because the interface is from last century. If the game then also forbids them to play the class they'd like to give a try, it instantly dies for them.
So they should give people access to everything RvR related, that means: all classes, all races, all gear, and only limit at points which are not hurting the experience. So not allowing champion abilities is ok as they do not impact RvR that much, significantly slower RP gain is also fine (see above), slower leveling is not, because then they can't play together with their subscribed friends, and then some general things like cannot found a guild, cannot buy a house, no keep claiming, are also fine, because it becomes problematic if that is done by f2p accounts anyways.
"The type of of dev communication of 30 mins a day updates mentioned here just isn't feasible." - Carol_Broadsword
"Our Studio. Our Rules." - http://www.mythicentertainment.com/
"The type of of dev communication of 30 mins a day updates mentioned here just isn't feasible." - Carol_Broadsword
"Our Studio. Our Rules." - http://www.mythicentertainment.com/
Regards,
The fact that my luri menta is blocked (you can play mentas but not a luri menta) just makes me mad.
Most of my other chars are blocked and i wouldnt play them in RvR anyway, but blocking them from PvE is the next thing that annoyes me.
I understand that you want to give the "premium players" more than the f2p players, because they pay for the servers (or should i say the income of the GMs, because i think my i7 would be able to host this old server with these player numbers)
I see that you give supporters for RvR... the DW DPS offtanks (how ever we called them) and one caster. The idea seems to be that you can lvl up and form basic groups, but bombs and main tanks (others then palas, because you need them for endo in PvE) are blocked and if you pay people will take you with a kiss... that seems to be the theory.
In reality there is the elefant in the room that i'm not alowed to talk about here that give the official servers a rival option without ToA that many hate (i like ToA and catacombs PvE stats..that is why i want to play here). I like the changes to the classes and more options to press... but i can see why others dont.
I also logged my pala in (since i couldnt play my theurg or heretic or wizzard) and did some PvE in AC. I didnt drop any scales and LFG chat was empty. I asked in /adv if scales even drop in AC anymore but nobody replied ...i logged off and wondered why i should sub to DAoC again to unlock my other chars on one account. I did sub again sometimes... but never got into RvR groups when i wanted to play... why should i pay now with even lower numbers?
I miss PvE bombing and rly want to try out the new healing animist in Zerg RvR, but i can see why people wouldnt want to play here, because using only RvR Points up to RR5 should be enoth.
What you need is people that are willing to play with a disadvantage, so the people that pay have someone to play with. You should ask yourself "what is the reason why someone would pay here".. and a different balance and some extra buttons on top of the basic gameplay isnt woth what you're charging.
I'm sorry... but that is how i see it. I hope you understand it and RR5 will become the only restriction.
You should've blocked horses and fasttravel. I brought SI, Cata and Laby and now blocking me from those chars even for PvE... no, just no!
Might still have the CD somewhere. Oh wait, found it. Whoa has it been THAT long? Jeez!https://imgur.com/aBaovPk
There are many games which can easily sustain their income while allowing full access to the game for f2p players. Path of Exile is a great example: there are no restrictions, you can play everything, and yet they can still afford to host the game even after so many years. The trick is to focus on alternate income through an ingame shop - the foundation has already been put into DAoC - and giving benefits to subscribers that feel rewarding yet being subtile enough to not scare away the free or old-school players.
DAoC has many options here, selling XP/RvR boost buffs to those who can't wait a few hours for max level, or cosmetics, restricting horses or housing to paid players, or giving advantages like anytime fast travel, and no realm switch timers. Also ideas like having a league server that frequently resets probably with alternate rulesets in certain leagues could spice up the thing. And giving the client a face-lift would also get a lot more people to play the game. Just connect the interface to LUA scripting and they can watch the community create a much better interface for free.
The only thing that won't work is not changing a thing and punishing free players.
GL
https://divoxutils.com/users/user_2ZTPHy8tjVF9LWMgujSZfCY9Mos/characters
Yes, but... you get the point.