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Would you support ArenaNet if they implemented an optional subscription?


Helbjorne.9368

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How would you feel about an optional subscription to support the company and the further development and improvement of Guild Wars 2?

With talks of upgrading the engine, graphics, and other features in another thread, one of the issues that was consistently brought up was funding. Outside of the Gem Store, ArenaNet has no income to continuously develop Guild Wars 2. That isn't to say that they haven't done a fantastic job thus far, however I think that if there was consistent, reliable funding then the figurative table would be much larger, and a lot more of the issues brought up by the community would be able to be addressed.

I know that being subscription based something that traditionally ArenaNet has been against, but I would really like to see some improvements in terms of engine development and graphics rendering (I'm looking at you, DirectX9), overall QoL features, bug fixes, and profession balancing. Other games have implemented optional subscriptions successfully by rewarding subscribers with little bonuses. For Guild Wars 2, this could take the form of an additional bank tab, bag slot, a monthly gem stipend, etc. If done correctly I think this business model could benefit both the playerbase and ArenaNet, and I'm interested to see how others feel about it.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who participated in this discussion, there were a lot of great back-and-forth conversations with some fantastic community members, and after much debate we ultimately concluded that an optional subscription would not benefit the game nor the playerbase due the cause of the issues listed above and within the thread not being a lack of funding, but rather ArenaNet's priorities. It was also determined that the Gem store provides a lot more funding than initially thought, with a lot of the playerbase purchasing far more Gems monthly than they would ever conceivably pay for a subscription.

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Yes, I will support them, doesn't matter for me. I like the game and I think subscription plan will be a better overall option. Just my opinion. If they implement optional subscription for example, instead of buying future expansions and lets say u get monthly gems, I will subscribe for sure.

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I don't think a subscription will lead us to "class balance" or "bug fixes".Gw2, imho, is ok as it is now:

  1. 30€ expansion every 2 years.
  2. No subscription.
  3. Also ( not related but i'd like to underline this too ) No Equipment improvement ( you can stop to play today and resume next year, and you will be lvl and equipment capped ). And you don't have to buy all the expansions, cause they are standalone.

The best way to support em, if you can/want, is to buy gems with cash and maybe buy a superior tier of the incoming expansion.

And if you think about:

  1. A bank Tab is worth 600 gems
  2. 800 gems are worth 10€

I am not sure that a standard sub, let's say between 10-13 €, could give you what you expect.

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@Shirlias.8104 said:I don't think a subscription will lead us to "class balance" or "bug fixes".Gw2, imho, is ok as it is now:

  1. 30€ expansion every 2 years.
  2. No subscription.
  3. Also ( not related but i'd like to underline this too ) No Equipment improvement ( you can stop to play today and resume next year, and you will be lvl and equipment capped ).

The best way to support em, if you can/want, is to buy gems with cash and maybe buy a superior tier of the incoming expansion.

And if you think about:

  1. A bank Tab is worth 600 gems
  2. 800 gems are worth 10€

I am not sure that a standard sub, let's say between 10-13 €, could give you what you expect.

When I mention profession balance I'm referring more or less to the amount of outdated and irrelevant skills and traits. If we look at each profession, the overwhelming majority of them have an obvious BiS for traits, which shouldn't happen, as it should be about choices and build paths. Obviously there will always be some that are better than others, but there's a lot of traits and skills that are simply never used, and have been that way for years. Increased funding would allow ArenaNet to allocate more personnel to identifying and addressing these issues.

I already do my part in purchasing far more Gems monthly than a subscription would cost, and I'm not trying to suggest changing anything regarding gearing up, nor making a subscription mandatory or "P2W" (although we can already purchase gold directly, so that point is moot), but I believe that with reliable and consistent funding we'd be able to see improvements across the board in-game, assuming they were properly allocating said funding.

Guild Wars 2 is more than capable of going another 10 years in terms of lore and map expansions, but the engine and graphics are 5 years old, and still rendering on DirectX9. Sure, great gameplay and story and all that jazz are going to appeal to new players, but if the game looks outdated it's going to push away potential newcomers, not to mention quite a few veterans would appreciate better graphics I'm sure. Things such as that are massive undertakings that would require substantial funding, but would significantly improve the longevity of the game imo.

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Have a look at Elder Scrolls Online. They have an optional subscription (having converted from having a mandatory one) and it doesn't seem to achieve any of the things on your list. Don't get me wrong, I like the game overall (although I prefer GW2) but it's still a prime example of how a subscription (optional or otherwise) is not a magic wand to make sure all the issues you don't like are fixed.

What it definitely does lead to is lots of features which would normally be available to everyone (paid or otherwise) being locked behind the subscription fee. Want more bank space? Subscribe. Want the equivalent of material storage? Only if you subscribe. Want to actually decorate your house? You'll need to subscribe to place enough items. And so on.

It also creates a clear division between players and a lot of negativity or resentment. According to some people if you don't subscribe then no matter how much money you spend on the game otherwise or what else you do to support the game and community you are a selfish freeloader who does not care about anything except getting as much as you can for yourself without helping anyone else in any way. And conversely some people believe subscribers are arrogant elitists with no financial sense who think throwing their money away for trivial bonuses makes them a better person and everyone must treat them as the superior being they clearly are.

Overall I think this game is better off without it. And if you want to give a fixed amount of money to Anet on a regular basis you already have that option - buy whatever amount of gems you think best matches a subscription fee and then use them to buy whatever 'bonuses' you'd like to have. Or convert them to gold. Or if you just want to give the money and don't care what you get in return use the gems to gift stuff to other players.

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@Danikat.8537 said:Have a look at Elder Scrolls Online. They have an optional subscription (having converted from having a mandatory one) and it doesn't seem to achieve any of the things on your list. Don't get me wrong, I like the game overall (although I prefer GW2) but it's still a prime example of how a subscription (optional or otherwise) is not a magic wand to make sure all the issues you don't like are fixed.

What it definitely does lead to is lots of features which would normally be available to everyone (paid or otherwise) being locked behind the subscription fee. Want more bank space? Subscribe. Want the equivalent of material storage? Only if you subscribe. Want to actually decorate your house? You'll need to subscribe to place enough items. And so on.

It also creates a clear division between players and a lot of negativity or resentment. According to some people if you don't subscribe then no matter how much money you spend on the game otherwise or what else you do to support the game and community you are a selfish freeloader who does not care about anything except getting as much as you can for yourself without helping anyone else in any way. And conversely some people believe subscribers are arrogant elitists with no financial sense who think throwing their money away for trivial bonuses makes them a better person and everyone must treat them as the superior being they clearly are.

Overall I think this game is better off without it. And if you want to give a fixed amount of money to Anet on a regular basis you already have that option - buy whatever amount of gems you think best matches a subscription fee and then use them to buy whatever 'bonuses' you'd like to have. Or convert them to gold. Or if you just want to give the money and don't care what you get in return use the gems to gift stuff to other players.

That's why I stated if it was implemented properly; I don't think that anything should be locked behind a subscription nor should there be a substantial benefit to subscribing; just a little thank you. I know plenty of people that spend $100s in Gems monthly but would still pay a subscription fee as that's a measurable amount of money that ArenaNet could use in their budget.

Sadly, ESO falls flat in many areas, but that's due to poor developers, not funding. I'm not saying that a subscription would be a magic wand to fix these issues, but if funding was the limiting factor as to what was and wasn't being addressed, and if those funds would allow these issues to be addressed, then I believe it would be something worth investing in.

Either way, it's a lot of 'what-ifs'. I just wanted to get a feel for how the community felt about it, and bring it to the attention of ArenaNet if reliable, consistent funding was a concern.

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@Jaken.6801 said:It depends on what we get in return.I wouldn't mind doing an opional subscription if the price is right and the benefits are actually not as high.For example they give you five BLC-Keys per month. With my luck they won't even make any minus here :tongue:Or maybe some gems.

That's kind of my thought on it. (Bonus +1 on that BLC-Keys...)

We might not even need a subscription so much as an extra reward for buying gems with cash. Perhaps a "reward track" with some non-unique bonuses? Something like keys or random items that would normally come in the boxes (thanks for your $10 and here's an Wardrobe Unlock!).The value added could encourage sales.

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I would support the idea of an optional subscription but only if it doesn't grant huge benefits which non-subscribed users can't access.Titles or a small amount of gems would be a nice little feature but supporting the game is enough reward for me personally.

The Black Lion Trade Company/Gem Store is one of the better cash shops in MMOs so I don't see a reason why a subscription would be needed, a lot of players already spend a cheeky buck or two in their GW2 career :p

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@jokke.6239 said:But you do have an "optional sub fee". Just purchase 10-20$ worth of gems every month.

Which a lot of people already do, myself included, but as I mentioned in the OP and in a few replies, it's about providing reliable and consistent funding that ArenaNet is able to budget with. That isn't to say that they don't incorporate projected Gem sales into their budget, as I'm sure they do, but with more consistent funding we could see the issues listed in the OP addressed.

@Menadena.7482 said:It all depends on the exact proposal however one of my major reasons for coming here was because there was NOT a subscription. I can go idle any time I want and do not have to worry about wasting money.

And I wouldn't want that to be changed at all. People shouldn't feel forced or obligated to purchase anything that's optional, and an optional subscription should give a few little bonuses to thank those that purchased it for their support, and nothing more.

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The game already has an optional subscription: buy a fixed amount of gems with RL dollars|euros each month, get stuff. That gem shop income is among the biggest sources of revenue for ANet

There's no other form of an optional subscription that won't have a huge impact on the game no matter how it's implemented. People will be livid, for starters, accusing ANet of going back on their business philosophy (and for a change, they'd be correct). It's the opposite trend of making the game F2P in the first place. It would be far, far better to find ways to convert more F2P to paid accounts than trying to suck monies out of existing veterans

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@Helbjorne.9368 said:

It wouldn't affect you as a consumer if you didn't subscribe as you would be in the exact same position you're in now, however the increased funding would allow ArenaNet to address these aforementioned issues, we would see an increase in content, and a decrease in the time in which these things are handled/presented.

This is false. You're only in the same position if no other position come take its place. Adding an higher position make the one you're currently in become lower.Therefor you're not in the same position as before.

There's no way to tell they would make more money with a subscription on top of the gem store. The only way to assume they would is if everyone who already buy gems would also subscribe. Or if people who never buy gems would suddenly subscribe. Gemstore is already an optional subscription model. There's no reason to have a second one on top of it. If you are in the opinion that arenanet doesn't make enough money, buy more gems. Or even more game "boxes" or physical goods from their store.

Also money doesn't fix everything. This forum is a very good proof of it. They trashed 5 years of posts to upgrade the forum engine. Fixing the engine could lead into them having to trash all characters or progress. Would you want that? I certainly wouldn't. I'd prefer they make another game than potentially destroy this one.

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Let's take an example:A player will subscribe for 2 years ( 10€ month x 24 months = 240€ ), since the beginning of this expansion, till the end of it.What could have more than the other players which have just bought the expansion?

  1. 500 gems/month
  2. personal golem banker ( until the subscription is active )
  3. 10 % extra Karma, golds, reward tracks
  4. Esclusive Title/Avatar on forum

What about something like this.Would you buy this instead 300 more gems?

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If it were for a stipend of gems rather than anything exclusive (maybe a free item but nothing super spectacular?) it'd be fine. The "cash shop" of this game is pretty good, I think some people would find this method paying off as a lot of players wait for items to pop on sale before buying gems. This way there'd be a steady gem flow for them and they'd feel better about those impulse purchases being already paid for.

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1) "Optional" subscriptions generally come with rental features to create incentives to spend the money. I've yet to see a "free" game where such a subscription is really optional if you want to enjoy the game. Think about it. If people are spending money, they're going to want to get things that those who don't spend, don't get. If those things are not "good enough," people will complain and ultimately won't spend.2) Renting features for a game one has bought seems backward.3) ANet has stuck by their business plan since the original game came out. They're apparently doing as well or better than a lot of Freemium games.4) Many players could feel betrayed were ANet to change their business model. I certainly would.5) Would the optional sub revenue be sufficient to offset money lost in XPac and gem sales should the players alluded to in 3 leave the game, no longer supporting it via gem or XPac purchases?6) Expecting a developer to give you what you want due to a Freemium sub is wishful thinking. They will add what they think is best, just as they do now.7) Anyone who wants to support ANet can already do so.

Were ANet to go this route, and if the rented incentives offered via the sub meant -- as I expect -- that doing without them leads to reduced enjoyment of the game, I'd have a lot more room on my SSD and I'd not look back.

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@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:There's no other form of an optional subscription that won't have a huge impact on the game no matter how it's implemented. People will be livid, for starters, accusing ANet of going back on their business philosophy

Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of bad press if they were to choose to do this. You can step down to an optional subscription, but not step up to one with ease.

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