I would play GW2 more if it was a subscription-based MMO. [MERGED]

[Faline.8795]

19 hours ago, Tatwi.3562 said:

I've always played the game with the idea that converting gold to gems and buying something useful was my "end game content". So from that perspective, every item sold with gems is "unlockable in game".

 

Oh my gosh, that is actually a really good idea!  I never thought of that!

 

I've always stayed away from the store because I didn't want to spend money.  But yours is a really smashing idea!

 

Now I just have to figure out how to make gold in this game...

[Faline.8795]

15 hours ago, Samnang.1879 said:

And to get money, make optional sub model.

Why don't you just buy gems on a monthly basis?  Bam, your optional sub.

[Samnang.1879]

1 minute ago, Faline.8795 said:

Why don't you just buy gems on a monthly basis?  Bam, your optional sub.

I did. I spent like $100 every time they released something.

 

Now I make enough gold to convert them to gems, I don't need real cash anymore... ☠️

[Pagan Highlander.5948]

First i will say this. If GW2 was subscription based, Myself and tens of thousands of others would never have even bought the game. Like me, most of them quit playing subscription based games for exactly that reason, paying to play is lousy.

 

Second like all MMOs, yes they get boring at times. when that happens, take a break, go on vacation, read a book, go see what real life is doing, interact and socialize with people face to face. but never feel like you have to get on and play.

 

Third, Guild wars never forces you to buy anything, it is entirely at your option. No one ever suggested you have to grind anything, unless you just want it, For example, you don't have to get mounts, they are at your option, but they shouldn't just be "given". thats why you have do do a little grind to get them but then thats your choice also. My alternate account doesn't have skyscale and never will, its convenient, but not necessary. There is plenty of stuff to do in Guild wars and its FREE. Its a game, enjoy it, but never be a slave to it or try to conform it to other MMOs

[The Greyhawk.9107]

3 hours ago, Samnang.1879 said:

I did. I spent like $100 every time they released something.

 

Now I make enough gold to convert them to gems, I don't need real cash anymore... ☠️

Someone is still forking over the cash to buy those gems, there are no gems to buy if someone doesn't and if there is no one selling gold (like you) then those folks don't have that reason to buy gems.

[kharmin.7683]

On 5/5/2021 at 2:56 PM, Joote.4081 said:

A subscription would be a darn sight cheaper than the gem store, that's for sure

Perhaps for you.  For me, I haven't paid hardly a thing in 7 years, choosing instead to convert gold to gems.  So, no, a subscription would be a lot more costly for me.  And I'm certain that there are many other players who would feel the same way.

[voltaicbore.8012]

56 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

Perhaps for you.  For me, I haven't paid hardly a thing in 7 years, choosing instead to convert gold to gems.  So, no, a subscription would be a lot more costly for me.  And I'm certain that there are many other players who would feel the same way.

 

I feel exactly the same way.

 

I still buy gems with RL cash for certain skins, but it's a rare occurrence for me. Even including the cost of buying the expansions separately (which I did), in total I've spent far less on this game than I would have on a subscription. The added bonus is that unlike sub games that immediately take away a lot of your conveniences when your sub lapses. we get permanent access to everything we bought. Seriously, when it comes to our time and money, ANet has succeeded in creating the most generous player experience I can think of in the present market. Again, this is not to say that I think the current setup is perfect, but I feel like they have the monetization bit mostly correct.

[TheBravery.9615]

I wouldn't.

[Thornwolf.9721]

In what world would guild wars 2 be worth a sub? The game is good, but It only has most of us because it lacks a sub. Its hard to justify paying to play a game, of any caliber. Let alone an MMO. Plus their content cadence, content quality and such would NOT change because they do make good money. All we'd be is bigger dollar signs

[Ayrilana.1396]

I wouldn't pay a sub because there's no guarantee that things would be any different than they are now.  Where the game is today isn't because of a lack of funds but the culmination of choices that were made.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Ayrilana.1396

[Nilkemia.8507]

This dead horse again. I feel like all that could be said has been said, but here I go :

 

Part of the reason I played this game at all is because it didn't have a subscription. I've ended up spending more money on it than probably any other game before or since. Some regrets I have, but those were my choices.

 

While I don't agree with their F2P conversion of the base game (or at least the restrictions and other changes that came along as a result of it), it's still probably for the better. A subscription is not a guarantee of quality like some seem to think, and there's no reason to think this game would be better for it. Moreover. there would be no choice under that method. So, let it remain dead.

[Aodlop.1907]

5 hours ago, Nilkemia.8507 said:

A subscription is not a guarantee of quality like some seem to think

The current model is however a guarantee that every single new mount, weapon and piece of armor they'll create between expansion is going to the store rather than becoming a reward for an in-game activity or achievement.

[Maikimaik.1974]

48 minutes ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

The current model is however a guarantee that every single new mount, weapon and piece of armor they'll create between expansion is going to the store rather than becoming a reward for an in-game activity or achievement.

Which I'm completely fine with if that means I don't have to pay a monthly fee. 

[Obtena.7952]

3 hours ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

The current model is however a guarantee that every single new mount, weapon and piece of armor they'll create between expansion is going to the store rather than becoming a reward for an in-game activity or achievement.

 

Well, actually, that's completely wrong because you can buy GS items through only rewards from in-game activities if you choose to.

[Aodlop.1907]

19 minutes ago, Obtena.7952 said:

 

Well, actually, that's completely wrong because you can buy GS items through only rewards from in-game activities if you choose to.

Yeah we've been through that already. Grinding gold on the same map 24/7 isn't the same as having a unique reward tied to a specific activity.

[Obtena.7952]

1 hour ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

Yeah we've been through that already. Grinding gold on the same map 24/7 isn't the same as having a unique reward tied to a specific activity.

Except it's not true; you don't have to grind gold 24/7 in the same map to get GS items. You can do whatever you want. 

 

The irony here is that you DO typically have to grind the specific activity to get the unique reward tied to it and with farm more restrictions that grinding gold would have ... but you DON'T have a problem with THAT grind for some reason. You're just contradicting yourself if your argument is based on grinding something. 

 

The really big problem with this thread is that it's not honest ... because there ARE things in the game you can earn by doing the content. You're just offended by the fact that there are ALSO things you can earn by buying them with gold and somehow assumed that would be removed if the game was sub based. That's not true. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Obtena.7952

[Maikimaik.1974]

1 hour ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

Yeah we've been through that already. Grinding gold on the same map 24/7 isn't the same as having a unique reward tied to a specific activity.

So running the same dungeon possibly hundreds of times is fine, but a few hours of gold farming anywhere you want to is too repetitive?

[Swagger.1459]

6 hours ago, Aodlop.1907 said:

The current model is however a guarantee that every single new mount, weapon and piece of armor they'll create between expansion is going to the store rather than becoming a reward for an in-game activity or achievement.

Don’t mislead readers. Mount skins yes. Weapons and armor no. Outfits are on the gemstore, as are a few other misc armor pieces. 
 

Your problem is that you assume a sub means almost everything on the gemstore will be in game. False. You’ll get a few select items in game, maybe a couple of sub perks, but the rest will stay on the gemstore. Reward implementation will mostly stay as is, but a forced sub means Anet loses players in droves and this game shuts down much sooner than expected. Then you can say goodbye to all your  coveted mount skins when they unplug gw2. 

And let me guess, you also assume you’ll get more methods to obtain free black lions keys too? ...

And how many legendary weapons did you craft? You have legendary armors? Legendary trinkets and back pieces? What other gears and rewards did you unlock in game? How many achievement and mastery points do you have?... I’m asking because I’m sure you’re really driven to achieve things in game, so tell us?  Or better yet, show us through the gw2 efficiency site link just how much you’ve actively achieved in game and participated in. 

 

Lastly, try using the wiki once in a while. There are tons of things only obtained through gameplay.

[Riaenvyr.2091]

On 5/5/2021 at 11:28 PM, voltaicbore.8012 said:

Well my general point here is that GW2 might not have looked all that different (from a monetization angle) had it been designed with a subscription from the ground up. My impression of your position is that you think the game would be noticeably different, thanks to the difference between f2p and sub models. That's it, really. We do see many (if not the vast majority) of issues around this topic quite similarly, it seems.

Not certainly different; the way I see it, we simply don't - and can't - know, considering all the unknown variables, and the myriad of variables we're not even aware of existing in the first place.

Who knows, perhaps absolutely nobody from the current playerbase would've touched GW2 for more than a couple months if it were sub-fee'd from the start, but the current playerbase doesn't represent the entire humankind.
Perhaps the game's concept is good enough that it would've had stormed the calm scene, and a more polished and less "casual" friendly GW2 would've cast ripples in eternity.
Perhaps not having to worry so much about players buying shinies, ANet would be much more inclined to experiment with in-game features and their improvement, not which color the next weapon set will cause perma Blindness to people with.
Or perhaps not.

But... who can tell?
Sweet, sweet what-ifs and their utter lack of productivity.

[Azure The Heartless.3261]

*Squints*

 

*Looks at the "Convert Gold to Gems" option that lets you get items in store by spending gold you earn in game.*

 

"????"

 

Also this.

On 5/1/2021 at 8:34 PM, alccode.1297 said:

You could turn it into a sub-based game yourself, e.g., limit yourself to $10/$15 monthly gem store purchases as part of your "monthly subscription". 

 

It's a bit inconsistent to say it's not good to buy things in game with real life money, yet be totally willing to spend real life money in order to basically just get those things anyway, just in a slightly different way.

 

[Malitias.8453]

3 hours ago, Obtena.7952 said:

Except it's not true; you don't have to grind gold 24/7 in the same map to get GS items. You can do whatever you want.

And that last part is the issue he has. He wants more of these items to be earnable through specific activities. Not "whatever" activities.

 

3 hours ago, Obtena.7952 said:

The irony here is that you DO typically have to grind the specific activity to get the unique reward tied to it and with farm more restrictions that grinding gold would have ... but you DON'T have a problem with THAT grind for some reason. You're just contradicting yourself if your argument is based on grinding something. 

Where do you get the idea it has be tied to some unpleasent grind in the first place?
The wish is to have, for example the chocobo-raptor skin, as a reward to completing Mythwright Gambit. Or the Swaggering Hat for doing Fractal 100. Stuff like that.
The idea is that the item/skin represents some very specific in-game accomplishment, OTHER than accumulating gold.

It incentivizes people to do a certain activity if they want the skin, thus giving the player direction.
Skins are then also not only a symbol of wealth, but can represent the skill and accomplishments of the player.

People are going so REEEEEE about the idea of a sub-model, they completely ignore or refuse to see the actual issue some people have with the reward system.

[Maikimaik.1974]

2 minutes ago, Malitias.8453 said:

People are going so REEEEEE about the idea of a sub-model, they completely ignore or refuse to see the actual issue some people have with the reward system.

I understand that some people dislike Gw2's reward system and I can see why they believe that a p2p model would change that.

But to me personally, every single upside of a sub based monetization system gets absolutely destroyed by the fact that I have to constantly pay money in order to play the game.

I can absolutely see the benefits of a p2p model, but those simply don't outweigh the downside of having to pay to play.

[Malitias.8453]

Just now, Maikimaik.1974 said:

I understand that some people dislike Gw2's reward system and I can see why they believe that a p2p model would change that.

But to me personally, every single upside of a sub based monetization system gets absolutely destroyed by the fact that I have to constantly pay money in order to play the game.

I can absolutely see the benefits of a p2p model, but those simply don't outweigh the downside of having to pay to play.

First of all, thank you for making a reasonable comment here.
I also don't think going p2p is feasible for this game.

Could you see yourself buying gems for something like a mini-expansion, which contains one map and a challenging raid (or maybe even a proper dungeon? 😮), which has unique rewards like weapon or mount skins?
I'm just brainstorming here.

[Maikimaik.1974]

Just now, Malitias.8453 said:

First of all, thank you for making a reasonable comment here.
I also don't think going p2p is feasible for this game.

Could you see yourself buying gems for something like a mini-expansion, which contains one map and a challenging raid (or maybe even a proper dungeon? 😮), which has unique rewards like weapon or mount skins?
I'm just brainstorming here.

Minus the raid this is already a thing. Living world episodes cost gems if you weren't online during the few months after their release.

Even though they're free for active players their cost is very controversial and putting them behind a pay wall from the start would cause a lot of upset.

[Malitias.8453]

3 minutes ago, Maikimaik.1974 said:

Minus the raid this is already a thing. Living world episodes cost gems if you weren't online during the few months after their release.

Even though they're free for active players their cost is very controversial and putting them behind a pay wall from the start would cause a lot of upset.

Yea, the raid is an important part of it though. Having some kind of challenge for the reward is the idea.
The brainstormy idea was to have that alongside LW, not as a replacement. It should have nothing to do with LW at all.