No more almost impossible to obtain crap please

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Technically, all MMOs are a cash grab. but hey, let's blanket bash all f2p games, there aren't any good ones out there!

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Al, you can't be serious.

There is a significant difference between a F2P and a subscription-oriented MMO and the old 'all MMOs are a cashgrab' doesn't make a F2P system superior to a subscription-oriented MMO for the player.

In the former the developer is more inclined to put up barriers between the player and items which require money to overcome. That shiny sword? 4 bucks. That new armor set? 6 bucks. New pet? 2 bucks. In this setup, the purchased equipment has to be superior to the in-game stuff or else you'll have a lack income and your cash shop will suck.

This directly ties your success ingame to real-life funds and basically turns a game into a long-term investment. For any serious MMO that means the base demanding people get this gear or be hopelessly gimp compared to others. That peer pressure works well for the developers counting the money but it damages gameplay and makes the game not worth playing.

I'd much rather pay a set price that the developer then uses towards improving the game than micro-transactions where Richie Rich can win the game because he tossed his wallet at the biggest challenges the game had to offer.

These companies need to keep their damn hands out of my wallet. A store for things like game-related merchandise is well and good but when you have to pay to get anything done it's well beyond the line for me.

I can't see F2P inherently being evil. It's what the occasional costs a player may encounter that can be problematic. Both styles of games need their money to survive, and while I'd basically call the RMT Paradise style a crappy game, those that otherwise allow players to get everything through reasonable effort are at least on the right track. Regardless of game style, anyone sitting there demanding people unconditionally have the best of the best are probably not people you want to play with.

Off the top of my head, I've tried things like Mabinogi, Rappelz, and at least a few others whose names I can't recall which weren't too bad in the early phases. However, I can't get behind games that lock out basic functionality like auction houses, bazaars, or personal storage. At that point, they may as well call it what it really is, an extended free trial.

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There is a significant difference between a F2P and a subscription-oriented MMO and the old 'all MMOs are a cashgrab' doesn't make a F2P system superior to a subscription-oriented MMO for the player.

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i didn't say either was superior to the other.

Just because a game is f2p doesn't automatically mean the game is inferior. Look at league of legends. It has no paying for power, all gameplay content is earnable without paying a dime, and they don't compel you to pay for anything. Primarily, alternate looks for champions is what they sell. And they still make money, even while the vast majority of players never give Riot a penny.

There are several f2p games out there that are of quite good quality and do not force you to buy stuff to progress.

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That shiny sword? 4 bucks. That new armor set? 6 bucks.

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Very few of these games sell you useable, statted equipement for money. Generally, it's cosmetic stuff. Some, like MapleStory, do sell power, but not directly through buying equipment, rather they sell stuff that makes it easier to upgrade items. D&D online does sell equipment, but you can earn points in that game, not just buy them, and the sold equipment is generally inferior to the loot you can find in dungeons, so it's only useful in rare circumstances.

f2p games don't automatically, inherently grab more cash than subscription MMOs. Subscription games give the maker a steady stream of funds, while income from an f2p game is fairly volatile- you're also depending on a few hardcore players to give you lots of money while the majority of the people who download and play your game will pay little to nothing.

At least in a Free to Play game you are still able to stick around without paying, and if you want more content, then you pay for it. I don't see how that can be bad.
Can't speak for all of them, but at least for some, you can even post on their forum without paying!
Amazing, I know!
Before you say "wööt the amount of trolls", yeah, I don't care about that since I'm immune I guess.

Point being, Free to Play is good in my opinion, but just like anything else, it can be made poorly, so not all of them are great, or even good.
That's only natural.

That being said, when was this thread about Free to Play, eh? ^^;

Oopsies, my mind just almost imploded as I thought for a slight moment about FFXI being Free to Play and the players being able to work on a Relic/Mythic\Other while not paying the full price we still have to play for the product we shouldn't be paying so much in the first place but I digress and this sentence is going into somewhere very dark and I doubt anyone wants to see that so I will just

Zing! Isn't amazing how every thread these days goes off track like a bad version of the telephone game? :p

The first post in this thread is the only one anyone really needs to read, anyway. It doesn't get simpler than that.

So I'm convinced that the escalating trials are someones response to PW/AV being easier to kill.

Machiavellian dev: Hmm, I wanted these fights to grind the joy out of the players souls, but now they can be done without any challenge. What could possibly restore these to the level of angst I had originally intended?
*see's the QQ over 1500 plates*
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