Thread: Opt-in Pay Tier Structure until 2.0 (different than the 'half pay' or 'free to play')

Originally Posted by Zuellni

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

25 might be a bit high, but it's a good idea (better, actually). Modifying my original post to include it.

Originally Posted by nasomi

And here's why. It would cost SE a lot of man hours to implement such a system, making it counter productive. They didn't ask for your advice on payment. They asked for your feedback on systems they're putting in. If you haven't figured out that once SE says they're going to do something they're not going to change your mind, you need to get that brain cell of yours to start multiplying before you forget to breathe.

That's the old SE you're talking about. SE's behavior is drastically different since Yoshida became producer. Case and point:

But you went ahead and you had this poll and we know that you're a good group of hardcore players that have been there a long time. So we are taking this poll to heart and discuss this again and see if this is an option for us. We will then get back to the players and decide.

Originally Posted by MrLion

You've had plenty of time free of charge...time to pay up.

If you read my post... you would have seen that I said I'm happy to pay and that I would have paid months ago because of Yoshi-P's efforts. This isn't something I'm coming up with because I want to get around paying (I'll be paying regardless of how much they charge). Granted, the suggestion is out of self-interest, but it's communal self-interest. Letting people see the patches is a huge PR boost, which means the general impression the public has of FFXIV is likely to slowly sway, which will in turn likely mean more players stay/come back. And more players means... I'm more likely to be happy. So yes, there is an element of self-interest, but it's not financial.

Originally Posted by MrLion

You've had plenty of time free of charge...time to pay up.

I've already paid. I've had 6 months worth of crysta since the end of the first month after launch.

Just shooting ideas out for those who are new or don't feel ready yet.

Originally Posted by Zuellni

What if SE adopted a free to play all content up to rank 25? That way, all the meat and stuff will be for subscribers only while non-subscribers get to experience everything up to getting the Chocobo mount as well as a few dungeons, all the first class quests, etc.

Dungoens & Dragons Online uses a hybrid model. There is an optional subscription fee and you can also play for free. But if you play for free, you have to unlock content, either with points tthat you earn by grinding out reputation ("favor" in the game) on multiple servers to earn enough points (since you can only earn so much favor through all the free content) or by purchasing the points. Subscribers get full access to all content without having to unlock it, and also get a small stipend of points which they can use for other purposes since they don't need to unlock content.

The subscribers ("VIPs") also get access to new content a few days before free players are able to unlock/purchase the new content.

(It is possible to unlock all of the dungeons and such in the game through grinding across every server- this does take a long time, though, because the rate that favor converts into points is pretty low)

Thing is, before 2.0 is released there will be another beta. If people want to test the game out again, they're obligated to do so then. Until that time comes, they gotta either pay or temporarily discontinue. As much as I would love to see the game remain f2p, or even $5 a month, it's not happening.

Originally Posted by Ruisu

Thing is, before 2.0 is released there will be another beta. If people want to test the game out again, they're obligated to do so then. Until that time comes, they gotta either pay or temporarily discontinue. As much as I would love to see the game remain f2p, or even $5 a month, it's not happening.

Having another free trial period in a year is definitely a good idea, and will mitigate some of the casualties in the player base from charging now. But it will only help if people actually hop in-game during that period, and if the last time they were pretty dissatisfied... they probably aren't going to give it much of a second chance a year later.

I'm speaking from personal perspective here - when I quit after launch, I probably wouldn't have considered playing now, or even at 2.0, if I hadn't been on an hour or two a month just to keep an eye on things. What I got from playing a little bit after patches was a sense of progress. It's not enough to slap on a new version number and say "Things are better now!" even when they are; people are cynics and won't believe it without a good PR effort. What I'm saying is this: the current state of the game is infinitely better than it was at launch. But I only believe in the promises of 2.0 because I've been following along with Yoshi-P all along the way and see that he's delivered everything promised, AND been receptive to changes.

Originally Posted by nasomi

Yoshi didn't make the call, guarantee'd. Corporate did. Yoshi is a salesman. He'd give you everything for free all day long if he was allowed, but he's not. He can make plea's but the corporate office holes all the cards.

Weren't you leaving?

Stop trying to troll people. I'm not complaining about the state of the game and have reiterated multiple times I'm willing to pay. I'm not going anywhere. I'm sticking with FFXIV regardless of what is decided.

Your attitude, on the other hand, is going to drive people away. It's not community-building; it's snobby.

Originally Posted by DNO

Honestly if people are not willing to pay for it now then they wont be willing to pay for it for a while. SE is actually doing the right thing. Like the people who like it pay for it. and when 2.0 drops it will have another free trial and everyone can try it then. No need to let people really try it into its really and complete. Opt in and out will only hurt it. I say lock out all the haters into its complete. Only think Opt in and out will do is have people saying "its still not done it still sucks" So kick them into its done.

Possibly. But I think most of the real haters left a year ago. There's definitely some griefers still floating around, but I dont think that has much to do with the FTP period.

To be fair, in an interview with BG Yoshida did -actually say- that he's not firmly committed to any one or another payment structure, so ideas like this are actually valuable and relevant.

Honestly if people are not willing to pay for it now then they wont be willing to pay for it for a while. SE is actually doing the right thing. Let the people who like it pay for it. and when 2.0 drops it will have another free trial and everyone can try it then. No need to let people really try it into its really and complete. Opt in and out will only hurt it. I say lock out all the haters into its complete. Only thing Opt in and out will do is have people saying "its still not done it still sucks" So kick them into its done.