Should Ukrainians get a free/lowered Sub?

[Ranaku]

Little disclaimer at the start, i am neither Ukrainian (so i wouldn't profit from this in any way) nor do i want to discuss any of the factors that lead to this problem. I think we can have a good discussion without falling into political debates. So this here only about players that get affected by situations like war.

I think by now many of you have heard about the problem Ukrainians have with their sub fees, since their currency isn't supported by SE they need to pay in Euros which can lead to them having to pay almost or even more than two days of work for their subscription. Not to mention that many of these fellow players, no matter where they come from, lost their jobs through circumstances that they didn't wanted/caused or can control in any way.

So my question is this, should SE gift people from such war-torn places free gametime? Or at least lower their subscription cost significantly so they can afford it? Most people in the US/EU have to work 1-2 hours to get the money for their sub, Ukrainians having to work basically 8-16 times (or even more) that much just to get an escape from their reality seems really really unfair to me personally.

And just to say it again, this is about our fellow players. This is not about the political turmoil that is going on around it. They are civilians and XIV is an escape and home for them like it is for all of us so please respect that and this thread.

Link to a Zepla Video about this topic: https://youtu.be/rz8LsVJDeXI

[VelKallor]

I would definitely get behind this. A medium that allows them to keep in touch with others, as well as the game itself, would be invaluable for morale, if little else.

God knows right now they could use some good news.

[Larirawiel]

Yes, i support it too. But there is a big potential for misuse. Non-ukrainians could use VPNs and pretend, that they are Ukrainians. And then they could play for free. So i doubt, that SQEX will enable it.



Cheers

[Packetdancer]

I mean, I'm sympathetic to the desire to still stay in a game -- it's social contact and sometimes a very effective distraction from other stresses -- but I also don't think a regional free subscription is practical. (Or likely.)

Leaving aside the fact that trying to do business in the EU in multiple currencies is a nightmare -- hence why I suspect the game's subscription rates will always remain in Euros, rather than having ones specific to any given country and their national currency -- what I think SQEX could do that would be a good compromise just in general would be to allow full subscriptions to fall back to the free trial.

Yeah, falling back to the free trial would prevent you from playing post-Heavensward content (or jobs, for that matter), and would impose a number of irritating limitations on your account. But even unable to afford the subscription, you'd still be able to log in, chat with folks in your FC, and run at least some content with them to unwind.

But right now, once you've subscribed, there's no going back; you either pay the subscription (or use game time-cards) or you take a break from the game.

In the meantime? If we really want to help folks out, rather than pressuring SQEX to revamp their EU structure such that they can do regional-specific pricing or support multiple currencies -- which would not be an overnight process even if they did do it -- it wouldn't be terribly hard for some in the playerbase to set up a community effort to buy a bunch of the EU game time-cards (in digital form), pool them together, and then give the codes to folks in the Ukraine who are in a bad spot financially and who could still use the social contact and chance to unwind that a game can offer.

[aveyond-dreams]

I'm not entirely sure that this is a good idea. Why should they get reduced subs when natural disasters and wars have affected other parts of the world and at most all they got was a pause on housing demolition? If it cannot be applied equally, it shouldn't be considered.

[Ranaku]

I'm not entirely sure that this is a good idea. Why should they get reduced subs when natural disasters and wars have affected other parts of the world and at most all they got was a pause on housing demolition? If it cannot be applied equally, it shouldn't be considered.

Because sub fees were never equally. Russians have to pay like 4 euros, we from the EU have to pay 12,99 Euros, you from the US have to pay 14,99 Dollars so it was never equal from the start. Just for example the chinese sub costs 0,1$ an hour. (Yeah seems they pay in hours played)

So regional pricing was always a thing, this isn't new. The only difference is that the Ukrainian currency isn't supported, which is something even Blizzard out of all companies have already changed.

[aveyond-dreams]

Because sub fees were never equally. Russians have to pay like 4 euros, we from the EU have to pay 12,99 Euros, you from the US have to pay 14,99 Dollars so it was never equal from the start. Just for example the chinese sub costs 0,1$ an hour. (Yeah seems they pay in hours played)

So regional pricing was always a thing, this isn't new. The only difference is that the Ukrainian currency isn't supported, which is something even Blizzard out of all companies have already changed.

So why should the sub fee in one currency be reduced to make things even more unequal than they are? I don't understand how this is a good thing.

[Ranaku]

So why should the sub fee in one currency be reduced to make things even more unequal than they are? I don't understand how this is a good thing.

Cause people in different parts of the world have differently strong currencies? It is kinda arrogant to think everything should be based on the strongest currency in the world.

Or do you really have the opinion that people from places like developing countries should have no access to games cause they earn in a month what you make in an hour? O.o If so then...uh...well that is your hill to die on i won't judge!

[Imora]

Because sub fees were never equally. Russians have to pay like 4 euros, we from the EU have to pay 12,99 Euros, you from the US have to pay 14,99 Dollars so it was never equal from the start. Just for example the chinese sub costs 0,1$ an hour. (Yeah seems they pay in hours played)

So regional pricing was always a thing, this isn't new. The only difference is that the Ukrainian currency isn't supported, which is something even Blizzard out of all companies have already changed.

All currencies will never be supported.

dealing with exchange rates and everything is a pain in the ass.

[Kranel_San]

Other countries have been affected by natural disasters (Including Japan itself) while others have suffered wars for years without getting much support. I don't see why Ukrainians should be any special.