Discussion: Retiring Booster Packs, Expansions and Boxed Sets on the NCsoft store on August 30

The Paragon Store needs to adopt Google's company motto.

WARNING: I bold names.

No, we have not received an official statement about the future availability of booster packs. However, in all recent dev/community references to booster packs, language such as this (from the OP of this very thread) pops up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avatea The good news is that players who wish to take advantage of the current pricing are still able to do so before these items are officially discontinued.

"Take advantage of the current pricing." There's nothing to take advantage of now unless the prices are going up. (Also I sure hope nobody buys those 2-3 packs that are actually getting cheaper.)

[Edit: Another bit of iffy language is that we've never been told the store will specifically have Booster Packs. Instead they're always referred to as bundles, sets, etc.]

And if I sound bitter and distrustful, it's because I am. Between previously being told from the Producer himself that they "don't want to nickel and dime us" and the loads of hype about how "convenient" ala carte pricing is (which, when combined with an abstracted points system is a nice way of obfuscating real costs), I've become quite concerned with the current state of the Paragon Store. (And that's on top of all the other problems I have with Freedom best kept for other threads.)

I'm not even trying to accuse the devs of intentional ill-will, I'm just saying that they're presenting a questionable image at the moment, and it's largely thanks to a lack of communication on the issue(s).

Well, if this pricing holds up as you all predict, it will be bad for everyone who used the old system and doesn't have the packs they want. New players and vets who own all the packs won't even notice it as a problem.

In Champions, there were never any booster packs, everything was always ala carte and it is pretty common to spend 5 bucks for points and end up with like 4 outfits. for about 2.00 you can get a hat pack that has 4 hats. No one had a problem because there was nothing to compare it to. I am not saying that COH is apping Champions, but if they are making money with it, surely NCSoft has to consider this marketing strategy.

One time A group of my friends were shooting the breeze and they started talking about Xbox gold service or something. I was spitting nails because they wanted us to pay for matchmaking.

ME:"On The PC? Are they freaking crzay?"
Console only buddy looked at me: "Why? what's the big deal? It's the same price as Sony's"
Other PC buddy: "Because we've never had to pay before for matchmaking"

So veterens who have not purchased the packs they want are the ones who will be most upset. The ones who have them, have them and there will not be any more bundled with that much stuff. Temp powers are seperate, auras are seperate, etc.

Apparently, there are not a lot of people upset about this. Compare this thread to the Party booster pack thread.

We will just ahve to wait and see.

Purchase wedding pack: check.
Purchase GvE item pack: check.
Purchase... Sorry, we can't accept your order at this time, try again later.

Le sigh, guess I'll have to come back tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

Sorry if this has already been stated somewhere but just had a quick question on paragon points.

Will the 400 paragon points a month be back dated so if, for example, I have been playing for 20 months I will receive 8000PP when freedom launches?

Thanks,
Ben

No, points started last month. So right now, everyone has 800 Paragon Points.

I expect that Beta prices are more likely be adjusted after items are removed from the Online store. This is to ensure some profit is made on certain bundles, while others may end up at the same pricing point in total. While I understand current Beta prices are steep, I won't make any purchase decisions based on those numbers. Personally, I do however appreciate the weak dollar and Euro, which has made me pick up packs I haven't bothered with previously while buying some extra game accounts during the sale.

Gonna miss the Booster Packs and good to hear that they are still going to release costume sets as a whole.

Up until now I have purchased every extra the game offered so I'm sure that trend will continue with Freedom.

The list is not quite correct because GR and GvE also include a free month, priced at $15. So if you only count the features of these packs, GvE is only $5 while Going Rogue Complete is $15.