Is it justified?

I'm not crazy about it personally, but that's because a) I don't like the micro-transaction model, not only because of the nickle-n-dime aspect of it, but because as a rule they really disregard any loyalty to the game in question, and b) I saw nothing wrong with the old way we were doing it (ie subscription play).

That said, at least NCSoft is rewarding loyalty with the rewards programs, such as it's become.

However, the issue I have with NCSoft is that they do not provide enough information for making educated purchases. For example, If I want to purchase a costume set, I currently have to look for it, either in a post somewhere on the forums or sift through the CC to find each item. Same with power sets.

If they want to handle everything ala carte micro-transactions, then the market should have all that information (including lists and images) readily available.

And yes... I'm being lazy.

When things were given to us, I had no problem putting forth some effort to look them up, find out the mechanics, etc. Now I'm paying, and my money means YOU have to do the work... if you want a chance to sell me a car, best show me around it first.

It's 106 miles to Grandville, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing faceless helmets

... Hit it ...

Over all I am quite satisfied with the new system. As much or more stuff seems to be released for free to VIPs as in the past. Combine that with my ability to purchase 6 additional power sets and 4 new costume sets, or some similar combo each year and I am a happy camper.

I have only 2 complaints. The first was quite well said by Jet_Boy...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jet_Boy However, the issue I have with NCSoft is that they do not provide enough information for making educated purchases. For example, If I want to purchase a costume set, I currently have to look for it, either in a post somewhere on the forums or sift through the CC to find each item. Same with power sets. If they want to handle everything ala carte micro-transactions, then the market should have all that information (including lists and images) readily available.

The other is the release of combat items that are superior to those available in the game. The new Enhancment Proc's and Enhancement boosters are two examples. I won't go in depth into this subject since if you want more info there are already several excellent threads such as this one...

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...=285538&page=4

i think if the devs. are going to keep making us pay for new powersets then they need to actually be good, ever since they started this with street justice they all have falllen short of power, especially in pvp zones, fun sure, functunal maybe, but good, not so much

Ok, let me clarify my statement about the discount for vets a bit, since it wasn't clear enough, and that is my own mistake.

Yes, we get 400 a month free, 550PP a month if you have T8 Filled.
Yes we got a free Sever Transfer per month.
Yes, we have Access to VIP Beta server.
Yes, we receive a free monthly reward token.

NO, these are not awarded to just veterans, these are awarded to ALL VIPs, and people with enough cash to throw at a game, can buy their way up the reward tree.

What i was suggesting, per 1 year veteran badge you will receive 2.5-5% discount on your purchase (Buying items with Paragon Points). A 1, 2, 3 or 4 and so on. Veteran badges can not be bought, it has to be earned. This discount bonus is to reward the long time players, not the few who buy their way to the top, only to leave when they are bored or when a new game comes out. This is for the loyal players, who year in year out showed that they love this game, support this game and in my opinion, those players should be rewarded more than the players who bought their way up.

I worked in a store as a sales rep, and i rather sell something small to a returning customer, than have one big transaction and the guy never returns.

With these Yearly veteran badges discount bonus, you entice and reward players for their loyalty.

Let me give you an example of what i mean:
I have seen a new player in-game who in his 1st week of play bought his way up the reward tree, and filled every slot with having a few tokens to spare. I have been here 2.5 years, and i just filled my 4th slot on T6.
This new player gets more rewards, more options more PP and such than someone who has been loyal to this game for over two years.

I have bought all the boxes: CoH:CE, CoV:CE, GvE, AE, Mac and GR box.
I bought all the bonus packs when they came out, not just cause i like most of the content, but also to support the game. Then i lost my job.
Now i'm struggling to keep my head above water, but one thing i make sure of, keep my sub active to not only support the game i love, but also cause playing this game keeps me from going into the deep end.
Now back to the new player...
I haven't seen him for a while, it took him less than 2 months before he quit playing this game.
He just got in, spends a load of cash and has the same stuff all of the people who either have the cash to waste or who have been loyal to the game for well over 5, 6 7 or even 8 years now.
He gets bored with his new toy, leaves and that's it.. A chunk of money for the game, but the player is gone. Yes, he funded the game for about $500 or more, but he isn't an active sub, or someone who buys PP once every few months or so. So the number of active subs went down again with this person. And we all know what happens to games when they can not maintain their subscription count.

I know i am not the only one who is struggling atm, and still maintains his subscription. Some of you have a nice job and have been here for years too. Wouldn't it be a nice gesture to show some love back to their loyal players, the players who year in year out show how much they love the game?

I'm fine with paying for powersets as a VIP, especially because they are still occassionally granting free sets as well.

Personally i wish they'd done it diffrently and give all VIP the powersets for free plus some other bonuses (like half the inventory stuff, 3 more cossies etc) and bonus points (25-50%) when buying points, not free points.


But this works too, i can use my free points to buy powersets. Not paid for any of cossies or powersets i got so far, the 550 points per month goes a long way really.