So I want to return but...
By
A Musing Mage,
Posted on: 2012-07-10 14:36 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Second build.
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Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
Respecs need to be more readily available because a returning player that doesn't have an SO build can't play.
It's as simple as that. |
@bpphantom
The Defenders of Paragon
KGB Special Section 8
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So the devs should manage expectations better? I'll buy that. However keep in mind that the forum is a very small percentage of the people who play the game. Just because it SEEMS like a lot of people are dissatisfied with what they think they're getting and what they do get doesn't mean it's in actuality happening. The forum skews perception.
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Originally Posted by Chyll
This.
I assume NCSoft wants ppl to return. The number of posts similar to the OP's seems to indicate that something needs to be done to welcome them back better. This may be as simple as some sort of way to notify them explicitly and helpfully about the vet/reward tokens to unlock features. But something to avoid a "wha? huh? that sucks! *walks away*" reaction that appears to be quite possible, and is not really the fault of the player. |
Something witty and profound
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What would you need to try out? Nothings changed on your original unlocked characters.|
Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
Yes, that would be deciding that the game is worth returning to and worth spending $5 every two months for points for the IO license or for a VIP sub every month in the current situation.
Not being able to try out my unlocked characters as I used to play them considerably deters me from being able to make a proper decision to do so, especially with the default option being "go elsewhere" if I end up lacking sufficient information. Things they could do to improve that are mentioned here, but that doesn't solve anything right now and I doubt any staff are reading this topic anyway. |
Simply pay $5, which is less than what you had and you have access to IOs.
Not seeing the issue here.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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This is complete and utter nonsense in my opinion. The devs stated BEFORE the game went freemium that their main priority would ALWAYS be the players who have been loyal to the game.|
Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
But yeah, however much anyone has spent on CoX before it went free to play is seriously irrelevant. If anything, it can easily be argued you got the massive perks of having 6+ years of exclusive access, possibly including stuff such as events that may never be repeated (like the Rularuu invasion) and able to provide feedback to help shape the direction of the game before Freedom launched. Free players don't have that and never will. And it's really besides the point regardless.
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It's the who freaking point of Vet rewards and the VIP system afterwards.
You can't just hand wave that away, sorry.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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Fair enough, and I agree in general. My concern, OTOH, is how many ppl experience this and don't bother to share on the forums? Hence, the basic thought that some sort of communication improvement may help mitigate this "issue". (edit: which as C&E posted next is a perfectly valid, and probably correct, business decision.)
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Originally Posted by Fista
So the devs should manage expectations better? I'll buy that. However keep in mind that the forum is a very small percentage of the people who play the game. Just because it SEEMS like a lot of people are dissatisfied with what they think they're getting and what they do get doesn't mean it's in actuality happening. The forum skews perception.
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City of Heroes was my first MMO, & my favorite computer game.
R.I.P.
Chyll - Bydand - Violynce - Enyrgos - Rylle - Nephryte - Solyd - Fettyr - Hyposhock - Styrling - Beryllos - Rosyc
Horryd - Myriam - Dysquiet - Ghyr
Vanysh - Eldrytch
Inflyct - Mysron - Orphyn - Dysmay - Reapyr - - Wyldeman - Hydeous
Also:
Not giving people access to IOs for free has a very valid reason for it.
Premium players above a certain tier DO have that access for free.
Freebies and Premium players who are below that tier do not.
Why is that?
IO access is arguably the most game-changing feature there is. If it were free, how many people would either cancel their subscription or simply play for free forever? I'm betting a significant amount would.
If a player is not interested in Incarnates, or does not have a level 50 to take advantage of it, having IO access for free would give them very little incentive to ever spend a dime on the game. If enough people decided to save their money because there was nothing they really wanted to spend it on, the game could potentially lose millions of dollars in revenue per quarter.
Why does that matter? Because NCSoft has proven in the past that they are not shy or hesitant about pulling the plug on games that are not making enough money for their liking. Just ask the players of Tabula Rasa and Auto Assault how their games are faring these days.
It sounds dumb and farfetched, but giving people IO access for free would actually be bad for the long term longevity of the game. If CoH ever drops below a certain threshold of revenue and remains there longer than a couple months, I have no doubt it will cease to exist shortly thereafter.
Making people pay for access to IOs is a good way to ensure that there will always be a reason for people to spend money on the game. A good number of former subscribers dropped to Premium because they got to keep the vast majority of the stuff they wanted to keep. IOs are something that most people who have them would like to keep access to (as this thread illustrates nicely). Not having to pay for them would inevitably lead to a much larger chunk of the playerbase ceasing to spend money on the game.
It is perfectly reasonable of the devs to not want to gamble on being able to crank out enough optional goodies that people will want to keep their game alive. In my opinion at least.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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If both builds are IO'd that isn't happening.|
Originally Posted by bpphantom
Second build.
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Like I said, the #1 reason for returning players to be turned off is they can't play with their IO builds, and a respec isn't available to turn one of the builds into an SO.
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This is the problem 100 times over. Understanding the Paragon Rewards program is vital for a satisfying return, and the information just isn't there. This page (http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/commun...ds_details.php) exists, but it's both buried and insufficient. You have to go external (http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Paragon_Rewards) for the info.|
Originally Posted by Chyll
This.
I assume NCSoft wants ppl to return. The number of posts similar to the OP's seems to indicate that something needs to be done to welcome them back better. This may be as simple as some sort of way to notify them explicitly and helpfully about the vet/reward tokens to unlock features. But something to avoid a "wha? huh? that sucks! *walks away*" reaction that appears to be quite possible, and is not really the fault of the player. |
It's not free to play for returners expecting what they had. It's $2 per month, which still looks like a pretty good deal when coming from $15. However, they also get hit with the upfront cost of unlocks. All six archetypes will cost you 6400 points, which is up to $80. Add in character slots (320-480 points per, depending on whether you buy five at a time) and you're looking at a hefty price tag for something marketed as free.
My recommendation to TwilightPhoenix would be this. Drop $5 on the game (also gets you another token as your first points purchase) and purchase an invention license for a month or two. Use your free slots to unlock your favorite characters that aren't also behind a class lock. Play the game for a bit that way and then decide if its worth any more to you.
I somewhat agree with the OP - I felt (and argued during the Freedom feedback threads) that there should at the least be a one-time per-character IO unlock for 400-800 points that would allow someone who was coming back to play a character or two that didn't want to have to keep up a subscription to spend a small amount to permanently be able to use IOs on that character.
When you come back you're already losing a lot of alts, so why should you have to subscribe to get the ones you selected to keep? Because an IO license is a subscription, it's just a lower-cost one that doesn't get you nearly as much and once you start getting IOs by using the subscription they shut off if you ever let it lapse until you're tier 8, so you're almost locked into it.
I still feel that way, despite my account currently having access to IOs whether I'm paying for it or not. It's also one of the reasons that I was unable to convince a friend who had left the game to come back and even try it as a premium - she didn't want to have to rebuild her favorite characters after finally getting the IOs the way she wanted them. There's a sentimentality from returning players about their characters that is being ignored in the hucksterism of "just pay ($5-$15) every month and you can play the way you remember!" attitude.
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Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.
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Originally Posted by Brillig
It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.
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If you can't play the way your character used to play you lose attachment of that character, and you lose the appeal of playing again.|
Originally Posted by Siolfir
I somewhat agree with the OP - I felt (and argued during the Freedom feedback threads) that there should be a one-time per-character IO unlock for 400-800 points that would allow someone who was coming back to play a character or two that didn't want to have to keep up a subscription to spend a small amount to permanently be able to use IOs on that character.
When you come back you're already losing a lot of alts, so why should you have to subscribe to get the ones you selected to keep? Because an IO license is a subscription, it's just a lower-cost one that doesn't get you nearly as much and once you start getting IOs by using the subscription they shut off if you ever let it lapse until you're tier 8, so you're almost locked into it. I still feel that way, despite my account currently having access to IOs whether I'm paying for it or not. It's also one of the reasons that I was unable to convince a friend who had left the game to come back and even try it as a premium - she didn't want to have to rebuild her favorite characters after finally getting the IOs the way she wanted them. There's a sentimentality from returning players about their characters that is being ignored in the hucksterism of "just pay ($5-$15) every month and you can play the way you remember!" attitude. |
If you can't even play at all (both IO builds are greyed out) that is even worse.
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It sounds like you want features of the game that cost money, so I recommend you pay those fees. If you are not happy with the game without the services that cost money, you have two choices.|
Originally Posted by TwilightPhoenix
I'm trying to decide if I want to pay for this game again, either as a Premium or a VIP, and am getting annoyed that the game seems to be doing everything it can to sour my experience and discourage me. Not get everything for free.
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1) Don't play
2) Pay for the features you want.
I choose 2, but choice 1 seems reasonable as well.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
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I would not mind if IOs degraded automatically to SO level and you lost set bonuses when you went to be a free player.|
Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
If both builds are IO'd that isn't happening.
Like I said, the #1 reason for returning players to be turned off is they can't play with their IO builds, and a respec isn't available to turn one of the builds into an SO. |
That would not be too bad.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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IOs should NOT be given away. Full stop.|
Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
If you can't play the way your character used to play you lose attachment of that character, and you lose the appeal of playing again.
If you can't even play at all (both IO builds are greyed out) that is even worse. |
However, i would not mind if they are reduced to SO level and set bonuses removed.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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Which was the point. You're unlikely to entice someone to come back by telling them the characters that they remember can't play the way they used to without recurring payments. Even if it's just a one-time-only fee like the AT unlocks and on a per-character basis, that's less over-time cost for someone coming back to "play for free".
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Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
If you can't play the way your character used to play you lose attachment of that character, and you lose the appeal of playing again.
If you can't even play at all (both IO builds are greyed out) that is even worse. |
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Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
it has gone from unconscionable to downright appalling that we have no way of measuring our characters' wetness.
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Originally Posted by Brillig
It's hard to beat the entertainment value of Whackjob Wednesdays.
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400-800 is incredibly small. If they do that it should cost way more.|
Originally Posted by Siolfir
I somewhat agree with the OP - I felt (and argued during the Freedom feedback threads) that there should at the least be a one-time per-character IO unlock for 400-800 points that would allow someone who was coming back to play a character or two that didn't want to have to keep up a subscription to spend a small amount to permanently be able to use IOs on that character.
When you come back you're already losing a lot of alts, so why should you have to subscribe to get the ones you selected to keep? Because an IO license is a subscription, it's just a lower-cost one that doesn't get you nearly as much and once you start getting IOs by using the subscription they shut off if you ever let it lapse until you're tier 8, so you're almost locked into it. I still feel that way, despite my account currently having access to IOs whether I'm paying for it or not. It's also one of the reasons that I was unable to convince a friend who had left the game to come back and even try it as a premium - she didn't want to have to rebuild her favorite characters after finally getting the IOs the way she wanted them. There's a sentimentality from returning players about their characters that is being ignored in the hucksterism of "just pay ($5-$15) every month and you can play the way you remember!" attitude. |
The better option would be degrade them automatically to SO level and remove the set bonuses while the person is playing for free.
Everything would return if you pay for the license or sub again.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
Which is better:
Can't use IOs for free.
-or-
Can't play at all.
I fail to see the logic that says having to pay $15 a month to log into the game at all was a better arrangement than having to pay $10 for having your characters the way they were before for 5 months.
$10 is less than $75.......isn't it?
If all that is required for you to enjoy the game again is having your IOs, it will now cost you $24 a year to play the game.
As opposed to the $180 it would cost you prior to Freedom.
I really don't see a basis for complaint here.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
One thing that i have noticed, is that the fantasy MMO about a ring has locked character classes.
No big surprise there.
However, to actually create said class, you needed to have the expansion already, and if you dropped down to premium status you *still* kept the ability to play them if you chose to unlock the character slot.
Ok, no real big deal.. however, if you were a returning player, it is much better to do something this way. You already bought the box/expansion, then unsubbed and now want to come back... Unlock the character slot and away you go!
Brilliant for the returning vets of the game, you paid for it, you keep access to it (with the character slot restriction of course... but that is a slightly different matter).
My 1st 5 characters in City of Heroes were 4 Controllers and a Peacebringer (honestly, they were!). My *only* City of Villains were a dominator and a Mastermind.
I have bought City of Heroes Deluxe edition, City of Villains Collectors, and Going Rogue Digital (no box set for EU account holders BOOO!).
IF i hadn't already been subbed long enough to already have them unlocked in the Paragon Rewards tree, i would have 1 valid character to play. Just the one. So in my mind, you are *not* keeping what you have already paid for.
Sure I could also drop £8.99 for the month to get my feet wet again with everything unlocked, but then it defeats the purpose of returning on a premium account.
Some people *like and enjoy* playing one archtype. For me, that is the controller... i love playing it. Other classes do not fit right to me. Tried them, got bored with them quite rapidly. I can play on my fire controllers all day long though.
The IO side is *slightly* annoying, but I did make my IO build a secondary one so I still have my primary SO build available.
Sure, i could spend 1200 points (non sale price) on unlocking Controllers or masterminds. Might as well drop the $15 to sub for that, and see if the game is ok.
The *current* setup is totally fine for *new* players to the game, but the returning Premiums are finding themselves in a slight problem of finding themselves locked out of stuff that they have already paid for (Masterminds/Controllers)... and if the returning player *cannot* play their old characters then they are going to be more pissed off (HEATS/VEATS are different, because you had to unlock them in game, so you already had a character at a certain level... sucks if it was a controller/mastermind though)
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IO's will have to given away if they plan on putting in place instant snipes. IO builds can be more powerful than SO builds, but this is the first time where the power will function differently because of that difference. Instant snipe is very binary in that you either meet the tohit requirement or you don't. Most SO builds will never be able to reach instant snipe unless in highly situational team settings with certain pairings/compositions.|
Originally Posted by Aura_Familia
IOs should NOT be given away. Full stop.
However, i would not mind if they are reduced to SO level and set bonuses removed. |
VIP system is about Incarnate content. Tying it to IO system was, and still is a mistake, because the IO system genesis was based on having to nerf the game across the board to make room for IO's.
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If we are to use such rudimentary logic:|
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Which is better:
Can't use IOs for free. -or- Can't play at all. I fail to see the logic that says having to pay $15 a month to log into the game at all was a better arrangement than having to pay $10 for having your characters the way they were before for 5 months. $10 is less than $75.......isn't it? If all that is required for you to enjoy the game again is having your IOs, it will now cost you $24 a year to play the game. As opposed to the $180 it would cost you prior to Freedom. I really don't see a basis for complaint here. |
P2P no sub fee = Can't play
F2P/Freemium = Both IO builds are greyed out obviously can't play either.
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The class unlock issue is different than the IO issue and I really think all classes should be unlocked, if you drop to premium. At the very least if you've already rolled one of them, you should keep access to the AT . . . perhaps that's the compromise needed.
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Originally Posted by Gangrel_EU
One thing that i have noticed, is that the fantasy MMO about a ring has locked character classes.
No big surprise there. However, to actually create said class, you needed to have the expansion already, and if you dropped down to premium status you *still* kept the ability to play them if you chose to unlock the character slot. Ok, no real big deal.. however, if you were a returning player, it is much better to do something this way. You already bought the box/expansion, then unsubbed and now want to come back... Unlock the character slot and away you go! Brilliant for the returning vets of the game, you paid for it, you keep access to it (with the character slot restriction of course... but that is a slightly different matter). My 1st 5 characters in City of Heroes were 4 Controllers and a Peacebringer (honestly, they were!). My *only* City of Villains were a dominator and a Mastermind. I have bought City of Heroes Deluxe edition, City of Villains Collectors, and Going Rogue Digital (no box set for EU account holders BOOO!). IF i hadn't already been subbed long enough to already have them unlocked in the Paragon Rewards tree, i would have 1 valid character to play. Just the one. So in my mind, you are *not* keeping what you have already paid for. Sure I could also drop £8.99 for the month to get my feet wet again with everything unlocked, but then it defeats the purpose of returning on a premium account. Some people *like and enjoy* playing one archtype. For me, that is the controller... i love playing it. Other classes do not fit right to me. Tried them, got bored with them quite rapidly. I can play on my fire controllers all day long though. The IO side is *slightly* annoying, but I did make my IO build a secondary one so I still have my primary SO build available. Sure, i could spend 1200 points (non sale price) on unlocking Controllers or masterminds. Might as well drop the $15 to sub for that, and see if the game is ok. The *current* setup is totally fine for *new* players to the game, but the returning Premiums are finding themselves in a slight problem of finding themselves locked out of stuff that they have already paid for (Masterminds/Controllers)... and if the returning player *cannot* play their old characters then they are going to be more pissed off (HEATS/VEATS are different, because you had to unlock them in game, so you already had a character at a certain level... sucks if it was a controller/mastermind though) |
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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Pay for the monthly license and you can play. Which is much cheaper than $15 a month.|
Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
If we are to use such rudimentary logic:
P2P no sub fee = Can't play F2P/Freemium = Both IO builds are greyed out obviously can't play either. |
I do agree that a good compromise would be to drop everything to SO level with no set bonuses until you do pay--either resubbing or getting the license, if you want to go month to month.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
Quote:
Errr the VIP system is about waaaay more than Incarnate content.|
Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
IO's will have to given away if they plan on putting in place instant snipes. IO builds can be more powerful than SO builds, but this is the first time where the power will function differently because of that difference. Instant snipe is very binary in that you either meet the tohit requirement or you don't. Most SO builds will never be able to reach instant snipe unless in highly situational team settings with certain pairings/compositions.
VIP system is about Incarnate content. Tying it to IO system was, and still is a mistake, because the IO system genesis was based on having to nerf the game across the board to make room for IO's. |
SOs are the BASE level of the game.
And if you have plenty of +to hit coming from team mates, you VERY LIKELY will be able to use instant snipes when you team.
So again the only compromise I can see is dropping to SO level and no set bonuses unless you buy a very cheap license, which is waaaay less than $15 a month.
If they gave IOs away there would be no reason for lots of people to sub.
Many have already said they couldn't care less about Incarnate content.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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If both builds are IO builds then you had both too much time and too much patience before you left. I can only presume that it was due to burnout from farming for 3-4 billion to finance 2 IO builds on one character.
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Originally Posted by Gemini_2099
If both builds are IO'd that isn't happening.
Like I said, the #1 reason for returning players to be turned off is they can't play with their IO builds, and a respec isn't available to turn one of the builds into an SO. |
@bpphantom
The Defenders of Paragon
KGB Special Section 8
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As far as I can tell, this is exactly what happens.|
Originally Posted by Aura_Familia
The class unlock issue is different than the IO issue and I really think all classes should be unlocked, if you drop to premium. At the very least if you've already rolled one of them, you should keep access to the AT . . . perhaps that's the compromise needed.
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- If you have tier 5 Paragon Rewards, masterminds and controllers are unlocked as a premium player anyway.
- If you don't have tier 5, but you created a controller or mastermind when you had access to it (as pre-Freedom subscriber or VIP), you retain access to that character when going premium if that's one of the slots you have unlocked at premium.
If you're not tier 5, all that happens when you go back to premium is that you lose the ability to create new controllers or masterminds until you re-up VIP or reach tier 5. I guess I don't see this as a huge problem.
And as an aside, I seem to see this other misconception all the time -- the 'game is balanced for SOs' is interpreted as 'I can play this game at whatever difficulty setting I want'. That's simply not true. Sure, a kitted-out toon can probably play at seriously bumped difficulty from a fairly early level, but if you're going with just SOs, assume that your default difficulty should be +0/x0.
--
Pauper
Anyway, mind, while there are those who may have spent "thousands" on the game, what they've spent in the past is their business and really has no bearing on the current state of affairs other than the free perks should they unsubscribe. I mean honestly, I find that mindset extremely aggravating because reality doesn't work that way the majority of the time. Say if you've been a long time shopper at a store who required membership to shop there and they suddenly allowed everyone to shop there one day, they're not going to give you a gold-plated shopping cart to use. You're going to get the same one as the new customers. Now you might get treated a bit better by the cashiers as they recognize you, but that'd be about it.
But yeah, however much anyone has spent on CoX before it went free to play is seriously irrelevant. If anything, it can easily be argued you got the massive perks of having 6+ years of exclusive access, possibly including stuff such as events that may never be repeated (like the Rularuu invasion) and able to provide feedback to help shape the direction of the game before Freedom launched. Free players don't have that and never will. And it's really besides the point regardless.
Let me ask you, as a (I assume) long time subscriber, how does being a bit more inviting to Premium players, former subscribers who may or may not have invested just as much or more time and money into the game as you have, harm you in any way shape or form? How much would it ruin your experience if they were offered a short, say five day, one-time VIP trial for free? Or if the characters they made were as usuable as always but had to obtain the necessary unlocks for any other characters of theirs to use those systems (say, can edit any MA arcs they had published while subbed but cannot publish new ones or republish it if they take it down)? I'm not saying "Hey, they should have MA access period!" or "Hey, everyone should have the VIP experience for free!" but rather dangle some incentives to make premium players stick around and want to either spend money in the store or resub. It frustrates people such as myself who've made multiple attempts to come back far less and it could generate more profit for the company. Like I said upthread, free samples can generate a heck of a lot of sales.
Also mind, money is only part of the issue . I'm also looking at time investment and opportunity cost, among other things. Will City of Heroes Freedom provide an acceptable amount of entertainment for the amount of time required to play it and for the cost of the other stuff I could be doing instead? In the past, this was true. Is it true now? I don't know, the sour experience I've had every time I've logged since Freedom launched has me rather unsure, but I've liked the game enough in the past I'm willing to try to get past that and see. But I don't want to spend any amount of money until I'm sure I'm making a sound investment. That might sound silly, but I'm tight with my wallet and I refuse to spend cash to try something without proper research. You may or may not be totally fine tossing $15 or $5 just to check something out to see if you like it or not. Me, not so much, especially with how much a game that transitions to a whole new payment model can change. I can tell CoX is quite a bit different since I last seriously played it and I need to know if I like the difference, but to do that I have to get over the demotivational issues (and, more importantly, the performance issues, if my Windows client ends up hating me too, I'm giving up regardless).
@Arcannavile: I'd pay for the same, similar enough, or better experience that I had from before. Vague, I know. If it helps, I do have things on my in-game store wishlist, I just forget what.
@Tenzhi and Biowraith: Understand when I originally made the topic, the issue of IOs and other such was particularly jabbing at me since I wasn't logged in long enough to really re-experience my performance issues (and was too annoyed at the other stuff) and didn't get to experience those in their full glory until I logged back in later to go try to do a Mayhem mission. IOs are an important point, sure, but one that can be overcame if enough other factors work out. It's also worth noting that I'm kind of annoyed at several people making posts as if I'm just saying "GIMMIE" and am also annoyed at myself for making this topic to begin with.
Edit: And the stupid NCLauncher seems to be ignoring that I installed all the assets from the disc and just needs to patch everything. I hate that stupid thing, but that's another, unrelated issue. At least it's not trying to force me to use PMB.
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