I don't feel VIP at all

I think the problem is all about perception and presentation. We should have more emphasis on maintaining a subscription...

… like a reward for years subscribed. The veteran rewards were replaced by a system where people with deep pockets can buy their way to the top, taking away that unspoken reward of people being perpetually jealous of our … subscription length. As a way to wave that epeen flag of honor again, I suggest that we get a 1% discount at the Paragon Market for every year subscribed. Yes, that's right, after 100 years of subscribing, we can get everything on the Market for free!

=P

Hopefully by then the mapserver error on Emperor Cole's personal story will be fixed... Maybe we'll even have character models with fingers and asymmetric costumes...

If you don't think being VIP is worth it, unsubscribe. You may find that you miss things you got with your VIP subscription, or you may not. But the thing is, you have a choice.

Not sure why this is so complicated....

g) There is no 1130 paragon point option if you are going to use yearly money spend on things than use proper numbers. There is 1320 pp model which is a tad bit more expensive than vip subsription (especially if you are in a more than one month model) and you totally forget about 12 tokens vips get in adition to 5 token from those 6600 point if nothing else (yes vip points counts towards token so at least at each three months you actually get 4 token instead of 3 if you are tier 9 there will be more)

Oh, btw... I bought Nature Affinity last night. With points I already had. From my VIP subscription.

The fact that endgame content (ie: incarnate) is gated by a VIP subscription makes a lot of sense to me. Long time players are loathe to pass up the opportunity to uber-ize their main toons and free/freemiums eventually become jealous of those same players and decide a subscription is worth it.

If you're casual then go premium. But if you're like most of us then at some point you'll begin salivating over the prospect of laughing maniacally as +4/8 mobs tremble beneath your mighty, spikey, rockety boots.

That's why I do it anyway...

ALSO! VIPs get access to VIP beta.

As a severe non-altoholic I find this to be extremely beneficial. I get to test new content on my main... and then play my main! YAY!

This is all very interesting, in a random sort of way, but to me the value proposition for VIP status comes down to a very simple calculation.

I pay annually, as RemusShepherd does. I therefore pay $143.40 for one year sub. That sub comes with 6600 points.

The very best value proposition for a Premium player is to buy points $100 at a time, acquiring 9600 points for $100. That's 96 points per dollar. That means on an average basis my sub would have bought 13766 points.

The difference is 7166 points. The question is do I believe that what I get for being a VIP is worth 7166 points. In the last year, VIPs received eight powersets included with their subscription. That's worth close to the 7000 points right there. Before I count base access. Before I count the Incarnate system. Before I count inventions, SSAs, costumes, and all other content. Before I count character slots which VIPs get a lot more and I would have to fill in. Before any of that, I'm very close to breaking even just on powersets alone - based on the calculations above, within $15.60 of breaking even over an entire year, just on powersets alone. In other words, factoring in nothing else, I'm really paying $1.30 a month to be a VIP, relative to what a Premium would have to pay just to catch up with me through powersets. That buck and change is paying for base access, incarnate access, SSA content, server slots, VIP beta access, VIP costume sets, VIP paragon rewards, and VIP forum posting access.

Its honestly not worth doing the math to figure out much more than that. I would have to get hit by a bus to fail to break even. So for me, someone that actually plays the game a lot, plays the content, makes alts, plays the different powersets, tests things in beta, and uses lots of costume creator options, the choice is stupidly obvious.

Now, someone that doesn't play all the content, doesn't want to participate in the incarnate system, doesn't create a lot of alts, doesn't use a lot of options in the costume editor, may not get as much value from being a VIP. For them, being Premium might be more cost effective.


They should unsubscribe. That's what the option is there for.


Premium players aren't just people who never subscribed. They are also long time subscribers that have decided they don't need or want everything within a subscription, but they still want to play the game. For them, the premium option makes sense, and there's no shame in taking that option. Calls to act punitively against Premiums isn't just a question of long term players verses people just "buying their way in." Its also about whether long term players, people who have paid and subscribed for years, should have the option to pay less and play less, because that's more suited to their gaming preferences.

I see no reason why that should not be the case. If you think premium is a better deal, it might be. For you. VIP might be the better deal for others. That is exactly as it should be. One size does not fit all.

But for me, and players who play the game remotely like me, the odds of Premium being a better deal than VIP are extremely low.

I don't feel like a VIP just like fish don't feel wet.

[QUOTE=Tutelary;4356627]Sorry you feel that way but I completely understand. My original friends left ages ago and also many years ago, I found that it was best to seriously curb my postings here since I don't say things players like either(even if it is a relatively tame critique of the game not a "this sucks" post). Just try to accept it as constructive criticism and ignore the overwhelming backlash against your idea. It is what you will typically get if you are not posting something positive. Take a break, forget about these forums(and the community here), come back and enjoy the in-game activities/discussions/etc. I find it a difference experience than here.

Unfortunately, I don't have much more to offer because I'm on the other side and thoroughly enjoy being Premium.[/QUOTE]

Soo you're telling remus to leave the game when there is a better option that you yourself use?

what?



And telling Remus that we LIKE the way VIP is, is just as viable as him/her saying they dislike it.

Reducing the pay for powersets would cut off the increased funds the devs have to make more powersets. Full stop. Dropping back to only 1-2 free powersets a year would make the VIP option compeletely and utterly worthless trash compared to what we have now. This isn't rocket science.

If Remus wants to continue to put his or her head in the sand, after being repeatedly told that, I have no sympathy for him or her, as that tells me they don't want the game to improve. Full stop.