I don't feel VIP at all

Hmm, I seem to suddenly have developed an urge to listen to Queen after reading yet another thread on this topic. I wonder why. :P

Though in all seriousness I'm kind of wondering what folks who are dead set against having to pay Paragon Points for powersets in order to fund further powerset development would have in their place.

I'd imagine that the new powersets are the best-selling category of sales on the Paragon Market. So if a magic wand was waved and suddenly all VIP's got all the powersets for free forevers, what would be a worthwhile addition or alteration to the game to take their place?

The other big ticket item, I imagine, would be the costume sets. So if said magic wand was waved and VIP's got to dance around in a land of milk, honey, Excel spreadsheets, and particle effects, where would it end?

After all if you get all the power sets for free as a VIP, then why shouldn't you get all the costume sets for free?

It's kind of an "If you give a mouse a cookie scenario."

I don't really see how Paragon could actually handle a mix of subscription and a la carte systems any better than they already have, with the monthly stipend of Paragon Points to active subscribers.

I buy my game time in 14 month chunks, and can usually get a free month or two from bringing former VIP's back every time an issue rolls around.

So I end up paying less than $3.70 a month for my subscription when you take into account the fact that I get $6.30 worth of power points for free every month. Because I'm tier 9, which I bought myself up to the day the option became available with about $100.

I sure as hell feel like I'm getting my $3.70 a month worth.

And on top of my stipend it seems like at the rate I purchase stuff from the market that I'll be dropping $100 to buy more paragon points every September.

Dividing that by 12 months and adding that to the monthly cost, when you take the 550 points of store credit every month, I end up paying $11 a month over the span of the entire year for City of Heroes.

That's the rate you get if you buy a plain ol year in advance, rather than snag the bonus plan every time it rolls around. Which was exactly what I was paying before Freedom dropped.

So I'm getting more costumes, more powersets, more bug fixes, some of the best story content in the game, regular issues of massive size, addressing of long standing quality of life issues, and in general ending up with a better game the further time goes on.

I don't buy stuff just for my own entertainment. I'm of the mind that I'm going to reward a company that produces a product I like with my patronage.

I like the direction the game has taken under the Paragon Studios banner. I do what I can to help my fellow players and the community. Because this is the only MMO I've tried that's worth paying to play.

With all the negative emotion I see in these threads, I wonder why folks are still hanging around if they feel so slighted about ending up getting more for their money now than at any other point in the history of the game.

Stop paying if the course the game has taken upsets you. Go play something else. If/when CoH piques your interest again you can take things up right where you left off. Heck, you can even stop giving Paragon your monies every month and you can still keep playing the game.

I'm a great big fat guy. I've been told I eat approximately the same portions as your average family of four. If you want to sit in the corner and munch on sour grapes, that's your prerogative. I'll be over here coming back for thirds and fourths at the buffet that keeps getting bigger and better every month. If you want to just order off the menu fine, do that if it makes sense for you.

Just don't get crabby because you decided to pay for the buffet and all you're doing is nibbling on those grapes and appearing generally unpleasant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reiella Until I see something that states to the contrary, going to assume VK is right .

I, myself, don't feel like a VIP, but for entirely different reasons. It comes down to what I think a "Very Important Person" constitutes. First of all, regular businesses don't just hand that status out. You don't become a VIP at a Las Vegas casino by paying for a hotel suite, for instance. You become a VIP by being a high-roller who spends a lot of money at the casino until it adds up. That, to me, is what the VIP status should signify - people who are willing and able to pay more, hence why they're given a status all of their own.

To me, making VIP the "budget" option is a mistake, and has been a mistake since inception. To me, VIP should be the "expensive" option which allows us to pay our way out of insultingly annoying marketing gimmicks. Want to buy the Elemental Order costume set but don't want to deal with make-pretend gambling? Great! You're a VIP, so you get to buy straight from the source while non-VIPs wait in queue for a raffle ticket. Oh, just keep in mind that those costume pieces become unavailable if your VIP subscription drops. If you want them as a Premium customer, you have to buy the raffle ticket, like like everybody else. Say you want to buy the Halloween costume set, but it's not Halloween. Great! You're a VIP, so you can. Just keep in mind those will become unavailable if your subscription drops. Want to use them as a Premium customer? That's fine. Wait for Halloween, then.

To me, VIP should entail a greater degree of service and a smaller degree of pain-in-the-*** for a higher cost. VIPs SHOULD pay for costume sets and power sets and so forth, because we committed to paying for the game, rather than playing it a la carte.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Personally, I'm the reverse. I kind of prefer the sets I want to be the paid ones and the sets I don't want to be the free ones. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like paid sets just have more elaborate artwork and animations involved with them, and I'd rather this happened with sets I can actually use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I don't feel like a VIP either. Wonder why...

I'm beginning to think this problem is mostly being caused by the name (which I find a little dumb). Would there be all this kerfuffle if it were just called "Full"?

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