Free to Play – Page 5

Trion Making It Possible To Buy Artifacts In Rift

There are well over 8,100 artifacts to collect in Rift, a number that likely has hardcore collectors chomping at the bit to get started and others probably crying behind their keyboards. In an update coming next week, players will be able to buy artifacts with credits, the cash shop currency bought with real money. From the news post, it appears that the price of artifacts comes down the more you have collected in each set, rewarding players who go out and find them in the game world.

The goal, naturally, is to give an out to players who have spent a lot of time searching for the artifacts with no luck, as senior development director Simon Ffinch puts it:

“It’s really for people who have tried for months or even years to complete a set and just can’t do it – we don’t want them to be frustrated, we want to enable them to be able to complete it and move on,” says Simon. “It’s actually designed to encourage gathering or trading for artifacts,” he explains, “Because when you open a fresh collection with no items in it, the price per slot is ludicrously high. No one is going to want to buy them at that point.”

(Source: Trion Worlds)

Rift: More Perks For Patrons, Less For Everyone Else

Trion Worlds is improving Rift, provided you’re a paying member. If not, you might log in to find your game experience is actually worse off than when you left it. Trion Worlds has been making a few controversial decisions regarding how they monetize their games over the past week, each time noting the need to enhance revenues and support their titles with the conclusion that “it’s just business.” Today, the company announced new enhancements to Rift’s patron subscription. Subscribers will enjoy immunity to soul vitality loss, a 50% discount on auction house fees and commissions, stacking charges, rest experience, and queues for specific warfronts and dungeons.

In addition to enhancing Patron status, these changes are designed to enhance the development revenues of the game as a whole, supporting the game we all love. We are fully committed to the long-term health of RIFT, and exploring options such as these that will keep Telara evolving over time

If many of the things listed above sound like features that Rift already has, that’s because they are. In enhancing Patron, Trion Worlds is actively revoking features from free players that have been present since the game went free to play. Trion Worlds waved away criticism over removing access by free players by describing the features as “not necessary in order to play.” The changes to queues, for the unaware, means free players will only be able to queue for random dungeons.

These are of course beneficial and convenient, but not necessary in order to play RIFT. Therefore, they are the sort of thing we believe should be reserved for Patrons. When we reviewed RIFT as a whole this year, we identified this as an area we had overlooked previously. On a side note, any non-patron can group with a Patron friend, who can then select specific queues for the group. In this way, a Patron provides benefits to those around them.

(Source: Rift)

Jagex Unveils RuneMetrics, Paid Stat Tracking

In the Behind the Scenes for February, Jagex officially unveiled a new stat tracking service coming to RuneScape this month. Named RuneMetrics, the service is advertised to log a wide variety of player actions, giving in-depth details on how efficiently the player is training, what they are collection, and how much damage they are dealing out. While many of the tracking features will be free, some parts of RuneMetrics will be held behind a paywall, at the cost of a bond per month. Premiere Club members receive a 50% discount.

There’s advanced XP tracking including an ETA to your next level up. There is also an amazing drop log that tracks everything you’ve gained through combat, as well as damage calculators giving you your total damage EVER and your average damage per minute, and plenty more on top!

Also set to release this month is a new quest, a mini-game involving Sliske, a double experience weekend, further additions to Invention, and a seasonal event for the Chinese new year.

(Source: RuneScape)

Albion Online Will Be Buy To Play, At Least At The Start

The latest Road to Release from Albion Online has given us a look at what launch has in store for the MMO, and that includes quite a hefty and elongated beta period. According to a post on the main forums, the closed beta has been extended to at least August 2016, with the launch hopefully following close behind. In addition, the team has decided to bench the idea of launching as a free to play title, and instead Albion Online will be buy to play.

For this reason, we are putting the free to play plans on hold as well. Making the game ready for a free to play model would take up significant development time which we would much rather use to make a better game. Free to play would also create a lot of risks for the game – spamming, botting, world too small, etc – which we do not want to take if it can be avoided.

Update plans include a significantly expanded world with diverse biomes, more unique cities and dungeons, and a reputation and crime system similar to that found in Ultima Online.

(Source: Albion Online)

Quake Live Dumps Free To Play, Now $10

Quake Live launched in 2010 and has run as a free to play title with optional subscription, at least until this week. With apparently no warning, iD Software released an update integrating the game with Steam functionality, including friends, chat, lobbies, achievements, anti-cheat, workshop, and more. Additionally, both the free to play model and optional subscription have been retired, locking the game out to anyone who hadn’t previously owned it.

Today marks a new beginning for Quake Live. Last year we expanded our platform to Steam, and today we have retired our old launcher and services in favor of integrating a robust array of Steamworks alternatives. We are now fully utilizing Steam for Friends, Chat, Lobbies, Voice Chat, Server Browser, Statistics, Achievements, Anti-cheat, Trading Cards, and Workshop.

The game is available on Steam for $10, or free if you had previously played the game via Steam. Those who paid for pro and did not use the Steam client can contact Quake Live customer support to be given a key.

(Source: Quake Live)

Wildstar Free To Play Won’t Be Reflected In Next Report

The latest news to come out of Carbine Studios is that Wildstar will officially launch as free to play on September 29th. With the third quarter financial reports expected to release at some point in mid-November, now is a good time to point out that Wildstar will very likely show a continued dip in sales. The reason for this is that, while quarterly finance reports aren’t released until November, the period that the third quarter covers falls between July and September.

What does this mean for you? Not a whole lot. For NCSoft and Wildstar, it means that any revenue increases that come after the free to play transition won’t be reflected until the fourth quarter finances are released in February 2016. A small but important distinction to make when NCSoft releases their report later this year.

More coverage to come as events transpire.

Guild Wars 2 Is Now Free To Play

With Heart of Thorns right around the corner, Arenanet has announced a major change in the Guild Wars 2 business model. Starting yesterday (the 29th), anyone can now access the core game for no down payment. In the announcement, Arenanet discusses the move being partially in response to other games where the heavy list of expansions made getting into the game as a new player confusing.

We’ve seen examples in the industry where that kind of thing has gotten out of control. It doesn’t seem right, and we want to do better. As we get ready to ship our first expansion forGuild Wars 2, we want to ensure that we keep the business model friendly and simple. So let’s be clear that when we say Guild Wars 2 is buy-to-play, we’re only asking you to buy one thing: the current release, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

What does “access the core game” mean? Well in this context, free players are limited in character and bag slots, cannot use map chat, and can only buy/sell common goods on the market. They also cannot mail items/gold, trade gold for gems, or access guild vaults. Free accounts are also limited from leaving the starting zone until level 10, from using the LFG tool until 30, and to level 60 until they can compete in world v world, to prevent players from disrupting the game.

Arenanet also promises that this change will not usher in heavy microtransaction marketing.

(Source: Guild Wars 2)

Wildstar Free To Play Transition Accompanied By New Content

Wildstar is heading free to play this year and eyeing a Chinese launch, but before that happens Carbine Studios wants to detail a few changes that are coming.

“WildStar going free-to-play is so much more than a new business model”, said Mike Donatelli, product director at Carbine Studios. “We’re also introducing a massive game update full of new features and quality of life improvements. It’s going to be a fun environment for new players to join and we’re also going to do right by the players who have been with us since the beginning”.

A new rewards system will allow players to obtain points for making NCoin purchases, buying subscriptions, and redeeming CREDD. The reward system is retroactive, providing points to anyone who had previously invested in Wildstar. New players will be greeted by a revamped tutorial and new game experience, with options based on the player’s prior knowledge of MMOs. The way equipment works will change, with certain stats (brutality, finesse) being removed and replaced by other new primary stats (assault, support, health, armor).

Also accompanying the updates are changes to dungeons, splitting them into separate level tiers, and new content areas for PvE and PvP.

Look for these updates, and more, later this year.

(Source: NCSoft press release)

Planetside 2: Here Today, Gone In Korea

Playstation 4 users have reason to rejoice, as Planetside 2 is now out of beta and officially launched in North America and Europe. The game is available for free in the Playstation Store, and players can access the full game without an active subscription to Playstation Plus.

“The original PlanetSide was the first MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 set a new standard for shooters when it launched on the PC in 2012, and now the massive battles are unmatched on the console. The game is synonymous with large-scale warfare and there’s just no comparison,” said Andy Sites, PlanetSide 2 director of development. “PlanetSide 2 fosters a unique kind of unwavering camaraderie among players, so we’re excited to see how our community grows on the PlayStation 4.”

Planetside 2’s launch on Playstation 4 comes alongside the announcement that the title will be shutting down in Korea. Publisher Daum Games announced the closure citing low population, lack of interest, “incompatible cash shop,” and problems with updating the game.

NCSoft Announces F2P Details For Blade & Soul

NCSoft has announced that Blade & Soul will launch in North America and Europe under the publisher’s free to play system. When the game goes into closed beta this fall, players will be able to access all content without spending a dime.

NCoin, the currency used in other NCSoft titles, will be available to purchase convenience items, cosmetics, and quality of life improvements. Costumes, potions, and character/inventory slots will be available for purchase with real money. An optional membership subscription will provide experience and currency drop boosts.

(Source: NCSoft Press Release)

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