Then make a single f2p server where you are forced to start at level 1 or something.
There ARE ways to do it if people would stop being so negative from the start they would prolly see it.

 

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How would that change anything?! Would still kill Ywain...

what exactly do you mean by the server has a hard time with the current playerbase? do you mean in the frontiers, or in general? not sure what you mean with people leaving ywain, wouldn't it be the same on ywain as with any new server(s) they'd make? all would go f2p or subscribe for the entire content and frontiers as damaja suggested. people paying now wouldn't notice a difference except see an influx in the playerbase outside of frontiers and certain PvE areas. isn't that a good thing? item ideas would probably be in the form of XP boosters, CL/ML tokens, ect- things that f2p players can't access through content but can buy in game to attain. just as paying subscribers can attain through the content/areas restricted from the f2p. and of course, the frontiers being the ultimate reason to subscribe. i don't see how that would hurt the game as it stands currently.

Ywain will die anyway and not very long from now.

DAoC had a 10+ year stretch and that is a extremely healthy run but it will end within this next year.

 

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In case you missed it I will REPOST the quote I stated eariler.

 

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F2P is a definite gamble. But as a non subscriber, it's a gamble I'm willing to take.

DAOC's population is never going to improve from a subscription based model. And god only know how much longer EA's kindness will allow DAOC to linger on as it is.

I had various reasons for leaving DAOC a while ago. And despite those reasons and probably most of them still exist, I do find myself wanting to give the game another chance. However what ultimately stops me from giving it another chance is paying a subscription for a game is on maintenance mode and seemingly could be shut down at any time.

Turbine has done pretty well with F2P in LOTRO and DDO. So I'm somewhat optimistic it could do well with DAOC too.

Though it certainly would require some effort and resources on EA Bio Mythic's part to get the ball rolling. And a few Ywain players might be traumatized by the experience (some people have a hard time with change). Ywain could probably not handle too many new players, so at least one new server would have to be added. And of course old subscribers on Ywain would probably pee themselves in excitement at the possibility on playing on a fresh new server and Ywain could be depleted. However if F2P achieves it's goal and actually adds more people to the game, then Ywain should still get repopulated as long as EA Bio Mythic doesn't go overboard with new servers too quickly.

That server already exists, it is called Uthgard.



Honesty or being a realist is not necessarily being negative. It takes more than just being positive. Example: a person can chant all month long (24/7) “There are no weeds in my garden. There are no weeds in my garden. There are no . . .” and until they get off their rear and pull the weeds, their garden will continue to have weeds.


A friend/neighbor or passerby that points out the weeds in the garden, is not being negative. They are just being a realist.


One challenge for DAoC is all the BS that drives most players away from DAoC. The BS is still a part of DAoC. Free garbage is still ‘garbage’.


WoW has an inferior game concept to DAoC (two realms at WoW vs. three reams at DAoC. The same character types from realm to realm at WoW vs. diverse characters in each DAoC realm. Etc . . . ) and yet WoW does not have a difficult time finding people that are willing to shell out $15 a month for WoW. It is not just “$15 a month” that drives players away from DAoC.


WoW/Blizzard seems to understand that the average typical MMO player is PvE centric and solos a lot of the time. Even most that PvP/RvR from time to time are often PvE centric and solo a lot of the time. MJ never seemed to understand or never seemed to care much about what the typical MMO player ‘needed’.

(for those that read the word “solo” in the above paragraph and want to go off on a stupid rant about how DAoC is an MMO . . . Fighting some mobs “solo” or finishing a few quests “solo” in a half hour that day that the player has available to play, instead of the player spending that half hour trying to form a group, does not mean the player is “alone”. Whenever I am crafting, finishing up a quest that does not take a group, etc . . .and I happen to be “solo” I am always in chat conversing with dozens of others. I am almost never actually alone in DAoC. Solo in a MMO does not mean “alone”.)


Through neglect Mythic has caused a great deal of damage to DAoC. While there are some F2P models that could be viable for DAoC, DAoC needs a lot of work so as to not seem like “garbage” to any noob that happens to give it a try.

 

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perhaps, but WoW and DAoC really can't be compared at this point. WoW is greatly funded, DAoC isn't. what "garbage" are you speaking of exactly?


that aside, making DAoC partialy f2p would only help, not hurt it in my understanding and view. you'd certainly attract more people to try it, and the more people you have trying the game the better chance of some sticking with it.

Using WoW as an example of what players are willing to pay (for an inferior MMO concept) and using WoW as an example of the size of the market, that is different than making a direct comparison of WoW to DAoC.



There was a time when DAoC was rolling in cash and could have implemented almost anything into the game. Just because they no longer have that cash coming in is no excuse for the neglect that happened. I realize that Mythic is no longer rolling in cash but, that the neglect even happened is evidence of Mythic’s lack of understanding and Mythic's inability to fix things.



There are thousands of threads with long lists of game problems that have been ignored by Mythic, threads with long lists of Mythic pandering with OP Xpac classes, promoting Bots, Min/Max, etc. . . . . Sorry but I grow weary of listing it over and over and over and over on every thread that has some noob who was not around to understand. The threads still exist, look them up. If you are not a noob, the problems are obvious.





Sorry but if players would stick to the game, the game would not be dieing and the game would not have needed clustering.


Noob players that come to DAoC find a neglected game, a UI that needs work, a great Tutorial that ends by dumping the player into an old DAoC world that has a different quest system from the tutorial, a horrible Min/Max challenge, etc . . Noobs find bugs that are a decade old and should have been fixed 9 years ago. Noobs find virtually instant leveling which makes the PvE almost worthless when most MMO players are PvE centric and are looking for good PvE, etc. . . .


Bringing a flood of new players to a neglected game that is full of problems, it wont work. If any expect a neglected game that is in need of a lot of work to retain noobs . . .


While I do believe that a form of F2P would be viable, first many of the longstanding problems would need to be fixed or noobs would just get frustrated and leave (just like what happens now).


A free server exists and while players continue to play on that free server, that free server is not exploding.


DAoC has been twisted to cater to a minority. Advertising or a F2P server etc. . . None of that will untwist the game. Noobs come to DAoC and find a game that is neglected and the noob finds a game that is not suitable to the play style of most MMO players. F2P will not alter that.

 

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my take on a F2P server would be the following..

1) Only allowed on Ywain x (where X is the least populated number in the cluster)
2) Allow all access to every content in the current game, except for the following.
1) No BOSS NPC access
2) No MLs or CLs
3) No RR higher than RR4
4) Only 1 realm with a 3 char. limit.
5) No access to Labby
6) No access to PoC
7) No access to Darkness Falls.
8) Access to the realms Main Classes only
9) NPC and Bot buffs do no work on any F2P

The player then can choose to purchase with real cash, from the Mythic store, Items they need/want.
Enter a code, inside the account center to activate that item..
Each item would not be repairable, and it would loose durability at an increased rate.
Kills would only count for HALF the points of a regular paying player.
Every hour or so, the player would be ported to their main city, with a pop-up stating something about FREE game access.

The player would have the ability at RR4 to buy a transfer off the F2P Ywain, and be a regular player at a 'real money' cost.
Which would have a subscription, that would need to be paid for as well.
Once the player moves, the player then becomes a full regular player, with everything OPENED and UNLOCKED.

Yes, this would be a lot of work for Mythic to do, but, I could see something like this working.

Could be interesting to see what would happen.

 

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