Bored Druid ThreadFollow

That was in WotLK somewhere with some freaky Disc/Smitespam build. I could keep most tanks alive through a bossfight with a single shield and maybe a heal so I spent most of my time DPSing.

Yeah, I liked the extra elements of a class too. That was one of my favorite aspects of Cata. Going from playing an Arcane mage in Wrath where I only ever had to press 3 buttons to play my class to going to a balance druid and then a shadow where the play style was more technical and complicated (in fun ways) AND there was CC and other stuff to do too. Made for a much more fun experience.

Damn it, you guys are making me miss WoW a little...

Low numbers now perhaps but respectable for WotLK heroics (pre ICC) as a healer.

If EQnext works I'll probably give that a spin. I don't ever see myself playing WoW agaib though.

Just pretend it was on purpose and use your new found bad-assery to pick up guys.

I doubt WoW will ever go free to play, they still have a crapton of subscriptions and I think if it sinks low enough where they'd consider going F2P they'll just pull the plug instead.

I doubt it. F2P would essentially just allow them to continue making money off of assets they've already created.

I think they'll end up laying the groundwork for a F2P transition in the next expansion or two with stuff like level scaling dungeons, player housing, etc.

That way, when they finally decide that it's not worth chasing the sub model, they'll do a switch to F2P and already have most of the work done (and financed by subs). F2P would mostly be about continuing to milk free money out of the game.

Didn't they already announce that Titan is being completely retooled into a F2P game?

Realistically, if you're willing to pay $15 a month, you should just be looking at a F2P game and evaluating whether or not $15 a month would be sufficient for you to enjoy it. If not, don't bother. If so, you're good.

My evaluation point is well below that. And obviously, to enjoy it, it can't be P2W.

But after all their changes, the TOR store is finally to a point I more-or-less find it agreeable. The "pay for rez" probes price is absurd. I'm fine with it conceptually, but you die way too often in TOR to make that price acceptable. But it's also true that, since the game wasn't designed from the ground-up for a RMT store, they're kind of limited with regards to what they can sell for reliable profit.

The LOTRO store, on the other hand, is ridiculously over-monetized. To the point where you essentially need to pay to unlock zones, dungeons, quest chains, etc. That's just annoying at its core, even if the prices were reasonable (which I don't remember feeling like they were).

I also prefer my F2P games with a sub model option.

I'm most happy with GW2's store. But at the same time, GW2 was a one-time fee, not a pure F2P model. So that was a guaranteed $60 for them.

I just meant that relative to Aeth's only position of being willing to pay $15.

The sad truth is that I'm probably not going to play a F2P game that requires me to pay even $10 a month to enjoy it.

So if I've accepted an approximate fee per month of $5, the chances of me grossly exceeding a sub-level fee is slim. And I have **** poor impulse control. I'm amazed I haven't just caved and bought all the ME3/DA2 DLC yet. But I think I've entered into this emotional standoff with BioWare, for them to put their points on sale...

But I'm not sure I really understand the argument. After Blizz started selling mounts and pets in their store, I had to keep myself from buying them. That's pretty much the same stuff you'd buy in an RMT store in a F2P game. So it's not really any different?

Now, to be fair, the RMT store is going to have a lot more stuff to choose from. But (and I can't speak for anyone else), this actually has the effect of making me more discerning. Because I'm only likely to buy something if I really want it, not just because it's super shiny and exclusive. I haven't bought any item skins from TOR or GW2's stores. But the funny thing is that I wanted the skins in the TOR store way more than I wanted the ones in the GW2 store, but I came closer to purchasing them in GW2.

All I can tell you is that you have no reason to directly conflate P2W with F2P. None of the major Western F2P games on the market right now give any significant bonus to people who pay against those who don't.

Well, within reason, at least. To be competitive in TOR, you will have to unlock artifact armor, which is a one time fee. And gearing up will be slower, since you can only have a chance for end-boss gear three times a week (or reduced honor rewards).

But someone willing to drop $100 a month into the game isn't going to be any more powerful unless they also play way more than you and actually get that gear through drops, or buy it from the market.

It's the same with GW2. GW2 gives you item skins, rate boosters, transmutation stones, dyes, outfits, etc. You can also use real world money to buy Mystic Forge Stones, which you can use in place of a piece of equipment in fusion recipes at the forge. These stones are 100% available in-game, though, for completing your daily, weekly, and monthly quests. It's also randomly assigned an item type at the point of fusion, which means using an actual item is always better. They're also only used to help make the materials for your legendary recipes, so the vast majority of the actual mat gathering is (at best) going to be cut by 10% or less by using mystic stones.

I honestly can't remember if the LOTRO store sold items. I don't THINK they did. But they pretty much put a price tag on every bit of content in the game, so I wouldn't actually be surprised.

So basically, unless you pay you're crippled compared to those who do pay. Which is exactly what I really can't stand about the whole "free" to play thing. It just grates my nerves.