HP doc changes

[Ambrose]

Brad couched the change in language unsuitable to INFORMING players:

"The survival trainer is now very picky about who he considers his best customers. "


If people would please post info in this thread:

Are there new maxes for free players or are they unable to use hp doc at all? And if new maxes what are they?

Doesn't this essentially force a player to make the decision to pay at xp level 13? Am I the only one who thought level 18 was a fine time to make that decision? Is this really going to increase the profitability of Drakkar?

I'd like to apologize to the free players ... this must be my fault ... I had cut back on my paid services (temporary tightening of belt). Down to a single paid account (gold).

[lalasushi]

whos permos? i havent seen this npc

[LadyKris]

There seems to be lower max from hit doc for free players now yes. Still researching exactly what they are. Last night there was also a bug with paid players having lower max to buy from nork hit doc but Brad did tell us he was Looking into that. Personally I always thought after max and able to play survive Aleria was a good time to chose a pay plan, as I had planned on doing with my other two accounts, I currently have one paid and two free. At this point at the new low free player max levels. I'll just be using those accounts as locker storage though.

[juvenille143]

Originally posted by Ambrose


Brad couched the change in language unsuitable to INFORMING players:

"The survival trainer is now very picky about who he considers his best customers. "


If people would please post info in this thread:

Are there new maxes for free players or are they unable to use hp doc at all? And if new maxes what are they?

Doesn't this essentially force a player to make the decision to pay at xp level 13? Am I the only one who thought level 18 was a fine time to make that decision? Is this really going to increase the profitability of Drakkar?

I'd like to apologize to the free players ... this must be my fault ... I had cut back on my paid services (temporary tightening of belt). Down to a single paid account (gold).

I myself was wating until exp for level 18, trying to max my hits along the way, before i bought members.. now i'll probably just end up on the inactive user list for a while until i decide what to do. If i continue to play i'll be collecting about 20 megs to pay hp doc when i decide to get members.

Disappointed,
Jerry

[juvenille143]

I heard aleria is hard for people like me.. but anyways, i think it should be changed back ;( that kept me focused on something to do.. now my coin will just sit in my bank and look dumb..

[Ambrose]

Originally posted by Rygar


By paying the 4.95 at around lvl 13 you can max in aleria about umm 10 times as fast as nork. Those that wait untill lvl 18 to pay are really missing out.

Besides you turn 18 pay, go to cob. Spend a few days or a week and find yourself back in aleria to get decent skill/exp gain. Unless you already have friends in cob to leach off of.

Rygar

I don't know any 13/10's that are going to do well in Aleria without leaching ... I'm sure you guys are out there (save your bragging for someone who cares), but I know I wouldn't go at level 13

I agree with you about those who immediately jump to Cob ... and those who do the Alerian xp push so they can get to Cob at 18/13 ...

My feeling is that making them pay BEFORE hp maxing is more likely to make them decide NOT to pay

[Frozboz]

Most likely "free" accounts were always meant to give someone a taste of Drakkar, and if you like it then go ahead and pay. Once someone is maxing hits at level 13, they already know wether they like the game or not..

And don't even begin to tell me you can't afford the $4.95/month either. This is the cheapest form of entertainment out there.

[Darge]

i have to wonder when brads gonna make it so only paid accts can advance past lvl 13 :/

[lalasushi]

oh god, conspiracy theorists unite lol, its 5 dollars, i make 10/an hr, and im 17, comon ppl, u scare me on many levels lol

[Darge]

im not so much worried about people who just play forever on a free act, im sorta annoyed about that if i decide to start building my 2nd acct that im goin to have to pay for it before im ready just to enjoy it, 5 bucks isnt much but already havin gp and ugh it can start to add up

[Ambrose]

Originally posted by Tirith


there are good areas in aleria where a 13/10 can go. Ive had various main crits throughout the time ive played drak, but the aleria sewers is a nice place to skill at 13/10, and skill 10 or 11 thieves can steal from the townies and miners. Also, at 13/10, i remember killing sanquins for really nice exp, one time when i had a barb, i could go to mujaba and kill him, with caution at least. If you can not play well in aleria at 13/10, then you need to revise your strategies or learn how to play the game, though most people just learn to stand around and leech, thats a terrible shame. The key thing to remember is, most people put a size on where you can hunt or what you can solo, but it can be done before those sizes if you learn a strategy, ( people say, you can solo this at this size, when actually, thats the size you can just stand in the lair and not take damage, so you could say its the safe size) but it can be done long before if you are willing to take risks.

Well so much for NOT getting into THIS arguement:

Nobody in this thread said $5 was too much to pay to play.

Nobody said that a crit could not survive in Aleria at 13/10 ... just that it isn't the best place to solo at that size .. at 13/10 the best gear I could manage for my Pally was yeti, kitty, yellow robe ... I don't think I had both my 4/4 rings yet ... +4 hally ... you can make all your snide comments about my being strategically deficient ... but the 13/10 crit geared as above should be in Nork.

My point was that level 13 was too soon to have to make the "pay" decision (I have 3 pay accounts ... and yes, they are all mine ... from crit creation). Some of you think level 13 is alright ... fine ... difference of opinion. It seems to me that you guys want to change from free & paying players to pre-pay & paying players.

And clearly this is the direction Brad is moving

[Darge]

no offense tirtith, but many first timers who make 13/10 dont know that stragtegy (sp?) makes a difference in gameplay, i know when my first crit was that size all i ever did was mindlessly skill

[Yeti]

heh, i played for almost 2 years before i went past 13/7 250 hp. To say i wasnt one to mindlessly grunt i think is an understatement.

I rerolled 6 times before i passed level 11 because of a few too many run-ins with areas i couldnt conquer yet.

I think saying that 13/10 people dont know strategy will help them is more of a statement on the quality of the community rather than on inexperience for the players.

From the time most players are small their told "mindlessly gain xp to get lv 13, mindlessly coin to max hp, mindlessly grunt for lv 18, mindlessly leech in cob and make lv 50, then somehow immediately develop tactics and try to survive in nl"

And then theres the "old school" drak players : we had to actually get friends, find guildmates, have people help us on hunts, and try to advance. Strategy was your best friend. At 13/7 250 base hp i could solo rd, SD, help on lich hunts. Developed a strategy for killing vamps which i never got to try due to moving on to pay drak <i still think it would have worked too <G>

Forcing people to develop strategies is a step in the right direction imo, though the hp doc cap doesnt really do this, hehe.

However, what we had before hand was an unlimited free trial with access to 1/4 of the game scenarios and possibilities for advancement through over 3/4 of the levels and 9/10 of the skills <or all but 5 of the levels, and all of the skills, for those outside JIHAD at the moment> Now you have unlimited advancement with just a lower hp cap. Still a real sweet deal for free access to a game if you ask me.

Go on over to EQ and ask them to let you play an unlimited amount of time and gain 3/4 of the available levels without ever paying, i'd love to see the response to that request <G>

-Yeti

[Necron99]

I have only been playing this game for a few months now, so I don't pretend to be an expert. However, I am an expert in customer relations. In general, a business should never take anything away from their customers. Once the capability/product/feature has been made available to the customer, they naturally look on it as "theft" if they are subsequently deprived of the feature. This is especially true for items that once were provided "at no additional cost" and are now provided on a fee basis.

The merits of the action as an incentive to convert free accounts to paid accounts can be debated ad nausem. The real issue is one of managing customer expectations and providing a consistant, "fair" gaming environment. Perhaps a more accurate statement would be to say the "appearance" of fairness is of paramount importance.

In this particular instance, I believe that the KoD would have been better served if the management had provided the pay accounts some additional feature at the HP doctor, instead of removing a previously available feature from the free accounts.

But that is just my opinion, and nobody asked for it.

[Crusher]

The game doesn't get interesting until after you get to become a high level.

[Darge]

what happens to those who convert from pay to free? would they lose all those skills and lvls if a cap were instituted?

[Ragnoker]

Originally posted by Darge


what happens to those who convert from pay to free? would they lose all those skills and lvls if a cap were instituted?

Can't convert from pay account to free account so your question has no validity,, sorry.


Ragnoker_PHNX :D

[Necron99]

Originally posted by Rygar


If Brad was to put a max lvl/skill on free accounts. What would they do, stop paying?

The free plan is intended to let players try out the game. Not a play forever for free deal.

More changes are needed in this area imo.

If they never want to pay, let them move on to a different game. They certainly arn't suporting the game in free mode.

Rygar

I take exception to the idea that the players who play on free accounts are not supporting the game. Everyone that plays the game contributes to the overall experience. There is definately a "critical mass" of players necessary to make the Dreakkar experience fun and challenging. Without the free accounts, the experience for all players would be lessened.

Of course, this has nothing to do with HP Doctor changes <grin>.

[art1]

i agree with what necron just said AND:

free players sometimes takes forever to get paid account. they keep saying they wont pay for a game wait months, sometimes years, but eventually they either quit the game or get hooked in get a paid plan and become a long time customer. also free players makes the game fun with keeping the pot economy going from the lower end..

[poopdeck101]

Can't convert from pay account to free account so your question has no validity,, sorry.

Actually despite popular belief you can. All you have to do is have a pay acct, stop paying, pay off the balance (ie: 4.95) then voila you have a free acct and you can play all of the crits that are in alt 1. On my free acct I have crits that have alerian and NL gear...

[Ragnoker]

Seems to me you just exposed a bug. :sarc



Ragnoker_PHNX :D

Edit: The following can be found in the Terms of Service for the game

The basic DrakkarZone service is free of charge. Any DrakkarZone service you sign up for that entails a charge, you will be clearly notified that it is a fee service/area. If this policy changes, you will be notified via email and given the opportunity to Opt-out or cancel your account. Once an account has purchased any fee service/area, the account must maintain a subscription to at least one fee based area.

2nd Edit:

Question,, if paid for NL and go to no pay does that keep the account active ???
:sarc

[Yeti]

yes, if you have paid for nl and you go no-pay you can still play in alt 1.

i dunno if this is a bug or feature, but that is indeed why he was able to keep his account active

-Yeti

[Dragonslayer]

Heh, i actually mention that such a bug might occur when nl first got in "pre-order".
I feel wierd, i actually am right once

[Mars]

Actually despite belief. NO you can not.

Any account found playing after unsubscribing from either gold or silver and reverting to a free account will be dealt with and locked.

The policy stands "You must have an ACTIVE subscription in order to continue to play", and no, paying for Nameless does not count as an active subscription. You must maintain gold or silver.

V/R

Mars

[Mars]

The last post was removed. It had nothing to do with the topic of this thread and only tried to flame.