I am an old subscriber, but personally i disagree with this idea, and here the reasons why:
1. If i have to play with all the restrictions of a ftp, I can just create a free account (in fact I have one free account)
2. If I want to play my character, of course, I want it fully at my service, otherwise what would be the point? My character has 20 masters, why i should play it without them?
3. I can still chat and post into forum, so even the communication is not a real need to get my character as ftp.
But there are other reasons to consider, and are related to the survivability of the game:
1. there is no cash shop in the game (very good thing).
2. there is no other way for the game to make money other than subscriptions.
About ftp players that never subbed in the past:
Once they sub and cannot go back they fall in the same category of the olders, so the above points become valid for them too.
The idea that people don't resub because they can't go back later, is funny:
1. If I wanna sub, i will sub.
2. If I wanna go back because i don't have money, i can just roll a ftp account, given the end result will still be a character with same restrictions. And I need to level up a ftp character only once.
I'm sure very few old subbers will come back as ftp with their main characters.
But i'm sure a lot of them would resub and come back if the devs actually decide to do the right things.
With a different business solution, it would be possibile to consider such system, but actually I don't see any benefit for the game owners.
It's just my opinion.
1. If i have to play with all the restrictions of a ftp, I can just create a free account (in fact I have one free account)
2. If I want to play my character, of course, I want it fully at my service, otherwise what would be the point? My character has 20 masters, why i should play it without them?
3. I can still chat and post into forum, so even the communication is not a real need to get my character as ftp.
But there are other reasons to consider, and are related to the survivability of the game:
1. there is no cash shop in the game (very good thing).
2. there is no other way for the game to make money other than subscriptions.
About ftp players that never subbed in the past:
Once they sub and cannot go back they fall in the same category of the olders, so the above points become valid for them too.
The idea that people don't resub because they can't go back later, is funny:
1. If I wanna sub, i will sub.
2. If I wanna go back because i don't have money, i can just roll a ftp account, given the end result will still be a character with same restrictions. And I need to level up a ftp character only once.
I'm sure very few old subbers will come back as ftp with their main characters.
But i'm sure a lot of them would resub and come back if the devs actually decide to do the right things.
With a different business solution, it would be possibile to consider such system, but actually I don't see any benefit for the game owners.
It's just my opinion.
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GilgameeshLegion of Atys