I disagree, especially considering you'll straight up run out of action bar slots in your mid-20s. Unless you invest some money into the game you'll face living hell after that point. Preferred is the way to go, with some additional unlocks on the side.
^ This. Action bar restrictions make it so you absolutely have to spend money - at least $5 to get preferred status.
The F2P options give you a small hint of the full game - basically to entice you to subscribe. Unless you play extremely casually.
Its very simple why ppl hate SWTOR's F2P model so much. In most other F2P MMOs you can buy almost every single feature that subcibers have - and the mosts important ones are always there for sale. This is not the case with SWTOR - its just the opposite.
In SWTOR no matter how much $$$ you want to throw at EA they wont let you be equal with subscribers. This is a big problem because there are ppl that dont want to feel like they rent the game, they want to feel like they own it (even if its practically impossible they still want to "feel" that way). No matter how much you are ready to give to EA thare is still no way to buy warzone, flashpoint or raid - only to rent them. No way to unlock credits and commendations caps(Im not sure if is still the case with commendations).
This makes it impossible to play the game effectively without being subscribers even if you are ready to spend much more than $15 per month. This onl shows that SWTOR's cash shop is not targeted at preferred players - its targeted at subscribers. EA are not trying make more money by reaching to more ppl, they compensate by charging their existing subscribers more. Its just a strategy to make as much is possible before the game is over.
Agreed. Probably the biggest sales they get from their market are from the various packs - and the majority of those pack sales are almost assuredly, subscribers.
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
There were 600 people on the empire fleet alone last night on a medium pop EST PVP server (least populated server type), at 1am.......Unless you think a million players a month = unhealthy, stop grasping at straws with server counts.
Its very simple why ppl hate SWTOR's F2P model so much. In most other F2P MMOs you can buy almost every single feature that subcibers have - and the mosts important ones are always there for sale. This is not the case with SWTOR - its just the opposite.
In SWTOR no matter how much $$$ you want to throw at EA they wont let you be equal with subscribers. This is a big problem because there are ppl that dont want to feel like they rent the game, they want to feel like they own it (even if its practically impossible they still want to "feel" that way). No matter how much you are ready to give to EA thare is still no way to buy warzone, flashpoint or raid - only to rent them. No way to unlock credits and commendations caps(Im not sure if is still the case with commendations).
This makes it impossible to play the game effectively without being subscribers even if you are ready to spend much more than $15 per month. This onl shows that SWTOR's cash shop is not targeted at preferred players - its targeted at subscribers. EA are not trying make more money by reaching to more ppl, they compensate by charging their existing subscribers more. Its just a strategy to make as much is possible before the game is over.
Agreed. Probably the biggest sales they get from their market are from the various packs - and the majority of those pack sales are almost assuredly, subscribers.
Please provide a link to back up your guess here I mean that's clearly what your doing right just guessing. Thanks
It's logic. I'm sorry, what F2P person would spend $ on packs over unlocking bars or the ability to use epics. Packs are regularly updated and random. So you have to buy more than a few to get what you need. On the GTC, packs typically sell for more than a F2P person would have at their capped credit value or close to it. Also, how much stuff do you see on the GTC coming from packs? Pages and pages right? Obviously somebody is buying packs. Logically, it's subscribers.
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
There were 600 people on the empire fleet alone last night on a medium pop EST PVP server (least populated server type), at 1am.......Unless you think a million players a month = unhealthy, stop grasping at straws with server counts.
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
There were 600 people on the empire fleet alone last night on a medium pop EST PVP server (least populated server type), at 1am.......Unless you think a million players a month = unhealthy, stop grasping at straws with server counts.
Do a /who 55 and tell me of those 600, how many do you see?
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
Well from my experience a healthy population would be one where groups are forming, guilds are recruiting, your items on the gtn sell and there are people everywhere.
Fleet always at least 3 instances
ops being formed any time I log in
once a months groups being formed for the fleet datacron
high level worlds like Oricon and Makeb are always busy.
Etc
etc.
So sure it may be subjected for those looking from the outside and not actually playing, but those who do play know it's healthy.
I do play. Not very often because the only sanctuary from the raiding, PVP hamster wheel is the space PVP.
EDIT: to give you background, before the F2P switch. I had 8 level 50's. In SWTOR as it exists today, it's current endgame is raiding, PVP, space PVP and spending money on collectables in the market. Once you've done the raiding or PVP to rank 100 (like I've done), you realize the monotony of the experience.
Space is a fresh new thing, but how long until that gets old?
Its very simple why ppl hate SWTOR's F2P model so much. In most other F2P MMOs you can buy almost every single feature that subcibers have - and the mosts important ones are always there for sale. This is not the case with SWTOR - its just the opposite.
In SWTOR no matter how much $$$ you want to throw at EA they wont let you be equal with subscribers. This is a big problem because there are ppl that dont want to feel like they rent the game, they want to feel like they own it (even if its practically impossible they still want to "feel" that way). No matter how much you are ready to give to EA thare is still no way to buy warzone, flashpoint or raid - only to rent them. No way to unlock credits and commendations caps(Im not sure if is still the case with commendations).
This makes it impossible to play the game effectively without being subscribers even if you are ready to spend much more than $15 per month. This onl shows that SWTOR's cash shop is not targeted at preferred players - its targeted at subscribers. EA are not trying make more money by reaching to more ppl, they compensate by charging their existing subscribers more. Its just a strategy to make as much is possible before the game is over.
Agreed. Probably the biggest sales they get from their market are from the various packs - and the majority of those pack sales are almost assuredly, subscribers.
Please provide a link to back up your guess here I mean that's clearly what your doing right just guessing. Thanks
It's logic. I'm sorry, what F2P person would spend $ on packs over unlocking bars or the ability to use epics. Packs are regularly updated and random. So you have to buy more than a few to get what you need. On the GTC, packs typically sell for more than a F2P person would have at their capped credit value or close to it. Also, how much stuff do you see on the GTC coming from packs? Pages and pages right? Obviously somebody is buying packs. Logically, it's subscribers.
First it's called the GTN, second one a f2p gets his bars or credit limit increase either from buying it in the shop or the GTN who says now that they have everything to play the game they don't want those packs either you? How about the preferred players they don't want those packs either cause you guess so? Typically only the newest packs sell for the most and they are not at credit max, older ones sell for a lot less. Your right the GTN is filled with stuff from the store that f2pers can pay in game currency for leaving real money for packs. So as I stated a link please cause your logic is flawed.
Actually, the older packs that become discontinued sell for 10 million. Obviously there is no way to to link you anything because nobody is going to release that information. But out of the 139 million SWTOR made (a stat you can actually see) who do YOU think is spending the most money on the game? People who are massively restricted and want to spend more than 15$ to unlock bars, epic unlock, etc. (instead of just subscribing) or the people who want to collect all the new CM stuff they regularly update via packs?
Its very simple why ppl hate SWTOR's F2P model so much. In most other F2P MMOs you can buy almost every single feature that subcibers have - and the mosts important ones are always there for sale. This is not the case with SWTOR - its just the opposite.
In SWTOR no matter how much $$$ you want to throw at EA they wont let you be equal with subscribers. This is a big problem because there are ppl that dont want to feel like they rent the game, they want to feel like they own it (even if its practically impossible they still want to "feel" that way). No matter how much you are ready to give to EA thare is still no way to buy warzone, flashpoint or raid - only to rent them. No way to unlock credits and commendations caps(Im not sure if is still the case with commendations).
This makes it impossible to play the game effectively without being subscribers even if you are ready to spend much more than $15 per month. This onl shows that SWTOR's cash shop is not targeted at preferred players - its targeted at subscribers. EA are not trying make more money by reaching to more ppl, they compensate by charging their existing subscribers more. Its just a strategy to make as much is possible before the game is over.
Agreed. Probably the biggest sales they get from their market are from the various packs - and the majority of those pack sales are almost assuredly, subscribers.
Please provide a link to back up your guess here I mean that's clearly what your doing right just guessing. Thanks
It's logic. I'm sorry, what F2P person would spend $ on packs over unlocking bars or the ability to use epics. Packs are regularly updated and random. So you have to buy more than a few to get what you need. On the GTC, packs typically sell for more than a F2P person would have at their capped credit value or close to it. Also, how much stuff do you see on the GTC coming from packs? Pages and pages right? Obviously somebody is buying packs. Logically, it's subscribers.
First it's called the GTN, second one a f2p gets his bars or credit limit increase either from buying it in the shop or the GTN who says now that they have everything to play the game they don't want those packs either you? How about the preferred players they don't want those packs either cause you guess so? Typically only the newest packs sell for the most and they are not at credit max, older ones sell for a lot less. Your right the GTN is filled with stuff from the store that f2pers can pay in game currency for leaving real money for packs. So as I stated a link please cause your logic is flawed.
Actually, the older packs that become discontinued sell for 10 million. Obviously there is no way to to link you anything because nobody is going to release that information. But out of the 139 million SWTOR made (a stat you can actually see) who do YOU think is spending the most money on the game? People who are massively restricted and want to spend more than 15$ to unlock bars, epic unlock, etc. (instead of just subscribing) or the people who want to collect all the new CM stuff they regularly update via packs?
I guess we can agree to disagree. But you can't tell another poster that most the people on at 1am are f2p (again a link) and then tell me that most the revenue comes the subs buying packs. If you think that the minority is producing all the revenue that logic is just flawed. I would agree if your logic said 50/50 split but that's not what your saying is it?
The quote from Frank Gibeau says F2P users are around 1.7 million.
With a switch from F2P and the addition of the CM, they see an overall revenue increase (139 million). There are no stats on the breakdown of this revenue. I can imagine, many F2P users spending some money to get preferred status or unlocking some bars but... I'll bet you most of the revenue comes from subscribers. It is the nature of the CM - it targets existing subscriber base with a saturation of collectibles.
Keep in mind, you cannot assume the 1.7 million F2P players regularly play. They might look at the restrictions on the F2P model and uninstall the game after reaching level 20 and running out of bar space or realizing they cant use a purple that dropped on the ground without paying $12.50.
The quote from Frank Gibeau says F2P users are around 1.7 million.
With a switch from F2P and the addition of the CM, they see an overall revenue increase (139 million). There are no stats on the breakdown of this revenue. I can imagine, many F2P users spending some money to get preferred status or unlocking some bars but... I'll bet you most of the revenue comes from subscribers. It is the nature of the CM - it targets existing subscriber base with a saturation of collectibles.
Keep in mind, you cannot assume the 1.7 million F2P players regularly play. They might look at the restrictions on the F2P model and uninstall the game after reaching level 20 and running out of bar space or realizing they cant use a purple that dropped on the ground without paying $12.50.
The report that gives us the 139 million number points out that that is just from the cash shop. So if they averaged 500k subscribers over the course of the whole year, not just that point in time, add another 90 million on top of that.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
Its sad that so many people are still drinking the cool-aid that EA gives them. I sub the game, but at least I am fully aware of how greedy EA has been and how much the screw over all the tiers.
SWTOR even makes a subbers pay for emotes. They gives you 400-500 CC a month but when you compared that to the price of things in their shop. Its pennies.
Also notes that the games SWTOR was put next two were old games. The Secret World, Tera both of which came out around the same times have much different ftp systems.
EA did and has done everything in their power to ruin SWTOR. If it was ANY other mmo. The game would have died long long ago. Its only because its Star Wars that its still here today.
^This
Glad to see there are some that can look at the game from an unbiased point of view! Most look at it through either rose-colored glasses or with a clouded, complete and utter disdain.
I love all things Star Wars and really enjoyed this game when it was a sub-only game -- even in spite of all the blatant hacks/cheating that was going on in in PvP. BioWare did its darndest to try and hide it even going as far as deleting threads/posts from forums. Now I can understand why they'd want to eliminate others from seeing reading about hacks/cheats so that those players don't try and duplicate them; however, without so much as an acknowledgement to players that had been the victim of it. Not even a simple we are aware of what is going on and doing our best to fix these issues apology?!
That was the first thing that made me truly cognizant in regards to how badly this game was being managed. The F2P transition was just icing on the cake!
If only SWTOR had something on par with RIFT or Guild Wars 2, but alas, I'll stop holding my breath for that day to come. It is what it is, incompetence is incompetence no matter how you slice it!
In addition, I just recently returned to see that all of my character names were wiped. This link to the site explains why and I understand the need to do this, but I was never emailed in regards to this. I read the part where BioWare states that they are in the process of emailing certain players, but I never received and email in regards to this and the email I use for my SWTOR account in ONLY for that account and nothing more. In addition, their site is added to my safe senders list, so I can't imagine how I would not have received the email.
To say I'm pissed about it would be a complete understatement. Yeah, the names I locked in mean a lot to me. And, to add insult to injury I was a preferred member and could have easily logged into the game had I actually received the email.
I paid (foolishly) $150 for a CE and supported the game for well over a year, if not longer. I would think that granted some sort of protection from having ALL of my names wiped! But then again, this is EA! We shouldn't expect something as smart as Blizzard's way of handling unused character names now should we!
I've tried contacting SWTOR support but ironically enough you had to be subbed to submit a ticked in-game and their phone support is worse than useless.
What's really interesting is that I can't find one thread/post in regards to the renaming policy which is something I'm calling BS on. Seriously, not one player has commented or even had questions regarding this. I'm guessing BioWare flubbed this up royally and the mods had to go on a deleting spree as they did with the hacks/cheating issue.
This is not the end-all-be-all, but it's not the first time this group has done something completely asinine to piss off their fanbase. Let's face it, EA is no stranger to this and there is a reason why they are consistently voted as the most hated company.
As I said, I enjoyed the game and don't consider it to be the problem -- more so it's the company behind it and the management of it that has completely turned me off of it.
I love, love, love the Star Wars IP. I want to be a part of it and playing this game, but frankly I'd much rather give my hard-earned money to companies that actually care or at least attempt to care about its customer base. EA has proven with Warhammer and now with SWTOR that they simply don't give a shit about you and unequivocally just want your money whether you are completely satisfied with their product or not.
It's sad to see EA is such a powerhouse and I rarely wish misfortune on anyone or anything, but considering how they've portrayed themselves to be, I'd be lying if I said I'd shed a tear if they went bankrupt tomorrow and disappeared from the gaming world.
Harsh words, but they've completely ruined so many things for me including two of the biggest IPs that could exist in MMO gaming in Warhammer and Star Wars.
Harsh words, but they've completely ruined so many things for me including two of the biggest IPs that could exist in MMO gaming in Warhammer and Star Wars.
So you start your post agreeing that people are "drinking the EA kool-aid", then turn around and end your post with the statement that EA ruined the star wars IP in MMOs, completely ignoring the fact that SWG was a complete and total faileur...
An "unbiased" post would be one that includes only facts, not feelings inspired by those facts. If a post is truly unbiased, you can't even tell what the person's opinion is after reading it, you just have some facts from which you can draw your own conclusion.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
Both points are unbiased. They are both based on factual information and are fair and impartial, are they not?
The very fact that I admit my love of all things Star Wars but yet am completely unhappy with SWTOR as a game is about as unbiased as you can possibly get, is it not?
Just like the fact that you eagerly admit you come to this site for a good laugh implies that you might be a troll just looking to instigate rather than share an honest opinion.
An "unbiased" post would be one that includes only facts, not feelings inspired by those facts. If a post is truly unbiased, you can't even tell what the person's opinion is after reading it, you just have some facts from which you can draw your own conclusion.
Point taken and very well made. Perhaps I should have been better about leaving my opinions out of my comments.
Thank you for stating this in a professional manner without trying to come off as a jerk. You sir are a gentleman and I can only hope there were more people like you.
Its sad that so many people are still drinking the cool-aid that EA gives them. I sub the game, but at least I am fully aware of how greedy EA has been and how much the screw over all the tiers.
SWTOR even makes a subbers pay for emotes. They gives you 400-500 CC a month but when you compared that to the price of things in their shop. Its pennies.
Also notes that the games SWTOR was put next two were old games. The Secret World, Tera both of which came out around the same times have much different ftp systems.
EA did and has done everything in their power to ruin SWTOR. If it was ANY other mmo. The game would have died long long ago. Its only because its Star Wars that its still here today.
^This
Glad to see there are some that can look at the game from an unbiased point of view! Most look at it through either rose-colored glasses or with a clouded, complete and utter disdain.
To say I'm pissed about it would be a complete understatement. Yeah, the names I locked in mean a lot to me. And, to add insult to injury I was a preferred member and could have easily logged into the game had I actually received the email.
[mod edit]
Both points are unbiased. They are both based on factual information and are fair and impartial, are they not?
The very fact that I admit my love of all things Star Wars but yet am completely unhappy with SWTOR as a game is about as unbiased as you can possibly get, is it not?
[mod edit]
Actually, I was completely unaware of the naming issue related to RIFT. Honestly I haven't really played RIFT all that much. I played briefly after the F2P launch but not long enough to experience the naming issue there.
[mod edit]
You may very well be a great guy, but your post didn't come off that way, rather it sounded condescending and rude.
Its sad that so many people are still drinking the cool-aid that EA gives them. I sub the game, but at least I am fully aware of how greedy EA has been and how much the screw over all the tiers.
SWTOR even makes a subbers pay for emotes. They gives you 400-500 CC a month but when you compared that to the price of things in their shop. Its pennies.
Also notes that the games SWTOR was put next two were old games. The Secret World, Tera both of which came out around the same times have much different ftp systems.
EA did and has done everything in their power to ruin SWTOR. If it was ANY other mmo. The game would have died long long ago. Its only because its Star Wars that its still here today.
^This
Glad to see there are some that can look at the game from an unbiased point of view! Most look at it through either rose-colored glasses or with a clouded, complete and utter disdain.
To say I'm pissed about it would be a complete understatement. Yeah, the names I locked in mean a lot to me. And, to add insult to injury I was a preferred member and could have easily logged into the game had I actually received the email.
[mod edit]
Both points are unbiased. They are both based on factual information and are fair and impartial, are they not?
The very fact that I admit my love of all things Star Wars but yet am completely unhappy with SWTOR as a game is about as unbiased as you can possibly get, is it not?
[mod edit]
Actually, I was completely unaware of the naming issue related to RIFT. Honestly I haven't really played RIFT all that much. I played briefly after the F2P launch but not long enough to experience the naming issue there.
[mod edit]
You may very well be a great guy, but your post didn't come off that way, rather it sounded condescending and rude.
Oh don't worry as I stated I don't get emotional over video games and don't report people calling me a silly name.
Well i apologize for offending you by laughing at your comment and coming across as condescending. I took your post as what I said it was. You took my post as a negative response. Guess we both missed each other's points to a certain degree. Because my main point was there is nothing wrong with your opinions.
No problem and all is forgiven. I apologize as well. That is the problem with the written word as it can so often be construed a different way.
I assumed that because I am such a Star Wars homer and yet have been turned off due to so many of the issues with SWTOR's implementation and management, that I'd be a tell-tale sign that the game is not what it should be.
If Star Wars' biggest fans are not playing SWTOR then isn't that somewhat of a black eye or negative on SWTOR as a game or of BioWare/EA failure to make the game great...or at least good enough to retain diehard Star War fans?
Originally posted by Dewguy79 At the same time though it has around 500k subs and 1.7 millions f2p players. I would argue that in those numbers are some die hard Star Wars fans that enjoy Swtor as much if not more then what ever mmo you enjoy. I'm a huge sw fans seen the movies, read the books played all the games and I enjoy Swtor as do a lot of others. Is it perfect? Not close. Is it the best mmo? Probably not. In the end just like most things it will not appeal to everyone.
Yes, but that's just it! As I said, it's not the game itself that's pushing me away, but more specifically the handling/management of the game that's left the bad taste in my mouth.
I really had a lot of fun playing the game itself.
Originally posted by Dewguy79 At the same time though it has around 500k subs and 1.7 millions f2p players. I would argue that in those numbers are some die hard Star Wars fans that enjoy Swtor as much if not more then what ever mmo you enjoy. I'm a huge sw fans seen the movies, read the books played all the games and I enjoy Swtor as do a lot of others. Is it perfect? Not close. Is it the best mmo? Probably not. In the end just like most things it will not appeal to everyone.
Yes, but that's just it! As I said, it's not the game itself that's pushing me away, but more specifically the handling/management of the game that's left the bad taste in my mouth.
I really had a lot of fun playing the game itself.
I enjoy the game, well the 1-50 leveling experience anyway. I also have damn near everything unlocked now. But I won't give them any more of my money because of how they treat their players, both subs and F2P. If they didn't crap on their player base perhaps they would find more people willing to support them. I am happy supporting games like Rift and PoE where the developers actually treat their players as honored customers instead of a herd of cash cows.
What is more stunning is that under the "F2P" and "Preferred" status a mobile security device is not allowed.
I found this out when I changed cell phones and had to re-install my SWTOR security key on my new phone but since I am a preferred member...................nope.
What is more stunning is that under the "F2P" and "Preferred" status a mobile security device is not allowed.
I found this out when I changed cell phones and had to re-install my SWTOR security key on my new phone but since I am a preferred member...................nope.
Well see you twisting the truth here big time. So let me clarify it for you. If you had the security key and went to preferred you still have the security key. I don't know about switching phones but I do know that preferred players do have access to the security.
You are WRONG. The moment you remove a key (on an old phone which was used since BETA) and try to install a new one (on the new phone) as a Preferred player you cannot.
I'm sorry, but my previous information wasn't 100% correct.
At the moment, the mobile security key is only available for subscribers, but the team is currently looking at providing the mobile security key to preferred status players as well.
What is more stunning is that under the "F2P" and "Preferred" status a mobile security device is not allowed.
I found this out when I changed cell phones and had to re-install my SWTOR security key on my new phone but since I am a preferred member...................nope.
I have the physical security key and I have never been a subscriber. Not sure about the mobile but I'd rather have the physical anyway as you never know when you will need to replace your mobile phone.
What is more stunning is that under the "F2P" and "Preferred" status a mobile security device is not allowed.
I found this out when I changed cell phones and had to re-install my SWTOR security key on my new phone but since I am a preferred member...................nope.
Well see you twisting the truth here big time. So let me clarify it for you. If you had the security key and went to preferred you still have the security key. I don't know about switching phones but I do know that preferred players do have access to the security.
You are WRONG. The moment you remove a key (on an old phone which was used since BETA) and try to install a new one (on the new phone) as a Preferred player you cannot.
I'm sorry, but my previous information wasn't 100% correct.
At the moment, the mobile security key is only available for subscribers, but the team is currently looking at providing the mobile security key to preferred status players as well.
MMOGamer71 is exactly right Dew. The very same thing happened to me!
I purchased the CE, subbed for almost 2 years with the security app on my mobile phone and then after switching over to a new Galaxy S4, was no longer allowed to use the security key.
Comments
^ This. Action bar restrictions make it so you absolutely have to spend money - at least $5 to get preferred status.
The F2P options give you a small hint of the full game - basically to entice you to subscribe. Unless you play extremely casually.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Agreed. Probably the biggest sales they get from their market are from the various packs - and the majority of those pack sales are almost assuredly, subscribers.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
No, you will have to buy a weekly pass to play for an unlimited time during that week.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Well, healthy is subjective. In the beginning few planets there are a ton of people. Mostly F2P. As you progress, the planets become very sparsely populated.
Only 8 US servers remain (only 3 US west - one for each server type)
There are 9 EU servers, but those are separated by language as well as server type.
You will run into a lot of 55's during peak hours (not so much during dead time), but that is because there are so few servers. If you live on the west coast, Australia or Asia and want to play on PVP server, you WILL be on the Bastion. There is no other option.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
There were 600 people on the empire fleet alone last night on a medium pop EST PVP server (least populated server type), at 1am.......Unless you think a million players a month = unhealthy, stop grasping at straws with server counts.
It's logic. I'm sorry, what F2P person would spend $ on packs over unlocking bars or the ability to use epics. Packs are regularly updated and random. So you have to buy more than a few to get what you need. On the GTC, packs typically sell for more than a F2P person would have at their capped credit value or close to it. Also, how much stuff do you see on the GTC coming from packs? Pages and pages right? Obviously somebody is buying packs. Logically, it's subscribers.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
mostly F2P
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Do a /who 55 and tell me of those 600, how many do you see?
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
I do play. Not very often because the only sanctuary from the raiding, PVP hamster wheel is the space PVP.
EDIT: to give you background, before the F2P switch. I had 8 level 50's. In SWTOR as it exists today, it's current endgame is raiding, PVP, space PVP and spending money on collectables in the market. Once you've done the raiding or PVP to rank 100 (like I've done), you realize the monotony of the experience.
Space is a fresh new thing, but how long until that gets old?
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Actually, the older packs that become discontinued sell for 10 million. Obviously there is no way to to link you anything because nobody is going to release that information. But out of the 139 million SWTOR made (a stat you can actually see) who do YOU think is spending the most money on the game? People who are massively restricted and want to spend more than 15$ to unlock bars, epic unlock, etc. (instead of just subscribing) or the people who want to collect all the new CM stuff they regularly update via packs?
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
subscriber population is somewhere around 500k. Link: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-Has-500-000-Subscribers-Sees-Revenue-Increase-351533.shtml
The quote from Frank Gibeau says F2P users are around 1.7 million.
With a switch from F2P and the addition of the CM, they see an overall revenue increase (139 million). There are no stats on the breakdown of this revenue. I can imagine, many F2P users spending some money to get preferred status or unlocking some bars but... I'll bet you most of the revenue comes from subscribers. It is the nature of the CM - it targets existing subscriber base with a saturation of collectibles.
Keep in mind, you cannot assume the 1.7 million F2P players regularly play. They might look at the restrictions on the F2P model and uninstall the game after reaching level 20 and running out of bar space or realizing they cant use a purple that dropped on the ground without paying $12.50.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
The report that gives us the 139 million number points out that that is just from the cash shop. So if they averaged 500k subscribers over the course of the whole year, not just that point in time, add another 90 million on top of that.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
^This
Glad to see there are some that can look at the game from an unbiased point of view! Most look at it through either rose-colored glasses or with a clouded, complete and utter disdain.
I love all things Star Wars and really enjoyed this game when it was a sub-only game -- even in spite of all the blatant hacks/cheating that was going on in in PvP. BioWare did its darndest to try and hide it even going as far as deleting threads/posts from forums. Now I can understand why they'd want to eliminate others from seeing reading about hacks/cheats so that those players don't try and duplicate them; however, without so much as an acknowledgement to players that had been the victim of it. Not even a simple we are aware of what is going on and doing our best to fix these issues apology?!
That was the first thing that made me truly cognizant in regards to how badly this game was being managed. The F2P transition was just icing on the cake!
If only SWTOR had something on par with RIFT or Guild Wars 2, but alas, I'll stop holding my breath for that day to come. It is what it is, incompetence is incompetence no matter how you slice it!
In addition, I just recently returned to see that all of my character names were wiped. This link to the site explains why and I understand the need to do this, but I was never emailed in regards to this. I read the part where BioWare states that they are in the process of emailing certain players, but I never received and email in regards to this and the email I use for my SWTOR account in ONLY for that account and nothing more. In addition, their site is added to my safe senders list, so I can't imagine how I would not have received the email.
To say I'm pissed about it would be a complete understatement. Yeah, the names I locked in mean a lot to me. And, to add insult to injury I was a preferred member and could have easily logged into the game had I actually received the email.
I paid (foolishly) $150 for a CE and supported the game for well over a year, if not longer. I would think that granted some sort of protection from having ALL of my names wiped! But then again, this is EA! We shouldn't expect something as smart as Blizzard's way of handling unused character names now should we!
I've tried contacting SWTOR support but ironically enough you had to be subbed to submit a ticked in-game and their phone support is worse than useless.
What's really interesting is that I can't find one thread/post in regards to the renaming policy which is something I'm calling BS on. Seriously, not one player has commented or even had questions regarding this. I'm guessing BioWare flubbed this up royally and the mods had to go on a deleting spree as they did with the hacks/cheating issue.
This is not the end-all-be-all, but it's not the first time this group has done something completely asinine to piss off their fanbase. Let's face it, EA is no stranger to this and there is a reason why they are consistently voted as the most hated company.
As I said, I enjoyed the game and don't consider it to be the problem -- more so it's the company behind it and the management of it that has completely turned me off of it.
I love, love, love the Star Wars IP. I want to be a part of it and playing this game, but frankly I'd much rather give my hard-earned money to companies that actually care or at least attempt to care about its customer base. EA has proven with Warhammer and now with SWTOR that they simply don't give a shit about you and unequivocally just want your money whether you are completely satisfied with their product or not.
It's sad to see EA is such a powerhouse and I rarely wish misfortune on anyone or anything, but considering how they've portrayed themselves to be, I'd be lying if I said I'd shed a tear if they went bankrupt tomorrow and disappeared from the gaming world.
Harsh words, but they've completely ruined so many things for me including two of the biggest IPs that could exist in MMO gaming in Warhammer and Star Wars.
So you start your post agreeing that people are "drinking the EA kool-aid", then turn around and end your post with the statement that EA ruined the star wars IP in MMOs, completely ignoring the fact that SWG was a complete and total faileur...
Can I have some of that new kool-aid too?
An "unbiased" post would be one that includes only facts, not feelings inspired by those facts. If a post is truly unbiased, you can't even tell what the person's opinion is after reading it, you just have some facts from which you can draw your own conclusion.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Point taken and very well made. Perhaps I should have been better about leaving my opinions out of my comments.
Thank you for stating this in a professional manner without trying to come off as a jerk. You sir are a gentleman and I can only hope there were more people like you.
Actually, I was completely unaware of the naming issue related to RIFT. Honestly I haven't really played RIFT all that much. I played briefly after the F2P launch but not long enough to experience the naming issue there.
[mod edit]
You may very well be a great guy, but your post didn't come off that way, rather it sounded condescending and rude.
No problem and all is forgiven. I apologize as well. That is the problem with the written word as it can so often be construed a different way.
I assumed that because I am such a Star Wars homer and yet have been turned off due to so many of the issues with SWTOR's implementation and management, that I'd be a tell-tale sign that the game is not what it should be.
If Star Wars' biggest fans are not playing SWTOR then isn't that somewhat of a black eye or negative on SWTOR as a game or of BioWare/EA failure to make the game great...or at least good enough to retain diehard Star War fans?
Just food for thought.
Yes, but that's just it! As I said, it's not the game itself that's pushing me away, but more specifically the handling/management of the game that's left the bad taste in my mouth.
I really had a lot of fun playing the game itself.
I enjoy the game, well the 1-50 leveling experience anyway. I also have damn near everything unlocked now. But I won't give them any more of my money because of how they treat their players, both subs and F2P. If they didn't crap on their player base perhaps they would find more people willing to support them. I am happy supporting games like Rift and PoE where the developers actually treat their players as honored customers instead of a herd of cash cows.
What is more stunning is that under the "F2P" and "Preferred" status a mobile security device is not allowed.
I found this out when I changed cell phones and had to re-install my SWTOR security key on my new phone but since I am a preferred member...................nope.
See post #11.
http://answers.ea.com/t5/Origin/swtor-security-key/td-p/284462
No added security for you.
You are WRONG. The moment you remove a key (on an old phone which was used since BETA) and try to install a new one (on the new phone) as a Preferred player you cannot.
Did you EVEN read post #11 from EA?
Edit: I will help you.
04-18-2013 07:07 PM
Hi everyone,
I'm sorry, but my previous information wasn't 100% correct.
At the moment, the mobile security key is only available for subscribers, but the team is currently looking at providing the mobile security key to preferred status players as well.
Philip Holmes, Head of Security for Star Wars: The Old Republic, recently posted an update at swtor.com regarding the mobile security key: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=62
I have the physical security key and I have never been a subscriber. Not sure about the mobile but I'd rather have the physical anyway as you never know when you will need to replace your mobile phone.
MMOGamer71 is exactly right Dew. The very same thing happened to me!
I purchased the CE, subbed for almost 2 years with the security app on my mobile phone and then after switching over to a new Galaxy S4, was no longer allowed to use the security key.