Guild Wars 2

Nope and for the same reasons that 9/10th of the previous posters posted why.

Some people are saying “no, because the game isn’t good enough for a sub”.

I contend that with the following: it’s not bad enough to warrant a sub, and it wasn’t designed with a sub in mind. I initially played GW1 BECAUSE it was buy to play (I certainly couldn’t-nor didn’t want to be able to-afford a subscription based game), after playing for free for a few days just before the release of Factions.

Monthly fees don’t make any games “better”, pure and simple. If the sub model/game works for you, you’ll pay, but it doesn’t mean that it will be really “better” than other buy to play, or even free to play games. Subcriptions (IMHO, so please take no offense) just mean that somebody is overcharging you, not that you will be receiving any special, “premium” gaming experience over anybody else.

GW2 delivers a pretty special gaming experience regardless pay model, and a very high quality one at that. If it sometimes doesn’t feel “polished”, I always try to remember that it’s always a “work in progress.” However… monthly fees don’t mean that games will be polished either, and you would have people complaining about something in any case. For what it does, I am sure I would prefer it over many other monthly subscription games, even if they took care of the sub for me and I didn’t have to play to have an account in them.

I would at first, maybe for 2~3 months to complete the world and get everything I deem reasonable for a character (this means no legendary), and then quit.

By then I’d be done with the content (great content by the way) but the remaining stuff to do would be PvP, that doesn’t interest me much, and WvW, that although it’s fun and all it gets sorta boring after a while… it’s fun when there’s massive zergs on all sides and it’s an all out war, but then people get killed, go repair and zone out of it =(

Yes , I would have paid a sub , in fact they should have a server for those who wishes to pay a subscription and take out the diminishing returns , free amount of gems , and discounts in the Auction House . Those playing for free will still get to play .

Nope, not enough real content.

I might, but there are some thing they get a pass on now because of the lack of a monthly fee that I would want to see changed before I started paying.

• In-game Support
  If I get stuck in terrain or encounter some other bug that prevents me from completing a mission, I would expect a GM to respond and move my character or progress the mission so that it can be completed (I realize they likely couldn’t actually fix the bug). If somebody is being harassing in game, I would expect a GM to respond to an in-game report and deal with the situation then and there.

• Get rid of DR
• Increase loot across the board
• Culling in WvW fixed/removed

In general, I’d like to see better QA and a more stable, less insect-rich environment, but the game is new, and a lot of the games it gets compared to have many years on it. So I think the points I listed are really the sticking points that would make me have to think hard about whether or not I’d be willing to pay monthly.

Nope, the only reason I play this is because of its lack of subscription. I’ve always been intrigued by MMORPG games, but can’t justify spending on something I might not play for a few months. At the moment I’m playing most days, but when SimCity comes out or BF3 EndGame I’ll likely stop for a few weeks. Buying one-off is perfect for me.

I would say I would be happy paying for large expansions though.

Sky.7610:

If this game was subscription based, would you be willing to pay to play this game monthly? Why or why not?

Do you think GW2 would have flopped if it was launched as a subscription game?

No, I would not play the game if it were subscription based.
Why? Because I am a “casual player”. I play games for entertainment purposes and as leisure activities.

I love GW2.
I hate subscriptions.

This question was on mmorpg.com…and I assume it’s intended to make it seem that if people would not sub to a game, then the game must be bad.

That’s a silly assumption.

No. There isn’t enough to do to keep me coming back. If there were a sub fee, I wouldn’t even hit level cap. The only reason I am still playing now is because I want to get my moneys worth out of the game.

I’ve never had a problem with sub fees, I don’t think games that have sub fees are dying anytime soon, and I will gladly pay a sub fee on a game that is actually worth it, but GW simply isn’t.

Chuo.4238:

I would have paid a sub to play Guild Wars. I definitely wouldn’t pay to play GW2. Not since they trashed the manifesto.

But did they have to trash the manifesto because it wasn’t generating as much revenue as sub based …. ?

I don’t play subscription games on principle, if I buy a game it should be mine to play whenever.

And that’s even though I spend more money on free games than what a sub would cost, for me it’s about choice and not having to pay even if I don’t feel like playing for a month.

I actually believe in supporting companies I believe in with my hard earned cash. Yes, real money.

My family owns a few software companies, and others work in the “data” end of the tech world, and I believe in paying these people what they are worth in expertise, schooling, and creativity.

I like the idea of vanity items sold via an in-game store that allows me at intervals to plunk down cash not only as a way to keep my characters looking spiffy, but as a way for me to support a company and game that I wish to continue long term.

I have in my home budget a set amount that is used for “entertainment” and because I had waited 5 years for Guild Wars 2, I had every intention of using this monthly allotment to purchase things and thereby support the game—-and the people who make it. (They are, actually, real people with homes and families to support)

If Guild Wars was to change some of its policies and try to shake off a bit of their tunnel vision about the “perfect in game real economy”—-where they seem to protect this concept over and above the actual enjoyment of the player, then I would feel more prone to clunking down even more money —-given that my time was not wasted and I was still being “entertained” for my entertainment dollar.

Certainly not. This game just doesn’t offer enough bang for the buck.

Have to second everyone who said “hell no.”

I’ve really enjoyed my time with both GW1 and GW2 and they are really the only video games I’ve spent real time with over the past half decade. That being said, I wouldn’t pay a subscription fee for any game – even one I enjoy as much as GW.

I would of at the start, i remember thinking omfg how is this game not sub based!? Its a AAA game at AA prices. Changing ther business model partway through though I would just leave. If they added a premium account or anything along those lines i would just quit as well. Im happy with the way it is now and will continue to play. I dont play enough though atm to warrant paying a sub.

No.

The game serves merely as a time occupier for me now.

It lacks any sense of balance. D/d ele, mesmers, and thieves simply ruin the pvp.

The WvW encounters are just utterly dumb. To be upper tier means you know how to crunch up into a ball of toons and abuse game mechanics as much as possible through button mashing. Did they really have the sentinels from “The Matrix” in mind when they designed WvW? There is zero strategy required.

If they ask for a fee, I am gone. Although in full disclosure, I am very close to gone already. So my opinion should be considered in such light.

Chuo.4238:

I would have paid a sub to play Guild Wars. I definitely wouldn’t pay to play GW2. Not since they trashed the manifesto.

This. A thousand times this!

Game mechanics are stuck in late beta stage, and the game design feels like they suddenly stopped caring halfway during the process.

I don’t mind paying a subscription fee but for GW2 ? lol , right …

GW2 is just not a very good game. Can any one honestly come up with one thing GW2 does better or even as good as any other mmo out there ? I can’t.

No.

I love the game but part of the reason I love it is because it doesn’t have a subscription. Even when I know I’m likely to play almost every day I love that I don’t have to make sure I’m on to get what I paid for, and don’t have to plan in advance when and how long I’m going to take a break. Taking that pressure off makes the game a lot more enjoyable to me.

It also means this game was virtually guarenteed to be good value for money because you’re only paying the same as you would for any regular game so even if you “only” play it for 200 hours or so you’ve got a good deal. (Rough estimate obviously.)

No. As it stands, my guild was barely able to talk me into the purchase at all – though I’m glad they succeeded.

Reasons why I wouldn’t pay a sub fee:

Lack of end-game content. My personal standards for subscription games require more end-game content of higher quality than GW2 brings to the table. I feel that the current status of end-game is laudable for a buy-to-play game, but very sub-par for a sub-to-play one.

Lack of polish. A lot of minor details are wrong with GW2, and there’s often no indication of these being addressed in a timely manner. Without making a laundry list, it’s things like the right-click targetting issue, or the FotM disconnect issue – often these get addressed by a staffer as a “known issue” and then nothing happens or is heard for months. Once again, the level of quality here is well in advance of many buy-to-plays, but below what I would expect from a subscription game.

I wouldn’t pay a monthly fee because I don’t care how good the game is, I am unwilling to pay a fee to play a game and then feel obliged to play in order to make my expenditure feel worth it. The only reason I picked up GW1 was because of there being no monthly fee, and it was a driving factor in my picking up the sequel as well. I don’t mind microtransactions because they aren’t required to play the game or succeed at the game, but if a fee were to ever become mandatory consider me gone.

Note: I think the game is worth a monthly fee, but my stance is that I refuse to play any game that requires a monthly fee. I’m one of those customers ANet won over by never having a subscription fee.

With the number of quality free to play/buy to play options out there now… there are NO MMOs worth a subscription anymore.

Karizee.8076:

I think subscription fee games have gone the way of the dodo.

Development has really taken a huge dive for the worse ever since copying WoW became the formula for “success.”

Subscription fee is fine; the reality always was that most MMOs weren’t worthy of the $15 per month.

@OP: Yeah, this game would have been panned as a flop if it had been subscription based. The only really quality thing it has going for it is 1-80, but that only serves as the foundation of a good game (and hence why I still think the game has potential, even after uninstalling it over a month ago).

Neither the boxed PvP nor boxed PvE were up to industry par, there was no dedicated raid endgame, and WvW faces several major issues before it could carry a game.

That said, they would have been better poised to leverage the 1-80 content into a better game if they had gone with subscription based. Cash shop is like an aggressive cancer that can’t be cleanly cut out or safely blasted with radiation/chemicals; it taints and diminishes even good systems to the point that they seem inferior.

Nalora.7964:

I actually believe in supporting companies I believe in with my hard earned cash. Yes, real money.

My family owns a few software companies, and others work in the “data” end of the tech world, and I believe in paying these people what they are worth in expertise, schooling, and creativity.

I like the idea of vanity items sold via an in-game store that allows me at intervals to plunk down cash not only as a way to keep my characters looking spiffy, but as a way for me to support a company and game that I wish to continue long term.

I have in my home budget a set amount that is used for “entertainment” and because I had waited 5 years for Guild Wars 2, I had every intention of using this monthly allotment to purchase things and thereby support the game—-and the people who make it. (They are, actually, real people with homes and families to support)

If Guild Wars was to change some of its policies and try to shake off a bit of their tunnel vision about the “perfect in game real economy”—-where they seem to protect this concept over and above the actual enjoyment of the player, then I would feel more prone to clunking down even more money —-given that my time was not wasted and I was still being “entertained” for my entertainment dollar.

I just wanted to say that it’s refreshing to see the “developers are human too” sentiment alongside a conclusion of “the customer is always right.”

Vorch.2985:

I love GW2.
I hate subscriptions.

This question was on mmorpg.com…and I assume it’s intended to make it seem that if people would not sub to a game, then the game must be bad.

Actually, the intent is probably to “confirm” that subscription based MMOs are forever dead.

I like subscriptions because then the developer has no need to view every little change through the prism of increasing cash shop sales.

Of course, that’s no guarantee that they’ll make a good game. But it’s that much tougher to make a great game under the F2P model.

Hence my comment above; if this had been subscription based, it would be easier to salvage. Cash shop just adds an extra and unsightly burden when trying to climb out of what’s basically the same hole.

EverythingXen.1835:

With the number of quality free to play/buy to play options out there now… there are NO MMOs worth a subscription anymore.

F2p is a valid business model but I disagree there are no MMO’s worthy of subscription. I happily pay a subscription to Eve Online for its regular content updates, grind-free skill training system, interesting gameplay and economics, and cost of maintenance for servers that host the occasional 2800-player battle.

While I love that game, I’m playing it cause it has no subscription as I can’t afford a monthly fee while in college (paying for it without help besides loans). I do try to buy a few items from the gem shop though if I have any money to spare to put in my support for this amazing game (even if I didn’t like the story as much as GW1 haha)

Just curious—how many have said yes because thet have someone else (mom/dad) who foots the bill.

No, I don’t think so. I have played a number of subscription-based MMOs in the past but the market has changed now. It would take a pretty spectacular and innovative game to get me to sign up for a sub again, I think, because it would need to not just be good, but £10-15 per month better than any of the F2P or B2P games out there, which would take some doing.

GW2 isn’t deep enough for me to want to pay monthly for it. If a game offered some compelling or unique feature I would definitely not mind paying monthly for it.

I would have been willing to pay for SWTOR for the cinematic and voice acting, but the game play was fundamentally broken and the game was as ugly as sin.

If you took SWTOR’s story, voice acting, and cinematic and merged it with GW2 graphics and game play, I would pay monthly for that willingly.

Laurelinde.4395:

I think, because it would need to not just be good, but £10-15 per month better than any of the F2P or B2P games out there, which would take some doing.

that’s really the key I think. I cannot think of any sub based mmo that is better than a f2p or b2p mmo. So if I can get the same or better entertainment without paying the sub fee, then why play a sub fee game

Star Ace.5207:

Some people are saying “no, because the game isn’t good enough for a sub”.

Monthly fees don’t make any games “better”, pure and simple. If the sub model/game works for you, you’ll pay, but it doesn’t mean that it will be really “better” than other buy to play, or even free to play games. Subcriptions (IMHO, so please take no offense) just mean that somebody is overcharging you, not that you will be receiving any special, “premium” gaming experience over anybody else.

you seem to be misinterpreting this, its not a matter of subs making the game better its a matter of it being worth it, ie is the game worth paying X a month for whether that’s a sub or the same amount in cash store purchases. currently its not prior to nov it could have been had they fixed bugs and continued on the projected path. instead they took the easy way out by turning the game into a crappy Skinner box instead of developing quality content the fact that the devs have come out and admitted they pushed out content they knew was flawed shows you where they are heading.

current development actively discourages spending more money with them because its so incoherent, soon jewel-crafting will be obsolete, it will be the same with all other professions bar cooking, the best they can craft is intermediate gear that uses the same mats as the BIS ascended gear, its ridiculous, look at the ascended roll out pieces are only obtainable from one new type of gameplay every three months what’s next? Use Dragon Tokens to get ascended weapons/armour from the forge in may?

If this was a sub i be playing wow or rift. would it have flop like swtor if it had a sub then yes has i think rift and wow even swtor has more to offer i know the game just come out but look at the dungeon group maker players are now using a website to form groups. A mmo gets one chance to hook a player in to the game mass it up and they be playing another mmo like what happen to swtor has its free after you buy the box i not see much they offer over the sub games yet but we see what this year brings.

The main reason I bought GW2 was the appeal of there being no subscription on a high-quality MMO.

Pay a sub just to do dailies? No I am not an idiot. Its free and I can’t find a reason to log in.

1 of the reasons i bought gw2 was because it had no subscription. If it was subscription based it would probably get larger updates and more frequently

Kromica.2831:

Pay a sub just to do dailies?

This is what I mean when I say that development took a dive when they started chasing the WoW-model.

No, I wouldn’t pay a subscription fee to play a game which relies on the daily crutch.

But if one of them needs to go, it’s the dailies.

GW 2 is not designed to be a sub pay game. There are catches though out the game that put the player in the position where it would be more comfortable to buy things here and there. No one is forced to but its a lot more work or just the feeling of bleh with out out paying for a bit of stuff here and there. More than reasonable as its a sub free game after all and the companies bills need to be paid.

The down side from my own experiences is that I end up paying 2 to 3 times more per month for odds and ends in this game than a sub fee. Not only that but it takes away one reason for people to socialize, that being getting along better to accomplish more and get things you need. Personally I think when I leave GW2 and all its glorious beauty, I will return to pay to play via sub fee. For me there are certain things that attracted me to the MMORPG genre in the first place that simply are no longer true if one’s worth in the game is bought and paid for. As stated before also , the so called free to play is getting pretty pricey for me too. I honestly don’t think the game system could be converted as it stands though, there are too many things that seem to be designed to encourage buying stuff. This will be my last FTP.

Still I enjoy the look and feel enough to bide my time in GW2 till I find my new game.

Ansultares.1567:

I like subscriptions because then the developer has no need to view every little change through the prism of increasing cash shop sales.

Depends on the community, if you look at eve (the only sub game left that’s increasing in player base as all others are decreasing/have adopted a different payment model) you have to reconsider your quote given what happened in 2011. You can pretty much tell the dev’s there aren’t going to do anything the player base doesn’t want anymore given all the updates since then.

To add to my post I had high hope for gw2 over other mmos. I played the beta and it was great then the money farmers came in and arena net fix that now there, no way to farm gold to buy on ah they killing they’re own game. And being to controlling with, they’re players on what they can do and not. I do not see what different from this game to like wow or rift next-gen mmo where I see only a few things that rift or wow can easy put in to they’re games

Short answer: NO.

Long answer: I would have at first, but now that I’ve seen how the game is going and what NCSoft/Nexon are doing to it? This game will NEVER be the game that ANet wanted to make. And given what happened to Paragon Studios/CoH when they started to look into breaking free from NCSoft, it’s clear that ANet and GW2 will never be free of them.

I would say a lot more, but I don’t think even these mods can fire off enough infractions for what I would post if I really let loose.

Nalora.7964:

If Guild Wars was to change some of its policies and try to shake off a bit of their tunnel vision about the “perfect in game real economy”—-where they seem to protect this concept over and above the actual enjoyment of the player, then I would feel more prone to clunking down even more money —-given that my time was not wasted and I was still being “entertained” for my entertainment dollar.

You have this backwards, they protect the economy for the enjoyment of all players, not bar enjoyment from the players to protect the economy. 400g doesn’t mean anything when a stack of ori costs 2000g.

Protoavis.9107:

Ansultares.1567:

I like subscriptions because then the developer has no need to view every little change through the prism of increasing cash shop sales.

Depends on the community, if you look at eve (the only sub game left that’s increasing in player base as all others are decreasing/have adopted a different payment model) you have to reconsider your quote given what happened in 2011. You can pretty much tell the dev’s there aren’t going to do anything the player base doesn’t want anymore given all the updates since then.

I’m unfamiliar with EVE and its history, other than that I’m aware it’s practically the only MMO which experienced net population growth over the very long term. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was subscription based.

You could elaborate, maybe?

Mackdose.6504:

400g doesn’t mean anything when a stack of ori costs 2000g.

Buying from the AH is no substitute for harvesting the nodes. The point is to get people out in the game world, not huddled around one NPC. And protecting the gold piles of a few AH barons is hardly laudible. This is not the real world; there’s no need for that level of efficiency.

Paying 15 dollar every frickin month to play a game? Kitten off.

Ansultares.1567:

I’m unfamiliar with EVE and its history, other than that I’m aware it’s practically the only MMO which experienced net population growth over the very long term. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was subscription based.

You could elaborate, maybe?

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/26/eve-evolved-the-day-that-eve-online-died/

Pay attention in particular to the final quarter of the article, where it discusses the developer’s reaction to player protests on the forums,

Ansultares.1567:

I’m unfamiliar with EVE and its history, other than that I’m aware it’s practically the only MMO which experienced net population growth over the very long term. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was subscription based.

You could elaborate, maybe?

They were adding things to the game that a large part of the player base believed the game was shifting away from what it was. (sandbox) in an attempt to pull in new players. A big cosmetic overhaul happened also which (while very pretty visually) didn’t sit well with the player base (since it wasn’t necessary). Add in the cash shop being added and well nerd rage, 40K (at the time over 10% of the player base) subs cancelled in protest, etc. Since then nothing has been added to the game that hasn’t been specifically been asked for by the community.

nope.

The lack of subscription is the one single factor that made me play GW1 instead of the other choices of the day.

There is no way I would have returned for GW2 if that core selling feature had been changed.

No.

I’m not one to play a game that requires a sub anyways. Been there done that got the scars. I’m not paying a monthly fee anymore for games of any type and I thought that the devs of this game understood what real monetization is like. Putting cosmetics in the store exclusively has worked so well in games like LOTRO and putting ships with improved abilities (ie weapons with a special ability in fantasy terms but abilities that don’t break the gameplay) worked very well for STO. So forcing people to buy gold for the most basic system of progression as we’re seeing here isn’t really the best way to endear your fans or playerbase. DR is part of the problem, they should never have implemented DR there were plenty of tried and true ways of getting rid of bots without harming players, most of which were researched by games who tried DR and lost a large chunk of players due to DR and researched other ways other then DR to accomplish their goals of removing bots.

I spent alot of money on LOTRO because I loved the game design and because I’m a big fan of cosmetics. I also played LOTRO for YEARS (as long as I played WoW actually, 6 years) There’s almost none in the GW2 store to even care about, 1 backpack really doesn’t cut it. LOTRO has 15. Where are the cloaks and hooded cloaks? They could have made a killing off fashion alone especially with all the players who RP.

Protoavis.9107:

Ansultares.1567:

I’m unfamiliar with EVE and its history, other than that I’m aware it’s practically the only MMO which experienced net population growth over the very long term. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was subscription based.

You could elaborate, maybe?

They were adding things to the game that a large part of the player base believed the game was shifting away from what it was. (sandbox) in an attempt to pull in new players. A big cosmetic overhaul happened also which (while very pretty visually) didn’t sit well with the player base (since it wasn’t necessary). Add in the cash shop being added and well nerd rage, 40K (at the time over 10% of the player base) subs cancelled in protest, etc. Since then nothing has been added to the game that hasn’t been specifically been asked for by the community.

If anything, that sounds like a defense of subscriptions, because the playerbase was able to effect change through mass cancellations.

Ansultares.1567:

Protoavis.9107:

Ansultares.1567:

I’m unfamiliar with EVE and its history, other than that I’m aware it’s practically the only MMO which experienced net population growth over the very long term. In fact, I wasn’t even aware it was subscription based.

You could elaborate, maybe?

They were adding things to the game that a large part of the player base believed the game was shifting away from what it was. (sandbox) in an attempt to pull in new players. A big cosmetic overhaul happened also which (while very pretty visually) didn’t sit well with the player base (since it wasn’t necessary). Add in the cash shop being added and well nerd rage, 40K (at the time over 10% of the player base) subs cancelled in protest, etc. Since then nothing has been added to the game that hasn’t been specifically been asked for by the community.

If anything, that sounds like a defense of subscriptions, because the playerbase was able to effect change through mass cancellations.

In a sense, but it still goes against your initial post about a sub allowing dev’s to be more free to do what they want since everything doesn’t come down to how to get $$$ which in the case of eve at least isn’t the case. They’ve basically become slaves to the player base without the freedom to explore.