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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Free trial up to level 20
Jude
Member
Good evening.
I don't know if this is the right place for my thread but I hope this upcoming MMORPG will have a free trial up to level 20 like World of Warcraft. I was excited when I saw the graphics but I didn't like it when I found out that the game is not for everyone. I don't know why we're in 2020 and there are no new free to play MMORPGs in North America but I don't blame the developers this is their game.
I don't know if this is the right place for my thread but I hope this upcoming MMORPG will have a free trial up to level 20 like World of Warcraft. I was excited when I saw the graphics but I didn't like it when I found out that the game is not for everyone. I don't know why we're in 2020 and there are no new free to play MMORPGs in North America but I don't blame the developers this is their game.
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Comments
It's not a MMORPG, it's a Battle Royale.
I don't agree. It is for everyone. If someone doesn't have $15 to pay for a month of a game then they probably shouldn't be spending their time to play games. They have plenty of opportunity to watch videos and livestreams if they want to see it in action all for free.
Although not in North America (England) technically Runescape, a Western MMO, has a F2P option. A F2P option makes it even easier for botting and gold selling to be possible. Although Intrepid has said they will have many measures in place to combat it I don't see the need for a F2P option personally.
P.s the best MMO's normally are pay to play as this is what pays for content and the like
As far as free trials on the main servers - hell no that just creates issues
Do you mean there will be a free server and a pay to play server just like that Russian MMORPG?
I haven't heard about it myself but yes I assume a F2P trial only server to get a taste of the game with restrictions.
I'm being sarcastic but there are people who think like this.
Can't change stupid. No reason to cater to people who think like that. It just ruins it for the majority.
No multiplayer, no real impact on the servers, only max level class and gameplay testing.
I think that would put people off the game to be honest, I think having the game free till level 5 would be fine
Back in the day, I was paying $40 - $60 to buy a box that I had no idea how it played (some worked out well, others were tossed). Intrepid has said that there is no box cost, so you only need to pony up the first month to see if it is for you. Just skip the morning coffee for a week.
With free games, you have the p2w cash shop and the gold sellers and the people that just complain that things are not the way they want but don't want to pay for.
P.S. Sorry for any errors in this post I have a migraine right now and should not be typing haha.
I agree.
Lineage 2 Veteran
The only cost will be the 15 EUR / Dollars a month sub fee, I do hope to see some kind of subscriber bonuses like some fun pets or decorations
IMO there should never be access to the regular servers without paying.
I know right! If only I had as much time to play Ashes like I did when I was playing Runescape growing up lol
spending hours killing cows and chopping wood to sell on the grand exchange good memories
As others have said though, there's needs to be some serious restrictions for a free-trial to be possible, for several reasons related to business, security, and node gameplay. Probably something like a level cap of 10 or 15, and prohibiting player-to-player trade.
A different option is to just have occasional sales for new players. Like $5 for your first month, or buy your first month (for $15) and get the second month free.
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The thing is, most new players primarily come from 3 places in the MMO genre: Friends asking their friends to join them, variety streamers/youtubers who introduce their viewers to new games, and bored people looking for cheap, time-killing games to try out (specifically because they don't buy full-priced games, so they don't have a lot of fun options).
All of those groups are served by having a slightly lower (but time-limited) financial barrier-to-entry.
Of course, there are also two groups that you don't have to worry about paying full-price for the game: veteran MMO players who will probably hear about and try the game before anyone else, and rich people with a lot of free time. Those people are only going to care how good/popular the game is (and if they can get their friends to join them). But if you want veterans and whales to stick around, it helps to have lots of other players in the game, creating a larger, more active community.
Thus, every single player benefits somewhat from a good free-trial or other on-boarding program, even the people who don't use it themselves. It's a necessary feature for any large-scale MMO, regardless of potential problems.
(Btw, I'm not going to pretend to understand all the nuances to regional pricing. But I wouldn't expect a brand-new NA company to be able self-publish around the world, and provide every region with sustainable pricing and good customer support. At least, it will probably take a few years for them to accomplish. They have to make sure the product is viable in their native market (NA/EU) first, right?)
But I agree that friends and family are the way Ashes will gain the most additional subs post launch. Maybe they should have some form of referral program to facilitate this... oh wait.
For sure, $15 a month for an MMO sub isn't that much to me either. I've always thought MMOs are way more expensive in terms of time rather than money. But that's only because of both my personal interest in MMOs and my middle-class circumstances.
But if someone's not a fan of the MMO genre already and they just wanna just try one out for 10 hours, then the $15 starts to matter more. That's the price of a whole indie game, or an old AAA game on-sale. And although $15 is just the cost of a nice meal in urban areas of the US, it can matter a lot more in rural areas and other countries.
For people who don't have both the privilege and inclination to play MMOs every day and chat on internet forums about un-released games, one month of MMO game-time might not be very valuable and $15 might be a lot.
And the referral program only helps people who already play the game, and encourages them to badger their friends for selfish benefits. It doesn't make the game any better or easier to try for new players. It just does the same job as advertising: putting the product in view of more people (even those who would never want to buy it).
I don't disagree with you, for some people, $15 is a lot of money. Thing is, I would suggest that such people wouldn't be able to afford the sub if they did enjoy the game.
Any scheme designed to get new players in to Ashes should be focused on getting somewhat long term players in, people to whom $15 a month isn't going to mean they or their children miss out on dinner a few times that month (speaking from first hand knowledge here).
Basically, if that $15 a month isn't discretionary income, then Intrepid probably shouldn't be targeting their player recruitment drive towards them. If it is discretionary income to the point they can spare it every month, then $15 to try the game is fine.