News: Planetside 2 Membership plans - the what and why

[Sunrock]

TBH I don't like they selling convenience... That should be earned through game play.

[Chufty]

Sounds great, take my money! (EU situation permitting)

I just hope it's enough to tempt plenty of people to part with their cash.

[Hmr85]

I'm fine with this. I planned on subbing anyways.

[Shlomoshun]

I like this, as a super casual player, I'll likely subscribe in order to get to some good variety in playstyles so taht I can have some variety in the time I do spend ingame. Without subscription, it'll take me some time to get any variety in playstyles...

On a side note. Even without a subscription, will you passively build experience in every category? (LI, HA, MAX, Tank, Air?) If so, it's really worth it to get in early and at least set up multiple characters so taht they can begin accumulating this xp...that way when you want to start playing them 2 months down the road, you've got a pool of xp to spend right out of the gate. Is there a cap on passive xp accumulation to prevent this?

[EVILPIG]

Originally Posted by Conq

Sounds great, I wonder how Alpha Squad and the membership bonuses are going to work in regard to the exp/resource boosts. They shouldn't stack but one shouldn't go to waste.

Yes they should. You paid for both of them, they should both be applicable. Subscription XP boost is automatically applied while the Alpha Squad boost is an Implant. You will have the +50% and if you choose to tie up your Implant Slot, you will get another +10%.

[EVILPIG]

Originally Posted by SeanNewBoy

At this point just what does experience do for a character?

XP counts towards Cert gain while in game. Gaining BR is important because there will be minimum BR requirements for Implants and certain Cert levels (not implemented yet).

[Kipper]

It'll be worth something for he XP gain, but I'm not sure how much. I'd rather buy implants that last for game time - I'd be sure to keep stocked up of those.

As an aside, I'm not sold on passive cert gain for anyone - member or not. It seems as though it might devalue playing and feeling like you've earned something?

[Craftyatom]

I have one problem with this plan: resource gain. (Keep in mind, I'm probably buying this, so it isn't a straight QQ)

He said that resources straight up bought power, in a way that money couldn't. Grenades, medpacks, vehicles: all straight-up power increases. Yet he went on to say that resource gain would be affected by membership. Pay for more resources, resources=power... I'm concerned.

I was also going to write a few paragraphs about Certs, but then I realized: he's right! If you are a member, you get more Certs. a day or two later, I may also have those certs. It's like weapons: pay if you want it earlier (like alpha squad!).

Should any of these benefits be as large as 50%? no way. I'd say 20% sounds reasonable, but I'd love to see what others say.

[EVILPIG]

Originally Posted by Craftyatom

I have one problem with this plan: resource gain. (Keep in mind, I'm probably buying this, so it isn't a straight QQ)

He said that resources straight up bought power, in a way that money couldn't. Grenades, medpacks, vehicles: all straight-up power increases. Yet he went on to say that resource gain would be affected by membership. Pay for more resources, resources=power... I'm concerned.

I was also going to write a few paragraphs about Certs, but then I realized: he's right! If you are a member, you get more Certs. a day or two later, I may also have those certs. It's like weapons: pay if you want it earlier (like alpha squad!).

Should any of these benefits be as large as 50%? no way. I'd say 20% sounds reasonable, but I'd love to see what others say.

I have a seriously hard time finding any reason to complain about what is being proposed so far. Hell, an earlier plan even involved allowing you to purchase entire cert trees for say, $10. Either way, they are not offering OP weaponry that only those who buy them can get. They are just offering earlier access to those who actually invest in the game. Considering how freaking awesome this is all looking to be, I am happy to see them creating ways to generate revenue without breaking the game. Hearts and Flowers prints alone cannot sustain a game and I want to see the game survive without having to reset to selling Vorpal Blades+5 to make money.


**EDIT** I did not see that the new Resource gain is +50%, not +10%. That is too high in my opinion. +30% would be the highest acceptable value. Don't forget the 750 cap, so if you just plain suck, you will still run out from time to time.

[Arovien]

Apparently no one told the devs that many hardcore players will be buying PS2 membership if it proves to be attractive. Quicker cert gains in two different methods + more vehicle power? Is this some kind of trick (i refrained from using the T word)? 50% boosts are more than attractive, its downright ridiculous.

SOE might not "restrict your character from any type of gameplay based on paying money", but I will along side every hardcore player with membership out there. The typical hardcore player will have better skill and organization than the average player. Now top that with a membership. GG.

Prepare to see the following from myself and probably most hardcore players that pick up a membership. I am gonna spam libs and armor all day as I farm...excuse me, as I am given a cascade of certs. Its cake to get experience and kills when in a vehicle even in beta's current build. Virtually unlimited resources will supply my squad with an air and armor power that non-members will struggle to play around. You may take out one lib or one tank, but my whole squad can supply a replacement every 30 seconds since we are all rocking membership status. We have the skills to pilot vehicle power beyond expectations because that's the type of players we are; hardcore gamers that thrive against the odds. So good luck trying to go toe-to-toe with us. Do not forget that all members gain quicker certs, and hardcore members gain certs quicker than the typical casual member because of the +50% experience gain. So we naturally gain more certs than non-members over time PLUS as we impose this huge vehicle power (the increase in resource gain) and our skill, we are gaining even MORE certs as the experience rolls in literally quicker than the game can display.

Basically: non-members will play PS2 as soldiers, members will try to play PS2 as gods, and hardcore members will be gods.

Sure there is gonna be hardcore players with memberships on all factions, but they are planning the same thing. We want to farm certs from experience gained off of pwning noobs and poor peo... i mean non-members. We DO NOT want a challenge when farming, psh.

Lets be honest here, it seems like the plan is to make the continent battles the casual side of Planetside 2. Whatever plan they have for competitive PS2 play will be separate from the continent battles and probably not be impacted by membership. Totally expected, the major issue is making the continent action TOO casual.

Cater the membership package to the massive casual player population out there like what League of Legends did. Lower the 50% boosts to AT LEAST 20% and add some aesthetic stuff to the membership. All players have a casual side to them. There are hardcore players out there that like rocking skins and exclusive badges. I read this awesome suggestions from the official forums

Originally Posted by Anderz

How about some bonuses like:
- Weekly member store discounts.
- Free character skins every month.
- Free character transfers between servers. OR make it so all in-game purchases are global purchases for that Station Account.
- Name reservation (if you sign up for membership before release, but obviously don't get billed until the game goes public).
- Priority server access (this could cause a fuss though).
- More in-depth stat tracking on the website?

Running out of ideas now. So long as you don't parade the fact that Members are "more elite" than regular players like DICE do with BF: Premium, I see no problem with it.

[moosepoop]

i tihnk 15 dollars is too much for xp and resource boost. in f2p mmos subscription usually means exclusive content.

[CrankyTRex]

I'm a little put off by the resource gain due to some of the previous points mentioned about being able to spam stuff, but it's not a deal-breaker.

What will be a deal-breaker is if problems such as the aircraft secondary weapons remain because then I don't care how you dress it up, it will be paying to win.

I just hope they make sure that any gameplay option, such as AA on vehicles, or secondary weapons in aircraft, have something that starts unlocked so everyone can feel competitive no matter what they're buying or certing, in the same way that nobody is restricted to starting with a pistol.

For example, if I want to be a pilot, then give my aircraft some secondary weapon choices to start with, maybe a dumb bomb and a mid-lock time, mid range, mid damage AtA missile. Then the further certing can take me to options down the road.

I'll always come back to the flamethrower as a good unlock since it doesn't make me feel like I'm handicapped if I don't have it, but it is different enough to be interesting to unlock. If the unlocks stick to being that way, then I think they're going to hit the sweet spot where it is truly just paying for convenience, and not paying for advantage.

[FireWater]

I see no problem with the current method. The side grades just provide more options to choose from, and then force a choice. Of course when things are released they will need to be balanced, and those who may have bought side grades, maybe able to exploit them in the short term, however I am confident that the devs will keep in mind those who choose not to pay, but play the game. An MMO only works on a massive scale. Turn away the players that choose not to drop a dime on the game, you are going to hurt the playerbase of subscribers as well, and if they drop off, PS2 is in major trouble.

It is in the developers best interest to keep the game balanced, as well as reward those who contribute $$$ to the game to keep it going.

[Scopedog]

I see no problem what so ever with this its a good balance between fair and making money I support this 100%. I will not sub though unless they add things like cross server unlocks as playing with one outfit and friends might not happen on the same servers. Like they do with alpha squad on an account level. I will get alpha squad though and buy essential stuff (to me)

I personally don't want everything straight up so I will play more than pay well thats the plan, Im a sucker for camouflage so there goes that might make some of my own too with player studio so you might pay for my camo fetish

[Well]

I just feel like cash shop is ruinning games lately...
I would much rather pay for a sub and every month.