Upgrading To Grand Master...

[EganMC]

The majority of you now know that Founders is coming to a close on the 1st of November.

This is generating a lot of hype in low level founders and non-founders alike, as they want to get the exclusives before they disappear, forever!

Now, here's where the issue is.

I can definitely afford Grand Master, a £100 upgrade isn't too daunting.

It's a lot for a game, but I love this game, all of its people, and the developing team.

I'd love to nab Grand Master to help DE and to help my progress and enjoyment of this game, however...

Is it worth the £100 upgrade?

Tell me what you think.

[Towermice]

If you plan on playing a long time it's worth the plat

Edited October 2, 2013 by Towermice

[Santiak]

It's painfully obvious that I'm entirely new around here - the reason being that Warframe didn't initially pull me in back when I looked at it just before new year, and I didn't really think about trying out the game before now, thanks to a friend picking it up.

I must admit that having played the game, the concept is interesting, and the community - at first glance - seems good.

Besides that, however, the only advice I could possibly give, for obvious reasons, is based on my own previous experiences in coughing up the cash to buy the more (in some cases, much more) expensive founders editions with other games.

The times I've bought the equivalent of a Grand Master founders pack in other games, I've done so because the game was, in my opinion, a type of game I'd like to see more of, and to a lesser degree, the Devs were of that special breed that managed to uphold a good degree of communication and transparency with their playerbase.

As such, try considering for a moment what you'd do if there were no fringe-benefits connected with the Founders packs; would you be inclined to think "I just hope this game carries on as it is, in the spirit that it is", or would the lack of said bonus items/acknowledgements/whatnot play a major role in your decision?

If you would be inclined to opt for the former; because you hoped the game would become what, well, you hope it will, then supporting it by buying the most expensive founders pack is a good way to go. The worth of it is determined by the potential you can see it have in the future.

If, however, you are more inclined to be lured in by the exclusive items, do keep in mind that, ultimately, if you aren't sure that you'd still be playing the game in X months time, what number of exclusive items or acknowledgements you'd have would be irrelevant either way. :)

Or, if I were to base the answer more directly on your initial phrasing, I'd say you're very enthusiastic about supporting this game - the sort of game you'd be likely to recall with that fuzzy-warm nostalgia many years after you stopped playing, and conversely, unlikely that you'd find yourself with a bitter taste as you discover you simply can't bring yourself to play the game anymore in a few months time. :)

Edited October 2, 2013 by Santiak

[EganMC]

That's some good advice there.

I do love this game, and how it's growing is fantastic.

I want it to stay as it is, with little changes other than additions.

I don't want the devs to get lazy and not talk to the users anymore, so I'll hope for that.

Thanks, I guess Grand Master is on its way.

[Darzk]

I purchased my GM not for the items/plat, but because I knew I'd be playing it for a decent amount of time and I wanted to show my support for the devs, genre, and theme. As long as the $$:Plat ratio was around the same as the basic plat packages I could have cared less about the in game items, although the emblem is nice to show off my support.

[Letter13]

Santiak makes a good point.

 

If you're "buying" a game, $250 USD (or £200) is simply way too much.

 

I bought a Grand Master founder pack because I wanted to support DE. Sure, the platinum is nice (and really more than I know what to do with) and the founder exclusive items are pretty, but I did it because I wanted to see Warframe grow.

 

I know a lot of founders say that if they had a chance to do it again, they wouldn't, and that if they could get a refund, they would... but for me it's not the case. It's a risk in a way, but if your main goal is to support DE, then I suggest going Grand Masters. The decision is ultimately up to you though. If you're afraid of having regrets after the deed is done, then maybe it might not be for the best.

 

Do what you think is right.

[Lord_zasca]

I love the game and if u have $100 dollars to spare great  buy it but in my opinion the silver package is better. Excalabur prime is more noticable and 1220 will keep you busy besides forking out over 200 dollars on a beta game that has average reviews (gamespot gave it 6 i think)  is a bit over the top you dont know where it will go and if the ps4 goes pear shaped you will be kicking yourself

Edited October 2, 2013 by Lord_zasca

[chilledfrench]

If you think about it, games these days require you to spit out hundreds of dollars its not uncommon. Take borderlands 2, 30$ + what 130$ for all DLCs, take COD original game + membership + DLCs, etc... At least on warframe its not some sort of hidden cost, you know exactly what you're doing, It's not forced down your throat (ex: if you want to see the end of the story get DLCs...), and it is your own decision. My only advice to you is to really make this decision yourself, right now you are basically asking to be convinced, its not the right approach.

Edited October 2, 2013 by chilledfrench

[Letter13]

Take borderlands 2, 30$ + what 130$ for all DLCs

 

Funny. I got the game and all the DLC for less than $50.

[chilledfrench]

Funny. I got the game and all the DLC for less than $50.

good for you? add the game 30$ + season pass 30$ (which isnt all DLCs is more than 50$ already). You got all of them for less than 50$ alright, I don't see why it matters that you found some kind of a deal somewhere, the price is still the same nevertheless....

[Santiak]

My only reservations about buying either Master or Grand Master, are due to me not being able to find any concrete guidelines as to what might be DE's ultimate goal with Warframe;

 

- Do they intend to keep developing and evolving the game substantially after it's considered "out of beta"? I.e., can one reasonably expect the game to be, if not different then evolved, a year from now, and what is the current likelihood that such a trend would continue beyond that?

In other words, is there a planned end-state for developmental progress, or is it planned to be a constant "work-in-progress"?

It's a major factor simply because it directly translates to not only what one would ultimately be paying for, but more importantly, what kind of development one would be encouraging; one with a finalized product and by extension detached playerbase interaction as a goal, or one with a constantly evolving product and by extension highly involved playerbase as a goal.

 

- In addition to that, and I admit it may be a case of me not looking hard enough, a "roadmap" of planned features, even if the only point on the map was to add a roadmap, it would make things very transparent in regards to what to expect from the future of Warframe - if nothing else, DE's plans for it, since plans can change but intentions less so.
This may fall under the Design Councils jurisdiction, but my understanding is that its primary function is to let the playerbase have more of voice in the decisions ultimately being made, and not merely to give players an idea of DE's level of commitment to the game, that is, Roadmap = see what might be coming, Design Council = help decide what's coming.
Some indication - leading back to the first point - of what might be in store readily available to the non-Master/Grand Master title holders might be worthwhile, as it would possibly entice more to support the game, and in return be able to support the game, seeing as it would be much clearer what they would be investing in, and as a result, would want to help decide.

Ultimately, it's a bit of a "The chicken and the egg" situation for me; to help ensure a grand future for Warframe one would like an indication of what future is in store. Looking at past responses it seemed as if there were some clear goals with where they wanted to take Warframe, but the closer things get to the present, the less obvious it became what one might expect from Warframe beyond the release-date.

Or have I simply been looking in the wrong places? ;o 

Edit: Ah, and this is of course also a  result of being "late to the party", so to speak. Initial impressions are quite good, but because I haven't been around that long, it's quite hard to actually gauge to what extent the nurturing of the game has slowed down, or seems to will slow down. (Opted to not say "Development" because it indicates purely content-based improvements, whereas it's more a case of how much focus DE are and plan on putting on Warframe that I'm curious about.)

Curse you knee-jerk reaction to 3rd person shooters! *shakes an angry fist at himself*

Edited October 2, 2013 by Santiak

[GottFaust]

You get all of the "big" stuff from master. Upgrading to grandmaster is more about supporting the Devs. You do get a large chunk of heavily discounted plat as well though.

Personally, I've played this game far longer (since late February) than any other game (MMOs included) that has come out in the past five years. For my money-to-time ratio it's been money well spent and I don't regret a dime of it.

[Phoenix86]

You get all of the "big" stuff from master. Upgrading to grandmaster is more about supporting the Devs. You do get a large chunk of heavily discounted plat as well though.

 

 

^this... i'm thorn in upgrading to Master... grrr...