Buying the Game + incentives

[Crazy_Kamosa]

I would really like to see an option to buy the game, granting specific perks to those who have done so. Something like bypassing build times for the Foundry, or unlimited slots for items. I feel like this would be a huge success for everyone, as it accomplishes several different things: supporting the developers, removes this huge impediment to player progression and providing an incentive to play more. 
 

The only drawback I could see to this, is that the idea of “buying” a free game could be very divisive within the community, between those who did and who didn’t. Over time, however, I believe something like this would be worthwhile after implementation. What are your opinions on buying the game, and removing the slot/ build time limitation?

[Traumtulpe]

2 minutes ago, Sashumo said:

I would really like to see an option to buy the game, granting specific perks to those who have done so. Something like bypassing build times for the Foundry, or unlimited slots for items.

You can already do that. What you are asking for is a discount. If anything it would be a subscription, not a one time purchase. And even then I don't see how it would make sense for DE to do that.

[SpicyDinosaur]

29 minutes ago, Sashumo said:

I would really like to see an option to buy the game, granting specific perks to those who have done so. Something like bypassing build times for the Foundry, or unlimited slots for items. I feel like this would be a huge success for everyone, as it accomplishes several different things: supporting the developers, removes this huge impediment to player progression and providing an incentive to play more. 
 

The only drawback I could see to this, is that the idea of “buying” a free game could be very divisive within the community, between those who did and who didn’t. Over time, however, I believe something like this would be worthwhile after implementation. What are your opinions on buying the game, and removing the slot/ build time limitation?

No.

[Tsukinoki]

31 minutes ago, Sashumo said:

I would really like to see an option to buy the game, granting specific perks to those who have done so. Something like bypassing build times for the Foundry, or unlimited slots for items.

It sounds like what you really want is a massive discount and never having to pay money into the game in the future....
Because here's a shocker: You can already do what you want to!  Just buy a ton of plat and rush through everything and buy hundreds upon hundreds of slots!

You're asking DE to lose a ton of money for next to no benefit on their end.

If anything it would make sense for DE to make this a subscription instead of a one time purchase but here's another thing: DE looked into various subscription models when the game was first launching and decided they didn't want to do that because they didn't want to create any division or distinction between those players who don't spend money and the ones who do.

The problem with having a subscription, or your idea of a pay once (which would never happen because of the sheer amount of money that DE would stand to lose) is that they would have to put in quite a few perks to incentivize someone to do that....and they don't want to create two "tiers" of players: Those who pay money and those who don't.
They don't want their to be any difference at all between the players who can drop money on the game and buy stuff and the players who make their plat through trading it with others.

Their reasoning is that if they create that divide in the playerbase that it won't go over well and you'll have angry people on both sides: F2Pers that are angry at the stuff that the subscription players get and P2Pers that are angry that they aren't given even more stuff because they are paying for it.

[(PSN)SentientSword234]

It was called the founders program and you're about 4..5? Years late boss sorry about that.

 

 

However clearly the base of your problem is the ridiculous and mounting hell grind on warframe and that i can agree with

[Crazy_Kamosa]

I just thought it would be nice to actually purchase a license to the game, granting you a bypass to some of the most obstructive elements of progression. No discounts, no subscription services. Just something of equal worth to somebody who would consider purchasing the game, despite the f2p model working.

[(PSN)SentientSword234]

No Sashumo you can't buy free games. Thats the point of them being free. Just. Buy plat. Buy a big ol bundle of plat and spend it on progression related stuff like boosters, weapon and wf rushes and slots. 

[Electropuncher]

So, I'm not gonna bash you over the head with "founders program lol," and "prime access rofl," but I think you have a point. Foundry times are inexcusable. They were outdated when the game launched, they're almost patronizing now. Dojo construction is almost designed specifically against the player's interests, and actually getting anything done is a massive time sink. I'm opposed to a subscription model, and I think the fact that it'll cost you 50p (which is between $3.50-$4.00 USD) to skip a 3 day wait for a new frame, and it'll be another 20p (let's say $1.50) if you don't have the inventory space, and ANOTHER 20p to double the mod capacity, is all a little... annoying. I'll admit, having inventory slots be paid kind of makes sense (it's like buying a character sheet), but forcing a 3 and a half day wait on most frames (let's not talk about Equinox) in addition to having to get the requisite materials is a bit dodgy. Or, you know, you could drop 325p on a frame (or less, depending on its age, popularity, and ease of access), get a slot and a potato for it, and skip the line.

You can try and justify it all you want, but you can't tell me that you savor the wait for a new frame, weapon, or whatever. Even the 1 minute timer on minerals and ciphers is a bit long. A ton of people are going to say "tiny company," but the game has been around for 8 years (including private beta), and conceptually since the early 2000s. I haven't played any other major free-to-play game that has a system that forces you to wait for your hard-earned goods, but to be fair, I haven't played many. I dunno, maybe I'm just salty because I'm fairly impatient and made it a goal to get every frame (mission successful!).

Also, there should totally be far more cosmetics in game. I don't care if I'm wearing Pumpkin Lord Grendel in the middle of July and I have Santa Frost, Easter Bunny Limbo, and Beach Bum Nezha in my squad. If anything, I would prefer it. It's kind of like the argument EA put out for SW Battlefront 2 and how "A Hello Kitty Darth Vader would ruin the aesthetic coherence of the game." BS. Give me my candy pink Vader. Let me have my Pride Month decals, my Veterans Day emblem, my Armistice Day Stug (a questionable choice, but now you want one), and my UNESCO Cheese Day 1h Sword skin! Let me throw platinum at you! Because as it stands, I have the colors I want, I have almost all of the premium skins I want, and I'm kind of out of Warframes to buy. Let me pay you, DE, but give me something in return, rather than what I already earned!

[(PSN)ForNoPurpose]

19 hours ago, Tsukinoki said:

You're asking DE to lose a ton of money for next to no benefit on their end

But this game is FR33 T0 PL4Y!!!1. They make Noo mon3y off of it at all!

Its almost as if you are suggesting that free to play games cost players MORE in the long run.

[Crazy_Kamosa]

Forget the idea of “buying the game”, would it instead be possible to release a one-time purchase of $60 or so to permanently speed up build times, rather than removing them entirely? It shouldn’t be too problematic, especially if they reduce all build times to something reasonable like 15 minutes to an hour maximum. That way, the option to rush still exists. It may potentially lose them money, but not everyone is just satisfied with rushing builds over and over. It’s a consumer-friendly option, through and through.

[(PSN)thegarada]

You can buy platinum to unlock stuff. This model is working fine. 

[KIREEK]

I have a question OP

Under the current system, if your plat is chargebacked or the trades you do unfair, you are deducted said plat, so even if you benefit from the temporary riches, if you spend them, you might find that the litle stunt may have a cost, possibly making the account enter the negative values, so you either remove the stuff (with the assistance from support), or in the case of rushing content, you will need to purchase it again, you're not allowed to trade until the account gets back into the positives, so the stunt will make you pay for the content as originally intended, you gain nothing from cheating the system.

Now, under your sugestion, someone pays for permanent rushing, but does a chargeback, until this comes into effect, they benefit from faster crafting and all that craziness you sugested.

When the time comes to undo the changes because no purchase was really made, my question is, how you undo these benefits you sugested? how you undo the many items the players already crafted? you remove the items? you permaban the account?

[Crazy_Kamosa]

The details of undoing the benefits would be subject to deliberation, much like the reduced numbers themselves. It’s one of those things that can’t easily be solved out the gate. On the idea of the player having those benefits undone, I cannot say for certain since I’m no marketing professional. However, there could be some form of small penalty for not committing to the initial purchase. Something to deter the idea of circumventing the system, like a temporary trade or purchase limitation.

 

Something like this could have that potential for exploitation if handled poorly, so an early warning telling you of the repercussions for revoking this benefit, whether intentional or not, would be a good start, in my opinion.