Regarding Platinum

[iamLoveless]

DISCLAIMER: YES I KNOW THE GAME IS CURRENTLY IN BETA AND ALL OF THIS NONSENSE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE!

 

TL:DR Platinum is REALLY overpriced.

 

 

Alright, I don't really know where to post this since no sections exists for Billing or Payment support or anything(helluva coincidence, huh?) so I'm just going to post it here. 

 

I've noticed quite a few things that erk me about this game since I started playing. It really really really really wants you to buy Platinum, and alot of it. First we have the ability to outright purchase Warframes, pretty basic right? I mean, it IS free and they have to make money, so you can work for it OR you can throw down 75-375 Platinum, seems reasonable. Now we have the actual price of Platinum which is about 15 Plt. for 1 American dollar. So if you were to buy Ash outright for it's current price of 375 Plt. that would run you... $25. Yup, that's alot for a new look and some new abilities, you could buy a game for that, or two.

 

Now let's say you're not really interested in buying a Warframe, you just want the ones you have to look nice. So, you decide to buy a color palette. Well, that's gonna cost you 75 Plt. or $5. I'm not really of the opinion that $5 is a reasonable price for some new colors for a Warframe, you could just wait for a steam sale and pick up a good indie title for that much.  

 

Lastly, we have the crafting system. Once you've got your blueprints and the materials you might have farmed for hours to get, you've got to wait up to 3 days to craft the thing. I guess that's fine, I mean you can pay Plt. to finish it instantly. However, most things require at least 25 Plt. to insta-build. That's about $1.50, roughly. So not only do we have an arbitrary and frustrating crafting system that forces people to wait 12 hours to craft a weapon, something you can do in almost every game with a crafting system in it instantly, and the whole thing is DESIGNED to get you to shell out. Normally that'd be fine for a free to play, but $1.50 is too much for something so simple as crafting a new weapon, especially considering you can't even buy the majority of them with credits. Maybe for a Warframe you can ask people to pay that, but not for a new sword.

 

Anyway, that's all, I could touch on the Revive system but that works just fine. The weapon purchasing system has the same problem as the Warframe market. I couldn't really care less about new weapon skins so I don't know the prices for those, thus I didn't discuss it. I know that the Devs have to make money, but there's a way to go about it with F2P games, but charging way too much isn't it.

 

Hopefully someone took something away from this, and the Devs will give their system another look if they aren't already.

 

Thank you for your time.

~Loveless

[LoRDxDeMoN]

It really really really really wants you to buy Platinum, and alot of it.

 

I think it's just the opposite, actually. The high prices deter you from buying Platinum. However, if you really really really really want to buy it, you will buy it.

[lokozar]

I too find the pricing a bit exaggerated (that's why I'm thinking about making use of the optional reset). Digital commodity is never scarce, so there is no need to set price tags so high. But you know, there will be plenty of people that think otherwise and will keep on buying, no matter the costs. I don't think we will see a change here.

Edited April 16, 2013 by lokozar

[KyleDoagan]

I agree. The high pricing has deterred me from buying plat (i was thinking about it) but 20 quid for a warframe? i could go to wow and get 2 and half months subscription with that money. 

 

I do agree that the platinum is overpriced yes. If it was lowered i would definitely consider buying some. I do like the fact that you get bonus plat the more you spend. Thats a good idea.

[FedorHooch]

While I agree that some frames and weapons are a tad overpriced I have to point out that they all can be freely obtained by actually playing the game. I personally think that you should always craft your gear. Outright buying a frame or a weapon is not really rewarding. It is much more satisfying to use something if you actually put some time and effort into obtaining it.

Also, only inventory slots and color palettes require plat to buy and you can use your starting plat to do that. Everything else is obtainable in-game.

[iamLoveless]

While I agree that some frames and weapons are a tad overpriced I have to point out that they all can be freely obtained by actually playing the game. I personally think that you should always craft your gear. Outright buying a frame or a weapon is not really rewarding. It is much more satisfying to use something if you actually put some time and effort into obtaining it.

Also, only inventory slots and color palettes require plat to buy and you can use your starting plat to do that. Everything else is obtainable in-game.

While it is true that you can obtain Warframes without buying them, buying the color palettes require more Platinum than you are given, meaning you have to buy at least the minimum of $5 worth of Platinum in order to buy one, not to mention that the palettes themselves cost $5 in Platinum.

[LoRDxDeMoN]

I was going to say you don't need colors. But I bought colors. So you do need colors.

[iamLoveless]

I was going to say you don't need colors. But I bought colors. So you do need colors.

Whether or not the player needs colors is irrelevant, the colors you're given to start with are obviously selected to be sub-par to incentivize players to purchase other palettes, which cost $5 apiece. It's unnecessary and slights the player for no reason.

[LoRDxDeMoN]

Aren't virtually ALL free to play games selling cosmetic items for real cash only?

[Quetzhal]

Platinum is absolutely overpriced, and I say this in spite of plans to upgrade to Master. The fact of the matter is that on joining the game, I was extremely put off by the prices. I saw that the game was awesome. I wanted to spend money to support it. Then I saw the prices and it instantly killed that desire, which is a very bad thing if the same thing is happening to new F2P players.

I got the Hunter pack when I saw that the devs actually communicate with their players and respond quickly to things, and I wanted to support them - but the fact of the matter is that most people don't care about that. They care about the price vs. reward ratio. New players shouldn't react with "damn, everything is overpriced". They should react with "I WANT TO BUY STUFF."

My two cents, anyway. I'm kind of in a hurry so I'm not all that eloquent.

[iamLoveless]

Aren't virtually ALL free to play games selling cosmetic items for real cash only?

 

Yes, and that's fine, but there is a difference between giving players more choices and more stylish looks for a buck or two and telling them "Give us $5 to not look terrible".

 

Platinum is absolutely overpriced, and I say this in spite of plans to upgrade to Master. The fact of the matter is that on joining the game, I was extremely put off by the prices. I saw that the game was awesome. I wanted to spend money to support it. Then I saw the prices and it instantly killed that desire, which is a very bad thing if the same thing is happening to new F2P players.

I got the Hunter pack when I saw that the devs actually communicate with their players and respond quickly to things, and I wanted to support them - but the fact of the matter is that most people don't care about that. They care about the price vs. reward ratio. New players shouldn't react with "damn, everything is overpriced". They should react with "I WANT TO BUY STUFF."

My two cents, anyway. I'm kind of in a hurry so I'm not all that eloquent.

 

I agree completely, I was actually planning to just buy Banshee since I wasn't really up for farming, but once I checked the prices of Platinum in relation to how much Platinum it cost to actually purchase the frame, I immediately rejected the idea of buying anything. F2P's fail because they either suck or actively attempt to milk their players. Warframe has great gameplay, but the payment system is leaning towards milking it's player base by a large margin. 

 

I can't help but think/hope that they didn't intend for it to be so broken, but I've been wrong before.

Edited April 16, 2013 by iamLoveless

[Spacehat]

I think it's just the opposite, actually. The high prices deter you from buying Platinum. However, if you really really really really want to buy it, you will buy it.

 

I think any business model designed around deterring people from spending their money is not good for anyone. If people pay money, it provides resources to the devs to make the game better.  That is what we as players should want and therefor you want people spending money on the game.

[lokozar]

Platinum is absolutely overpriced, and I say this in spite of plans to upgrade to Master. The fact of the matter is that on joining the game, I was extremely put off by the prices. I saw that the game was awesome. I wanted to spend money to support it. Then I saw the prices and it instantly killed that desire, which is a very bad thing if the same thing is happening to new F2P players.

I got the Hunter pack when I saw that the devs actually communicate with their players and respond quickly to things, and I wanted to support them - but the fact of the matter is that most people don't care about that. They care about the price vs. reward ratio. New players shouldn't react with "damn, everything is overpriced". They should react with "I WANT TO BUY STUFF."

My two cents, anyway. I'm kind of in a hurry so I'm not all that eloquent.

 

That's pretty much why I bought a founders packet as well. And then 170 Platinum because they explained problems and pushed out an important fix over a weekend, which was amazing. I felt that this had to be honored in some way. But honestly I am now really considering using the optional reset, just to have control back over my money. Given the high pricing and the lack of a try-out-buy-later option, I don't feel I've spend my money wisely. The reset will give me the opportunity to reconsider my choices.

 

I'm saying that, so Devs get an insight. If things here wouldn't be so expensive, I just would shrug, leave the optional reset out and put some more money in the game to buy stuff. I imagine, there are other people who think the same way and that means DE is loosing money.

Edited April 16, 2013 by lokozar

[N4G4M4K1]

Platinum overpriced; yes. Problem for the developer's assets; potentially. Should something be done about it; absolutely.

 

Personally, I'd be comfortable paying within the range of ~$12.50 for a new frame. As for weapons, maybe ~$5 at the absolute maximum. These prices I thought up taken into consideration the amount of effort needed to craft one with just resources, seeing as how farming a frames' materials would take at least 3 times as long. (3 blueprints as opposed to 1)

 

That being said, consider that DE's Warframe team does a phenomenal job catering to their playerbase. They livestream every Wednesday, frequently update, and implement commuity-suggested content/changes. If I'm paying a bit more than I would in a typical MMO for one with superb service to the players, I don't have any problem with that.

[MEsoJD]

 They should just use real money prices like tf2. No disguises.

[t3hsquirr3l]

Just adding my two cents as a new player, I've been playing off and on for a few days now. Enough to purchase a blueprint for a new frame. I was immediately disappointed to find that I now had to farm all the blueprints for the parts to build it.  I understand it's beta and all these systems aren't clearly explained in-game yet, but that's beside the point.

I considered just buying the frame with real money instead, until I saw the exchange rate for platinum.  No way is a few different abilities worth that kind of money.  Given my current situation limiting my playtime, I no longer have hope of obtaining it by playing the game either.

Final result, I probably won't be playing much longer, once the gameplay novelty wears off.

[imperialmlg]

75% (9/12) Warframes are overpriced for the sole reason they require you to buy the 3rd plat option (27€ over here in Europe). I as well was considering to purchase banshee and was ready/expecting to spend 10€ or less. Seeing that price tag sure as hell put me off of it. The worst offender in this regard might actually be mag, seeing as it's a) a starting frame and b) costs 175 which is 5 plat more than the 2nd plat option for 10€...

 

There are also several other items which obviously have their prices carefully adjusted to possibly overstep certain boundaries. For example mod packs. The cheapest mod pack with no guarantees costs 40 plat, if you buy the cheapest plat pack containing 75 plat you just barely can not afford two of these. Same goes for the most expensive mod pack for 90 plat containing at least two rares. If you buy the 2nd plat pack containing 170 platinum you again can just barely not afford two. Another example would be the affinity and credit boosters, both cost 40 plat for 3 days so again the cheapest plat pack just barely is not enough.

 

In conclusion warframe prices need to be flat out reduced in most cases or at least a more fitting plat pack should be offered. Additionally plat prices of certain items should be adjusted such that they don't barely require a new plat pack if purchased in multiples (of two) or common, obvious combinations.

Edited April 17, 2013 by imperialmlg

[lokozar]

75% (9/12) Warframes are overpriced for the sole reason they require you to buy the 3rd plat option (27€ over here in Europe). I as well was considering to purchase banshee and was ready/expecting to spend 10€ or less. Seeing that price tag sure as hell put me off of it. The worst offender in this regard might actually be mag, seeing as it's a) a starting frame and b) costs 175 which is 5 plat more than the 2nd plat option for 10€...

 

There are also several other items which obviously have their prices carefully adjusted to possibly overstep certain boundaries. For example mod packs. The cheapest mod pack with no guarantees costs 40 plat, if you buy the cheapest plat pack containing 75 plat you just barely can not afford two of these. Same goes for the most expensive mod pack for 90 plat containing at least two rares. If you buy the 2nd plat pack containing 170 platinum you again can just barely not afford two. Another example would be the affinity and credit boosters, both cost 40 plat for 3 days so again the cheapest plat pack just barely is not enough.

 

In conclusion warframe prices need to be flat out reduced in most cases or at least a more fitting plat pack should be offered. Additionally plat prices of certain items should be adjusted such that they don't barely require a new plat pack if purchased in multiples (of two) or common, obvious combinations.

 

Although this is a practice widely used, I absolutely agree. DE should try to keep a satisfied customer base. You don't do that by screwing players with prices. A happy customer is a lingering and spending customer.

Edited April 18, 2013 by lokozar

[Mr.Kaeron]

Although this is a practice widely used, I absolutely agree. DE should try to keep a satisfied customer base. You don't do that by screwing players with prices. A happy customer is a lingering and spending customer.

Exactly, you dont want players to feel obligated to buy plat, you want players to wanna spend money in the game.

I agree with most of the points, and the only thing i agree that should only be bought by plat is pure cosmetics like colours for example.

My biggest beef with Warframe as of this moment, Is i feel obligated to buy plat, simply because i dont have warframe slots & more weapon slots available. Which something you dont want 2 do, for example as much as sentinels are expensive as F***, fine i'll pay 100k credits its acquirable i could pay with plat 2 save me the time or grind some cash, might be anoying but i do not feel forced to buy a sentinal with plat.

Now as slots go, you get 3 class 2 choose from when you start, which basicly renders 1 of ur 2 slots immediatly ocuppied, either you hate the class and evetually sell it 2 free up space, or if you like you can only choose 1 more warframe to try out. At this moment i got 2 weapons & 2 finished warframe on my foundry ready to be claimed and i cannot use em simply because i dont have slots.

I think you got 2 solutions to this problem, either give the option to players to spend credits to free up slots even if it's overpriced you should have that option available, or make sure you give players at least 3 or 4 warframe slots at start and 10 - 12 weapon slots, to give players at least some insight in other classes, because imagine if someone gets a class that they dont like, and then farms another class that they dont like. They spend tons of credits & time investing in those warframe and they do not want 2 resell those items to basicly get nearly no money back from what they invested and if they wanna try another class, well their #*($%%@ unless they pay. This will drive costumers away, and it does not help having overpriced plat.

I think this is the main issue at the moment regarding the plat system

Plat is 2 expensive

At some points you might feel forced to pay in order 2 experience other warframes simply beucase of the lack of slots, same goes with weapons.

[Tinn]

I honestly don't care for colors or time wasted farming for warframes and material.

What restricts me the greatest is the lack of potential due to lack of warframe and weapon slots.

They keep pumping out interesting warframes and weapons yet I have to sell off my time hard spent just to try it out.

 

I suggest marking down the platinum by some amount and have some generous sales on holidays (where everyone is throwing money at everything) or large updates.

[lokozar]

Also, there really should be an option that let's us try out stuff before we buy it. Say, every week we can try out one weapon of each category for 3 hours or something like that. Same goes for Warframes and other equip - maybe 3 Warframes per week, each 3 hours (all main skills activated, mod slots blocked, XP gain blocked). That would help with purchase decisions.