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pure pay to win game
I downloaded the game around 30 hours ago
making to pirate had more options then I was thinking it would have for what the game is i would give it a 8/10
combat is fun but has so big flaws like when I block off a pathway to lead them in to a trap or the way I want them to go. But they just act like that path is not blocked by anything and go past it insted of being forced to brake down the blockage or going around the other way.
Ships from what I can tell so far are pay tons of ingame gold for ships not as good as the crowns shop ships or pay crows and buy a good ship. The best ships cost around $15.00 US not includeing all the ship gear I did the calulation and it cost about $45.00 to get the best ship and ship gear. Not to spoil anything story wise you will get a 2ed ship given to you as to what kind im not sure im locked out at lvl 8.
NPC allys are vary slowly unlocked after the start or pay $10.00 for the best ones so far. -- oct 19th update since my sub with every thing unlocked NPC allys have started to pick up I have gotten 3 more.
ship combat well id give it a 2/10 not vary fun need some work but it's still early
As of only lvl 8 near 9 I have been locked out of all other quest and areas unless I pay a sub or spend tons of crowns I cant even do the 2ed half of chapter 1
I will give the post some up dates as I go since in a few hours I will be paying a sub after i put some cash in my bank.
I would say I am well was till lvl 8 having fun but this game is is not a F2P game past lvl 8 at that point it's a rich mans B2P game or a sub game .
Comments
if this is like their wizard 101 then yes its a heavy payshop. wizard had whole map zones locked without a subscription or something. but seeing as most of these 101 games are geared for the younger crowd (perhaps not heavy gamer/mmoers) the content is ok..
i havent tried this as wizard turned me off from this company's game goals. if you want a natical sailing game, there are other more graphicly appleasing ones out there. that are free to play (a few are slightly cashshop heavy though)
Pirate101 is a subscription based MMO with heavy cash shop influence and flexible payment systems. The cash shop is in no way needed to enjoy the game but you will have to unlock with money to advance past a certain point. It is a greedy moneygrab game which has a foot in both camps, subscription based and F2P/Cash shop
Coming from Wizard101 this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. It is a very good game so they are bound to have great success with this title as well
Both fans of F2P and haters of cash shops should be advised. Your F2P portion is very limited and the cash shop is very dominant while requiring you to unlock areas permanently through one time fees or a time limited unlock through monthly payments.
1) Pirate101 is not "pay to win". Why? Because there's nothing you can't accomplish in the game through gear, ships and companions you acquire normally through the course of playing. Can you get companions earlier? Yes, but they'll never be higher level than you are and you need to unlock them through play. Can you buy cool, strong sparkly gear? Yes, but you can also find gear that's just as good, albeit not as cool looking, through normal game play, quests and even mini-games. I happen to be good at one of the mini-games, so I often play to farm some nice items for both my characters and my ships.
2) Pirate101 is not a true F2P game. I love the game, but I take exception to their marketing. Being able to play a starting zone for free forever does not make a game F2P, IMO. When Wizard101 was first introduced, it wasn't marketed as F2P, but as a game with a neverending free trial. That marketing changed over time and I personally feel it's misleading through semantic arguments. To KingsIsle's credit, they do have hyperlinks on their websites that explain exactly what's free and what's not, however. One would actually have to read them in order to understand that, however.
That being said, the revenue model is a clever hybrid between a subscription and an affordable cash shop for unlocking content. Is it "greedy"? No. How can it be? You aren't forced to subscribe AND use crowns in order to unlock content. You're given the choice of one vs. the other in order to unlock content. The only argument I can see regarding greed would be that you have a cash shop in addition to a subscription, but even then the items you purchase aren't necessary. Regardless, this is a game that requires $0 to download, install and play and even the monthly subscription is substantially lower than most mainstream MMOs. There's even out-of-game content you can access free in the form of mini-games. Doesn't seem to greedy to me...
3) The cash shop - it's done pretty well, IMO. It has a lot of great items that you WANT to buy and that may be helpful in the short term, but are definitely not necessary. Can you spend a lot of money in the cash shop? Sure. Do you have to in order to be able to enjoy the game? No, unless you're the type of player who simply can't enjoy a game unless you have only the very best, shiniest gear from the very start.
i agree the biggest missconception with this game is the Free to Play. it is in no way free to play i dont know why they call it that.
in reality both games use two models. traditional pay to play subscription, and the other being buy to play. if you plan to play for a short amount of time subscription is best. if you see a long term commitment then buying the content straight up is the better investment. i prefer the second model as i see it being no different then playing GW2 and having to buy expansions for content down the road. hell technically subscription games do the same thing. look at wow they charge you $60 every year or so for new content. is this really any different.
also the content isnt as expensive as you make it out to be. each chapter is around $5. which comes out to $150 if you buy all the chapter content in the game. if you do this it would be no different then buying a lifetime sub to a mmo. in fact it is cheap most cost $200+. you also dont have to purchase it all upfront making the price a lot more manageable. overall i have spent a lot more on mmos then this before.
With what is out now, I believe it is around 65k crowns for every chapter. So if you bought crowns on sale it would be around 65 dollars. They are still selling the 90 dollar bundle which gives you the choice between 12 month sub and 60k crowns with all the extras added in.
The only down side of the crown route is you dont get the extras of the sub like the pack space and real chat.
"Pay to Win" implies that you must pay real money in order to win, that success isn' t possible without being forced to pay for that success. That is simply not the case with Pirate101.
1) The crowns shop doesn't necessarily sell the "best gear". It does, however, sell gear that can give you a head start. You can find gear that's arguably as good in game, but it may take longer. Basically, you're paying for convenience and/or looks. Regardless, crown shop purchases are optional. Assuming you've already unlocked a chapter with either a subscription or crowns purchase, there's absolutely nothing you need to buy in order to succeed. Do you want a better ship and want to use crowns as a shortcut to getting it? You have that option, but it's never required. If you're a subscriber you NEVER have to buy anything else if you don't want to and you'll still be able to play and succeed just fine.
2) Companions unlocked for purchase - not every pirate class gets every companion for every quest line. As an example, at least one class earns Bones McGee for free, but the other classes can still unlock Bones McGee and can choose to buy him, if desired. It lets other characters buy cool companions they wouldn't otherwise get. None of them are required, however. They're completely optional and are most definitely not required in order for you to succeed in playing the game.
So where's the swindle? The only time you EVER need to spend money in order to play is to either pay a subscription fee or crowns to unlock chapters. That's it. If you want extra special shiny gear because it's pretty or because you get a slight advantage sooner than you otherwise would, you want a cool new companion or a mount or pet (and you can earn pets, btw) then you have the OPTION of buying them. You do not have to buy them in order to play or succeed.
It is a kids game mainly, just like Wizard101. If you want a challenge, don't spend any crowns on anything. I never spent any cash in Wizard101 except for the monthly subscription, and it was still easy 90% of the time. Even the Big Ben tower fight and the fights with the big bosses were not that huge of a challenge, though I wish that I didn't have to slug through so many simple encounters to get to the harder battles.
In Pirate101, the combat is still pretty easy but requires much more thought since where you position yourself and your companions is crucial to an easy battle. Kids will probably use the cash shop to buy pets and companions and whatever else that catches their eye, but experienced MMO players shouldn't need any of that to succeed.
I suspect PvP will be pay to win, but like any PvP, the dude who spends 80 hours a week playing and analyzing everything will figure out how to win and beat you no matter what you do, so to me it is a waste of time.
MMORPGs are virtual skinner boxes.
http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/skinner.html
So on your quest of uhh speaking the truth. Why are you only limiting yourself to just KI games? Being the nice guy I am, I have decided to share some of the links of some other games which claim to be free but only push you towards a money shop or subscription. Here they are https://signup.ddo.com/ddo.php?ftui=DDOBlackDragon&abrs=188_1352489723 DDO, (limited world just like Pirate101)http://en.allods.gpotato.com/landing/ and http://www.vanguardthegame.com/ (Sure you can explore the world, but you are not going very far without a subscription). Now that I put a couple of these up. Which all claim to be free.. Is Pirate101 any different. Even when coming to this site mmorpg.com, there is a advertisement for Eve Online. Which says FREE NOW! Only to find out it lasts 14 days and you are limited on abilities, equipment and ship without fully subscribing.
Also, I am not knocking any of those games mentioned above. That is the format many MMOs are using or starting to use. Raging on games that follow that format are not going to do you or me or anyone else any type of service. As many of todays mmos use that type of f2p/p2p option(including advertisements as "FREE").
After reading your post history I realize that you Mordaki are actually a old school gamer. My generation! Back then we really didnt have the format that mmos are using now. Rather it was a straight up subscription. Times change, mmos are not here to give a player the "EXPERIENCE" for free. I would not expect them to. As they are there to make money!
If you are interested in a f2p game there is always Minecraft. Just a warning, in the near future that title will no longer be free as well. Complaining about the new mmo format really is not going to change a thing. As players that like a game will play it, regardless of the negative advice someone will give.
Also, read that you thought Everquest came out before Asherons Call. Thats a good point as Everquest came out only 6 months before AC. I played both :-D
It is my sincere best wish that you will find the game that is just "right" for you. that way you can leave games you have issue with alone and actually enjoy gaming! :-P
Not that I want to dispute your conclusion about the game because I largely agree but the companions are a non issue. The ones you buy from the crown shop are worthless, compared to the first four you get for free. If you want to have the companions other classes get then yes you can buy them but then again you may as well play the class that gets those for free
In conclusion I must say that I actually enjoy this game more than wizard 101 and see much more potential in it for further development. I would strongly recommend it to people of all ages looking for a good clean game the whole family can enjoy.
The animations are nice, the story is good. The combat is decent although it could be way better.
I liked it enough to subscribe and keep playing and am enjoying myself so far.
I agree with the above posters though, Pirate101 is not a free to play game really. You play till level 8-9 and then you are locked out of content unless you pay piecemeal by area or subscribe monthy to get the whole game.
I like that you can choose which payment system you like better that is a really neat idea but I dislike how it is deceptive about its free to play model. It is basically a glorified trial.
I would like to add that the majority of gear in the cash shop is simply a slightly better version of comparable level drops. And the majority of stuff, or comparable side grades, can be found a few levels farther as a drop or from a vendor. It is far more akin to asthetic appeal and covenience then power. The only exception is mounts....no mounts in game except cash shop ones....which I suppose is a convenience thing too but it still irritated me when I found that out.
Just felt that I should set the record straight. Not all companions are available to all classes. For example my wife, and my daughter, and myself all finished the same quest offering a companion for a reward. Well all it was for me was a crown shop unlock but my wife and daughter actually got the companion. You do not have to pay a damn thing for companions I have almost 2 pages of companions now and I haven't spent a dime on this game other than the 7 dollar sub for our accounts.
I dont believe you were intentionally misleading people but what you stated was misleading none the less. Having played multiple toons beyond level 30 I can absolutely confirm that what might turn out to be a crown shop unlock companion for one character will be an in game unlock for another. Now there are a few special characters you will run across ingame that are not for anybody, they are crown shop only but they are few and none of them in no way shape or form will give anyone an advantage if they purchase it. As a matter of fact there is only one companion that I think is stacked and OP when you get him. But everyone gets him, its part of the story.
Players can't really enjoy everything this game has to offer instead KingsIsle restricts and give the best items and companions to players with the bigger wallets.
KingsIsle is making the same mistake they did with Wizard101, the same business model by giving unfair advantages to other players. Again I don't see how this game is any better compared to Guild Wars 2.
Guild Wars 2 does not offer loot packs plus items in the in-game shop do not give advantages to other players.
Dont blame Kings Isle for the route you chose to go Ardu. I subscribe and my Buccaneer smokes almost every other player in the game at pvp. I dont see any unfair advantage. As all my alts have the coolest equipment you can get in the game. And its withut crowns. Also I get to go wherever I want in the game. You chose the crown route. I chose the monthly sub.
Choices, Choices........
Don't balme KingsIsle for thier pay to win model and subcriptions? I don't see how this company is making a difference rather than just plain offering pay to win mmos.
I think they would call what you a mistake money in the bank. Sure people with common sense can see how many ways they try to get more money out of you, and either avoid their games like I have chosen to do, or be ok with not having some of the best stuff. BUT, they target kids, and rightly so - they are the ones who are more impatient and are going to want everything now, so why not bug parents for another game card or whatever? This company is 100% about milking every ounce they can get.