25 bucks for a mount

[Sky]

65% run speed, EQ2 takes a large step forward with the cash shop.

$25 for a goddamned mount? Shall we lay down bets on how many six-boxers are going to drop $150 on them? I can't imagine anyone dropping that kind of money for a mount for a game. Or am I behind the times and people are blowing big wads of cash moving micro-transaction into macro-transaction?

I wonder how well the marketplace does overall for EQ2, I've perused it but can't stomach spending that kind of money on make-believe items.

[Trippy]

It's the same price as the WoW mount.

[Simond]

Way to kill the thread, Trippy! 

[Lantyssa]

So it begins.

I said it was a terrible precedent when WoW did it.  Now it'll happen everywhere.

[Ard]

It's good to know they've turned the slippery slope into a water slide.

[shiznitz]

65% run speed, EQ2 takes a large step forward with the cash shop.

$25 for a goddamned mount? Shall we lay down bets on how many six-boxers are going to drop $150 on them? I can't imagine anyone dropping that kind of money for a mount for a game. Or am I behind the times and people are blowing big wads of cash moving micro-transaction into macro-transaction?

I wonder how well the marketplace does overall for EQ2, I've perused it but can't stomach spending that kind of money on make-believe items.

It is even worse if you think in terms of paying $25 for the incremental run speed. Is max "free" mount speed still 55%?  I am almost one year EQ2 free. I missit and don't miss it at the same time.

[Ard]

There are 65% speed mounts in game from various sources.  There are also 68% speed mounts, so you're not even spending money for the highest runspeed mount in game.  Kinda makes the people spending the money seem all the dumber.

[Trippy]

Depends on how much time and effort it takes to acquire the faster than purchased mount.

[Ard]

Don't get me wrong.  When I say dumb here, I mean players who are stupid enough to utilize a cash shop in a subscription game to begin with.  I'm all for the cash shop f2p model, when that's the primary revenue stream.  However, I'm paying a subscription for EQ2 right now, so the cash shop annoys the hell out of me.

edit:  I suppose I should amend this by saying I'd be a lot less annoyed by functional stuff in the station store if a subscription gave any sort of point stipend to spend, ala DDO's subscription model.

[IainC]

So it begins.

I said it was a terrible precedent when WoW did it.  Now it'll happen everywhere.

There are about 11 million points of difference between WoW and EQ2 though.

[Nebu]

Be careful saying that.  EQ2 is a very good game.  WoW is just more geared toward the masses.

[Lantyssa]

They're more alike than they are different.

[IainC]

I guess my subscriber numbers point was too subtle.

[Nebu]

I guess my subscriber numbers point was too subtle.

Not at all.  Hence my comment about "teh masses" 

[shiznitz]

Depends on how much time and effort it takes to acquire the faster than purchased mount.

If you are level 80, the 55%+ mounts are not hard to get, especially if you are in a level 70 guild. In that case, it is a few nights of plat farming at worst.

[Sky]

BC is what, 24th level?

[Count Nerfedalot]

edit:  I suppose I should amend this by saying I'd be a lot less annoyed by functional stuff in the station store if a subscription gave any sort of point stipend to spend, ala DDO's subscription model.

Well, you don't get a regular stipend but they do dump a few points into your account now and then.  A couple of days ago I discovered that I had 1200 whatchamacallits without ever spending a dime on them.  That's about half the price of those newfangled mounts.  I spent a good chunk of it on some funny appearance items just for grins.  Now my Stormcaller Fury wanders around under a perpetual dark cloud dumping rain and lightning bolts on his nice wide-brimmed felt hat.   

No way was I gonna pay extra cash for those or any other items, but I do have to admit that giving me a little bit of pocket change to let me play with in the shop has made me just a little bit less resentful of its existence anyway.  I'm still pissed at their putting what is by far the best looking furniture set on the shop, to the dismay of the carpenters in the game.  That was definitely a bad call, but overall I think they've made the best of some really stinky demands delivered from on high both with the cash shop and the collectible ecard game. 

[RhyssaFireheart]

No way was I gonna pay extra cash for those or any other items, but I do have to admit that giving me a little bit of pocket change to let me play with in the shop has made me just a little bit less resentful of its existence anyway.  I'm still pissed at their putting what is by far the best looking furniture set on the shop, to the dismay of the carpenters in the game.  That was definitely a bad call, but overall I think they've made the best of some really stinky demands delivered from on high both with the cash shop and the collectible ecard game. 

They've marginally redeemed themselves by making the T9 carpenter items much more awesome looking IMO, and using fairly close designs to the station stuff.  Personally, I think some of it looks like crap, but the items I can make aren't as plain looking any more.  The rare crafts come in some sweet colors as well, except that I seem completely incapable of harvesting any of the freaking rares. :(

I haven't spent any of the freebie SC they've handed out yet, but I may eventually to buy some useless appearance items.  I especially want one of those mushroom hats for my monk.

[Shatter]

I resubbed and while in the past never got 1 character past 20 I believe this time I will go much higher since I did buy the mount.  Travel was a huge issue for me in the past since I had no money and no transportation having to run everyone slowly was absolute suck.  These 65% run speed mounts definitely make playing/leveling far better.  I saw quite a few people leveling up in my range on Antonia Bayle and at least 50% had these mounts so people are buying them. 

[RhyssaFireheart]

Plus with the changes to the travel system, it makes getting around quickly even more easy now.

I'm on Antonia Bayle as well, feel free to add me to friends if you like - Darema and/or Dareka are the characters I'm on as the most.

[Sky]

people are buying them. 

That was never a question. From a business standpoint, it's a great decision.

Would be nice, given the amount of higher speed mounts that continues to ratchet up, if woodworkers could get a better version of the SoW totems that still worked with lower level characters. My characters are addicted to my woodworker's totems, default run speed is blah. I don't even use a mount with my wizard, I don't like the giant model and I think I can only get a 45% buff anyway, vs my 42% with wizard AAs and a totem.

[Pennilenko]

Why are people so hard on cash shops? Do they impinge on their virtual accomplishments or something? I for one appreciate being able to toss money at something, if i want to, that I know I don't have the time to invest towards. Sometimes its cheaper for me to just use a cash shop than to spend 10 hours or more on some thing. I've also heard arguments from people who say that cash shops allow people to bypass working for things in game. I would argue that if you spend money you worked for in the real world on something then you have indeed worked to earn said item.

[Lantyssa]

I have no problem with cash shops.  I do have a problem with charging high prices, especially if they add a feature that the game really should have for everyone.

See Shatter's quote, "Travel was a huge issue for me in the past since I had no money and no transportation having to run everyone slowly was absolute suck," for an example.

[Sky]

That's always been one of the main spectres raised when selling game features ala carte comes up, especially on top of a cash sub (although I don't differentiate, personally). The next step is intentionally designing for your cash shop - make big zones with lots of fetch quests and a slow run speed. Sell mounts like crazy.

It's another barrier to re-entering EQ2 for me, now not only do I not have the time nor inclination to abandon BC and join a leveled guild just to get faster mount and all the perks that leveled guilds get, now there's another way to get at least the mount - if I want to spend more than I spend on most /games/ just to get a mount for a single character. To address what Pennilenko said about it being an option for people not willing to spend 10 hours to get a mount, adding another undesirable option isn't the gamer-friendly decision, making mounts not take 10 hours to get would be, or increasing default run speed since it seems to be something that is such an issue people are willing to drop a considerable amount of money to 'fix'.

Like I said, it's a great business move, because a lot of the remaining customers at this point are pretty hardcore and willing to drop a lot of money on the game, which will make up for what are probably sagging numbers. It's just a trend I personally don't care for, since I didn't like the way mounts were walled behind guilds in the first place, putting a pretty high dollar value on them certainly isn't a favorable move from my perspective as a player.

But it's a business, and business says take the customer for as much as she's willing to give, and some people have a lot of money they apparently don't need too much :) Meanwhile, I'll be playing FFH2, I guess.