New Feature: VIP Membership *Updated (6/17/19)

GregDreher

bken1234 said:

In MtGPQ; skill trumps collection 100% of the time. Some of the biggest spenders are horrible deck builders and players, and I’ve seen many F2P players do amazing things with almost nothing. 

I'll disagree here, only because the AI is particularly poor.  If the AI could play decks as well as players, collection would be more important.  Aside from the obvious issues, like the AI being unable to play cycling decks, the AI won't exile cards from hand and doesn't seem to have a good idea of which cards to prioritize.  It ranks Card A better than Card B, and will switch to A even if B is only one match from being cast and A will require multiple matches.

dj55

I've been a player since the very beginning. Today this is the only game that I play on a regular (daily) basis. It makes me sad to see this announcement that makes me now consider dropping the game. I really don't want to, but there's no way I'm paying a subscription to play it. 

I'm not F2P, but I'm also not a big spender. I'm somewhere in-between, being selective about what I choose to spend my money on. I have a feeling there's a good size pool of players like me who have been contributing to the game on a periodic basis that will never pay for VIP. 

I guess the thought is to try and lock in as many monthly subscriptions as they can, and hope that it offsets the amount of players they lose. If this goes forward, it seems like it may be the end of MTGPQ. I really hope the guys in charge are actually reading these posts and listening to us. Especially the veterans. There are better ways to make this game successful, rather than changing the entire model to a cash grab. 

Unknown

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Brigby

jimpark said:

I would just like to inquire about your thoughts of exclusive cards.

There are two different kinds of exclusive cards - paid set exclusives (Momir Vig, etc) and free event completion exclusives (Experiment Kraj, etc). Under the "Early exclusive content and extra one-time offers," I speculate free event completion exclusive cards (i.e. Experiment Kraj) might be exclusive to the VIP system; is this the case?

If this is the case, then there is potential for events like RT to be technically placed behind a VIP pay-wall until an allotted amount of time has passed for those cards to be considered non-exclusive. Based off of the past, these cards have been reverted from exclusive to non-exclusive when a new set drops (approx. 3+ months); is this also the case (asking both certain events being "VIP pay-walled" and the timeframes)?

We do not have any intention of restricting access to events that have event-specific card rewards (for example, Rising Tensions) to only VIP members.

Speaking of Rising Tensions though, I also want to clarify that Rising Tensions is not being removed. It is merely being scheduled at a less frequent rate than every single week. It's anticipated to be scheduled again for the beginning of June.

The scheduling change for the event was conceived and implemented completely independently of anything surrounding the upcoming VIP Membership options.

Showerthoughts

@Brigby I have a question concerning the Custom Deck Slots information you put out. Will custom deck slots be going away with the update unless you pay for either a pro or master VIP pass or are those in addition to the slots that are already unlocked? I have unlocked multiple deck slots and would prefer not to have to pay to get them back.

ArielSira

@Brigby bad timing and bad communication aside, we had Across Ixalan replaced by Rising Tensions, but will there be another mon-fri event coming in its place?

We know it is not being removed, we're complaining about the "5 days a week"-event being removed. Regular orbs, crystals, a pack and pinks all just gone without replacement.

Kinesia

We have been living in a golden age, so many forget the dark times of the Amonkhet drought, things have been getting overall better with Oktagon, it's a spiky graph because of bugs and problems but mostly poor communication, but it's _still_ trending upwards.

The combination of Booster Crafting and all the free mythics in the new event style was broken in interaction. WAY too many could craft almost everything. Either alone was safe, together they were an unrealistic unsustainable buffet, an all-you-can-eat restaurant going out of business.

I love the game, I don't want it to die, and the money offers have been getting increasibly frantic, providing obvious signs they are desperate for cash but AREN;T getting it, because noone needs to pay a thing currently.

We KNOW what the pay to win scenario looks like where some people have access to everything because RIGHT NOW some people have access to everything and yet we can still beat them. Skill absolutely trumps collection.
I play every single legacy event with standard only because I find legacy dull and stagnant.
I put the work in and grinded for BSZ, sure, but I'm not WINNING any more because of it, just faster, I was already winning, including against most sunbird and omnipotence decks.
Netdeckers might have problems without cards, but they are the TARGET audience for paying and they subsidize games like this. Compare it to paper magic... The champions aren't the ones who fund the game, they are the bait to get everyone else buying cards instead of just buying 2 packs of each new set and stopping and being happy with what you have and making it work.

You can _Want_ to collect everything, but for most of us it was an unrealistic expectation and this doesn't move it further away.
All other F2P games make you pay in either money or time or a mix. This just restores that balance.

The migration was messed up because it wasn't done slowing in bits and pieces and had poor communication. One big change per patch, not removing RT and adding VIP at the same time, that's bad planning. This "outrage" so predictable. (Have I not said over and over, "hire a game psychologist, I'm happy to consult!")

This is a necessary evil if we don't want the game to die.

On the other hand.... The prices are out of line with the contents. The Marvel PQ VIP is 15 a month and gives more. Halving all the prices here would put it in line and have more people (grumbling still) do it. I would absolutely get the middle level just for the deck slot even! But @Imbrium plays too, so we'd need two subscriptions and it's too much. We've been buying some of the planeswalkers so already have a budget for the game, but this breaks it since we need to have two.
So reconsider the pricing mostly.

Everyone whining... Be Patient. Be happy with the golden time you've had but be realistic that some part of you already knew it wasn't feasible to continue.
Have your emotions but be logical about them, weave them through with blunt realism that this game has constant and ongoing costs that haven't been being met and that we have all been leeching recently.

Kinesia

ArielSira said:

@Brigby bad timing and bad communication aside, we had Across Ixalan replaced by Rising Tensions, but will there be another mon-fri event coming in its place?

We know it is not being removed, we're complaining about the "5 days a week"-event being removed. Regular orbs, crystals, a pack and pinks all just gone without replacement.

And for some... Just something to DO every day! If the rewards need to be trimmed, fine, but we have always needed more content not less.

ElfNeedsFood

Kinesia said:

And for some... Just something to DO every day! If the rewards need to be trimmed, fine, but we have always needed more content not less.

This...  The successful VIP programs I've seen implemented were relatively simple to understand at their face. In exchange for paying up front and logging in for 30 days you'd get 5-10x the value of buying the in game currency (in this case crystals) today. They motivate you to show up every day and play even more than just buying the gauranteed card or planeswalker sitting in the vault. 

Brigby

Showerthoughts said:

Brigby I have a question concerning the Custom Deck Slots information you put out. Will custom deck slots be going away with the update unless you pay for either a pro or master VIP pass or are those in addition to the slots that are already unlocked? I have unlocked multiple deck slots and would prefer not to have to pay to get them back.

Deck Slots are not going away. The Custom Deck Slots from VIP Membership are in addition to the deck slots you already have.

Magnumson

Brigby said:

jimpark said:

I would just like to inquire about your thoughts of exclusive cards.

There are two different kinds of exclusive cards - paid set exclusives (Momir Vig, etc) and free event completion exclusives (Experiment Kraj, etc). Under the "Early exclusive content and extra one-time offers," I speculate free event completion exclusive cards (i.e. Experiment Kraj) might be exclusive to the VIP system; is this the case?

If this is the case, then there is potential for events like RT to be technically placed behind a VIP pay-wall until an allotted amount of time has passed for those cards to be considered non-exclusive. Based off of the past, these cards have been reverted from exclusive to non-exclusive when a new set drops (approx. 3+ months); is this also the case (asking both certain events being "VIP pay-walled" and the timeframes)?

We do not have any intention of restricting access to events that have event-specific card rewards (for example, Rising Tensions) to only VIP members.

Speaking of Rising Tensions though, I also want to clarify that Rising Tensions is not being removed. It is merely being scheduled at a less frequent rate than every single week. It's anticipated to be scheduled again for the beginning of June.

The scheduling change for the event was conceived and implemented completely independently of anything surrounding the upcoming VIP Membership options.

Thanks for the insight. I’ll be back in June then. 

Azerack

Brigby said:

We do not have any intention of restricting access to events that have event-specific card rewards (for example, Rising Tensions) to only VIP members.

Speaking of Rising Tensions though, I also want to clarify that Rising Tensions is not being removed. It is merely being scheduled at a less frequent rate than every single week. It's anticipated to be scheduled again for the beginning of June.

The scheduling change for the event was conceived and implemented completely independently of anything surrounding the upcoming VIP Membership options.

Well, whoever thought that one should follow at the same time as the other really didn't think very much at all.

I know there is some business planner(s) who think out these things, not the devs or you, @Brigby , but honestly, if you were us, (and no, I don't expect you to put your opinions out here as you represent the company) or more importantly if THEY were us, they might see that the two really seem VERY coincidental, regardless.

The pricing, too, I don't believe, came from the developers, it came from a business person, who, I would guess, either doesn't play MTG:PQ or doesn't have to worry about paying for anything.

It's like architects and designers who make apartments that have ridiculous wastes of space or horrible bathroom/kitchen designs that only people who would never cook or spend any time in a bathroom for anything other than "business". THEY don't live in those apartments so what do they care?

That's kind of the feeling I'm getting from people here. That whomever is "running the show" doesn't watch the show... 

Unknown

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Outersider

Why would anyone pay a company that treats it's customers like ****? Losing your players so you try to gouge those who don't know any better. Pathetic.... 

stikxs

Was "we removed RT so it wasn't running every week" driven by players complaining about it coming up every week? Or was it driven by "we need to stop injecting X amount of currency into the system every week"? One of those makes sense, the other makes "unrelated VIP" more appealing.

Or it could just be "we don't want players logging in"...

khurram

Kinesia said:

Netdeckers might have problems without cards, but they are the TARGET audience for paying and they subsidize games like this. 

Kinesia said:

 
we'd need two subscriptions 

You make a valid point 

jtwood

stikxs said:

Was "we removed RT so it wasn't running every week" driven by players complaining about it coming up every week? Or was it driven by "we need to stop injecting X amount of currency into the system every week"? One of those makes sense, the other makes "unrelated VIP" more appealing.

Or it could just be "we don't want players logging in"...

They have previously "retired" events. This isn't the first time and may not be the last.

Houdin

Personally I was playing a game of "wait and see" before making a decision on the idea of VIP.
Sadly, I have to decide against it. Just the sheer fact that out of 5 pages of comments the only ones answered by you @Brigby were the four or so from people asking for clarification on the mechanics of the membership and absolutely nothing to all the people asking you to justify the system itself and/or its exorbitant cost, tells me once again your bosses consider us to he nothing more than a bankroll for their next Ferrari.
I know you take the brunt as the messenger but believe me, we all love you. Your management on the other hand... 

__Adam

The least stable, least balanced and least updated game on my phone wants 2X what I pay for WoW??  I sometimes have to reboot the game because the BUTTONS DON'T WORK and you want half the price of a multi-million dollar AAA game every month?

The business folks here are as incompetent as the devs.

TomB

jtwood said:

stikxs said:

Was "we removed RT so it wasn't running every week" driven by players complaining about it coming up every week? Or was it driven by "we need to stop injecting X amount of currency into the system every week"? One of those makes sense, the other makes "unrelated VIP" more appealing.

Or it could just be "we don't want players logging in"...

They have previously "retired" events. This isn't the first time and may not be the last.

No, but it's the first time they retired an event tied to an expansion before that expansion is no longer the current expansion. It'd be one thing if they ran RT every other week now featuring the Guilds of RNA, and retired the GRN guild portion of the event, but since they canceled ALL of it I see it as a brand new thing, and not a good one.