[Replacement Poll] What do you think of the new VIP Membership system?

OmegaLolrus · May 2019

I like it, but there are some things I would like to see adjusted.

starfall said:

ManekiNeko said:

I am very happy to return and am very happy to buy cosmetics to support the game.

Foils are RIGHT THERE, aren't they? It's such an obvious port over from paper. People love pimping their rides. Just look at how much people compete to turn their avatars gold in Hearthstone.

Either way, 100% support that. I can think of two decks RIGHT NOW I would buy all foils for.

Nalthazar · May 2019

I'm not a fan, but I'll see how it plays out.

I actually think the idea of a subscription membership is good for the game. I am not opposed to the idea of the system being put into place. There isn't exactly an option that I would select on this poll though, because it doesn't reflect the entirety of the proposed VIP system. The removal of Rising Tensions as a weekly activity in conjunction with the VIP system is really a lot of what the update will be about, as the change in our incoming currency will only be replaceable by spending money. The mass of bug fixed should also help stabilize the game too, which is a big deal, but the two things that are "new" are the two aforementioned changes.

In order for them to implement a system where players will want to pay a subscription, they can't have their players swimming in currency. There needs to be an incentive. As it stands, by playing casually in a competitive coalition, I have been able to complete nearly each of the sets released since Oktagon took over the game with minimal purchases. For that matter, I didn't even need to make any of the purchases I did to really get to that point either. I bought Gishath, but I have also pulled her 4 times from packs since. I skip all of the weekly PvP events and Training Grounds as they don't feel rewarding to me, and just turn the game into a chore, with the exception of Rising Tensions. Trial of the Planes is almost enticing, but I dislike the idea of sacrificing one currency for another in order to play an event. I wouldn't mind if there was a conversion within the game that enabled you to swap gold for pink or vice versa, but I don't like it being tied to an event. In summation, by completing Rising Tensions and by competing in the weekend events, I am able to collect all of the mythics + masterpieces from each of the sets that I want. I suppose that I should add that I am a platinum player and I typically achieve a top 5 finish in weekend PvP events, so that is a big boon to my Pinkie stash.

With the removal of Rising Tensions as a weekly event, I will no longer be able to complete the sets that I want without spending money on the game. Lots of it. I am not opposed to spending money on a game, as I feel like it is fair to pay for entertainment. This is a game with a community that demands frequent updates with new events, cards, stability, features, etc., and all of that costs money. If nobody spent money, we would not have nice things. With that in mind, $30 is way too much of a monthly subscription fee for this game. I bristled back in the days that I played WoW at a $14-$16 subscription fee, but I ultimately justified it because of how much time I sunk into the game. I see this more of as a game to play for about an hour a day and then put down to focus on things in my life. For 7+ hours of entertainment a week, I would be fine with a subscription fee of $10 a month, but it would need to come with a lot more than what is currently being offered in this VIP program.

In addition to the impact of the removal of Rising Tensions on my collection, it will also neuter my daily playing of the game. As I already mentioned, I don't feel like Training Grounds or the weekly PvP events are worth playing, so I will not be logging on to play them. With Rising Tensions being removed, I will likely stop logging in during the week for the most part entirely, and only really play Coalition events over the weekend as long as my friends are still playing them with me. I would rather see them remove the entry cost of Rising Tensions and then halve the rewards to the event. Instead of getting a pack with 20 pink and 20 gold crystals with a mythic per completion, make it so that we get the pack with 10 pink and 10 gold per completion, or keep the 20 pink and 20 gold, but make the mythic a rare so that it provides less booster crafting materials. I don't like the idea of being starved for resources, but I do think there should be a real incentive to spend money on the game since it is free to download and inherently free to play. The money should get you more than it does now though. It just doesn't feel worth it to buy most of the packages.

In closing, I think that the implementation of a subscription system is a good idea, but it should be cheaper, provide more incentive for players who buy it, and it should not come at the cost of events that will keep the player base engaged and logging in every day. When players stop feeling a draw to log in consistently, they fade from the game. It is the exact reason why many games offer daily rewards that build in some way over time. It keeps the game on people's minds. This update will only succeed in removing the game from people's minds and portable devices.

bobby_2613 · May 2019

I don't have a problem with it, but I won't be participating.

Well.... I'll change my vote. TL;DR: That's the final straw for me.

I've played MPQ for 4 years in big families of alliances and I grew tired of their no new content so I retired. I felt relieved as I didn't have to grind for 2h non stop to try to get better placement.

Then I started playing MtGPQ again, after 3 years of only collecting daily rewards / packs. I found a great alliance of coalitions which helped me improve my play. Started in a T100 coalition, moved into a T50, then helped coleading it. MtGPQ is so easier on daily schedule if you want to be a top player (vs MPQ). That felt really great. I'm playing in a T10 coalition now within the great TP9 community. The game wasn't perfect, it had too much bugs but I was lucky enough not really being affected by it. I've heard people asking for nerfs, I've heard people complain about XP, I've seen many still enjoying this game as it's close to Magic but is not really being it. This game have a great player base. People that care about the game. Unfortunately, the biggest proplem for me is D3/Oktagon aren't communicating (And for communication you need to start listening to others then explaining what's your side of the story).

I can't take your uncommunicative ways to do things anymore. You need money to keep going? I have no problem at all. But please, don't hide the removal of the best event in the game atm in the usual scheduled events post waiting for people to realized it has been canceled. If you think it was too generous or if you think it will sink your new VIP thing (or for whatever other reason it could have been), come forward and just say it . I would have been sad but I would have understood.

Maybe that was a test, about how people would react and then, à la LPS, come back on your decision and turn around. Well, it won't work with me this time. I've had enough of your tinykitty moves. You've just lost all my patience on about how you're able to plan and communicate things.

BTW, VIP is fine with me, I've bought it in MPQ for many months in a row. I only want to keep moving forward at the same rate I did for the last 6 months. But hey, you chose the silent path as usual...

Thanks everybody, I really hope it turns out to be good for you. This game deserves to be on top. (it could be that way). But it's now too late for me.

Farewell !

P.S. If you happen to keep some stats on people who only say they're quitting but never doing it, mark my words...

Ampersand · May 2019

I'm not a fan, but I'll see how it plays out.

@Nalthazar summed up my thoughts very well:
In closing, I think that the implementation of a subscription system is a good idea, but it should be cheaper, provide more incentive for players who buy it, and it should not come at the cost of events that will keep the player base engaged and logging in every day. When players stop feeling a draw to log in consistently, they fade from the game. It is the exact reason why many games offer daily rewards that build in some way over time. It keeps the game on people's minds. This update will only succeed in removing the game from people's minds and portable devices.

Theros · May 2019

Why don't they remove the awful ToTP instead of removing the most beloved event by all?

Volrak · May 2019

I don't have a problem with it, but I won't be participating.

Thésée said:
I completely agree with your analysis about why we shouldn't oppose a system that is meant to be an income for the game, allowing it to live. And I agree the VIP system in itself will not harm non paying players. But the disappearance of Rising Tensions does, and clearly it disappears to make the VIP status incentive.
The conjugation of those two events changes the "pay-to-win-ness" of the game. Probalby not much for veteran players like me, but for all the newer players, radically

The actual impact on "pay-to-win-ness" of any two events (such as adding VIP and removing RT) must be equal to the sum of the impact of each event on its own. As we agree, the VIP system doesn't seem to significantly change "pay-to-win-ness". Removing/reducing RT does increase "pay-to-win-ness" a little, because the rate of rewards per effort spent will reduce proportionally more for non-paying players than for paying ones. But that's how things were before RT arrived; I don't remember seeing more complaints about pay-to-win in those days.
So even taking those two things together, there still seems to be no reason to believe the actual impact on "pay-to-win-ness" will be large. I see the impact on grinding speed being far more significant than the impact on pay-to-win-ness.

On the other hand, the psychological impact of these two events combined is a very different story. If you take it as given that VIP is effectively a replacement for RT, like many seem to (Edit: even though Brigby has now said "The scheduling change for the event was conceived and implemented completely independently of anything surrounding the upcoming VIP Membership options"), then that feels like a very pivotal change. So it seems there's a huge chasm between the psychological impact of what's been announced and what the actual gameplay impact will be.

Part of that might be due to considering these changes not just as isolated events, but as a sign of changing developer sentiment and a sign of things to come. If free rewards continue to reduce and paying options continue to increase, the cumulative impact on "pay-to-win-ness" would eventually become large. The devs haven't really explained their strategy going forward, so perhaps it's not surprising if some players fill the void with their own pessimistic projections.

Mburn7 · May 2019

I am against this and it will affect my engagement in the game. (Please explain.)

Theros said:

Why don't they remove the awful ToTP instead of removing the most beloved event by all?

Please do not remove ToTP. That is arguably the best (non RT) event there is right now. Great rewards, no secondaries, and legacy decks. Its like Nodes of Power back when it was fun.

Its also the only real challenge we still have, since for most other events you need to dumb down your decks to meet the garbage secondaries.

Tremayne · May 2019

Theros said:

Why don't they remove the awful ToTP instead of removing the most beloved event by all?

That is not really the answer and you know it.

Tremayne · May 2019

Volrak said: ... The devs haven't really explained their strategy going forward, so perhaps it's not surprising if some players fill the void with their own pessimistic projections.

The devs have never really succeeded with this, you could even say they haven’t really tried to outline their strategy. I feel like their communication is just sales talk with plenty of words and not much information.

FindingHeart8 · May 2019

I am against this and it will affect my engagement in the game. (Please explain.)

Tremayne said:

Volrak said: ... The devs haven't really explained their strategy going forward, so perhaps it's not surprising if some players fill the void with their own pessimistic projections.

The devs have never really succeeded with this, you could even say they haven’t really tried to outline their strategy. I feel like their communication is just sales talk with plenty of words and not much information.

Sadly it kinda feels like the developers just make decrees and we all talk amongst ourselves pretending they care what we are saying.

BATMAN1 · May 2019

What happened to mpurns post?

Wolfbane · May 2019

I am against this and it will affect my engagement in the game. (Please explain.)

Dropping back in here to add my 2 cents:

One reason I like this game is that paying and F2P players are fairly equal in this game. At some point in time everyone can own a Bolas, Etali, Blue Sun Overpowered deck, balancing with other players OP decks. With the advent of VIP plans and Masterpiece crafting we'll be facing a whole new class of decks: Exclusively OP decks that no-one can beat unless they too cough up 100's of dollars/year so they can craft masterpieces as well.

MP's are beyond unbalancend and overpowered. Thankfully they are awfully hard to come by ( I own 1 after 2 years of F2P). Making MP's more widely available for paying customers will negatively affect te balance of the game and make this a Pay 2 Win game.

If this prediction comes true I'll be taking my leave.

TheDude1 · May 2019

I don't have a problem with it, but I won't be participating.

Separate thought on the MP crafting:

The $90 minimum to even get access to MP crafting isn't a guarantee of an MP. It's the right to craft one for 10k orbs. And even then you run the risk of getting a Meh-sterpiece instead.

At 10 MPs released per recent set release, you'd need 100k orbs per set to fully craft them, assuming you pulled none in card packs. Since the only way to get orbs is through duplicate cards, no one is getting that many orbs without paying some cash into the game already. It's a fairly trivial benefit for people that are already paying to maximize their collection.

wereotter · May 2019

I am against this and it will affect my engagement in the game. (Please explain.)

Tremayne said:

Theros said:

Why don't they remove the awful ToTP instead of removing the most beloved event by all?

That is not really the answer and you know it.

I think this is a legitimate question.... If they're looking to cull events that provide players free premium resources, then removing a legacy option makes more sense than a standard one, especially since there are now two legacy events for this. Across Ixalan and Trial of the Planes, and one standard one in Rising Tensions.

If a player needs the currencies from these types of events to craft cards and purchase mythic/masterpiece level cards, then there is greater ease in doing so with a standard level event as opposed to a legacy one. Even in my case, I'm in platinum and have been playing since Eldritch Moon was put into the game, but because I never pulled any of the big power cards from legacy, and basically didn't open any Zendikar block cards, I don't have the cards needed to be competitive in those events, and as a result don't even play them.

Maybe Trial of the Planes doesn't need to be the one to be removed, but we don't need both that and Across Ixalan in the game and Rising Tensions retired from a daily event.

Kinesia · May 2019

I don't have a problem with it, but I won't be participating.

Halve the prices. The current implementation is too little loot for too much money. It is not on par with D3Go's own other game Marvel PQ even.

tfg76 · May 2019

Here's how I would design this for a healthy game:

- Create a $5 membership (yes, maybe some additional premium variations as well).
- Have a variety of events with good prizes, and perhaps some non-currency prizes as well (badges, season cups, foils, whatever).
- Most events should only be available to members (meaning: F2P is about trying out the game. If you like it and want to continue, you need to pay).
- Nerf the worst cards so that the meta is interesting and varied.

The idea would be that most players would pay a little, and you would generate a healthy competitive environment. In this situation, it doesn't even matter if most people have all the cards - if there are non-resource prizes that entice people to compete, having access to the cards just makes the game more fun and engaging (you can actually discuss strategies etc).

Stormcrow · May 2019

Completely, totally and utterly apathetic and neutral to the entire concept.

I really don't see the cause for a fuss.

I mean, you can already pay for basically all the stuff that this new system allows you to pay for, you just pay more directly and don't have to wait as long for your gratification (but don't get as locked into your sunk costs, either). And tbh the game's long been far too buggy and unstable to be seriously competitive about so who cares if people are paying for a "competitive" advantage? If other people want to pour money down the sink to keep this game alive, good for them, hey. IMO the VIP memberships are hilariously expensive and overpriced for what they actually deliver, so they don't tempt me in the least, but I've never really had a strong moral objection to fools being parted from their money.

The only thing that will change my vote from indifferent to negative is if they try to resource-choke everybody into signing up for these VIP memberships. We've endured the Austerity regime before, it didn't do anything good for this game then and it certainly won't now, as demoralized as this playerbase currently is.

Bil · May 2019

- Most events should only be available to members (meaning: F2P is about trying out the game. If you like it and want to continue, you need to pay).

It would be a terrible idea i i think ... it would probably reduce drastically the number of actual players and block most newcomers.
We have to keep in mind that MTGPQ is a niche game for MTG lovers, and those ones could pay for it ... But for any non MTG supporter, why choosing this one instead of another if they have to pay while others are F2P?
To expand and survive, a game needs to attract players ... The day it becomes pay2play, he'd better have a super solid player base and a super rich and attractive proposal. The game in it's current state can't pretend to do so.

The solution for this game to make money is and has always been quite simple ... Apply DECENT prices ... It is amazing ( and somehow indecent) that the publishers don't realize that after more than 3 years ...

[Replacement Poll] What do you think of the new VIP Membership system?

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