Ungermax
Master Artificer
Like the good old days
Introducing our VIP Loyalty Reward Program!
- Thread starter Cordovan
- Start date
seph1roth5
Well-known member
This program needs to make up for/counteract the free quest codes and multiple mini-xpacs that were a big kick to VIP's nuts. It falls veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery short.
DDO Gaming
Well-known member
I'm pretty sure I recall reading any content that isn't available on VIP has been licensed by SSG from the original authors
DDO Gaming
Well-known member
You know...we have levels in every gaming system. Those levels ultimately represent powergap. its only a problem in DDO because of TRing.
The SOLE reason anyone complains about "powercreep" in DDO is because newbies insist they should be able to play reaper from day one...which negates the purpose of TRing and reaper
The_Apocalypse
Well-known member
Lotta whiners and negativity here. Extra perks are just that. Better than nothing.
Shear-buckler
Well-known member
Yeah lets give up all reasonable expectations.
Sarlona Raiding
Well-known member
That is not what I see. I see people complaining about perceived and real but minor differences in races, classes, playstyles, etc. People complain whenever they think someone is benefiting more than they are - this is a prime example of where we are likely to see complaints when the year 2 list comes out from both sides of the aisle.
I have never heard of a new player saying they should be able to play reaper from day 1. What I do see is new players hitting whatever LFM is up and due to simple math that is very likely to be a reaper lfm. I also know alot of vets that feel bad when someone joins their lfm and struggles - simple empathy - and that is where I think alot of forum comments on the subject originate from. A new player is likely to just leave if they are struggling and they don't have a social lifeline in the game.
You think 10% more XP and those new gifts are worth $10 a month?
I wont be renewing and nor are people I know.
There's a fair bit more than that in there. 30 vault slots, monster manuals, saga skips, minor buddy boost bonus, auction leeways, 500 ddo points, ms in public areas...
I get that VIP (not the loyalty system, but VIP in general) is not perfect and I wish it had more access and QoL/Movement related things in there - like iconic race access, better buddy bonuses, more teleport options and ability to summon latejoiners to your quest maybe once an hour or so, etc. But I'm actually VERY GLAD they didn't put that stuff in the progress track, because then they wouldn't be able to put them into regular VIP some time in the future.
I'd be more or less satisfied with the rewards in there if it wasn't on a tacky progression track that has permanent bonuses like named loot drops. 1% is inconsequential, it is the direction that worries me. What if they add something truly cool to 2nd year track that can't be accessed in any other way? That's what worries me. It would be the ultimate feelsbad moment that would likely make me quit the game and I truly hope that's not a direction they'll take.
TLDR: If they put actually important QoL stuff in this track, they wouldn't be able to allow every VIP to access them and that would be a DISASTER. I vehemently am fundamentally completely against progress tracks like this if they have things that have mechanical gameplay related things that can't be accessed in any other way and I've quit games before over such implementations.
Savage
Phoenicis' Wife
I am good with VIP as it is/was. Husband and me always been VIP and gonna stay VIP. Don't know what you people are complaining about for less than 10 bucks a month if you subscribe for a year. Even if you only play once a week, it would be 2.50 dollars for that day, which is still cheaper than a cup of starbucks coffee. Only thing that rubs me wrong is that when you are not able to log in for a few month for whatever reason, you fall behind. So fairly the whole thing should not be called loyalty rewards, but login rewards.
Yvonne Blacksword
Deliverer of Quirk
so much. ok. I was really looking forward to passing on vip this year. the rewards seemed underwhelming for the way I play. bags of stuff don't help me. bank space helps, but disappearing bank space doesn't. paying for a year sub to bet a mount is ok, but losing it for missing a month and not getting a reward for not logging in in that month seems rough.
I get that this is a VIP-Active player reward.
It seems like you are trying to show active-paying customers to make investors happy, and I get it.
I am completely erratic in my playing; playing everyday for months at a time and disappearing for months to a year at a time due to mood-obligations-etc. At one point, I had all 12 accounts in VIP and was playing up to 6 accounts at the same time. I know this is not ideal.
I don't really have anything to say, just watching the vast amount of interest in the VIP reward thing.
I get that this is a VIP-Active player reward.
It seems like you are trying to show active-paying customers to make investors happy, and I get it.
I am completely erratic in my playing; playing everyday for months at a time and disappearing for months to a year at a time due to mood-obligations-etc. At one point, I had all 12 accounts in VIP and was playing up to 6 accounts at the same time. I know this is not ideal.
I don't really have anything to say, just watching the vast amount of interest in the VIP reward thing.
The_Apocalypse
Well-known member
I don't think one way or the other. My point is that you are a VIP now, these are just extra things, which is better than NO extra things. The way people are reacting... in the real world, they would be like "Fine, you don't want the bonus items that you already are not getting, then we won't give them to you." To a lot of players, these are nice perks. It's the minority who are on these forums posting on everything that complain and don't like it. It's like little kids who don't want chocolate because it has caramel or nougat or one of those crispy cookies or a wafer or whatever in it... it's still chocolate. Chocolate you didn't have before.
You were subbing before, but now they added extra benefit to that so you're going to stop subbing? Yeah, that makes sense.
Shear-buckler
Well-known member
No, that's not it. People are complaining because care about the game and can clearly see that this is a wasted opportunity to get more players to sub. They reason more subs = more money = more quality content = better game, and are therefor negatively affected by the bad decisions of SSG even if it's technically "better than nothing".
Guntango
Well-known member
Whining about whiners, that’s not very positive.
Sarlona Raiding
Well-known member
I really like having the year of the dragon link on the main page. It makes it easy to go back and find what's upcoming. Any possibility you can add a VIP link so we can have a single place to look at what rewards are coming up.
seph1roth5
Well-known member
I keep saying it, maybe people keep missing...? People aren't upset at the whole of VIP. They're upset because VIP worth has significantly gotten less because of the free quest codes and multiple "mini-expansions."
It's not that we think 10% xp, 1% buddy boost, saga skip, etc. aren't good. It's that a large bulk of VIP value was because of all the content. With mini-xpacs and xpacs, there's very little ACTUAL adventure packs coming out. Many people stopped vip-ing over the past few years because of it, and were waiting to see what their new VIP plan was.
This joke of a "loyalty program" doesn't make up for what feels like losing half of VIP. It's just a needlessly complicated (people still don't know how missing months and future rewards and stuff will work) way for them to try and get VIP numbers up. Problem is they have no idea what people want out of VIP, as shown by 10% durability reward.
A simple boost to vip xp of maybe 10% would've been enough for most people I think, but qol stuff would be so much better. The worst part, again, is how much better lotro's is lol.
It's not that we think 10% xp, 1% buddy boost, saga skip, etc. aren't good. It's that a large bulk of VIP value was because of all the content. With mini-xpacs and xpacs, there's very little ACTUAL adventure packs coming out. Many people stopped vip-ing over the past few years because of it, and were waiting to see what their new VIP plan was.
This joke of a "loyalty program" doesn't make up for what feels like losing half of VIP. It's just a needlessly complicated (people still don't know how missing months and future rewards and stuff will work) way for them to try and get VIP numbers up. Problem is they have no idea what people want out of VIP, as shown by 10% durability reward.
A simple boost to vip xp of maybe 10% would've been enough for most people I think, but qol stuff would be so much better. The worst part, again, is how much better lotro's is lol.
Toprak
Active member
Please note the following:
- SSG has, on a yearly basis since 2020, provided a code that gives everyone free access to all non-expansion packs. This is a ton of content, and it was also content you either had to buy from the store or be VIP to get unlimited access to. I think it's a good thing to make this content available as it brings in more players, but it completely invalidates a significant perk of being VIP, especially if the trend continues.
- Sometimes people don't like things, or they do like things. What's important is that in this forum are customers who are providing their input on the value proposition set forth for the Loyalty program. Some folks like it, some folks don't, and there is a wide variety of rhetoric being used to express this. Don't call everyone who is disappointed with the Loyalty program as whiners, because if you pay for something and you're not happy with it, you definitely don't have to "just take it because it's better than nothing". We are not children, SSG is not our parents, don't patronize us.
- No extra things would not be good given my first point, we're looking for things to not only make up for the erosion in benefits to VIPs, but also entice new VIPs to join and stay VIP for longer. We all very much want more players. I'm not sure we have a clear picture of what things will look like beyond the first 12 months, we may see a slow and steady increase of various bonuses that become great, but over the first year there is a big YMMV effect depending on player perspective, and there are valid concerns about being "one or more years behind" the rewards for new VIPs in the future. Some of these issues I don't know how to solve, but it's something that has to be mentioned as a problem otherwise SSG may not consider the level of concern.
Griglok (Karatemack)
Leader- The Casual Obsession (Khyber)
I've heard this perspective a lot, and I understand it... but I also disagree with it. In a PVE game where I need to not only own the content... but need my friends to own it too... it benefits me FAR MORE as a VIP for EVERYONE to have the content rather than just me have it and non-VIPs to be left out.
The coupon codes were a solid move from SSG during COVID and not only brought a lot of new/returning players to DDO, but also provided entertainment to folks during a really difficult time. VIPs have also received various other benefits since SSG offered the coupon (such as free gold rolls for a year) and this new program fleshes it out even more.
TL/DR- I "get" the perspective that the quest coupons made some folks feel like VIP is worth less than before, but also feel like this is a classic example of "no good deed goes unpunished".