LOTRO gets a Battlepass so why not DDO? DDO BATTLEPASS?

[BigDeepsJohnson]

LOTRO has a Legendary Weapon tracker that provides plenty of things to improve their legendary items and keep them involved in the game GIVING THEM a reason to log on. Now DDO DESPERATELY needs this same attention but for cosmetic reasons. It's a win win for everyone and here's how you can do it:


Battlepass models in other games have a Free pass with a 2nd parallel tier being the Premium pass(a small cost say like 10-20$ depending on length of the 'season')

Fortnite and Smite are two different game genres that both have a massively successful version that shows this model in full force. Everyone gets rewards but to the degree of what kind of rewards you get has a pay barrier which is reasonable as long as the rewards are. Even if you don't have time to complete the needed things to advance the battle pass you can make a purchase to advance further in the battle pass to still be able to get what you want on a tight schedule.

Now when is DDO it's most profitable during the year? When Hardcore League is going on. The entire point of HC is to challenge yourself and receive COSMETIC rewards. There's no actual gameplay improvement instead of getting your character completely dripped out and showing off your accomplishments.

BATTLEPASS REWARDS:
Make say 3-6 armors/back pieces(butterfly wing in ex)+ helmets + 1 reusable weapon glamour acheivable PER SEASON and have it divided up into the Free or PREMIUM version of the pass. Not every level in the pass has to include a reward but they can include things like timers/xp pots/store armor kit of your choice/pet of your choice/NEW HAIR STYLES n DYES etc etc to keep it going. All these items provide more reason for us to stay online and run your game.

Have each season last say 2-4 months and give them a theme (eberron/sharn/underdark/amrath). This length keeps up logging on everyday with a new goal in mind instead of standing around the guild ship waiting for something to happen.

HOW TO PROGRESS BATTLE PASS:
Between running an assortment of quests/reapers/leveling up/killing certain bosses(raid and quests alike)/running challenges you have now given us a reason to run every little bit of content that is already available in this game.
Have each of the possibilities to progress be worth X amount of points to advance further along the battlepass, some being worth more than others
(Raids should be worth more than quests)

The opportunity is HERE and we are BEGGING for new cosmetics (NOT RECOLORS DON'T BE LAZY) to grind for while we wait for new content. While we grind out battle passes you could work on that new content even more because now our minds are focused elsewhere! You best believe some people will just buy out the full pass day 1 because we got some big ballers in this game that don't have as much time but still don't want to be left out. Everyone gets what they want.

Make this happen, you will easily see the success reflect with this from the sheer server logins increase and time being logged on along with just sheer profit from having these events. Do not ignore this type of event, because it historically works extremely well and keeps players interested when content is not engaging enough.

 

[Coffey]

I pay the $ i have to for elite difficulty access while playing HCL. Not paying any more unless there is something worth while.

I have all the expansions up to Feywild and have a very modest bank/storage so i never get attached to items especially cosmetics.

Good weapons are really all i keep. Spartan. The way i like it!

 

[Danadin]

I think a cosmetic battle pass-like system would be great for a VIP benefit (however, if it is a separate thing from VIP I wouldn't pay for it)

Unsure how the progression system would work however, total exp gained? doesn't work for endgame players, same w/past lives, etc...

It could run off total quest completions? but then ig ppl could zoom through w/short quests, if it would be easier to take quest duration into account that could work.

It would certainly be a good incentive to be VIP especially if the rewards are good (it could be small things like 25 DDO pts every few tiers, 20 or 30% exp pots, slayer pots etc... bigger milestones (10, 25, 50, 75, 100) could have stuff like sov's, or like an ottos for tier 100.

While I understand your suggestion, again the issue I see if for example I don't normally use VIP because I have been playing for so long the main times I subscribe to VIP for example are hardcore seasons because it unlocks Elite+ for first time questing. Having to pay more money for cosmetics and potion behind a paywall will just turn people away. We already have a large amount of players who don't get the VIP because it offers little to long time players and adding paywall cosmetics might attract some but will probably turn many away from the game in general. I don't think adopting the models of newer games who have a very different playerbase will benefit DDO. The only way I would agree with this option personally is if we see a complete client overhaul in order to help update graphics/stability/mechanics because otherwise its like trying to suck milk from a piece of aged cheese.

 

[Nimueh]

While I understand your suggestion, again the issue I see if for example I don't normally use VIP because I have been playing for so long the main times I subscribe to VIP for example are hardcore seasons because it unlocks Elite+ for first time questing. Having to pay more money for cosmetics and potion behind a paywall will just turn people away. We already have a large amount of players who don't get the VIP because it offers little to long time players and adding paywall cosmetics might attract some but will probably turn many away from the game in general. I don't think adopting the models of newer games who have a very different playerbase will benefit DDO. The only way I would agree with this option personally is if we see a complete client overhaul in order to help update graphics/stability/mechanics because otherwise its like trying to suck milk from a piece of aged cheese.

Precisely, we don't have VIP because we have been playing so long and it offers us nothing (besides a 10% exp boost and some misc things).

The entire point of the battlepass system is to provide long term players value for VIP incentivizing us to buy it.

And if your quarrel is with cosmetics being behind a pay wall... Currently the main ways to get cosmetics are behind a pay wall... (mirrors, store, etc...) And it isn't like the things on the battlepass are exclusive - if anything it's a deal for everyone - SSG makes more money because people that don't have VIP are now VIP and people that are content that for the price of VIP they are now getting rewards such as various potions and cosmetics (and again I really like the idea of putting a choice of ottos as the final & or level 100 reward).

Take note there are free rewards in a battlepass system as well that don't require VIP. There are no downsides.

 

[Darq]

No, no, no, no, no and no.

You know you're brainwashed when you request more ways to milk you.

 

[Dendrix Deathblade]

This "battlepass" idea is basically Hardcore without the perma death.
No.

 

[Lagin]

no

 

[RobShow]

Resources and time wasted!
Devs should focus on solving bugs and developing content useful to gameplay.

 

[Alesthane Garfield]

No. Limited time rewards are just a way to foster resentment over time. Either they are so exclusive that new players complain, or they time out and become available, in which case the grinders moan. Hard pass, not battlepass.

 

[rabidfox]

LOTRO's system isn't a paid system; it's a free seasonal based reward track that's that provides rewards towards their legendary weapon system (along with the occasional mini-pet, portait frame, cosmetic etc.). DDO could do a similar system with sent XP, regular XP stones, things that might on siliver/gold rolls, and the occasional new costmetic as rewards.

 

[Ellisaria]

I cannot say I would desire this system in place for myself. I avoid games that use this business model because I don't support devoting development resources on vanity projects instead of bug fixes, gameplay improvements, or content (I look for content that will challenge and engage me long term when determining whether or not to play a game first and foremost). For games with large teams working on them, they might have a team whose sole job is to design cosmetics for cash shop/event rewards/special loot drops. From what I understand of SSG, they're a rather small team that's stretched pretty thin and you want them to design 3-6 cosmetics for battle pass on top of the ones for hardcore (some players have been dissatisfied with rewards repeated from previous seasons instead of something new), seasonal events (there are those who are dissatisfied if a seasonal comes around without "anything new"), and whatever unique gear is in the works for the next expac/adventure pack set bonus. How long would a season last that they will be devoting their limited resources to churning these out?

Next we come to the issue of storage. This game is notoriously short on storage and getting more space is locked behind the less expensive option of buying more character slots and putting in the work of grinding the house k/coin lord favor for every single one of them or the more expensive option of buying per character bank tabs and/or the even more expensive shared bank tabs. While not everyone will keep every cosmetic item for aesthetic reasons, some will want them all. Where do they store them? Many newer games have cosmetic wardrobes or dressers to specifically store cosmetic items, this game doesn't and it doesn't sound like that's something that will happen. What happens if someone throws away a cosmetic and then decides later that they want to wear it for a particular character/build/life? Would you also want SSG to put a vendor who will allow players to rebuy cosmetics they've unlocked? Then all the data for what every account has unlocked for cosmetics will need to be stored somewhere. How much would it cost to rebuy a cosmetic? Would it cost Plat, Shards, Points, or be free? Would this apply only to battle pass cosmetics or would SSG go above and beyond and make this system store ALL cosmetics for an account?

Finally we come to the actual cost of the battle pass. If it was rolled into VIP, then it doesn't seem much different from what was proposed earlier this year on the old forums for subscription rewards, and that did not seem to hold much value to long-time players based on forum feedback. If the battle pass was proposed to be a separate cost from VIP, I don't see that going over well either. SSG would cost of the pass would have to be weighed against the cost of all the established cash shop items you proposed to include, plus the cosmetics when determining a price to charge. The players would weigh whether the battle pass cosmetics were appealing enough to justify the cost versus buying the proposed cash shop items they want and stocking up the points when they were on bonus sale. Players who have been asking for VIP to be worth the monthly investment versus buying points on bonus sale would probably not be happy that instead of delivering on that long-standing promise to up the value of VIP (when rewards have been stripped away over time), SSG is instead investing in and ADDITIONAL pay structure. People already criticize the fact that there are multiple payment models used for DDO (microtransactions in the cash shop, VIP, DDO Market) and now you propose another. I think there would be a large outcry over "money-grabbing" and low investments (designing a new cosmetic takes much less resources than, say, designing/reworking an enhancement tree or fixing long-standing game bugs) on SSG's part that doesn't alleviate larger issues and appeal mostly to players interested in fashion. Personally, I would rather they make VIP worthwhile than add a battle pass and work on broken enhancements (Ravager), underused trees (Archmage, Warpriest), and make archtypes more appealing (in my opinion, most have come off as "why would I play this over the original class" withlargely underwhelming/not cohesive enhancement trees and maybe one appealing trait in its favor.)

 

[Nimueh]

This "battlepass" idea is basically Hardcore without the perma death.
No.

How is gaining passive rewards that incentivize players to spend money on the game therefore rewarding players and bringing in more revenue hardcore w/out permadeath...?

"Hey you played a lot, take a free exp potion, take a free cloak, take a free armor, whats that you want to pay money 2 us as well? alright take these additional rewards like better exp potions and cooler rewards... or don't player choice"

In what way does that == hardcore?

 

[PurpleSerpent]

Hmm. My experience of season pass models, in general, tends to be that everything interesting ends up being locked behind the paid option, which renders the whole thing little more than annoying for anyone who isn't prepared to shell out extra money each time a new season comes around.

At any rate, season passes are designed for games which are otherwise, if not entirely free to play, microtransaction based, so that they can reliably generate purchases from people who wouldn't otherwise spend money on the game. DDO isn't microtransaction based - it's expansion based. In order to get the best available stuff, you already have to spend a not inconsiderable amount of real money, even if you were lucky enough to start while a free quest code was running. Having an extra set of time-limited content added at regular intervals that you have to pay even more money to access feels exploitative, frankly.

If SSG want to increase revenue generation, there are better ways to go about doing it - the VIP improvements, when they do arrive, are probably a better approach. After all, VIP's been around the whole time, and there are some tangible permanent rewards to it as well.

 

[calouscaine]

I'd rather see better tangible vip rewards than a battle junk system. This isn't an arena game.