27 replies to this topic

[SecretlyAFish]

20 bucks to camo a mech... 30 bucks for what, 6500 mech points... 3750 to camo my direwolf with 3 different colors.. They have the same MC to Gold rating as world of tanks, you spend 30 or 50 bucks, you get the same amount. I understand you get to keep and reuse the colors, but the pricing seems absolutely effking ludicrous.... I get that this is free to play, that its optional, that I can pay for some colors or w/e with huge amounts of c bills. But still, it just seems a ripoff and way overpriced.

Its kinda like when I saw the gold mech packs for 500 bucks. All I could think of was, really? I mean, hey, its not my money, no judgement, but to offer only basically a gold mech on top of a 240 dollar pack, for an extra 260 bucks is just well, ignorant. Sorry this is mostly a complainer thread. I have been really enjoying the game, and I honestly wouldnt mind throwing a bit of money at it.

But the money I work hard for in real life doesn't seem to go much further than throwing a paper airplane into the wind...

Edited by SecretlyAFish, 02 October 2014 - 03:11 PM.

[Rick Rawlings]

I would recommend only buying mech bays, the only reasonably priced thing in the game.

[FlipOver]

PGI can price anything at any price.
For all I know they can ask $5000 for a mech pack, although I won't buy it.
But if others do buy it, it's up to them.
Reasons to buy vary from supporting the development of the game, to being extravagant.

I just keep in mind that things are only worth what people are ready to pay for them....

Edited by FlipOver, 02 October 2014 - 03:26 PM.

[Anassi]

You can buy one-shot camos (Camo section, dropdown menu) that cost you between $0.40 and $0.60 per mech. Colors are a bit more expensive, between $2.50 and $5.00 per color, but they get unlocked globally.

Buy a few colors that you think are cool (can suggest Modro, cheap and very dark) and then slam on some one-shots. They cost pretty much nothing.



/edit: No one in their right mind thinks that any kind of skin is worth $260. The Gold Khan mechs are something for the hardcore supporters of the game and for pretty much no one else. They don't offer you any benefit aside from looking cool so I totally don't understand why everyone is outraged about this. It's as far from pay to win as you can be, a simple cosmetic, and it's nobody's business how people spend their money.

Edited by Anassi, 02 October 2014 - 03:23 PM.

[SecretlyAFish]

Anassi, on 02 October 2014 - 03:19 PM, said:

/edit: No one in their right mind thinks that any kind of skin is worth $260. The Gold Khan mechs are something for the hardcore supporters of the game and for pretty much no one else. They don't offer you any benefit aside from looking cool so I totally don't understand why everyone is outraged about this. It's as far from pay to win as you can be, a simple cosmetic, and it's nobody's business how people spend their money.

I never said i was enraged about it, its just silly that they offer such expensive things, but even simple things like camoing ones mech to look cool and unique costs 20 bucks. Its outrageous. I want to spend money on this game but I feel like I'd just be getting gouged and ripped off.

[Snegtag]

I do not mind spending cash on the game--it's past time / hobby. But I do like feling like I'm getting a deal, so I always wait for a sale. It might take some time but eventauly it goes on sale.

[Redshift2k5]

Moral of the story: buy one-shot camo specs, they're dirt cheap.

[Arkbird_]

Yeah... Pricing can be quite expensive in this game. But apparently there are enough die hard whales to keep the game afloat at those prices so they'll never change. Which is fine, they have to make money after all. However this doesn't fare well for the typical consumer though. I personally think it damages the game a LOT because casuals will never think twice about playing this game after seeing the price so only hard core mechwarrior fans play this game but oh well... It's not our business it's PGI's.

For 30$ the only things you should bother looking at is colors and mech bays and one shot camou's. Especially with sales. Mech bay sales typically happen every 4-6 months though and since the last one was literally last week you have a long wait for the next one.

Colors go on sale pretty sporadically you just have to hope it has one you like and if not wait for the next one. Same for camou's.

Even after years of playing this game I STILL do not understand their pricing model for camou's. It is ridiculous in my mind. Costs 75 MC to put a Viper camo on a 'mech. Costs 750 to put it on all variants of ONE chassis which is in some cases only 3? 225 MC to do it individually or 750 for "convenience" is the only explanation. Is this a joke? If i were a newbie and bought a camou I would think it would go to every 'mech i owned and I would be a very unhappy camper if i were to find out the hard way that it only applies to a single chassis... One shot cost is reasonably priced. Unlockable is not, but would be if it went to ALL your 'mechs.

Well... This is the THINKING man's shooter after all. Do your research before purchasing anything. I learned the hard way that premium time is automatically activated at purchase. I thought it would be banked. Very unhappy when I saw i only had ONE day banked (clan invasion flop) and the purchased time auto activated. If you are looking at buying something you should check the forums first because you may not get what you were expecting...

Not saying the game is bad, obviously i wouldn't be bothering with this if i didn't enjoy it, but pricing and clarity need some serious work to bring in more players and help newer players dip their toe in the water with smaller purchases. Heck, screw the decent pricing at least give clarity. You scorn people when they pay you for something and it isn't what they expect/wanted. It's a lose lose situation.

[IraqiWalker]

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 03:29 PM, said:

I never said i was enraged about it, its just silly that they offer such expensive things, but even simple things like camoing ones mech to look cool and unique costs 20 bucks. Its outrageous. I want to spend money on this game but I feel like I'd just be getting gouged and ripped off.

Have you considered buying one shot camo? As long as you don't change the camo pattern, it remains on the mech permanently. You can change the colors without it going away, btw. One-shots are also 1/4th the price, if not less.

Edited by IraqiWalker, 02 October 2014 - 03:55 PM.

[ImperialKnight]

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 03:11 PM, said:

20 bucks to camo a mech... 30 bucks for what, 6500 mech points... 3750 to camo my direwolf with 3 different colors.. They have the same MC to Gold rating as world of tanks, you spend 30 or 50 bucks, you get the same amount. I understand you get to keep and reuse the colors, but the pricing seems absolutely effking ludicrous.... I get that this is free to play, that its optional, that I can pay for some colors or w/e with huge amounts of c bills. But still, it just seems a ripoff and way overpriced.

Its kinda like when I saw the gold mech packs for 500 bucks. All I could think of was, really? I mean, hey, its not my money, no judgement, but to offer only basically a gold mech on top of a 240 dollar pack, for an extra 260 bucks is just well, ignorant. Sorry this is mostly a complainer thread. I have been really enjoying the game, and I honestly wouldnt mind throwing a bit of money at it.

But the money I work hard for in real life doesn't seem to go much further than throwing a paper airplane into the wind...

Valve says hi with their $50 hats.

I don't get why people complain about cosmetics pricing. A F2P model requires some sort of revenue model. Cosmetics are meant to be expensive. You don't have to buy any cosmetics AT ALL. The only "bread and butter" item you need that costs real money are mech bays and they are very reasonably priced for a F2P game.

Servers, employee salaries and development costs don't materialise out of thin air. So next time you're b**itching and moaning about high cosmetics prices, remember that it's the people that are buying them that's paying for what you're playing.

The only reason you would charge less for cosmetics is if they are price elastic items, which Valve has pretty much proven that are not

[Redshift2k5]

IraqiWalker, on 02 October 2014 - 03:55 PM, said:

Have you considered buying one shot camo? As long as you don't change the camo pattern, it remains on the mech permanently. You can change the colors without it going away, btw. One-shots are also 1/4th the price, if not less.

One-shot patterns are one tenth the cost. 75 MC regular and 125 MC for fancier ones.

Forty-one cents for a regular camo pattern, 72 cents for a fancier one. Colours are a couple bucks each but are reused as many times as you like. You can kit out quite a few mechs with a single minimum $7 mc pack.

Edited by Redshift2k5, 02 October 2014 - 04:17 PM.

[SecretlyAFish]

I just tried to have a 1on1 match with my brother and I just figured out we BOTH need to have premium time to do that. And I heard they just barely added that feature in. Thats the last straw. What a scummy company lol. Will never spend money on this game, they only alienate new players and further drive themselves away from players hoping to find a home here, except the most hardcore of mech fans.

knightsljx, on 02 October 2014 - 04:15 PM, said:

Valve says hi with their $50 hats.

I don't get why people complain about cosmetics pricing. A F2P model requires some sort of revenue model. Cosmetics are meant to be expensive. You don't have to buy any cosmetics AT ALL. The only "bread and butter" item you need that costs real money are mech bays and they are very reasonably priced for a F2P game.

Servers, employee salaries and development costs don't materialise out of thin air. So next time you're b**itching and moaning about high cosmetics prices, remember that it's the people that are buying them that's paying for what you're playing.

The only reason you would charge less for cosmetics is if they are price elastic items, which Valve has pretty much proven that are not

I spent well over a grand on World of Tanks. I have no problem spending money on hobbies and things I like to do. But these prices are asinine. You can make any argument you want, bring any 10 players semi interested in this game, show them the prices for the game, and then see how many are instantly turned off from the game.

[Koniving]

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 03:11 PM, said:

20 bucks to camo a mech... 30 bucks for what, 6500 mech points... 3750 to camo my direwolf with 3 different colors.. They have the same MC to Gold rating as world of tanks, you spend 30 or 50 bucks, you get the same amount. I understand you get to keep and reuse the colors, but the pricing seems absolutely effking ludicrous.... I get that this is free to play, that its optional, that I can pay for some colors or w/e with huge amounts of c bills. But still, it just seems a ripoff and way overpriced.

Typical costs: "X" amount (normal price) to x amount (sale price).
Basic color: (Dull color). X cbills (I got them ages ago so no idea what their price is)
Standard color: (Modest colors). 500 to 250 MC. Perm unlock for everything.
Premium color: (Super bright "Kill me" colors). 1,000 to 500 MC.

For 29.95 dollar MC package: 500 MC is $2.30
For 49.95 dollar MC package: 500 MC is $2.08
For 99.95 dollar MC package: 500 MC is $1.99

Any color is a one time purchase for your entire life.

Now, patterns... this is where they can nickel and dime you.

Pattern prices: First price is standard second is sale.
Standard: 750 to 375
Premium: 1,250 to 625
That's the prices of the permanent unlocks which is 10x the price of a single use (which a single use is permanent so long as you never change the pattern or sell the mech. An unlock is for your entire life you will always be able to change back and forth to that pattern.)

Now, the worst case price: 1,250
For 29.95 dollar MC package: 1250 MC is $5.76
For 49.95 dollar MC package: 1250 MC is $5.20
For 99.95 dollar MC package: 1250 MC is $4.975

o.O;

Combine one premium pattern and three 500 MC paints: at the 29.95 level: 5.76 + 2.30 + 2.30 + 2.30 = $12.66 to paint one mech; the paints you can recycle all you ever want. And that's assuming a pattern unlock across all variants and NO sale prices.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Koniving, on 02 October 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

Basic color: (Dull color). X cbills (I got them ages ago so no idea what their price is)

1.5m Cbills - same as DHS

[Koniving]

Personally I just get mine during the sales that come up almost every Friday at 10 AM Pacific (1 PM EST for me).

Once you have a repertoire of paints, the patterning becomes the only real costs. But flipping several pages in the Perfect Screenshot Thread with all the mechs that are mine on there, and you can see why I burn through so many looks. The typical person is content with far less.

Some visual examples, a competitive and standard unit's patterns. Some prices listed.

Spoiler

For example the typical unit will want 3 colors and have 1 favorite pattern assuming said unit requests a pattern.
Jade Dragon -- the competitive branch of the Zhizhu Mercenary Unit:

Super expensive to do even during a sale.




Meanwhile, the same unit's standard scheme is Feldgrau, Turmeric, any black. With "free", "standard" and "premium" colored versions (swap feldgrau and turmeric with other versions of green and yellow). Optional black or green dominant. No set pattern. Minimum cost: Think it was 2 or 3 million cbills and no MC. Maximum possible cost, 3,000 MC. Typical cost: 500 to 1,000 MC.

This is black dominant.


Green dominant and color equal.




Green dominant.






Some of those are default patterns though you'd probably never think it from looking at them.

So in that first spoiler I said there are free to premium versions of the exact same paintjob for Zhizhu.

Spoiler

Premium: Note the ones chosen were among the dullest premiums.

Super bright premium (there's better colors available now; it really just looks cleaner).


Standard (500 MC at the least, 1,000 MC at the most. This was designed when anyone could get ahold of the PC gamer colors). Replace black with basic blue to keep the cost the same if black is not available.


Freebies! Replace gray with basic orange. Black with basic blue.

Edited by Koniving, 02 October 2014 - 05:02 PM.

[Koniving]

Shar Wolf, on 02 October 2014 - 04:29 PM, said:

1.5m Cbills - same as DHS

They used to be 3 something million when I got them. Lucky people.
Then again 200,000 cbills without premium time or a hero mech was a lot easier to accomplish too.

Edited by Koniving, 02 October 2014 - 05:04 PM.

[Nick Makiaveli]

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 03:11 PM, said:

is just well, ignorant.

And here is where you lost ALL credibility. They sold quite a few, and I think one or two mechs sold out.

Ignorant all the way to the bank, while you are so smart and broke you are whining about the cost of the colors......

[Alaskan Nobody]

Nick Makiaveli, on 02 October 2014 - 05:17 PM, said:

And here is where you lost ALL credibility. They sold quite a few, and I think one or two mechs sold out.

Timberwolf sold out.

And since they sold at least 49 of them (less than 50 left was announced) that is at the very least 49 people who payed $500 for it.


Dire Wolf, Warhawk, Summoner, and Stormcrow are also at "Under 50 Left" status.

[IraqiWalker]

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 04:22 PM, said:

I just tried to have a 1on1 match with my brother and I just figured out we BOTH need to have premium time to do that. And I heard they just barely added that feature in. Thats the last straw. What a scummy company lol. Will never spend money on this game, they only alienate new players and further drive themselves away from players hoping to find a home here, except the most hardcore of mech fans.

They hand out premium time like skittles with every challenge. This last month alone they handed over a week+ in premium time.

SecretlyAFish, on 02 October 2014 - 04:22 PM, said:

I spent well over a grand on World of Tanks. I have no problem spending money on hobbies and things I like to do. But these prices are asinine. You can make any argument you want, bring any 10 players semi interested in this game, show them the prices for the game, and then see how many are instantly turned off from the game.

You do know there are sales, right? Almost nothing is at the list price. Everything gets a sale rotation where it's at 50% off or so. VERY recently we had a sale on all colors.

Try and investigate how you can spend your MC before you start whining and ragging on about pricing here. For the low 7$ MC pack you could kit out several mechs with their own camos, and unlock a couple colors in the process.

[SecretlyAFish]

Nick Makiaveli, on 02 October 2014 - 05:17 PM, said:

And here is where you lost ALL credibility. They sold quite a few, and I think one or two mechs sold out.

Ignorant all the way to the bank, while you are so smart and broke you are whining about the cost of the colors......

Calling someone broke because they have a problem with the price of one of the most trivial aspects of the game is pretty ignorant. In case you didn't see what I said before, I spent WELL over a thousand dollars on World of Tanks. I just like to feel like the company I am helping support by paying money, appreciates my support. I have no problem that people spend 500 bucks on a gold mech, I probably spent 3 times that over the course of my time on tanks. What I do have a problem with is that, they have these ridiculous packages, but everything is expensive. All the colors I liked and wanted on my mech were 1000 mech points each. I will be in school soon and I don't have the money to just throw around and waste anymore.