Change Raid Timer for VIP

[rdasca]

As a VIP player, I say no thank you. While VIP perks really need a bump up:

Extra toons: meh.
Open packs three days to a week before everyone else: would be cool if I knew enough other VIPs to do this.
Open elite: pretty nice
Talk to a GM anytime: yeah whatever, good luck with that one.
Get all packs as they come out: very cool, oh wait I can't buy them with my "free" TP.
500 TP per month: The only real perk to being a VIP.

I might be forgeting a couple "perks" but still the list is fairly weak.

That being said I do not like the idea that VIPs can raid 2 or more time as much as non-VIPs, it would not break the game but it would cause other problems within DDO.

[Cauthey]

Even when I was VIP, I was against this idea.
Still am.

I was about to say yes, /signed, even from me who is not a VIP. And then I read your post, Memnir.

So, why? Does it have to do with Premiums and VIPs coming off of timer at different times, and thusly making it more difficult for the two separate groups to raid together because they'd always be out of sync?

That's the only downside that I can think of. And, it's fair to say that it could be a pretty considerable downside for guilds that are highly mixed Premium and VIP.

[FooWonk]

/not signed

Any reduction in raid timers that isn't underwhelming (e.g., 56 v. 66 hours) would make the game pay-to-win (even more so than it can already be with TP store).

[Memnir]

So, why?

Because while I still think that VIP benefits could be amped up and made more attractive - I think that this steps over the line from benefit to unbalancing. This covers a lot of ground, from like you said it could very well make grouping for raids more challenging - to VIPs being able to get their 20th completions in half the time - to being able to gain Greensteel mats more readily - and more.

I see lowering raid timers as stepping over the line of being a perk and towards something that would be fairly unbalancing to the game as a whole. Sure, VIPs should get more for their constant support of the game... but not this.

[SirTeo]

No no no!

But really no.

Did I say no?


Vip's already get the best perk in the game, able to open anything on elite. I can run around any quest and open it on elite. That saves me alot of time.

Imagine running a raid that you had to do normal, then hard, then elite. Thats 9 days of waiting. I want to run Demon Queen on elite today.

Okey.... The best perk in the game, able to open elite huh? Why would you want to open up something on elite ,not like you need favor when your VIP & how hard is it to find an elite opener for raids? lol..

[Memnir]

not like you need favor when your VIP

Wrong.
VIPs need favor just like everyone else in order to gain the faction-specific benefits ingame. And, the ability to open on Elite is a huge perk to VIPs. It's the only thing I really miss since going Premium.

[hermespan]

Even when I was VIP, I was against this idea.
Still am.

Not only that but there are "f2p" players that have spent a lot more money in the store than a lot of 1-2 year VIP players. How is this fair to them?

[krackythehoodedone]

But /Signed

It will never happen of course

More chance of Axer giving up buffs

[barryman5000]

Okey.... The best perk in the game, able to open elite huh? Why would you want to open up something on elite ,not like you need favor when your VIP & how hard is it to find an elite opener for raids? lol..

Because it gives me the option to run a different quest on elite above the quest's level. This makes its more fun to go get xp from those quests.

Variety? Maybe go on elite for a challenge?

And as menmir said, yes I need favor. Lots of small rewards yeah, but they are still nice.

[Jrstevenson07]

Turbine prefers to not have VIP. Heres why:

Player 1, VIP, signs up, $15 a month,, quits after 6 months. Total income from VIP: $90

Player 2, Non VIP, Buys several point bundles and buys all available packs. Spends over $150 (heard this was the number). Quits the game after 6 months. Total income from Player 2: $150+ (more since more stuff is released usually every 3-6 months).

Which is why turbine hopes all VIPs like myself would just buy all of their packs and stop being a VIP.

[Ungood]

well from 66 to 36 is a bit 2 much ... lets say from 66 to 56 or 51 I ll /sign that

That is a good idea too. Just a slight reduction for VIP, as a bonus perk. 10 hours would not be that over powered, but a nice "enticement" I would honestly view it as more a novelty then anything else really. But I am sure there are many that take their raid timer much more serious then I do.

But with this, they would have to put in a Raid-Timer Reduction Pass into the store giving a "10 hour reduction" in raid time, raid specific of course, like they do now with elite open, so that Premium could have the same perk as a VIP, if they wanted to.

[Musouka]

I would venture that there are a ton of long term players (like me) and went free to play and put down a few hundred dollars into TP to buy all the content and now never spend a nickle to support Turbine anymore.

VIP's are the backbone of the system and I wouldn't begrudge them some nice perks for paying for me to play DDO (the current perks are meh and generally unnecessary for serious players.)

Do you have any facts to backup both of those statements? (ie. something beyond, "just from the people I've talked to")

[xxScoobyDooxx]

Hell yeah /signed ......... let the peasants wait.

[herzkos]

my first thought on this post was sure, why not?
my second thought was:
just get rid of all the raid timers for raids at lvl 14 and under.
EPIC would still have a timer.

it's not like those raids are run multiple times by people before they outlevel
them anyway at this point.
the only potential drawback i see is people grinding for gear that they can then make
epic. even then, the likelihood of any particular item dropping during a raid is low enough that
they'll still have to run it plenty of times. worst case scenario in my mind? every level 20 running
epics is expected to have a full set of raid gear (to begin with) and a full epic set shortly thereafter.
well, thats already the case.

[Seikojin]

Because while I still think that VIP benefits could be amped up and made more attractive - I think that this steps over the line from benefit to unbalancing. This covers a lot of ground, from like you said it could very well make grouping for raids more challenging - to VIPs being able to get their 20th completions in half the time - to being able to gain Greensteel mats more readily - and more.

I see lowering raid timers as stepping over the line of being a perk and towards something that would be fairly unbalancing to the game as a whole. Sure, VIPs should get more for their constant support of the game... but not this.

Since the experience is per player, wouldn't what soemone else has not even matter to you? I mean, I play 1/3rd the amount of hours as others who are premium, have 1/10th the gear as them, and can't really get into groups with people who grind out their gear, but I don't think that makes them any better than me, or me any better than them.

It would be a perk of paying monthly, like the 500tp allowance and elite open. I would love to see raid timers decreased for vips. It would mean more groups up for various raids. More people would opt for vip, but there would be many people who are not and therefor would be open to join whatever raid is open at that time.

I see no unbalance. If you can get a specific item from a raid, you have an 'equal' opportunity on your first run and your 20th run. So nothing will change your chances, you will just be gambling more often. That in its own right will not unbalance the game. It will just increase turbines profits from more vips. What are non paying customers going to do, walk away? I just don't comprehend the unbalance for your experience if someone else can run a quest more often than you. And by that, they have to pay for it, so again, a cost for effect, returning balance.

/signed.

[Isolani]

I'd rather they just got rid of raid timers and ransack, both of which are just mechanisms to waste people's time and slow them down. If somebody wants to run the same quest/raid 100 times in a row, so what.

[Drakos]

I like the way the you can either be F2P or VIP, you have to grind the same way, it's just more "comfortable" as a VIP. The game in itself won't be properly speaking unbalanced, but the grinding will ! And raids are 50% of the end game content for many people. If you can grind 50% faster than usual player, then it's unbalanced, or at least unfair, cause i'm sure people who bought all the packs spent really more than many VIP.

This statement just assumes that VIP players don't buy and spend TP's as well as pay their monthly fee. That assumption is dead wrong. As a VIP I buy and spend TP on a regular basis, on the order of ~$75-100 / month in extra TP's.

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

It would mean more groups up for various raids. More people would opt for vip, but there would be many people who are not and therefor would be open to join whatever raid is open at that time.
/signed.

I see your logic, but I think in the end result would be the opposite. VIPs would tend to wind up more or less on the same raid cycles. Couple that with getting better gear faster, and you're gonna have a big divide between VIPs and premium players; it'll be like two absolutely different groups of players that just happen to share the same servers. That works against the whole social aspect of the game- and if you lose that in an MMO why are we even bothering to play?

[Aurora1979]

In this game VIP is just a type of payment plan. Its not a social standing.

Ive always agreed that VIP players should get a bit more but not this idea.

I think it would create too big a gap between people with VIP players getting.... well almost all the decent loot at a vastly quicker rate.

I dont think VIP privilages should have a direct effect on the gameplay. Its more about giving them rewards and bonuses, not allowing one "class" of people to get items quicker.

You will end up with LFM's saying all non TR's must be VIP or something :/

[Perceval]

Well, with a 36 hours timer, you can repeat the quest everyday

Wow you really do live far away, Last I checked here on earth days were 24 hours.