Why not have a few different server types that appeal to a wide range of gamers, instead of only MMO gamers? Most games these days only offer PvE or PvP servers, but couldn’t and SHOULDN’T the system be expanded upon?
When MMOs first came on the scene, they were a way to easily enjoy playing games directly with other people. Instead of being confined to simply talking about your accomplishments in offline games with friends, you could use your advancements within the game to benefit your friends and fellow players directly (helping them level, cooperating to defeat difficult monsters, using your skills in crafting to strengthen each other, and of course PvPing together!). Even for people that didn’t enjoy playing with other people often, they could easily display their achievements with other players. That creates a very unique sense of community that you can’t find in single-player or offline games. But these days, many MMO companies are turning their backs on ‘serious’ gamers and focusing on targeting casual players whom they hope will make many microtransactions (similar to the current success of mobile games). However, in doing so, they are losing a large number of players either due to cash shops that equate to desperate, greedy cash grabs, or simply because the game isn’t challenging enough. Even WoW – the most popular MMO – has been completely dumbed down, even to the point that you can buy a pre-leveled character (Taking money making tips from Chinese farmers). I’m sure everyone knows at least one person who won’t touch current MMOs for those reasons.
So, is the loss of potential microtransactions due to a P2P, cash shop-free server worth it? If you consider that it would attract people who either wouldn’t use the cash shop frequently or just wouldn’t play a cash shop server, it seems like an extra source of income that most companies overlook. P2P servers could retain paid extra character or bank slots, but vanity items or other cash shop items would be added via crafting or drops in-game (Don’t forget how much people paid for Kafra Bands and Boys Caps in RO. Gives people a reason to farm monsters [reason to continue paying sub, extends server life] either for personal acquirement or profit!). Many ‘serious’ gamers want to be able to automatically have people see their headgear or mount or barrack and know that they gained that headgear or barrack or mount via skill or perseverance and not just because they blew real life money on it. There are more layers to why people seek out certain items in games besides just ‘I like how it looks,’ such as a status symbol for defeating a difficult monster/dungeon or completing a long and arduous quest line (Such as The Sign in RO…What a terrible ride that was, but at the time it was a nice accessory, Cursed Waters were great, and access to Geffenia and therefore some of the rarest items [Succubus/Incubus drops, large amounts of Abyssal Knights, etc] was a GREAT reward.)
Which brings up another failing of current MMOs: they offer little challenge to people accustomed to PC or console games. It seems that game companies are extremely scared for any of their players to become frustrated, so they make everything able to be accomplished in one or two attempts. Which is silly considering they are constantly trying to invent ways to encourage party play. Spoiler: if a player can easily defeat a boss on their own, they won’t look to others for help. One of the huge problems with ToS for avid gamers is the weak bosses. They are slow, they show you where or how they will attack, and even if you are silly enough to not get out of danger you are only punished by, at most, a 20% HP loss. That may provide enough challenge for casual players who just wish to use the game as a form of community interaction, but it will get old and boring for others extremely quickly. Many may not even attempt to reach max level before quitting. So why not provide a difficulty level choice via server selection? A hardcore server could offer quest bosses that hit for 30-70% or even more of your HP if you mess up, field bosses that amount to more than just a meat bag with excessive amounts of HP but no dangerous attacks to overcome. Casual/normal servers could have increased drop rates or even lowered EXP requirements (This depends on what the actual, finalized rates will be).
One could argue that people shouldn’t have to choose between difficulty and friends, as in casual gamers wanting to play with more experienced gamers. But that’s the beauty of an MMO, if you ARE less skilled at games you can always join up with other people to overcome trials and no matter what your approach to games is, it always feels nice to be rewarded for hard work. Whereas the empty feeling of just mindlessly defeating easy fights gets stale quickly (Nothing kills an MMO faster than losing players from boredom). And transfers OFF of hardcore servers could also be an extra cash charge for people who wish to move. Transfers onto hardcore servers from casual or normal should not be allowed, though. I also think it would give an EXTREMELY accurate representation of what the community wants from the game, instead of just assuming what would be best.
TL;DR There’s no denying that offering cute, easy games to casual players with an extensive cash shop is good money. However, I can’t help but feel there are simple things that could be altered to appeal to almost everyone and increase income even further. At the very least, having just one Pay2Play server to start and if it does well, adding more. And obviously the servers would be a combination of these styles: P2P Hardcore, F2P Hardcore, F2P Casual, etc. And it would only be worthwhile to the company if there is a large playerbase so let’s all spread the word about Tree of Savior !! Thanks for reading my long post. 