Is F2P dying a slow death?

"BubbaFett;c-1646150" wrote:

"RufusDogbreath;c-1646141" wrote:

"Shadowscream;c-1646118" wrote:

"Roopehunter;c-1646096" wrote:

"Shadowscream;c-1646042" wrote:

"JerrickKharr87;c-1645921" wrote:
FTP are about to fall behind even more when the new legendary requirements are announced. Casual spenders like me will as well. Only the addicts will keep rolling.

Really? How will it be anymore than previous Legendary/Heroes Journeys when FTP had to get it 2nd time round....I’m puzzled what’s changed this time?

Its changing for new players, not ppl with 1.5 years+.
Reason is simple, yes you can get all legendaries and heroes as ftp,but it takes like a half year each. Or buy them instantly. Having 3-4-5 legendaries will extend the ftp journey to 3 x half year, 4 x half year, 5x half year... Or buy it instantly.

So the point is, if you dont spend, youre in a half year delay.
If these legendaries come online, then if you dont spend, youre in a 2 years delay.
(in case of new accounts)

Being in a 2 years delay is an enormous disadvantage, so you either start spending, or you wont have any success at the competitive areas of the game (arena, fleet, raids..). Essentially, both of these outcomes are the end of ftp, so yeah this game is moving to p2w model very soon.

Going to question your maths here - I’m FTP. Started 17th Dec 2017.
Got 7* Palps, 7* Thrawn, 6* Chimera, CLS, 7* R2D2, 7* GMY, 7* BB8
Working on Vets....
If we ignore Chimera...
That’s 6 heroes journey or Legendary characters out of 7 (No JTR - plus I’ll probably miss her this next time)

6/7 in 9 months for a new FTP player doesn’t seem that depressing?

I think the key is starting nearly a year ago. I started close to the same time. I’m not doing as well as you, but I’m also doing ok. The issue going to be the F2P players that missed out on the string of marquees this year. As legendary events come out that require those marquees, new players will find themselves starting at 0 with no way to farm those needed toons from their hard nodes for months. Just take the Solo movie toons for example. 5x 50 free shards = 250 shards. That’s how far behind new players will be before they ever grind their way up to the hard nodes to farm these characters.

They are focusing on getting all the money they can now from the current player base (to which I say more power to ‘em; its business) with little regard for what the current business model means for the recruitment and retention of new players (to which I say, you’re racing past the gas pumps toward the finish line like it’s the final lap of the race instead of planning for more laps).

CG seems to be content with effectively making sure no more F2P players join & stay. The current model could not be set up in a way to discourage them more. And I can only assume CG is making every effort to turn current F2P players into p2p. So those existing F2P players with time invested and a decent roster of toons can chug along for non competitive fun, but I highly doubt many new F2P players are going to see this game as worth it.

Keep in mind, there will always be more content and toons to farm, so the slog will only get more daunting for new peeps.

TL, DR notes: If you’re F2P and didn’t start playing before the 2018 marquee run, you’re in a very deep, dark hole, and CG is ok with that.

What you are missing is that players don't NEED all of these toons to play the game....This game is plenty of fun without having to have every single legendary.... You can only have one arena team at a time, so raids and TW are the only spots where multiple teams are an absolute necessity..... Just have fun, play the game and everything comes over time ....

True but how far are you going to get in arena without either the strong marquees or the legendary toons they unlock? How fun will it be for new players when these new legendaries are hyped and a new new player is unable to participate?

I’m only concerned about the long term health of the game. I don’t see it thriving without new players, and the current state of the early game for new F2P players (who may eventually turn into p2p players, as I have) is rough. I personally have recruited multiple people (SWfans) to play who ended up quitting because the early game is too restrictive and boring.

The question isn’t CAN you play the game without these toons; the question is will new players want to? Moreover, what does it hurt to make the game more new-player friendly? It’s in all our best interest to make the sure the game continues to bring in more new players.