I think looking at FTP has to be looked at in 2 separate ways. I continue to read the FTP players who have been here for a long time and understand that if planned right can compete with those that spend. My experience with games over the years and more common nowadays is those who pick the P2P model never really learn how to play the game strategically more times than not but the F2P player has to learn and maximize all resources. And yes before someone bashes me and defends their position as a whale I did not say every whale. To me though with the F2P vets that have been around my question is what keeps you in the game and if I am developer how can we continue to provide that because without their population the game would die in my opinion.
I mean I have all the resources to be a whale but really do not see the reason to do so. I enjoy the lore of SW and enjoy participating in most of the events. The ship arena to me is probably the worse design I have ever seen in a game in my opinion. The PvP arena is very boring for two reasons I find. Like I said the whales buy their toons with little strategy due large part to how stale the meta is or lack of options may be a better way to state it. The game determines the meta not the players by the release cadence and so no creativity in team makeup. Second and which was a huge disappointment to me from past PvP experiences was you play against AI not real people. As someone that has been around for a little over a year, even though my son played first before he got bored and then I took a break over the summer, I am just not sure I will stick around that much longer. So I do wonder why some of the FTP vets stick it out.
Now the other group though is the new FTP players. I do feel this group is the least likely to stay. Even over the last year it seems the entry to fully enjoy the game has gotten harder and with the company wanting to appease the P2P as the game ages and to retain them, has created a even larger gap for the newer players. I completely understand and fully support that because they are a business and their sole mission is to make money. No whales mean no game as well and less revenue coming in means less to spend in development and to provide a product. But new F2p players I see come and go as they feel they start to far behind where the model should be make enough accessible so that they get hooked and want to spend. But the release cadence of new toons and requirements for events(new toons that have no other value) make it more and more less appealing to those checking out the game to stay long term. Why bother that every time you acquire something or reach a goal the said toon is outdated and something else is required. I have played way to many MMOs that died with one of the main reasons being grind to just grind. Players do not mind grinding if they can enjoy their result but now in this game you grind to only finish to start grinding again. Make so a F2P has to grind a little longer then a P2P so those that decide to spend(everyone has this choice) will gain some advantage but let the F2P also enjoy the meta or current events for a while so that they enjoy after the long grind. Slow the cadence down of new toons, events, and requirements. Also as others mentioned maybe provide more opportunities to grind out to help reduce the time and up the % of farming a bit. I am not sure why a whale would care if a F2P can speed up the grind. It only would help out guilds and provide a more competitive arena.
Sorry for the long rant and for the record I started playing with UO from the beginning and my first beta testing was with SWG. Played a lot of MMOs and seen a lot die. With F2P finding the balance is even harder nowadays in my opinion.
