A few weeks back on the Massively OP Podcast, Justin explained to me how Neverwinter’s exponential subscription works. Basically, instead of just subbing for a bonus and stipend every single month, you can actually buy (and receive the benefits of) multiple months at a time, allowing you to catch up or pre-pay. And as you rack up months, your VIP rank increases permanently as well, meaning the longer you play (or the more you pay backward/forward) the better your rewards are, up to the cap, at which point everyone’s playing even.
It’s not an unheard of system, of course; in fact, it’s pretty similar to what City of Heroes was doing almost a decade ago. But I like the flexibility of it. If a studio is going to do loyalty rewards, allowing players concerned about missing out a way to bolster their accounts to the same level as (and at the same cost as) everyone else’s seems fair as well as obviously good for the studio. Though of course, whether it constitutes pay-to-win in the drill-down is a whole ‘nother story.
Which MMO do you think has the best subscription or loyalty rewards?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
