http://www.trionworlds.com/rift/en/2018/01/18/2018-rift-on/
Our goal for RIFT Prime is to provide the experience that many of you have requested: no lockboxes, a significantly reduced store with more of the current store-based items obtained through gameplay (or removed entirely) – plus the excitement of sequential progression through RIFT’s content with monthly milestones and achievements.
When it comes to Trion, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” applies. This is a company that has a history of cash grabs at the expense of their player base. Their ability to sucker some of their ArcheAge players with fresh start servers is a prime example of that where they sell overpriced packs, eventually re-introduce questionable items back into the cash shop, and after a period of time, move those servers into the pool of legacy servers (rinsing and repeating this process).
This subscription only server is just an experimental attempt by Trion to milk their RIFT player base (or former RIFT players that quit). If it works, well they will have this nice “cash cow” for milking.
What’s even more funny is that some ArcheAge players are interested in something similar (sub only server with all the questionable stuff removed from the cash shop). The biggest issue with something like that is it’s a Korean designed MMO. There are going to be nuances that are lost in translation when trying to explain the concept to XLGAME’s producer and designers.
ArcheAge’s core design is deeply rooted in cash shop mechanics to where they would need to completely redesign portions of the game in order to make it even viable as a subscription only server. And then there is Trion which will have their ulterior motives at play in order to milk their customers as much as possible.
The core issue with Trion is that they have burned far too many players where there is zero trust. Even with their offer of allowing Devilian players to transfer to one of their other titles, I have learned that they are NOT honoring all aspects of the ArcheAge Erenor Eternal starter pack (some folks are being told they do not qualify for the 30 days of Patron). The offers were more or less a PR stunt (it looks good only on the surface) because Trion has the statistics as to how much crossover there was with Devilian players actually playing their other titles (it’s a low percentage to be honest). So they already knew it wouldn’t cost them much. But it seems for those few who have been taking them up on the offer, there seems to be unwritten strings attached as to whether or not they provide a months worth of Patron for ArcheAge.
I personally plan to wait until closer to March 5th to put in my request (and either way, I will document what happens). The way they are treating the shutdown is also not winning folks like myself over as they continue to ignore community feedback during this period before the game is shuttered. It’s inexcusable how patronizing they have been where they cannot even engage in some dialog during these last few weeks.
Bottomline for myself, Trion has lost me as a paying customer period because they have proven many times over that they do not give a shit. And as far as I am concerned, what comes around goes around (it just takes time).
