Post by Starboard_Nacelle on Jul 1, 2011 11:12:47 GMT -5
As some of you may already know, I posted threads on the official forums and the Steam forums with figures that compared the cost of a Gold member versus a Silver player with all of the Gold bonuses they can get. Because this is the semi-official forum for Silver players to post their feedback, it seemed prudent to post the data here as well. It may surprise you.
For the purposes of keeping everything organized, I'm not including the cost of freeform character slots in my analysis because they aren't available for purchase for Silver members. Theoretically, it would be 15,640 Cryptic Points*, or $200.00 USD*.
So, let's get down to business:
Taking these into account, let's add up the prices listed in the Cryptic Store to get the final Cryptic Point balance necessary to purchase all of these options:
You need 103,760 Cryptic Points to purchase all of the available Gold lifetime benefits. That's 20 bundles of 5,000 Cryptic Points at $62.50 USD each, 1 bundle of 2,000 Cryptic Points for $25.00 USD, 1 bundle of 1,500 Cryptic Points for $18.75 USD, and 1 bundle of 1,000 Cryptic Points for $12.50 USD, which comes to:
$1,306.25 USD
A lifetime Gold subscription is $299.99 USD. It comes with freeform power selection, no advertisements in voice chat, free character slots whenever you get a character to level 40, and 400 Cryptic Points per month, as well as all future archetypes. So, it may seem expensive, but in reality, you're saving 77.034258373205741626794258373206% compared to buying everything separately without a subscription. For anyone who buys a lifetime subscription, it literally paid itself off 67.128752501667778519012675116744 months before you actually bought it.
If you were to subscribe on a per-month basis, the numbers would be slightly different. Gold monthly members only get 8 character slots, versus 16 for lifetime members.
The total is 50,630 Cryptic Points, 10 bundles of 5,000 for $62.50 USD each, and 1 bundle of 1,000 at $12.50 USD, which comes to:
$637.50 USD
Gold monthly members also get freeform power selection, no advertisements in voice chat, 400 Cryptic Points per month, free character slots whenever you get a character to level 40, and all future archetypes. If the game shut down at any time in the next 42.528352234823215476984656437625 months, you're not losing any money.
Food for thought with risk assessments for wary buyers. Feel free to post comments or questions. I'll try my best to answer them.
* - 24 power frameworks, assuming one archetype per framework. 7 free archetypes. 920 Cryptic Points per premium framework. 920 x 17 = 15,640. Three bundles of 5,000 Cryptic Points ($187.50 USD) and one bundle of 1,000 Cryptic Points ($12.50 USD) = 16,000 Cryptic Points ($200.00 USD).
For the purposes of keeping everything organized, I'm not including the cost of freeform character slots in my analysis because they aren't available for purchase for Silver members. Theoretically, it would be 15,640 Cryptic Points*, or $200.00 USD*.
So, let's get down to business:
- Gold lifetime members have 16 character slots. Silver members have 2 character slots. The difference is 14.
- Gold members get 2 free costume slots at levels 15 and 30. Silver members do not.
- Gold members get 13 costume packs free. Silver players must pay separately.
- Gold members get all archetypes, 7 travel powers, and all adventure packs for free. Silver members must pay separately.
- Gold members get 4 inventory slots for every character. Silver players only have 1, and all purchased slots are per-character.
- Gold members have the option of purchasing 4 additional bank slots with in-game currency. Silver players must purchase them with Atari Tokens on a per-character basis.
- Gold members have 100 auction house slots. Silver players have 10, and must buy them on a per-character basis.
- Gold members get 1 free hideout. Silver players must pay separately.
Taking these into account, let's add up the prices listed in the Cryptic Store to get the final Cryptic Point balance necessary to purchase all of these options:
- 14 character slots: 7,850
- 1 account costume slot: 450
- 13 costume packs: 5,320
- 8 archetypes: 7,360
- 7 travel powers: 2,940
- 3 adventure packs: 1,260
- 48 inventory slots: 28,800
- 64 bank slots: 20,480
- 1,440 auction house slots: 28,800
- 1 free hideout: 500
You need 103,760 Cryptic Points to purchase all of the available Gold lifetime benefits. That's 20 bundles of 5,000 Cryptic Points at $62.50 USD each, 1 bundle of 2,000 Cryptic Points for $25.00 USD, 1 bundle of 1,500 Cryptic Points for $18.75 USD, and 1 bundle of 1,000 Cryptic Points for $12.50 USD, which comes to:
$1,306.25 USD
A lifetime Gold subscription is $299.99 USD. It comes with freeform power selection, no advertisements in voice chat, free character slots whenever you get a character to level 40, and 400 Cryptic Points per month, as well as all future archetypes. So, it may seem expensive, but in reality, you're saving 77.034258373205741626794258373206% compared to buying everything separately without a subscription. For anyone who buys a lifetime subscription, it literally paid itself off 67.128752501667778519012675116744 months before you actually bought it.
If you were to subscribe on a per-month basis, the numbers would be slightly different. Gold monthly members only get 8 character slots, versus 16 for lifetime members.
- 6 character slots: 3,360
- 1 account costume slot: 450
- 13 costume packs: 5,320
- 8 archetypes: 7,360
- 7 travel powers: 2,940
- 3 adventure packs: 1,260
- 24 inventory slots: 4,800
- 32 bank slots: 10,240
- 720 auction house slots: 14,400
- 1 free hideout: 500
The total is 50,630 Cryptic Points, 10 bundles of 5,000 for $62.50 USD each, and 1 bundle of 1,000 at $12.50 USD, which comes to:
$637.50 USD
Gold monthly members also get freeform power selection, no advertisements in voice chat, 400 Cryptic Points per month, free character slots whenever you get a character to level 40, and all future archetypes. If the game shut down at any time in the next 42.528352234823215476984656437625 months, you're not losing any money.
Food for thought with risk assessments for wary buyers. Feel free to post comments or questions. I'll try my best to answer them.
* - 24 power frameworks, assuming one archetype per framework. 7 free archetypes. 920 Cryptic Points per premium framework. 920 x 17 = 15,640. Three bundles of 5,000 Cryptic Points ($187.50 USD) and one bundle of 1,000 Cryptic Points ($12.50 USD) = 16,000 Cryptic Points ($200.00 USD).