I'm very concerned about the fact that, for roughly the same amount of money in the end, Crown Players get to keep the areas they unlocked forever. Whereas subscribers lose all access if they choose to end their subscription.
I guess it depends on the deal you got when you subscribed, but I'm paying $9.95 per month, so $120.00 a year.
For my $120.00 a year (which will be $240.00 total after another year, and a whopping $360.00 if I play a third year), if I decide to stop paying, I get nothing... I lose access to everything but the free areas of Wizard City. Yet, the Crown Player can decide to stop playing anytime and will always have access to the areas they paid for. How is this fair?
In the end, the long term success of this game will depend on the subscription players... the people who are committed to paying a fixed fee every month for a year, and who are enticed enough to re-new that subscription when their year is up.
I know I will be very unlikely to want to committ another $120.00 next year unless I am getting something pretty fantastic for that money, above what Crown Players are getting for their money. And, right now, it is TERRIBLY unbalanced.
KI currently has the subscription price at $60 a year which is really nice! But I personally feel if I pay for a subscription, the areas that my character goes should get to keep those areas. If I never go to Grizzleheim and end my subscription then I wouldn't have access to Grizzleheim.
I agree with you 110%..i have been asking everyone what the perks of being a subscriber are..and no one seems to give a good answer..my subscription ends next April..sadly i will have access to NO where :( but since we love playing the game..we are just going to buy crowns intead of subscribing ;) Lucky you are paying monthly..i paid for the year..so i have to wait : You still have the chance to buy crowns and get access to these places forever
Subscribers have access to all areas of the game, plus these bonuses: Free access to Ranked Player vs Player. Early access to new content. Access to post on the message boards. Special promotional offers. Access to 18+ Chat with validated Credit Card on file.
I am not gonna argue this point because my friends who have paid for areas with crowns said it started out as an endless access but has recently been changed and now have a time limit.
Subscribers have access to all areas of the game, plus these bonuses: Free access to Ranked Player vs Player. Early access to new content. Access to post on the message boards. Special promotional offers. Access to 18+ Chat with validated Credit Card on file.
I am not gonna argue this point because my friends who have paid for areas with crowns said it started out as an endless access but has recently been changed and now have a time limit.
You may want to research that option.
if there is a time limit for crowns then yea, subscription is a much better option..but i have not heard that..all i heard is that when you purchace with crowns you have access to it FOREVER
KI is a business and as a business they have to make money. If subscribers (and I am a subscriber -- two accounts, one for me and one for my son), got to keep access to whatever areas their wizard entered, how could KI stay in business? Everyone would just opt out after the first year, KI would go out of business, and no more W101 for us.
I think the subscription rates are reasonable compared to the other online games.
You are completely correct! If I get a subscription for $10 a month, that is $120 a year (like you said).
But what if I dont play the game for an entire month? I still am paying for areas that I dont have. If I unlock areas with crowns, i could unlock 2 areas for just 5 bucks (2500 crowns for $5, and each area is 1200 crowns). If you dont play Wizard101 very often (like me) then you would see that you could unlock just as many areas as you would normally do, but you would pay lots less. Normally, I unlock about one world per 2 months. Every world has about 6-8 different areas that you need to buy with crowns. If you do the math, that equals about $15-$20 per month. It costs a little less, and you get to keep the area forever.
You still have the chance to buy crowns and get access to these places forever
Yeah, but the trouble with that is I've already paid almost the whole $120.00 (my year is up in Oct.), and I would have to go back and buy the areas I've already been to. In other words, that $120.00 would have been for nothing. :(
Quantize wrote:
From the website:
Subscriber Benefits
Subscribers have access to all areas of the game, plus these bonuses:
Free access to Ranked Player vs Player. Early access to new content. Access to post on the message boards. Special promotional offers. Access to 18+ Chat with validated Credit Card on file.
Also from the website:
Pay by Area with Crowns
• Access to all purchased areas • Access to all purchased worlds • Access to purchased PVP tournaments • Access to unreleased content if purchase made in the last 30 days. • Special promotional offers.
PLUS you get to keep your purchased areas for as long as you own the account.
So, all you're getting as a subscriber above what a CP gets is open access to all areas/worlds (once you've acheived proper level), access to the message board and 18+ chat. That's hardly equal to getting to have eternal access to the areas you've already unlocked.
Admittedly, if you have a Family Account with sub-accounts, subscription is still definitely better (because the pay as you go does not carry over to sub accounts). But, for people who have only the one account, it's kind of a gyp.
Sojourna wrote:
I am not gonna argue this point because my friends who have paid for areas with crowns said it started out as an endless access but has recently been changed and now have a time limit.
You may want to research that option.
Thanks for the heads up, although the website is still advertising unlimited access, and I don't think they can reasonably take away the endless access to people who already purchased those areas with "endless access" as an option. They could have a pretty big lawsuit on their hands, if that's the case.
This is incorrect young Wizard. We have not placed time limits on areas purchased with Crowns. Once you buy an area with Crowns, you can access it with all characters on that account login, forever.
If someone you knew was unable to access an area that they purchased, please have them immediately contact customer support. Mr Lincoln can make sure that they have indeed purchased the area in question, and look into why they were unable to enter it at that time. It could have been something as simple as the area was full or was offline. Sometimes an area will give you the message that "That area is not available at this time" and it means that there are so many players in that area, that we simply cannot fit any more, but waiting a few minutes and trying again usually works.
Again, please have your friends contact Mr Lincoln immediately using the Help & Support tab on the left.
Sojourna wrote:
I am not gonna argue this point because my friends who have paid for areas with crowns said it started out as an endless access but has recently been changed and now have a time limit.
You are completely correct! If I get a subscription for $10 a month, that is $120 a year (like you said).
But what if I dont play the game for an entire month? I still am paying for areas that I dont have. If I unlock areas with crowns, i could unlock 2 areas for just 5 bucks (2500 crowns for $5, and each area is 1200 crowns). If you dont play Wizard101 very often (like me) then you would see that you could unlock just as many areas as you would normally do, but you would pay lots less. Normally, I unlock about one world per 2 months. Every world has about 6-8 different areas that you need to buy with crowns. If you do the math, that equals about $15-$20 per month. It costs a little less, and you get to keep the area forever.
guess that's where I benefit from it..i have 4members on my account(family plan) and we play everyday..and benefit from having access to any area ;)
i agree. if crown players get the same benefits the cost should be the same . if subscribers got something for logging in it would be a little more fair
i wonder if it is cheaper just to buy each area, let's see there are only four outside of wiz city and the other wiz city areas aren't needed by me any more. But even if I added three more areas if they are one time payments I can just play as long as I like without ever thinking about a subscription.
: 
