We are re-assessing the value of the henchmen to ensure they’re appropriately balanced in terms of power and cost. We understand you may be frustrated with this first iteration, but request your patience. As always, the community feedback is heard and given full consideration with this on-going process.
Professor Greyrose, I has been almost 2 months since this issue came up. Apparently there have been some fixes to the henchmen, but the cost is still the same.
I would think that by restoring the original cost to 50 crowns= lvl 50, 60 crowns= lvl 60, and 70 crowns= lvl 70 would generate more income for KI as more players would be able to afford them.
As to how they look, myself, I prefer the human henchmen.
AGREED! The cost of these henchmen is way too high for what they do. I tried several Level 70 ICE henchmen, just to watch them repeatedly waste pips by throwing taunts at the boss (what exactly do these taunts DO anyway?), so they are basically useless. The Level 60 and 70 LIFE henchmen just pretty much sit there and heal themselves about every round, and give you little or no health in return for your money, and their attack spells are rare, so they too are basically useless. Also, WAY too many FIZZLES with these henchmen, for our big bucks (BIG TO US) they should have much better accuracy than they do. You get about one good strong spell right off from them, then it's all passes and lower end spells (when they aren't fizzling or healing themselves). I have a subscription, watch for sales on crowns, have spent a few hundred dollars worth already for what I consider my personal entertainment expense over the year , but lately am thinking that I need to reassess my costs vs. my return. These are a one-time use henchman, at least let them DO something while they are there or make them one-day minions!
Taunt makes the enemies start attacking who casted the taunt.
We are re-assessing the value of the henchmen to ensure they’re appropriately balanced in terms of power and cost. We understand you may be frustrated with this first iteration, but request your patience. As always, the community feedback is heard and given full consideration with this on-going process.
Professor Greyrose, I has been almost 2 months since this issue came up. Apparently there have been some fixes to the henchmen, but the cost is still the same.
I would think that by restoring the original cost to 50 crowns= lvl 50, 60 crowns= lvl 60, and 70 crowns= lvl 70 would generate more income for KI as more players would be able to afford them.
As to how they look, myself, I prefer the human henchmen.
I agree with the OP- because I prefer to solo and my friends aren't in my time-zone, I used henchmen for most of the difficult areas. They were great- hired help that I didn't have to talk to... a soloist's dream come true, really.
But then my computers (yep, both of them) broke, and I came back after 6 months to find that the cost of henchmen has inflated from 60 crowns to 400... I understand trying to make a profit, but this is just insane.
Professor Greyrose, I has been almost 2 months since this issue came up. Apparently there have been some fixes to the henchmen, but the cost is still the same.
I would think that by restoring the original cost to 50 crowns= lvl 50, 60 crowns= lvl 60, and 70 crowns= lvl 70 would generate more income for KI as more players would be able to afford them.
As to how they look, myself, I prefer the human henchmen.
I agree. I prefer the human henchmen too. I think the new overpriced ones look kind of...strange.
I tried out a couple just to see what they'd do. Not cool. Won't be using the higher level ones at all lol. IF I need help...since I solo mostly....I won't be using anything higher than the level 40 life. It's not the same as Rose but it helps somewhat.
I know people love the transformations and things but honestly....I prefer the human ? looking henchmen myself. Just my opinion but I know that the amounts I used to spend on henchmen are now being spent on other things and I'm not talking about the game. Any yes, I know that is my choice and everyone else makes their own.
I agree completely with this forum. My friends often were not online so i got by using the henchman and they worked fine. Then they start charging tenfold the original and became useless. I rarely get crowns, so i know not to waste it on them. KI, I am considering stopping playing at all because i can't afford to get a useful henchman to beat a hard boss in dragonspyre which leaves me stuck with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
I've been playing pretty much solo since I started this game. I've had to use henchmen many times and since these new prices have been around, I've only bought maybe 2 if that. The higher levels are overpriced, period. If it's a matter of lower levels using the higher henchmen, put a level restriction on them. 400 crowns is way too much. 50 for 50, 60 for 60 and 70 for 70.. at the most, add 5 extra each to the 2 highest levels.
I personally have discontinued the use of henchman since they upgraded their looks (feels more like a minion than a henchman), and raised the price to use henchman. The few that I did try did not seem to be as useful as their predecessors.
I know that KI indicated they were reviewing the change in pricing, however they have yet to take any action, or provide an official response to follow up the outcome of their review of these changes.
KI, are you listening to your community? Discussion on popular fansite/forums has been ongoing for months, awaiting your response.
Love the game KI, however when you make changes we do not understand it can have a negative impact on our game experience. We'd like to think your at least listening to us when we bring these circumstances to your attention. The only way we know your listening, is if you respond.
I know that KI indicated they were reviewing the change in pricing, however they have yet to take any action, or provide an official response to follow up the outcome of their review of these changes.
KI never said that.
KI indicated they would review the power in terms of cost. The choices are either lower the price of the henchmen or increase their powers/abilities. They chose to not do both. In other words, players were getting what they are paying for. Nothing was said about only lowering the prices of henchmen.
I can't personally speak for all the henchmen, but the life one was changed in terms of power. According to the update notes, all of them were changed in terms of power. Now they are equal to the 400 crowns you pay for the top of the line henchmen.
"Improved Life Henchmen so that they’re much better healers and will heal others before themselves. Added top ranked level appropriate spells to all Henchmen. Removed many weaker spells from Henchmen. "
It appears that KI is trying to let all of the subjects regarding the Henchmen get buried hoping we will forget about them.
Bad Business KI.
How long before members stop paying and playing because they can't afford hire the henchmen they need to help them with spell quests?
Really? This thread is still on the first page though! o:
Yes Rihanna12. I had to search for it to bring it back. If you will look at the post dates, the last one pryor to my last post was Jan. 21. I posted on the 31st. There was at least one more topic on this issue here on the message boards. Remember the topic "new henchmen" posted by professor Greyrose? It is buried far enough down that it will take several posting on it to bring it back. The unfortunate part is that it will soon be locked.
Now here is another kicker, as many of you know, F2P members are not allowed to post here on the boards, they have tried, but they are posting on the topics I have listed below.
Kingurz, in case you have not noticed, KI is starting to get a little greedy. You look at the cost of the henchmen, then look at the cost of lvl 70 useless crowns gear. What will be next to have the prices raised. You know as well as the majority of us adults that KI is making a killing on just the game alone. Over 20,000,000 members in the U.S alone, not to mention the UK, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, and others to be added this year.
Go to the following links and see what members are saying. This is only 2 of the topics that have popped up on this issue. Others are being buried already.
There are a lot of members that are on a very limited income but manage to pay membership in order for them and/or their kids to have some kind of entertainment. I am one of those members and I know of others.
If I am going to spend anywhere near 400 crowns, it WILL NOT BE ON HENCHMEN. I will buy an occasional hoard pack before I will henchmen. At least with the hoard pack, there will be something that will be there for a long time whether it be a piece of gear, decoration or a pet.
KI has developed the hottest online family oriented game to ever hit the internet. Until ZF was added to the game with the changes on the henchmen and price increase, useless gear, they were very consistant and stable with maintaining the game. Now they have become VERY IN-CONSISTANT AND UNSTABLE.
Not only are the higher level Henchmen a lot more costly, they are about useless! I tried a level 60 Ice and all it did was produce shields for itself and taunt the Baddies. Out of 20 spells cast, only one was an attack!! By far the best Henchman is the level 50 Life. It does what it is supposed to, keep you from dying, and at a cost of 100 crowns is the best buy there. Don't waste money of anything higher!!!!!
Kingurz, in case you have not noticed, KI is starting to get a little greedy. You look at the cost of the henchmen, then look at the cost of lvl 70 useless crowns gear. What will be next to have the prices raised.
No, I didn't notice. But if I jumped as high as the old wizard jump as you do to conclusions, then I might see your point of view. Yes, KI could be getting greedy (why is this the automatic reaction?), but as a maker of a family friendly game, my assumption is the opposite. There are numerous reasons why the prices could have been raised.
KI is funneling Wizard101 profits to fund their second project in the works.
KI is becoming a very large corperation. They might be adding more artists, developers, etc to create more than one world a year. And you can't keep prices consistent if you are adding more people to the payroll.
Maybe the cost of maintainence has risen? Maybe the electric or water bills have increased in Austin, Texas? Maybe server upgrades are in the works? I would much rather have the cost increase be diverted to things like crowns items or henchmen, than to raise the overall cost of monthly subscription or zone prices.
Their are many reasons KI could be justifying cost increase, but I don't automatically assume greed is one of them.
goldendragon18 wrote:
You know as well as the majority of us adults that KI is making a killing on just the game alone. Over 20,000,000 members in the U.S alone, not to mention the UK, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, and others to be added this year.
I don't know that KI is making a killing on this game. I doubt you know that for a fact either. Again, assumptions are not facts. I don't even know what it costs KI to even run the game, so how can I know how much profit they are making? Just because you add more player base doesn't mean there aren't any costs up front to add that new player base. Maybe the recent surge in prices is to pay for new overseas servers or adminstrative costs for Gameforge or other third party retailers to distribute the game in those new or existing markets.
goldendragon18 wrote:
Go to the following links and see what members are saying. This is only 2 of the topics that have popped up on this issue. Others are being buried already.
At the end of the day, KI decided that approx. 40 cents USD is the appropriate amount for level 70 henchmen in terms of their power for the wizard. In Europe, gas companies decided a full tank of gas will cost you around 80 US dollars to fill up. You either pay those fees for the services or you spend your time/money else where to send a real message (car pool, public transport, etc). At least we have the ability to choose lower tier and cheaper henchmen.
The best help a wizard can get is not from an overpriced henchman, but rather a free real-life partner. Yes, there will be numerous replies about how hard it is to get a group together. But this is where the complaints should be. Players should be demanding that dungeons match up players more quickly and easier. Remember, neither a 10 crown henchman nor a 1,000 crown henchman will help you in a dungeon like Helephant.
goldendragon18 wrote:
If I am going to spend anywhere near 400 crowns, it WILL NOT BE ON HENCHMEN. I will buy an occasional hoard pack before I will henchmen. At least with the hoard pack, there will be something that will be there for a long time whether it be a piece of gear, decoration or a pet.
I agree. So why are we arguing about the price of henchmen in this thread? Even 10 crowns isn't worth it. Something can be said about buying virtual goods in the first place, but at least items that stick around for awhile are a little more worth it. We shouldn't be justifying the henchmen in the first place. We should be demanding either more options for grouping or more solo content (in parallel with the group content).
However, that is my perspective. There is quite the audience that loves henchmen and are willing to pay the 400 crowns. It is evident in the fact that the level 70 Storm henchmen is currently a hot seller. So if there are willing buyers, why wouldn't KI continue to sell at that price?
Those of you that are saying the taunt minions are useless: It helps because the enemies would be going after them more than you and then you don't have to worry about dying :D
Kingurz, Your logic just does not tread water. You have stated yourself that you were upset with the increase of price on the changed henchmen and the added level 70 henchmen.
Yes, I have seen some members hire the new henchmen, but I will also bet you that many of them are newer members that are not fully aware of what the henchmen were before the updates with ZF.
I know 40 cents is not a lot but since you can't just buy 40 cents worth of crowns at a time, it is rather useless. When you can afford to keep a few crowns at any given time (2500c = $5.00), it does become a problem for many of us that can't do this just any old time we want to. With the current economy and the millions of jobs lost, do you think that a lot of parents are going to continue buying crowns for their kids to hire henchmen at the current price? No, and I have already seen this posted. That $5 that may have been spent for crowns is now going to help keep food on the table and gas in the family car.
If "PUSH comes to SHOVE", what do you think is going to be the first thing people start shutting down? ANSWER: Their subs to online games then they will move to the next un-necessary accounts.
KI had been fairly consistant with everything until Zafaria was added. NOW, higher prices, useless lvl 70 gear. What's next?
How many henchmen did you hire for your lvl 58 spell quest? What level of henchmen did you use? Would you be willing to hire the same number of henchmen at the same level you used then at the current prices? I doubt it.
As for KI funneling profits to fund their new "Family Oriented Game", that may be true. BUT, with 20,000,000 MEMBERS (keyword) in the U.S. alone even at the lowest yearly rate of approximately $60 a year comes out to $1,200,000,000 a year. This does not include crowns players or the crown purchases of members. Then you add to that the other countries that I have already mentioned that currently have this game available to them, now look at the "New" countries to be added this year. Granted there is the overhead to pay out, but that still does not warrant the increase in henchmen.
There are a lot of us that don't hire henchmen EXCEPT for spell quests. Even though that only happens every 10 levels on the average, I still will not pay that price for them. In fact, the next spell quest may not get done by any of my higher wizards unless I can get the crowns shop to open in time to hire a lvl 40 ONLY.
Kingurz, Your logic just does not tread water. You have stated yourself that you were upset with the increase of price on the changed henchmen and the added level 70 henchmen.
How does my logic not tread water? Yes, I didn't like the increase in price, but I don't automatically assume the reason was because of greed. I'm personally not going to slander a company that provides my entertainment just because I want them to provide a certain service at a cheaper price. If that doesn't make sense to you, I can't explain it anymore.
goldendragon18 wrote:
Yes, I have seen some members hire the new henchmen, but I will also bet you that many of them are newer members that are not fully aware of what the henchmen were before the updates with ZF.
If they are newer members why would they be spending 400 crowns on level 70 henchmen? You have to play this game at least a couple of months to reach level 70 and have to at least seen the 40 crown henchmen in the shop at some point. This logic doesn't tread water. Even if they are returning members from months ago, they had to have noticed the change in appearance of the new henchmen and should queue them to the price and power change too.
goldendragon18 wrote:
I know 40 cents is not a lot but since you can't just buy 40 cents worth of crowns at a time, it is rather useless.
You can't buy 299 or 399 worth of Crowns for the Hoard packs either. Matter of fact, very few items are the exact price you can buy Crowns in multiples of, so what's the arguement here?
goldendragon18 wrote:
With the current economy and the millions of jobs lost, do you think that a lot of parents are going to continue buying crowns for their kids to hire henchmen at the current price? No, and I have already seen this posted. That $5 that may have been spent for crowns is now going to help keep food on the table and gas in the family car.
If "PUSH comes to SHOVE", what do you think is going to be the first thing people start shutting down? ANSWER: Their subs to online games then they will move to the next un-necessary accounts.
I'm sorry but if things are that bad, no family should be spending any money on Wizard101 and should be cancelling subs to online games. If you can't afford food or gas, 400 crown henchmen shouldn't even be on the list as comparable items. Yes, the economy isn't that great. Isn't that more of reason for KI to charge more, given the price to maintain the game will go up? Again, I stand by the fact that Crowns items should be the portion to be subjected to increases, not subscriptions or zone prices.
Also, Wizard101 is a global game. So just because certain parts of America are hurt economically doesn't mean KI has to lower or keep prices low. There are willing and paying customers in the rest of the world.
goldendragon18 wrote:
How many henchmen did you hire for your lvl 58 spell quest? What level of henchmen did you use? Would you be willing to hire the same number of henchmen at the same level you used then at the current prices? I doubt it.
I have never used a henchmen for a 58 spell quest (and I have completed the 58 spell quest for six different wizards). Nor do I use henchmen at all anymore. I've never had to depend on a henchman ever. I used them previously to speed up certain encounters, but minions, shields, blades, and converts have always been what I've needed.
goldendragon18 wrote:
As for KI funneling profits to fund their new "Family Oriented Game", that may be true. BUT, with 20,000,000 MEMBERS (keyword) in the U.S. alone even at the lowest yearly rate of approximately $60 a year comes out to $1,200,000,000 a year. This does not include crowns players or the crown purchases of members. Then you add to that the other countries that I have already mentioned that currently have this game available to them, now look at the "New" countries to be added this year. Granted there is the overhead to pay out, but that still does not warrant the increase in henchmen.
You assume too much. Wizard101 does not have 20 million members, only 20 million registered users or accounts. 20 million accounts does not equal 20 million paying customers. 20 million accounts equals 20 million created accounts for free. If Wizard101 had 20 million subscribed accounts it would be much more popular in mainstream. Of those 20 million accounts I would assume 1/4 are active subscribers, 1/4 or less are crown area purchasers, 1/4 or less are free players that login to just chat or harass other players and the remaining accounts are neglected accounts that players have left in favor of other games.
20 million registered users is their description. No where does it state 20 million members.
At the end of the day, this is KI's game and they set the prices (everyone has the option to participate or not). Everyone is entitled to an opinion on these forums (and many have stated their displeasure with the henchmen prices), but I specifically responded to your posts since you accuse KI of "nefarious" reasons and accuse them of not acknowledging the issue (in which they did, but not to your satisfaction).
I have been playing wiz101 for over a year now. I have chosen to play solo during that time for reasons going back to Everquest, Wow and the game I was most active in; SWG. In all those games I made friends and once the companies made a decision to alter the game so far from its original play style, have lost those friends sadly due to closed accounts.
I do hope that KI will not follow in SOE's footsteps because sadly no matter how much you may think a game will not lose all its subscribers in protest, you are wrong as the players of SWG showed Sony when they radically changed the structure and style of the game. Originally that game was structured to allow for all play styles and seemed as if people would be playing forever. We grew, developed and became like a family and business partners but alas Sony didn't care.
SOE also had millions of subscribers yet that wasn't enough for them, they felt with the change they could also grab the new Nintendo market that was resurfacing. Sadly overnight they destroyed what some players had spent over 3 years developing. And even worse when the players threatened in mass to close accounts, they didn't listen and within 72 hours a game that millions loved was gone, by the time SOE was willing to admit they made a mistake, it was too late. My friends and family were also gone and for that reason I now play solo using the henchmen.
I do have to say as a business owner, it is not wise to inflate prices so high so fast with what seems very little in return for the cost. I must say that the henchmen are way too costly for a 'family' game. Especially since so many parents also play with their kids. Some nights I use as many as 5-6 henchmen. With them costing so much and only lasting one duel, the henchmen are no longer an effective alternative for solo players.
So basically I ask KI to please listen to the community as we are the ones that pay to play and will react when felt we have been delt a bad hand. Not only are the henchmen more expensive, but I have also noticed that packs, especially the new Kirin pack seems to be dealing out alot of snack and primium cards "junk" rather some something useful. This also will discourage players from spending crowns on packs.
In closing please KI all we are asking for is to get a fair return for the money we spend, thus ensuring we have a fun and enjoyable game to continue playing. Don't end up in the trash pile with so many star war accounts.
I really don't understand the issue with henchmen. In over 2 years of daily game play in which I primarily solo, I have never, ever purchased a henchman. Ever.
I have been playing wiz101 for over a year now. I have chosen to play solo during that time for reasons going back to Everquest, Wow and the game I was most active in; SWG. In all those games I made friends and once the companies made a decision to alter the game so far from its original play style, have lost those friends sadly due to closed accounts.
I do hope that KI will not follow in SOE's footsteps because sadly no matter how much you may think a game will not lose all its subscribers in protest, you are wrong as the players of SWG showed Sony when they radically changed the structure and style of the game. Originally that game was structured to allow for all play styles and seemed as if people would be playing forever. We grew, developed and became like a family and business partners but alas Sony didn't care.
SOE also had millions of subscribers yet that wasn't enough for them, they felt with the change they could also grab the new Nintendo market that was resurfacing. Sadly overnight they destroyed what some players had spent over 3 years developing. And even worse when the players threatened in mass to close accounts, they didn't listen and within 72 hours a game that millions loved was gone, by the time SOE was willing to admit they made a mistake, it was too late. My friends and family were also gone and for that reason I now play solo using the henchmen.
I do have to say as a business owner, it is not wise to inflate prices so high so fast with what seems very little in return for the cost. I must say that the henchmen are way too costly for a 'family' game. Especially since so many parents also play with their kids. Some nights I use as many as 5-6 henchmen. With them costing so much and only lasting one duel, the henchmen are no longer an effective alternative for solo players.
So basically I ask KI to please listen to the community as we are the ones that pay to play and will react when felt we have been delt a bad hand. Not only are the henchmen more expensive, but I have also noticed that packs, especially the new Kirin pack seems to be dealing out alot of snack and primium cards "junk" rather some something useful. This also will discourage players from spending crowns on packs.
In closing please KI all we are asking for is to get a fair return for the money we spend, thus ensuring we have a fun and enjoyable game to continue playing. Don't end up in the trash pile with so many star war accounts.
thank you :)
So true. I have warned them in multiple threads of this very thing,and with SOE examples. So far they have ignored every message with no response.
