[Monetization Business Suggestion] Allow us to increase the ARX cap

[CatchingPhoenix]

Hello, I am able to hit my weekly cap in about 5 hours of gameplay, and I regularly put much more time in than that.

I believe a monthly subscription of $5.99 to increase the weekly limit to 3000 ARX is a more than fair exchange rate. To sweeten the deal, you can also add a multiplier with this "battle pass" model so players earn even faster. I have an issue with buying ARX because it feels like I'm lessening the value of the liveries, but I'm also impatient and don't want to play for weeks on end to build up 10,000 ARX. By allowing us to pay to earn more ARX, you get more money for your bottom line, and we get to feel like we are benefiting from longer play time over a shorter time window.

It is still not pay to win, but it doesn't feel like directly purchasing a skin. I believe this will capture a market segment that FDEV is missing out on and will be worth the minimal investment. I'm currently massively outpacing my accumulation of ARX with my expanding fleet, and would like to be able to paint these ships.

Changelog:
-Increased the asking exchange to 3000 ARX to better reflect the added value of the subscription on top of the 400 ARX you could already earn.

 

[metatheurgist]

Essentially you're asking for a discount on arx. In all the time it's been around Frontier have never had a discount on arx. Incidentally, you can double your arx by playing live and legacy.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

I believe a monthly subscription of $5.99 to increase the weekly limit to 2500 ARX is a more than fair exchange rate.

That's probably true, since if you just saved up that money for just over six months and paid for the $37.99 pack you'd end up with more ARX, even if you rigorously met the new cap every single week.

I can't see "it's a more expensive way to get ARX and you have to spend more time in game doing ARX-heavy stuff or it gets really expensive" being a popular enough offer for Frontier to bother with, though.

 

[aRJay]

No.

Especially no to subscriptions of any sort.

 

[CatchingPhoenix]

That's probably true, since if you just saved up that money for just over six months and paid for the $37.99 pack you'd end up with more ARX, even if you rigorously met the new cap every single week.

I can't see "it's a more expensive way to get ARX and you have to spend more time in game doing ARX-heavy stuff or it gets really expensive" being a popular enough offer for Frontier to bother with, though.

6 months at 2500 per week is 60,000. The $37.99 pack is 51,000. My price is ultimately a suggestion. They have their internal demand metrics, and there is a line where they can optimize a missing market segment with this. I just wanted to say what I thought was fair and where I would pay for it.

Obviously, the lower you set the line, the more people will buy. $5.99 is just my entry point. Offering further discounts by paying up front (6-month or annual) would also help that number.

 

[CatchingPhoenix]

No.

Especially no to subscriptions of any sort.

That's totally fine. You are an example of someone not in the targeted market segment of my idea, and there is nothing wrong with that.

IMO, as long as nothing is hidden behind the subscription like a true battle pass, then I see no real reason to be against it existing. If someone doesn't play enough for it to be valuable to them, then they shouldn't waste their money.

I'm asking for a new way to support the development of a live service game that I love, without feeling like I'm buying Robux again, like I did when I was a child. That just feels cheap to me. Maybe I'm totally alone in feeling that way, but I'd never know if I didn't make a post about it.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

6 months at 2500 per week is 60,000. The $37.99 pack is 51,000.

You're only getting 2100 extra a week, though. So that's got you down to just 50,400 if you absolutely maximise your ARX earnings every single week for six months in a row.

They have their internal demand metrics, and there is a line where they can optimize a missing market segment with this.

Given how little money (as a proportion of total ED earnings) comes from ARX at all, I don't expect that they consider it at all worth optimising to that extent exactly how the people already willing to buy substantial amounts of ARX pay them, compared with widening their variety of things they can sell for it.

 

[CatchingPhoenix]

You're only getting 2100 extra a week, though.

That is a great point. I'm revising my original post to 3000/week.

Given how little money (as a proportion of total ED earnings) comes from ARX at all, I don't expect that they consider it at all worth optimising to that extent exactly how the people already willing to buy substantial amounts of ARX pay them, compared with widening their variety of things they can sell for it.

Except that they've published that the prefab offers have helped their bottom line tremendously and allowed them to start developing more content to add to the game. People are willing to buy ARX, just not as much for the cosmetics. The early access seems to be good for them, and I'm not going to lie, I almost bought the fancy Mandalay, because that kit was gorgeous. Once again, though, I want to EARN my in-game items.

(Also, while we are on the topic, FDEV please lower the cost of the dashboard items massively. They are horribly overpriced at 10k per for some.)

 

[Dillon Fallon]

So this would give me the potential of earning 156000 Arx in a year. The first problem I see is that there's not enough in the store to my liking to get me to spend that amount. I've already bought the stuff I want (except a chrome FdL paint, but FDev don't want me to buy that) so future purchases aren't going to be made until there's more stuff in there.

 

[KRISXR]

Oh my gosh, no, why do players keep posting this stuff? There's a ton of threads over the last 6 months that have shown the thoughts of the player base and their reasons. It's starting to seem like an attack of the shills. I like to own when I make purchase, I throw up a bit every time I hear subscription. And no, I don't have any subscription services, I broke those chains 4 years ago. Why would I want to keep paying for something I don't own? You want to own some arx? Save your money and buy some when you see something you like.

 

[DemiserofD]

For me, earning the ARX is part of the joy of having it. I have rarely bought any, usually only for limited time deals like an anniversary paint job. I would very much enjoy an idea like this though, because it would basically reward me constantly for playing the game, something which currently diminishes a bit after you earn your 400 weekly ARX.

 

[Nidoboros]

While I generally hate subscription systems, this idea as an addition to the current arx buying, as opposed to being a replacement for it, could be a neat idea to help encourage players to stay in order for line to go up (arx to increase). As long as it is very much opt-in, sure why not.