Please offer the option to buy only alts

[Nekratal]

Currently buying an alt character gives the base character at the same time.

I already have the base character but still have to pay the full price for alt+base.

 

I am bothered by this as it punishes me for buying the original chars as I get a lot more value by buying the alts when I do not already have the base ones.

 

Please offer an alt bundle with only alts that requires you to have the base ones for a cheaper price and it would make sense to do this for the single ones too.

Instead a savage Lini alt that includes the base we should have base, alt and a bundle of both. While the bundle would still offer more value for a new player, old supporters wouldn't feel so cheated.

[Slide87]

+1 to this,especially for Who already has the original chars

[Lorddax]

I would second this. I have the bundle so give me another bundle to purchase all the alt skins for a lump sum, I'd pay 20-40 for it. Or let me buy the existing bundles but at a discount cuz I already have the chars.

[HPL_fan]

+1 for this.  I have bought most everything except for the last bundle because it was a similar situation.  I shouldn't have to pay twice for the same character just to get the alt version.

[StormbringerGT]

I believe the way the pricing scheme works for this, is that is the price for the alt. We grant you the base character as a bonus. A lot of people actually buy the character piecemeal.

That being said, yes please keep providing feedback. We are obviously very very new to developing a mobile game with transactions, we listen to and take all feedback into account.

[jumpthegun]

See when companies advertise "Free shipping" while charging 20% more than what the product is worth.. it's not actually free.

[Effusion]

As a new player I would like it a lot more if I could buy the base character and then upgrade to the alt version later if I like them. The current system makes me hesitant to pick up any of the base characters because that money/gold will just be going to waste if I want the alt version later.

[kdl88]

I get the free base throw in, but what about a person like me who bought all the original characters. Now if I buy an alt, it's $10 but the person who didn't buy the character add ons are getting the same alt, but the base character as well. So it feels a little like I'm being punished for buying the character add on up front. You can already buy the character add ons separately so why not offer the alts separately but at a lower price?

[jumpthegun]

Very questionable design decisions indeed.

[Ryballs]

+1 I love Pathfinder Adventures. I put more money/time into it than any other Android game I own and continue to do so. I also understand why you've bundled the original character with their alt. However you should still discount the alt for loyal customers for myself who have paid for the base characters already. It really gives me little incentive to buy alts otherwise as I feel I'm getting less value by doing so.

[Sines314]

I believe the way the pricing scheme works for this, is that is the price for the alt. We grant you the base character as a bonus. A lot of people actually buy the character piecemeal.

 

That being said, yes please keep providing feedback. We are obviously very very new to developing a mobile game with transactions, we listen to and take all feedback into account.

 

I fully understand this logic, and it does make sense, however this is one of those weird cases where the customer would actually be happy with less. If you had just sold the alts at their current price, without the base champion, people might complain about how expensive they were, but they wouldn't feel punished for purchasing the alt after they bought the base champion. Now, if you were to remove the base champion without lowering the price, people would feel like you were selling less for the same price, even though they would have been (relatively) happy with the price as it was if that's how you released it.

 

So now you should probably start selling 'un-bundled' alts for ~1000 gold less to make people happy, whereas if you sold them at their current 6/7k prices without the base character originally, people would be about as happy.

 

As a further consideration, offering only the 'bundle' can result in people buying neither. If it weren't for the 'always bundled' alts, I probably would have purchased a couple more champions and started a second team already. However, now I'm wondering if I shouldn't wait for the full deal instead. Given how much more the alts cost, this desire to get everything could delay me from purchasing the characters indefinitely. However, if the alts cost their current price without the extra champion bundled, then I'd buy up the base ones right now, and maybe even consider spending money on the alts (more buying specials and gold, rather than the 2 alt-bundles themselves). But right now, I'm kind of in a decision limbo.

 

Again, somewhat ironically, it doesn't help the situation that I believe you guys when you say you're taking on our advice. Sure, I could purchase the New Years bundle and get Seoni and Harsk (who are the most interesting alts I don't have the base character of), but maybe I'd be better off waiting until I see some turn-around on this? Perhaps there will be an option to buy several alts (without the base character) for $10? I know this information isn't super helpful, and that it can make it seem like a bad idea to listen to us, because then it sets up expectations that themselves cause problems. It's a bit of a catch-22. However, I guess the one lesson to learn on something like this is to not leave things hanging for too long. Don't rush to a decision, but don't let players await better deals for so long they just stop playing. "Take your time, but hurry it up" as my grandfather used to say.

 

Right now, I'm still finishing up my first run. If the alt situation were a bit more clean cut (without expensive bundles), I'd probably already be running a second part right now. However, I've decided to just finish up the first run itself, and then figure out what I'll want to do for a second party, and whether or not I want to buy alts. If there is still some kind of special (like the New Years offer) out when I get to that point, I'll likely pick it up to get some alts, even if the price isn't great. However, if that special offer is off the table, then there is a good chance that I'll just put down the game for a while and keep an eye out for a more equitable deal, and not only not buy something now, but be unavailable for making impulse purchases later.

 

As always, when criticizing a games financial model, I like to clarify that I enjoy the game, and fully respect your need to make a living. I just want to ensure as good a relationship as possible between business and customer, and ensure the product does well and that the business gets a good lifetime and ROI for the good work put into the product. As I said before, I still get depressed when I think about AErena, a fabulous game whose financial model failed it. I don't think this game is quite at risk as that one, as it's not a PvP title, but still. There's a lot of potential for Obsidian to build off of here, and I'd like to see that potential fulfilled, even if it leaves my wallet a little less fulfilled :D

Edited January 5, 2017 by Sines314

[mandallaz]

+1.

I bought the full package once. I will not repay the full price just to unlock the alt.

Please sell a alt bundle.

[TheSapient]

Isn't it too late to offer alt-only pricing?  Would that not annoy those most loyal supporters who already bought the full game and one or more alts?  

 

I personally have purchased the full game bundle, several daily gold subscriptions, and a handful of other specials.  I think the alts are much too expensive.  Give me all of them for $20, and I'd be all over it.  That said, I don't think they should discount the alts so soon after releasing their original pricing.  It would be unfair to the customers who most love, and are willing to pay for, content.

[HPL_fan]

I think changing the pricing now is not unprecedented - it's actually normal business.  For movies you go to a theater, then by online, then buy the Blu-ray, then rent online.  Things get cheaper according to a distribution schedule.  This is a similar case.  Early adopters pay a premium, late adopters get a discounted price after others already have the item.

[Hannibal_PJV]

True. There is always shifts in the prices.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Hannibal_PJV

[TheSapient]

I think changing the pricing now is not unprecedented - it's actually normal business.  For movies you go to a theater, then by online, then buy the Blu-ray, then rent online.  Things get cheaper according to a distribution schedule.  This is a similar case.  Early adopters pay a premium, late adopters get a discounted price after others already have the item.

 

I'm sure that is true. But I think it is too early (and too late) for a significant price drop.  We are just over 2 weeks out from the release of these things. Who would buy anything at the original prices moving forward if they knew they just had to wait a couple weeks?    They needed to start with a lower price point, or need to wait for enough time to go by where people feel like it was worth buying in early.

[Raddpuppyguest]

I'm sure if they reduced alt prices at this point in time there would be some major incentive for those whose already purchased such as a partial gold refund per alt.

 

I'd guess it would be more than the discount to reward ( rather than punish) early adopters.