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Wizard City - Free to play

AuthorMessage
Survivor
May 13, 2011
1
hello guys. I would like to make a suggesrion that I think would bring quite a few more players to the game which would be great because as well all know... Wizard101 has been at quite a halt for some time and we aren't had that many new players come and stay. So I propose the idea that we make all of Wizard City free to play. I know there would be pros and cons to this but overall I think it would bring in a lot of new players, which means new memberships (or crown purchases) which would bring more financial support to kingsisle. If you're still not sold on the idea then let me give you some reasons why this could be helpful.
1) many new players quit playing after that finish the free parts because they don't want to pay for membership. If you make the whole first world free then they would have a lot more to play and a lot more of the game to fall in love with. It is kind of frustrating for new players to find out they can only play 2 streets before having to pay.
2) It would leave it at a good place. Having to pay to go to Krok would be good because you want to know what happens next. You know just enough that you are interested in the plot and too little to really be satisfied leaving the game. So I think more people would buy memberships because they are so interested in finding out the rest of story.
3) In the end I think it would bring in more money. I know that making something free sounds like less income but I think that it would make the game a lot better and allow a lot of new players to come and enjoy it enough to want to buy a membership.
As a veteran player, it is sad to see this community becoming less and less. So we all need to band together as a community and get Wizard101 back again. And I think that this would be a great start to widening our community and bringing many new players in. Thank you for reading and listening to my idea. I am hoping Kingsisle will see this and consider what I have had to say on the topic. I don't know all of the details of course about how kingsisle is doing as a company or if this would even be possible or if it even is a good choice but in the eyes of a layer it is a step in the right direction to making Wizard101 back to what it used to be.
Thank you,
Alyssa SummerHeart

Explorer
Dec 30, 2013
92
I completely agree with all that's been said.

One may think "ah, but they will lose money from possible purchases of areas in Wizard City", well it's just a matter of investing in something that would definitely bring financial return.

As it has been explained, when the player has a chance to play the entire content of the first world, there's a higher chance they could be in love with the game and would need to buy either a membership or crowns to continue their adventure.

Finishing Wizard City gives the player a couple of new spells and things to consider, it will be so much easier for them to want to keep on playing.

I confess I just kept on playing because of a friend of mine who was higher level, she convinced me to pay a membership to keep on, but what if I didn't have her at that time? The initial content sure wasn't responsible to keep me entertained and interested in continuing.

I do believe this is actual a good idea that should be taken into account.

Survivor
Aug 04, 2017
2
Veteran or not, you have no idea of how many players "come and stay". And I think it's clear the number of players sticking with the game is reasonable, seeing as though the team behind Wizard101 has continued to improve said game over the years, almost a decade if not more.

In my opinion, opening Wizard City seems unnecessary. Don't overthink this; the game is hinging on users to pay. They're supposed to 'tease' players in purchasing so they can access more of the game's content. This is the nature of the game (which is not bad, I don't mind throwing in a couple of bucks for membership).

The game needs paying customers. There's a reason why they're able to continue updating this game. You have to think this through if you want to open as much as a world for users who don't do anything for the developers of said game. Triton Avenue and Unicorn City are perfect places, and should completely be enough to give you a decision on whether or not to progress with the game. It's unnecessary.

Defender
Apr 03, 2016
120
lyssirv13 on Aug 11, 2017 wrote:
hello guys. I would like to make a suggesrion that I think would bring quite a few more players to the game which would be great because as well all know... Wizard101 has been at quite a halt for some time and we aren't had that many new players come and stay. So I propose the idea that we make all of Wizard City free to play. I know there would be pros and cons to this but overall I think it would bring in a lot of new players, which means new memberships (or crown purchases) which would bring more financial support to kingsisle. If you're still not sold on the idea then let me give you some reasons why this could be helpful.
1) many new players quit playing after that finish the free parts because they don't want to pay for membership. If you make the whole first world free then they would have a lot more to play and a lot more of the game to fall in love with. It is kind of frustrating for new players to find out they can only play 2 streets before having to pay.
2) It would leave it at a good place. Having to pay to go to Krok would be good because you want to know what happens next. You know just enough that you are interested in the plot and too little to really be satisfied leaving the game. So I think more people would buy memberships because they are so interested in finding out the rest of story.
3) In the end I think it would bring in more money. I know that making something free sounds like less income but I think that it would make the game a lot better and allow a lot of new players to come and enjoy it enough to want to buy a membership.
As a veteran player, it is sad to see this community becoming less and less. So we all need to band together as a community and get Wizard101 back again. And I think that this would be a great start to widening our community and bringing many new players in. Thank you for reading and listening to my idea. I am hoping Kingsisle will see this and consider what I have had to say on the topic. I don't know all of the details of course about how kingsisle is doing as a company or if this would even be possible or if it even is a good choice but in the eyes of a layer it is a step in the right direction to making Wizard101 back to what it used to be.
Thank you,
Alyssa SummerHeart
I disagree. If kingsisle makes all of wizard city free People will be yelling at them to make krokotopia free and more Kingsisle did a great job putting the game to a halt. and I don't think they should change that.

Astrologist
Aug 23, 2016
1059
There are arguments to be made both ways. Only KI knows the actual numbers of start-up players that remain vs ones that leave.

Obviously the level of current monthly subscribers is high enough to justify the development of new content.

I would ask KI when considering this suggestion to look at the percentage of the game that is free to play vs. the percentage of the game that was free to play when W101 first started. It might be a very good idea to open up all of Wizard City as a Free to play area if the drop off of new players to actual paying Wizards is higher than it has been in years past.

Steven Ghoststalker
72

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
My overall thought on WC being F2P is this:

IF it were to happen, it should be storyline quests only. This way, when they purchase the game, whichever way, they get expanded play in WC as well as the rest of the worlds. Things like the Smiths quest, halloween events, etc should be after you pay for the game. However, anything that is level locked to a level obtainable from WC only, SHOULD be allowed to be played. So, for example, that lowest Halloween Tower in Ravenwood should be able to be played

I think that there should be a new F2P quest added, which when finished, give you access to only ONE of the secondary aspects (gardening, pets, fishing, monstrology OR crafting) of your choosing. This tells people that if they buy membership, they get access to 3 more non-combat skills. Let's face it, early on, only pet training is really worth it for a new wizard. Fishing doesnt yield enough of a return to bother, crafting only matters for a little bit in the middle of the game for the most part, and gardening, while highly valuable, is capped at what you can do based off of the low rank spells and lack of energy.

Defender
Apr 03, 2016
120
dayerider on Aug 12, 2017 wrote:
My overall thought on WC being F2P is this:

IF it were to happen, it should be storyline quests only. This way, when they purchase the game, whichever way, they get expanded play in WC as well as the rest of the worlds. Things like the Smiths quest, halloween events, etc should be after you pay for the game. However, anything that is level locked to a level obtainable from WC only, SHOULD be allowed to be played. So, for example, that lowest Halloween Tower in Ravenwood should be able to be played

I think that there should be a new F2P quest added, which when finished, give you access to only ONE of the secondary aspects (gardening, pets, fishing, monstrology OR crafting) of your choosing. This tells people that if they buy membership, they get access to 3 more non-combat skills. Let's face it, early on, only pet training is really worth it for a new wizard. Fishing doesnt yield enough of a return to bother, crafting only matters for a little bit in the middle of the game for the most part, and gardening, while highly valuable, is capped at what you can do based off of the low rank spells and lack of energy.
Wow! Great Idea! I totally Agree!

Survivor
Dec 22, 2012
30
It makes sense what you are saying but what if they unlocked the three streets and all that but actually gave us some more freedom to go to like Zafaria or Dragonspyre or another world without so many buys with crowns because it gets annoying having to go online and getting crowns and so on and so forth so yeah, It would be nice.

Explorer
Jun 27, 2015
50
pops648 on Aug 20, 2017 wrote:
It makes sense what you are saying but what if they unlocked the three streets and all that but actually gave us some more freedom to go to like Zafaria or Dragonspyre or another world without so many buys with crowns because it gets annoying having to go online and getting crowns and so on and so forth so yeah, It would be nice.
That's why you get Membership. It's optional to buy the areas with Crowns but obviously Membership is more meant for that where Crowns are more like a thing to buy some extra loot in the Crown Shop.

Astrologist
Feb 28, 2014
1113
I can agree on this idea. Open the other 3 storyline areas and/or open all Side Quests free to play will give new players a better chance to decide if they will like the game well enough to buy a membership.

Delver
Jun 14, 2010
214
I personally think with now what fifteen individual worlds? I think Wizard City should open up a bit, not completely, just a little bit more.

I think that Cyclops Lane, and Fire Cat Alley should be opened up as Free to Play while everything within Colossus Boulevard, Crab Alley, Nightside, and Lord Nightshade's Tower should remain or become locked to free to play players. Maybe do a revamp of the Wizard City storyline, like they did in the start of Pirate101 when you first get to Blood Shoals.

This way new players can see and do most of Wizard City storyline, then once they complete the three streets. They can decide if they actually like/ want to continue playing the game before they invest their time and money in it. Then say you cut the free to play content at Sapphyra's Tower, where we start to reach the climax of the Wizard City storyline. Sapphyra's Tower is kind of where the anticipation begins to build, the key to solving to the mystery is just within it and the final battle of the Wizard City Storyline quickly follows suit.

Locking the content there could work as incentive for a new player to purchase crowns or a membership to finish the storyline in Wizard City.

There's still a fair amount of fun to be had in Wizard City after Sapphyra's Tower. Player's with enough crowns or a membership would be able to enter Sapphyra's Tower, enter Lore Nightshade's Tower, enter Nightside, play through Sunken City, explore Colossus Boulevard and Crab Alley. Once they're a high enough level they can do Aquila and Darkmoor, participate in ranked pvp, and so on. And once Nightshade is defeated they have another fourteen and half-ish worlds to see and explore.

Survivor
Oct 04, 2009
20
The Lore Keeper on Aug 21, 2017 wrote:
I personally think with now what fifteen individual worlds? I think Wizard City should open up a bit, not completely, just a little bit more.

I think that Cyclops Lane, and Fire Cat Alley should be opened up as Free to Play while everything within Colossus Boulevard, Crab Alley, Nightside, and Lord Nightshade's Tower should remain or become locked to free to play players. Maybe do a revamp of the Wizard City storyline, like they did in the start of Pirate101 when you first get to Blood Shoals.

This way new players can see and do most of Wizard City storyline, then once they complete the three streets. They can decide if they actually like/ want to continue playing the game before they invest their time and money in it. Then say you cut the free to play content at Sapphyra's Tower, where we start to reach the climax of the Wizard City storyline. Sapphyra's Tower is kind of where the anticipation begins to build, the key to solving to the mystery is just within it and the final battle of the Wizard City Storyline quickly follows suit.

Locking the content there could work as incentive for a new player to purchase crowns or a membership to finish the storyline in Wizard City.

There's still a fair amount of fun to be had in Wizard City after Sapphyra's Tower. Player's with enough crowns or a membership would be able to enter Sapphyra's Tower, enter Lore Nightshade's Tower, enter Nightside, play through Sunken City, explore Colossus Boulevard and Crab Alley. Once they're a high enough level they can do Aquila and Darkmoor, participate in ranked pvp, and so on. And once Nightshade is defeated they have another fourteen and half-ish worlds to see and explore.
I think that's probably the best idea on this page, so the entire world isn't opened up, but a good bit is. It opens the game up enough for the people to get interested without giving them the satisfaction of almost finishing the game or an entire world even. It'll help keep them playing which would earn them a lot of new players.

It is sad though to see that this game has slowly lost the massive amount of players it had in it's earlier days. I remember it being very full in a lot of the places you visited. Now it is much less full, still just as fun as it used to be though!

Delver
Jul 05, 2014
227
I think this is a great idea! I feel like it makes sense if Wizard City is free because when they give you the key to Krokotopia, you'll really want to get a membership to experience a whole new world, and fun quests!

Astrologist
Aug 23, 2016
1059
Without repeating myself,

I think a good argument can be made for implementing a lot of the ideas in this thread and make most of Wizard City a Free-to-play area. Doing that and a push for the 10th anniversary could revitalize interest in the game.

Steven Ghoststalker
73

Survivor
Feb 13, 2015
8
HORRIBLE IDEA kingsisle would lose their money and kingsisle needs it to buy stuff like a new monitor or something so they can update their game so if they make it free they will defenitely lose a lot of money and they have lives they need money for food just be greatful triton avenue,unicorn way,commons,ravenwood,and old town you can go there without paying money i have been playing wizard for a while with no membership and i never got tired of making new accounts as long as i knew kingsisle was updating the game buying food and stuff they need.

Astrologist
Feb 28, 2014
1113
kaiden123466 on Sep 27, 2017 wrote:
HORRIBLE IDEA kingsisle would lose their money and kingsisle needs it to buy stuff like a new monitor or something so they can update their game so if they make it free they will defenitely lose a lot of money and they have lives they need money for food just be greatful triton avenue,unicorn way,commons,ravenwood,and old town you can go there without paying money i have been playing wizard for a while with no membership and i never got tired of making new accounts as long as i knew kingsisle was updating the game buying food and stuff they need.
Only KI knows how much money they'll lose if any and what they need to make Wizard City more free to play.