I'll be upfront and honest. I vowed to never pay a monthly rate for a game again. Then I tried RIFT, found out I didn't like it and I didn't have nearly the time to commit to it.

I work a lot of hours, and I really don't have the time, or the money, to commit to playing a video game and paying monthly for it. But I've read some really great stuff about this, and if I paid for 6 months, $60 isn't really that big of a deal. But, I've been waiting for Diablo 3 for a long time now, and despite any opinions about that game here, I'm likely to spend a TON of my free time playing that.

So here's my question, and I'm certainly not trying to troll:

Is this game worth paying a subscription monthly while being a very part time player?

I'm beyond intrigued by the battle system, the class system and more. But I'd like honest opinions. The fact that I'm posting this means that this game definitely caught my eye.

Thanks for any and all opinions, I appreciate it.

MM...if 60 bucks is no big deal, then whats another 15? But if you buy it for 60, doesn't that include 30 days ? I may be wrong there...but??

I preordered...and honestly, I'm still on the fence about wherther to stay or not. Since I'm subbed on another game already. Was leaning towards GW2 since its would be a one-time purchase...but the combat system here is insidious. I play my current game and find myself thinking about this one.

So, I think its defintely worth a try.

Raph

I didn't mean the initial game cost, Raph. I meant a 6 month sub. (I would go with 6 because 3 is too short with D3 on the horizon, I probably wouldn't get a good amount of hours played) and 12 may be too long if I don't like it. I guess the initial cost of $60 plys another $60 for a game I don't play often is scaring me a bit. I don't have a ton of money to just throw around, but still, $120 isn't too large of an investment.

Thanks for the insight, though. I definitely appreciate it. Hopefully some others chime in.

The bigger questions isn't the money but how playable is it if you only play X # of hours a week. Some games are hard to keep up in unless you play way more hours than most working people can afford to. The monthly subscription isn't too bad if you look at it as about a movie ticket every two weeks (Or every week with a small popcorn and soda, lol)---but I have stopped playing many MMOs because I can't keep playing with a regular group of people because they seem to play 8-10 hours a day and after summer I can only play about that long a week.

GW2 will be subscription free. But again, I don't think that is a big issue. With the original GW I had the same keeping up problem.

I would actually like to see a server for part-timers who tend to go up in levels more slowly and then another one for power gamers who burn through the levels. I don't know why no MMOs do this--but it seems like an obvious thing to do. That way people are more likely to find people of their level/dedication of play.

Pop

Yup. That's the major concern for me. I teach, I coach two sports and I'm the strength and conditioning coach as well. That's on top of grad school and working part time as security at a club. So I guess I'm really asking if the price of the game and the sub is enough to keep me competitive/interested with limited hours of gaming.

Quote: MethodicalMadman on 05/04/2012, 10:06 AM - view

the game is pretty fast to level and is great for people that just want to log in, grind a little bit and then log off. You dont need to spend time looking for groups if you dont want to. Solo'ing is fast and easy, or can be a challenge if you solo bams. Each class is very self sufficient too. The quests are easy to understand and completed with out complications or tons of reading. Very intuitive. The game is addicting because of the combat system and each quest leaves me wanting to just finish one more then I will log off, but always stay up later anyway. I would say this game is well suited for part time players that dont want to feel left behind. Also, there is rested xp where you will get a certain amount of play time where xp is doubled after you have logged out in a town. The channels make it easy to find your quests mobs etc without having to fight for them if you dont want too.

Yeah...I misread that MM. That said, I know the feeling. I work full time with a long commute..I might get in an hour in the evenings. Maybe. Weekends more. And because I'm a slow leveler and only part time player, I end up soloing a lot. I have a couple of toons on RP server and a couple of toons on a pvp server.

And for the same reasons as you, I'm still thinking about whether I want to stay or not. Not sure if I want 2 subs.

But it sure is a cool combat system. I'm beginning to suspect that I'll really miss it if I quit.

Raph

I teach as well. :)

I'm an adjunct Philosophy instructor.

I am a part time player and enjoying the game so far (beta 3, 4, 5, at level 28 right now)..BUT.. if you are planning to sink your time into Diablo3 (dont know what ppl find in that game) then I would just stick with that..

Maybe it's just me, but I never understand when people have such serious "deliberations" about whether or not spending 14.99 a month on a sub is feasible, usually siting as a reason not being able to sink a ton of hours into the game. The way I look at it, I spend way more than that for two hours of "entertainment" if I go to see a movie, or if I buy one blue-ray, or if I treat myself to eating out once a month, etc. If you think about it, you probably do all kinds of things that when you stop to consider the ratio of money to time for entertainment are real wastes of money comparatively. If I compare it to going to the movies or any number of other examples, if I play for an hour a month, I've gotten my money's worth. Even less in your case if you pay $60 for 6 months. As far as "keeping up" as you alluded to and others mentioned, it's a game, an mmo, you're not obligated to "keep up" with anyone but yourself. Even if my play time were limited to a handful of hours a month, I would still be making progress and enjoying myself for those few hours, and I would be happy. That's money well spent, in my opinion.