Maplestory: a Pay to play reality? Experiment Included
Hey all,
So I decided to watch my coverage of Maplestory funding over the year with my World of Warcraft account as well, a Pay to Play (not P2P, because that's peer to peer (Yes I'm looking at you basil community who cannot understand that concept)).
[b]Who am I?[/b]
Added to state any form of Bias
I started maple back during Beta, but have lost my old account since then, but seen maple develop over the years. I remember the good and the bad, and can recall most events that happened during my time (except when I "retired"
I started to play WoW in December 2009, and atm I am a lvl 85 Holy Paladin and raid as the main healer in our progression group. My guild is into heroic modes of the Cataclysm expansion and are working to go 13/13 in heroic content.
[b]Materials (I guess)[/b]
Starting off, I want to explain the prices of World of Warcraft. There's the $14.99 every month for a year, there's $11.99 every month for 3 months and $13.99 every month for 6 months (last I checked). Or a pre-paid card for 60 days for $29.99.
Maplestory prices are either $10.00, or $25.00 for cards, or just whatever amount you wish to put in.
NOTE: At the time of this experiment's start, perma nx didn't exist. Thus, I could not change my study. Now looking at maple, we get 1-3 perma nx items per event to choose from, so there isn't a time to speculate for I should have bought perma, because this is to show the players who are starting now that cannot get perma nx.
2nd NOTE: MTS merching is not an option for this. I am only around third job, so most items I get aren't really MTS-able (or atleast won't be bought).
If you haven't noticed, most of maple is not fourth job, and so I played 2nd and 3rd job because that's the community.
[b]My Year long Journey[/b]
I start with buying a pre-paid WoW card, and about a typical $30 in cards of nx just for gacha, MTS and for NX clothes because I want to look like a cute little series of pixels.
To shorten this long thread, I will sum it up with maple money allowance versus then the WoW money allowance using pre-paid cards, because I don't wish to use my credit card.
[b]Schedule[/b]
Monday - Thursday was WoW, Friday - Monday was Maplestory.
[b]Maple $$$[/b]
Month 1: $30 for nx.
Month 2: $10 for gacha and MTS
Month 3: $10 for gacha and MTS
Month 4: $30 for clothes and usual
Month 5: $10 for usual
Month 6: $25 for a SPECIAL CS SALE! OMG
Month 7: $30 for clothes and nx
Month 8: $10 for usual
Month 9: $10, usual
Month 10: $30 Clothes and usual
Month 11: $10, this is tedious, usual
Month 12: $10, yep you guessed it, usual
[i]TOTAL FOR MAPLE:[/i] $215
[b]WoW $$$[/b]
Month 1: $29.99
Month 2: Nope
Month 3: $29.99
Month 4: Nah
Month 5: $29.99
Month 6: No
Month 7: $29.99
Month 8: Non
Month 9: $29.99
Month 10: Ni
Month 11: $29.99
Month 12: Never
[i]TOTAL WoW MONEY (rounded up):[/i] $180
[b]Conclusion:[/b]
Now, for you kiddies who are not reading any of those number or did read those numbers and are now wondering "Wth is this for?":
Essentially, a game that is a pay to play is cheaper than Maplestory, a free to play, but with paid rewards.
Now I may be in a Chemical Engineering major and not really a fan of money-schemes, but I love experiments and I know that when incentives are brought into a game for the sole purpose of further entertainment, such as nx does with clothes and a lottery for items.
With a pay to play however, it is evaluated that because you pay a fixed amount to be allowed into the server, that you will have everything that is needed for the game, and nothing else can be purchased to have a good time (or if you buy one of the little pets in the Blizzard shop, its a one time payment).
I've been on basil since it's opened basically, and I've seen many posts regarding "Should I stop playing WoW to play maple?" or some other money based issue with Maple and another game.
For those casual gamers who will just go on at minimal hours, Maplestory is your best bet to stay with because your averaged to spend maybe $50 or less a year, because you don't need to buy clothes to walk around henesys for an hour gloating, or you don't need to gacha to possibly get an item that you'll make the most of in a short amount of time.
Now for those who play this game like it's a job, 30-40 hours a week, Maplestory is probably burning a hole in your wallet. This means that you will buy those nx clothes to have you use playing cards as a weapon, or make it seem like you are wearing transparent shoes. Therefore, it is to your best interest to move to WoW if your debating between the two.
Now, in order to save myself from a lot of flames (note the word a lot, I still expect a great deal), I am only characterizing the generalized Maplestory population. I am not calling out "Hene-(gardening-tool)" or "Nx-less nubs". I just did this experiment to prove the reality of maplestory as an "undercover" pay to play, due to the emphasis on nx to players.
[b]Why did I spend about $400 on this confusing block of text?[/b]
When Nexon made the decision to have DB's and Evan's require nx to complete their class, I knew something was really coming out of left field.
Plus I always bought gacha and MTS nx just to go and test my luck or merch from MTS.
I like to make experiments too, and already to post reviews of games, so this was just my review of real world cash in a "free" game.
[b]Read (More info that I wish to not repeat)[/b]
[quote=pointydevil]I'm only doing this so state my experience with both, just to have enough to play the game... comfortably with some form of fun with looking nice and being funded.
I am not trying to convince anyone off of WoW or off of Maplestory, but just to state how maplestory is free, but still takes a paid aspect to have a... better time playing (for most people).
For most people starting now, I know its hard to get mesos, and they turn to either gacha for luck of the lottery, or to the MTS (in their world allows) to get an item to sell at the FM. Sure, you can go your whole maple career from 1-200, or 1-120, or 50-200, and never purchase any nx in your life, and get all your nx cash from MTS-ing your own items and making people buy them. I just want to state that NX is something to make the game easier to play and thus more enjoyable.
Heck, I remember when nexon sold "level 30 characters" in the cash shop that came with weapons and armor and already ready for you to start your adventure!
That just makes people's lives so much easier to save 29 levels of grinding and start at carnival PQ, or even the theme dungeon.[/quote]
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Thank you all for reading =]
EDIT #1: Fixed to make it look nicer
EDIT #2: Many weeks off calculus ruins my addition (Fixed WoW money from $120 to $180, and Maple from $315 to $215)
EDIT #3: Added reason for why I didn't use perma nx
EDIT #4: Added how maple and WoW are in my life to state my current position
EDIT #5: Schedule added
EDIT #6: Why no MTS-merching
EDIT #7: quoted myself from comments to clarify
16 Comments • Newest first
You ignored the fact that it costs close to $100 for WoW vanilla + the three expansions. And yes, you'll need the expansions because nobody plays through old content anymore.
I do agree that Maplestory is more expensive though, at least if you want to be competitive damage-wise. WoW is also cheaper in terms of the amount of content present and the amount of content being released.
[quote=iLikeToClaw]games are played to have fun.....
OT, hey TS where r u studying from?
i'll be studying chemical engineering starting this fall too, can you tell me what topics to expect in 1st yr?
like give a spoiler of what i'm probably going to learn....?[/quote]
Miami University.
Basically, it starts with general chem in fall, but then you will have to work with that for abit. Also brush up on thermodynamics. Calculus is a must too.
But it all depends on your concentration. I am going to Paper Science field (It was gonna be Environmental), so I have to take more molecular chemistry and organic and such.
Depends on the play style of the person, really. I'd rather be playing WoW now of course. Just some authenticator problems and all.
Although the money spent on maple will always vary. People can always MTS merch.
For me...
Month 1: $0
Month 2: $0
Month 3: $0
Month 4: $0
Month 5: $0
Month 6: $0
Month 7: $0
Month 8: $0
Month 9: $0
Month 10: $0
Month 11: $0
Month 12: $0
Total: $0
[quote=Vaudevilles]You probably thought you had a good case when your difference was $195. Now, being $35, you haven't really said much. That's basically another month of WoW. The WoW prices are deterministic, whereas the MS prices vary largely from player to player. What makes you think your personal experience is any fair representation of the average Mapler's expenditure? Then again, it is important to note that you played these two games concurrently. If you only played WoW, you'd still be spending the same, and if you only played Maple, you'd probably be spending a lot more.[/quote]
I never really looked at my difference. Just the fact that one is larger.
I took the approach of a mapler who just gets basic clothes, such as shirt, pants, shoes, and gloves. I took my stance based on all the years of playing and seeing the many people who I encountered and their nx, or lack there of, thus made my decision from that.
If you want my schedule: Monday - Thursday was WoW, Friday - Monday was Maplestory.
4 days each, with an overlapped day.
@UnFocusHero: Read this. Also, read my other post where I do state that nx is just to make it easier and isn't mandatory.
This "experiment" kinda fails, due to the fact not everyone buy nx each month, some doesn't even buy nx at all.
you also have those you merch all their nx in MTS, using items they found/made.
and you forgot to add the fee people have to pay to change server/name/race
my class consist of 10 out if 16 WoW players, and i can say they change server alot.
and many people buy nx cause they WANT too, not that they HAVE too
and it all depends on how much you are willing to put into maple or WoW.
Therefore you can't really put up a math on how much maple and WoW cost a year.
You forgot to say... Pay to play game have better GMs, so hackers will never (or hardly ever) be out there botting or whatever.
I already suggested Nexon to make it pay to play.
[quote=xXboredingXx]Some people also purchase advantages in WoW.
I don't know how those advantages compare to the ones that can be bought on maplestory.
You can sink a lot of time and money into either one, but with WoW the first $15/mo is mandatory.[/quote]
An advantage in WoW = money for gold sites, which are illegal just like money for meso sites.
Addons are not paid for by the way. I have my Curse Add-on Client full with 20 add-ons and they are all free.
If you buy perm clothes you dont have to keep buying them
I'm only doing this so state my experience with both, just to have enough to play the game... comfortably with some form of fun with looking nice and being funded.
I am not trying to convince anyone off of WoW or off of Maplestory, but just to state how maplestory is free, but still takes a paid aspect to have a... better time playing (for most people).
For most people starting now, I know its hard to get mesos, and they turn to either gacha for luck of the lottery, or to the MTS (in their world allows) to get an item to sell at the FM. Sure, you can go your whole maple career from 1-200, or 1-120, or 50-200, and never purchase any nx in your life, and get all your nx cash from MTS-ing your own items and making people buy them. I just want to state that NX is something to make the game easier to play and thus more enjoyable.
Heck, I remember when nexon sold "level 30 characters" in the cash shop that came with weapons and armor and already ready for you to start your adventure!
That just makes people's lives so much easier to save 29 levels of grinding and start at carnival PQ, or even the theme dungeon.
Maplestory and other Nexon games are what I like to call "F2P x P2W."
Meaning: Free to play, but pay to win.
Maple Money $0
If I had played WoW as long as I have been playing Maple.....A lot...
I think the point that he's trying to make is that a game that's Pay to Play, that doesn't offer the enticing options that a good portion of the Maple community uses (even from things such as Scissors of Karma to Miracle Cubes), offers a cheaper yet enjoyable game compared to that of a Free to Play one.
Of course, every word in his original post and this sentence are biased, because it's entirely based on what you as the consumer like the most, but .. yeah.
That's the thing. For this, I took the average mapler approach to just get a little cash shop clothes, and the rest for a monthly Gacha deal or MTS bargain.
@AHeroToFew: I get you completely. Like, I am a huge fan of WoW and prefer it to Maple due to how I am level 85 and I raid three nights a week, and that's all I do.
@RjHoomps: I never meant to compare WoW to maple as in things to do, but simply just two popular MMORPG's that are separated by money balances (Free vs. Paid). If I really wanted to compare the true WoW player versus the true Maple player, I would maybe add a few more dollars to the maple total, but the WoW total would be so much higher due to cost of a ventrilo server (or teamspeak) and the cost of hosting a website for your guild. Then on a mental standpoint, if you want to actually accomplish something in WoW, you need to do hours of research to figure out your class and a boss battle, versus just spamming hurricane/triple throw/etc on a boss that moves in frames in the same spot.
@jjoe50020023: I would have covered the permanent section of nx, but seeing as that was a temporary thing (not counting new items that come that are permanent), I needed to do a general experiment that covered how this would be interpreted up to now versus back then. Plus when this was started, there was no permanent nx, so I couldn't change my process.
nx is a choice.
you DONT have to pay for it if you just want to game. nothing is really out of reach when you play ms.
WoW ive played for a few hours on a friends account and didnt really get into it.
Month 1: $30
Month 2-12: $0