Krono went live yesterday on EQ2 and was met with mixed feelings. The majority of people I heard from don’t mind the idea of krono, but are utterly against the UI that was implemented and sits at the bottom of the persona window with a ‘buy’ button. Taunting you. Many of the video explanations from SOE Live re: krono mention that there are two types of people who will use krono. Those who want plat and are willing to spend $18 to obtain it in a way that doesn’t break any rules, and those who want a subscription but would rather purchase it in-game with plat that they have to spare. I fall into the later category, and not for myself but to get my friends into game. So yesterday I purchased two krono and promptly gave them to a friend and said “here, log into game, you have 2 months of gold subscription” – to which they were incredibly grateful. This is perfect for me because the best way to keep me playing is to get my friends playing. Now we have 2 months to raise enough money to purchase another krono, and the prices on Antonia Bayle are not too bad.
Of course all of that is subject to change. It’s a new item, the market isn’t steady. I’ll be pleased if it hovers anywhere from 500 plat to 1,000 plat. Any higher and I’ll simply purchase a walmart SC card from a reputable player (there are many on Antonia Bayle) for 650 plat and end up with 500 extra SC from that as well.
Of course there were issues. Even after consuming the two krono my friends all-access account doesn’t actually mention that it’s been extended or how long it lasts, so he had to send in a petition. The details of that are still being worked out. The krono itself had issues in-game and kept vanishing from the broker but not actually vanishing. It was frustrating. The marketplace also experienced issues yesterday, but I know that everything will be up and running properly before too long, it just takes time.
What do you think of these new krono? For now they’re only accepted in EQ2 – but you CAN use them to extend your all access pass (access to all of SOEs games) which gives you a savings. Keep in mind that in order for this to work you must already have an all-access pass. Then you use the krono to extend your current subscription (whichever that may be, all access or regular EQ2 access). Any ‘gifted’ or ‘free’ time on your account is used up before the next credit card charge, so you can continue to add krono to the account when you’ve got one, and leave the credit card as a back up resource.
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
I am a big fan of something similar to this in another game, PLEX in EVE Online. It’s a great system because it lets me play the game for “free” (trading my in-game labor/time. That said it seems a little unusual in a game that’s 1/2 free to play. I’m sure plenty of people will enjoy this new option. Oh, and, I’m sure your aware of this Stargrace but you didn’t mention it, this system is supposed to be in EQ and Vanguard right? Are they planning to add this in the future?
“those who want a subscription but would rather purchase it in-game with plat that they have to spare”
The inexplicable part of this is that those who do not have a subscription cannot loot a single copper unless their cash supply is currently under 18.4 Plat, due to one of the last account restrictions that non-subscribers cannot pay to lift. (Unlike some games, if you had more than the cap when your subscription lapsed, you can keep and spend the excess currency, presumably including on Krono.) David Georgeson hinted via twitter that they were re-evaluating this restriction, and I wonder if Krono was the reason why.
It`s on their FAQ, so no, not a bug. :)
The Krono All-Access extension thing isn’t a bug, I take it?