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Discuss the RP system

No Wheaties·1/3/2015, 4:07:47 AM·1 votes·528 views

Upon logging in I noticed the "extra bonus RP" thing. After seeing it, I quickly read the details only to be very disappointed.

I know Riot is a business first, but the free to play model screws people willing to pay pretty hard speaking in terms of "bang" for your buck. I liken it to a free carnival where everything inside is wildly overpriced.

The end result of the current system being a vast majority of players having access to none of the paid aesthetic content, and those who do pay only experiencing a small percentage of it.

Everyone always answers these kinds of discussions with "they have to make their money", but please hear me out: I confidently speculate that I would have spent more money over the time I've played if RP costs were lower. If 5 bucks was enough for a stylish new skin or champ, I'd be inclined to pay every time there's one I like. Presently however, I find the price tag on new skins is a deterrent from me buying it. This results with me buying pricier skins only if I log on in that 3 day time period when it goes on sale months later, and still only if I am observant enough to notice (Separate note: sales should be increased to like 5 skins).

What does Riot really have to lose?? There is such a vast multitude of content available for purchase. So even if things were cheaper I still wouldn't be able to buy everything I wanted. Even if I spent the exact same amount on RP (probably ~120$ over 3 years), does Riot really lose by allowing me to have more in game content for my money? (mind, I already have expressed the higher prices personally discourage me from buying RP). I'm not asking to rebuild the system, simply entertain the possibility of making content cheaper. If others think like me, it might even prove a profitable decision.

TLDR: RP should be cheaper; 10 dollars for a new champion and skin is pretty nuts. It would definitely make it easier for me to justify paying for skins. At least put more items on sale at a time. I understand players don't need to pay for them with real money (free game after all), but to want to have every champ in a moba really doesn't seem that ridiculous --Especially when considering the content of similar games--. The effort going into league of legends in its entirety is probably worth less than five dollars a month per active account. The amount of money required to buy even half of everything you desire is RIDICULOUS, after all this is a video game.

6 Comments

Sachabot1/3/2015, 4:33:26 AM1 votes

What other MOBAs have you played? A skin under $10 here in LoL (975 RP, which is about $7) would be about $15 in Smite. They're actually somewhat reasonable.

Also, I don't really think you understand how much upkeep Riot is paying for. Because I'm willing to bet it's more than $60 million (a rough estimate of your suggested amount, based on the last heard account tally). Making and updating games is stupid expensive.

RiotRiot Lutzburg1/3/2015, 4:42:30 AM1 votes

I've been a F2P game designer for 7 years and I can assure you of several things-

  1. Riot has an entire team (at least 20, possibly in the hundreds at this point) whose entire job is to monitor and analyze data and analytics about who spends, how much they spend, how old the people who spend are, what the current phase of the moon is when people spend, etc. It's an insanely and immensely huge data operation. Their pricing structure is set up in such a way that they make more money off of fewer people at a higher price point.
  2. The enterprise known as Riot Games spends (and certainly earns) infinitely more than $60 million per year, if that's what Sachabot was implying in his or her post.
  3. The reason their model is working, and why they would be foolish to change it much, is because their conversion rate (the percentage of players who decide to spend money) is incredibly high for a F2P game. They don't need to cast a wider net to get the stragglers who are still on the fence about paying or not (not that being a fence-percher is a bad thing, I mean no offense to you, OP), because they've already caught so many in the nets they have now. On top of that, those that they do catch likely spend a LOT over their lifetime. This term is called LTV, or lifetime value, and works in tandem with a term called ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User). League's ARPPU is off the charts, if I had to take a guess.
Risk of Fate1/3/2015, 5:21:29 AM1 votes

I would say that the system is alright the way it is. Figure it this way, you pay $5 - 10 for a new character in some AAA game as DLC, yes? It's pretty much the same, you are buying extra content that is not necessary for enjoyment. As well as that, you can buy champions with IP so it's not that bad unless you are impatient about unlocking. League, at least my opinion, is an investment. You're not going to be some casual player who comes in, plays a game here or there every week (Though, that's actually how I started, so...irony) if you are considering buying a skin.

Personally, I would like it if they bumped it down just a tad, but I really don't have the money for them which makes it so worth which ones I get as then they feel just a tiny bit more special.

WereSloth1/3/2015, 7:06:28 PM1 votes

Rito is a business. And all good businesses have some analysts/people working behind the scenes on pricing, making graphs to find those perfect price points/pricing models where revenue is maximized by the highest cost they can get away with, before consumers begin to stop purchasing.

There is a rhyme and reason, and even if there are so many unsure people like you, there are plenty of users that have already spend hundreds of dollars (i know one of my friends has likely spent over a thousand) and will gladly purchase more.

I've bought one skin so far for a champion i really enjoy playing (Poro Rider Sejuani), and I'm going to wait it out until the skins I like come on sale, before i spend more RP. I would suggest consulting the google docs floating around for Champ/Skin sales predictions if you are in the same boat as me.