Membership.

[Indigo_Aqua]

Hello, I've stalked the forums on and off for years now, but I've rarely posted. But I have a question to ask.

 

Yes, the age old question. Should I get membership?

 

It's been tearing me apart recently, mainly because I got my own debit card and can now afford to pay for some games. Runescape's been an interest of mine for a while now, and I've always longed to go into membership, and do the quests full of lore, obtain powerful weapons and adventure into the massive world that has been held away from me for so long. The BoL also sparked my interest, especially since I couldn't complete the set in time and now the only way to get it is, unfortunately, in the GWD.

 

I've also wanted a name change since the day they were released :/

 

But, on the flip side, Runescape is subscription based, which isn't a problem, except the subscription runs whether I play or not. This has always kept me distanced from RS subscription because i know I'll be bleeding money whenever I go on a holiday, or am overloaded by work. This slow money drain also might make me play the game just so I don't "lose money" and might lead to worse studies...etc. I'm a college student now and I am very aware of the heavier workload associated to it.

 

Another thing is I do play other games. Dota 2, League of Legends are both games I love to play, and they require time too.

 

Lastly, I've been a F2P for...8? 9 years? I don't remember anymore, but this is a old f2p account, and to be honest, I kind of don't want to make it members. The obvious solution is to just make a new account, but would that be worth it? I can't be sure.

 

So, here it is. Have anyone else struggled with this before?

 

Members/nonmembers, what have kept you with your decision? I would love to hear some experiences too!

[PolarBearBlue]

I'll tell my reason to why I became P2P a year and a half ago. Hopefully it will help you answer these questions.

 

I became P2P firstly, because I was able to afford it. I always could have in some way even in high school but after my first few years of college, I was able to narrow down what I really spent my money on and found I could afford to pay $8 for RS. Secondly, I found that F2P had nothing more for me, because it lacked the incentive for to skill. I didn’t start a new account because I’m not the type to have many account and I had enough levels to have a lot of content to do when I got it, like having combat requirements for GWD. That really gave me an idea of if I’d enjoy P2P because I was able to try a lot more than starting off a new account. Later, I renewed P2P because I discovered of all the games I own, I play RS the most. I have plenty of other PS3 games to play, I’m looking to getting Minecraft soon, and I almost always abandon RS for the new MGS, FF or Mortal Kombat titles. But with RS so accessible I play that almost all the time. Also, the continuous update and additions to game keeps me playing. RS has a lot to offer in P2P, so much that it can be overwhelming for the few months you first play P2P.

 

I would say evaluate your time on RS vs. other games. Put a value on how much an hour on RS is worth in real money to you, like $1. If you play more in hours a week than the cost of P2P, say 15 hours, then I would get a recurring membership. If you play less, say 6 hours, I would explore bonds and 1 month of P2P. Then you can pay only when you play.

 

As far as to make your old account P2P, I can’t really answer that. I would guess if you know you’ll regret it more than value it, and you spend enough time on RS, then don’t do it and start new. If you can’t (or don’t) devote a lot of time to RS then you might want to make your main P2P.

[Arceus]

If you don't have a second account, go ahead and make one and buy membership. I mean it is only $8 for a whole month, and even if you only play a few hours, it's not more expensive than seeing a movie, for example.

 

Unless of course you really need that money in real life-then you could probably do more productive things than playing games anyway! But I take it that this is not your situation.

 

If you have a few million stashed away, you can also buy an item 'bond' off the G.E. and cash it for 14 days of membership, if that's any better.

[Indigo_Aqua]

I think I have one or two sides lying around that I used to do holiday events on, so those could work.

 

The account thing is a tough choice though, I mean, I did put so much time and effort into this account it feels stupid not to, but at the same time it's kinda like hey, you've kept this account f2p for so long, why give up now?

 

Also, what are some options I have to buy membership? Is there still a promotion for membership, like free stuff/cheaper prices? How do bonds factor into this, are they cheaper than buying membership straight up? I can blow about 2/3 of my bank to buy a bond, does that give me access to everything p2p has (Mainly, can I change names?)?

 

I admit I am a little bit scared of membership. I used to play Runescape enough I knew everything, had a plan and a list of everything I'd get as soon as I reached members, but that is no longer the case. I took a 2 year break until last December, and then another break until recently where I tried to get the BoL rewards. I mean, the amulet of fury, armadyl, Recipe of disaster gloves aren't the best anymore... I am quite genuinely lost on what I will do, and what I will aim for when I do.

 

Just as a side note for the P2Ps out there, do you find yourself spending lots of extra money? E.g. spins, cosmetics, etc.

[chenw]

Well, here is my take:

 

I bought spins twice, and they were only for the Weekend/Week and a half promotions that I really want to complete (although one of them was, in the hindsight, a really compulsive and foolish buy for me), but other than that I really try to avoid buying Spins whenever I can, it's really bad money to rewards ratio, and I don't like SoF to begin with anyway.

 

I bought Runecoins once, purely for the bank spaces. I have a slight OCD when it comes to hoarding some strange items. Then I bought gold members back last year so another stash of Runecoins then.

 

With bonds in game atm, I see myself going to spend less money on the game and more in game GP, especially considering that I think bond to rune coin ratio is actually quite good.

[PolarBearBlue]

I think I have one or two sides lying around that I used to do holiday events on, so those could work.

 

The account thing is a tough choice though, I mean, I did put so much time and effort into this account it feels stupid not to, but at the same time it's kinda like hey, you've kept this account f2p for so long, why give up now?

 

Also, what are some options I have to buy membership? Is there still a promotion for membership, like free stuff/cheaper prices? How do bonds factor into this, are they cheaper than buying membership straight up? I can blow about 2/3 of my bank to buy a bond, does that give me access to everything p2p has (Mainly, can I change names?)?

 

I admit I am a little bit scared of membership. I used to play Runescape enough I knew everything, had a plan and a list of everything I'd get as soon as I reached members, but that is no longer the case. I took a 2 year break until last December, and then another break until recently where I tried to get the BoL rewards. I mean, the amulet of fury, armadyl, Recipe of disaster gloves aren't the best anymore... I am quite genuinely lost on what I will do, and what I will aim for when I do.

 

Just as a side note for the P2Ps out there, do you find yourself spending lots of extra money? E.g. spins, cosmetics, etc.

For my account I said the same thing. Then I realized "I don't want to start over." I "loved" my first account so much that if I was doing P2P, I wanted it to be it because I wanted it to be my best account. But it's really up to you. Try playing on the spare account and see how you like it.

 

For P2P options you have a bit. You can pay straight from your debt card and buy 1 to 6 months at a time. If you don't like that you can also buy P2P cards. Usually Jagex has some sort of deal with them, or at least until very recent they did, where buying certain type got you a cool cosmetic override. IIRC, they come in 25 days, 90, and 100 days of P2P. Then there are bonds. If you buy a bond and redeem it, it pays for 14 days of P2P. you should note however, buying a bond directly from Jagex is a tad more expensive than paying for a month of P2P (5USD vs. 8USD) so you are better off buying a bond from the GE to use.

 

As for what to do when you become P2P, just ask us on the forums. We are here to help in anyway possible. You can also search pass topic on here about people returning to RS. The general advice I can give is to do quest and task, and try each piece of content you can at least once.

 

As far as SOF/SGS goes, I have bought some before and I have used runecoins before. I like fashionscaping and both SGS and SOF have nice outfits to claim. I would say when I find I have a little extra cash I buy runecoins over spins, but that's just because I have a little more wheel luck than most people. On any given day you can average between 3 and 7 spin as P2P (2 you are given daily + daily challenge + D&Ds that give weekly/montly spins +spin drops). I would say if SOF has a promotion you really like you'll buy spins or save the spins you get in game up until the promotion (someone once saved 30+ for one and I did 20 quest in 3 days for 40+ spins to use). now with bonds, if you can make a lot of money in game, you can get a lot of spins, even if it's a better deal to buy with rl money.

[Indigo_Aqua]

Thanks for all the help guys! I have decided that I will become a member!

 

The struggle now is when, as there is no current prize for subscription. The 12 month package seems awesome, except to my understanding it no longer contains runecoin and all the extra bits and pieces, yet retain the same price. I mean, I would much prefer to spend ~6.25 a month with the 12 month package, but it just feels horrible knowing it gives me so much less because I wasn't able to buy it earlier. I'll probably see if anything comes up in the next 1~2 weeks, then decide what I want.

 

I'm thinking of getting a shorter one for now, in case a promotion comes up.

 

Edit: I've just read a post on the RS forums stating that premium membership will come up again soon. I guess I'll just do a 3 month membership first and check things out. If it turns out that I love it, premium membership shouldn't be a huge problem :)

[vmser]

If your issue is membership going on when you don't play (especially with debit card recurring membership), just buy shorter term packages - or if you have the GP for it: bonds.

[PolarBearBlue]

Good luck as a new P2P member. If you even need any help, ask away. Feel free to PM me on tip.it too! :)

[Kaida23]

If you're worried about the recurring subscription fees, you could always buy a $25 game card for ~100 days of membership. We gave one to my son for his birthday last week and now he has membership until the beginning of January.

 

As far as your existing F2P account, if want to change your name you could always buy a month of FunOrb membership. That would let you change your RS name while still remaining pure F2P.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your time as a member. It's a great big RS world out there. :)