Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Who pays more? Subscribers or Crowns Players?

Question from Jason Ashweaver:
I was just looking through the wiz101 website and found out that the game in crowns is roughly $85. I was surprised at this and so stumbled upon the question: Do subscribers pay this much? I think they pay more, but I would have no idea.

Heya Jason. Subscribers pay $60 for a year if they buy during the sale periods, but yeah currently unlocking the game for life is just about as much as a year subscription. I've attempted to answer this question before and got a little long-winded.

Basically it depends on how you play the game. If you're the type that will beat the game in three months and never play it again, then my goodness don't go with crowns. If you're the type that will play it for a year and never play the game again, probably the same (but that is where it gets a little grey).

On the other hand, if you don't have a lot of time on your hands, love this game, have multiple characters, will be dabbling here for at least a couple years, and like to take things slowly, then it's kind of a no brainer, crowns are the way to go for you. Keep in mind that when Celestia goes live, you'll have more areas to buy, so that $85 figure you cite is probably going to approach $100 I'm guessing.

So, it's up to the individual to decide which is better. It depends largely on your play style. Both have advantages. I'm just glad we have options. :-) Either way, it's pretty cheap entertainment when you consider the cost of taking the family to a movie and dinner for one night, which makes that $60 for a year subscription seem like chump change.

**UPDATE: Excellent comments on this post, you should read through a few of them. I especially like this information from Through the Spiral Gate (it was something I hadn't considered): "I actually ended up paying around twice as much as the figure Friendly gave. Rather than buying a lump sum of crowns for $80, which I know my dad would never agree to, I had to go bit by bit with gift cards from Rite Aid and Best Buy. So not only did it take me longer to unlock all the areas, but I paid more money all-around. It really just depends on how you go about buying the crowns that determines whether or not you pay more than subscribers."**

Happy Dueling!

12 comments:

Winged Nazgul said...

If you can catch a Crown sale when it's going on, you can purchase the current game zones for $60.

Fist of Fire said...

I play with crowns, not because I play slowly, but because I like the idea of being able to play for free 2 years from now.

I have some friends that don't subscribe anymore, and are stuck in wizard city. My sub never runs out. I know that i'll always be able to play. It's pretty nice knowing that.

Kestrel Shadowthistle said...

You've also gotta remember the family plan - $6.95 per month, and of course the other special stuff you can waste your crowns on. Personally, I think subscribing is the way to go.

CJ said...

I'm a crowns player, and caught a sale, and got the game with twenty five thousand to spare

Mike said...

i am a subscriber. two years running :) beat the game, but still play it for my blog, to help out friends, to farm etc.




P.S check out necromancer101.blogspot.com i asked friendly to put it on his blog role, but he did not respond. Cant blame him, has a family, a job, a blog he has to be posting daily to keep on top, AND his gmail is overflowing with questions! :)

Sierra Starsong said...

If you're interested in Ranked Player vs Player matches, Crowns players have to buy day passes or individual battles, but the arenas are included with subscriptions.

The family plan Kestrel mentioned gives a discount for multiple players/accounts billed to the same credit card ($3 off per account per month).

If you're just starting out, I'd go with $5 in crowns for the first couple of areas. By the time you've used those up you'll have a good feel for whether a subscription or crowns will work better for you.

Seth Ghostrider said...

NECRMANCER PLZ TELL KING ISLE: i hate being treated like a trial player because i am a crowns person i think they should make a sub sort of thing for crowns players saying they pay for their account and arent just a trial player :(

Anonymous said...

I have 4 characters (other 2 slots are for Wizard101FanWiki information, yes we got some cool stuff coming ;)) and I can play about 4 hours a day. This is because I can only play on my brothers computer and he is almost always on it. I have decided to go the crown option because for me, who plays only a few hours a day and enjoys finishing every quest one place at a time, the crowns option is best for me. Plus, if I decide to come back and play 4 years from now, I don't have to buy a subscription. I can go right in because I already bought all the areas!

Through the Spiral Gate said...

I actually ended up paying around twice as much as the figure Friendly gave. Rather than buying a lump sum of crowns for $80, which I know my dad would never agree to, I had to go bit by bit with gift cards from Rite Aid and Best Buy. So not only did it take me longer to unlock all the areas, but I paid more money all-around. It really just depends on how you go about buying the crowns that determines whether or not you pay more than subscribers.

Dude said...

PvP is another thing. If you are planning on it, subscribing is the way to go. If not, I'd say crowns.

Jason Ashweaver said...

Thank you! I did crowns all the way through WC and KT and was wondering if I should switch, but I might go that way a tad longer. I was mostly wondering 'cuz MB is expensive in play-by-area.

Thanks again! :)

Anonymous said...

I'M A CROWNS PLAYER, and I made this decision originally because I only have to bother my parent every once in a while to use their credit card and pay them back, a subscription might be hard to keep up with. Plus I can get gift cards, but then you can't get discounts. Now I like the decision better because I think in the long run I'd pay less since I'm going to stick to it for a while. I can go at my own pace, AND play with all six of my characters not worrying about a time running out.



The DOWNSIDES OF BEING A CROWN PlAYER ARE: usually won't spend much in the crowns shop, because we have to save it for actually being able to play. No unlimited ranked matches. Sometimes have to wait to go to the store or til a credit card cuts to buy more crowns. No open chat and sometimes no test realm :( This isn't a big deal, but: it says "plan type: trial" on account settings on the website even if you just purchased.