So About Head Start

[Stranger]

I bought whatever the top tier was mainly for the season pass. . .But now I am seeing that season pass is mostly cosmetics and that the 5 Day Head Start thing locks you onto servers with exactly the kind of people I don't want to play with long term and that in order to switch to the servers my friends will all be on at launch I will have to abandon all progress and my character, and start all over again. . .

Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this. It isn't like the servers are going to reset every time someone new makes a purchase.

Can someone make this make sense to me, because everything about my purchase feels pretty unsatisfying at the moment.

[Lich Lord]

5 Day headstart servers will not LOCK you on those servers. If you really want to play with your friends its only 5 days of progress you will lose if you switch to their server. OR you could grind up a bunch of starter stuff for them and they join you after the game drops on the headstart server.

[PoohPus]

Originally posted by Stranger:

I bought whatever the top tier was mainly for the season pass. . .But now I am seeing that season pass is mostly cosmetics and that the 5 Day Head Start thing locks you onto servers with exactly the kind of people I don't want to play with long term and that in order to switch to the servers my friends will all be on at launch I will have to abandon all progress and my character, and start all over again. . .

Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this. It isn't like the servers are going to reset every time someone new makes a purchase.

Can someone make this make sense to me, because everything about my purchase feels pretty unsatisfying at the moment.

The 5 days do not matter if you think in the terms of getting ahead. What you get is to enjoy the gameplay a few days earlier. That's all.

Funcom is saying rather loudly that nothing you can spend money on beyond purchasing the game will give you any kind of advantage. It's all cosmetics and things that doesn't affect game-power/gameplay-functionality in any way. I guess that if you consider cosmetics your true endgame (many cosplayers, roleplayers and builders do) then the DLCs are somewhat powerful.

Note that your friends can choose to join the world you made your advanced start character on if they'd like, which is exactly the same as someone joining their chosen world 5 days after launch. Your friends character is just as locked into their chosen world whether it's one released at launch or 5 days before.

Also, Lich Lord's suggestion is a good one.


Edit: Of course, it's your character that is world-locked not the player. We can make multiple characters, each one on a different world. Just as Lich Lord's post implies. Just for those who don't know.

[Stranger]

Originally posted by Lich Lord:

5 Day headstart servers will not LOCK you on those servers. If you really want to play with your friends its only 5 days of progress you will lose if you switch to their server. OR you could grind up a bunch of starter stuff for them and they join you after the game drops on the headstart server.

I appreciate the answer, and this isn't directed at you in anyway, but that is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You are locked on those servers because you can't transfer characters to other servers later, which means if I start early there is a good chance that I will be stuck on a server filled with streamers who get paid for exploiting and griefing as well as people who really liked the movie but really don't have time to game and will play for two weeks and never touch it again. It is the worst of both worlds. I'm a filthy casual stuck in between them.

So either I accept that week as a total waste of my time, of which I don't have as much as I used to, or stick with something which has the potential for incredibly negative downstream effects.

Not being able to transfer characters between servers is pretty close to a deal breaker for me.

[Harry.Taco]

No, you have either been misinformed of just misunderstood. You are not locked into anything come Retail Release Day. I will buy the Deluxe very soon now and use the 5-day early start to become familiar with the game play and its characters, the map, missions, et-cetera then come release day move to a new server on the actual release, starting over, but armed with the knowledge and experience beforehand.

[Harry.Taco]

Originally posted by Stranger:

Originally posted by Lich Lord:

5 Day headstart servers will not LOCK you on those servers. If you really want to play with your friends its only 5 days of progress you will lose if you switch to their server. OR you could grind up a bunch of starter stuff for them and they join you after the game drops on the headstart server.

I appreciate the answer, and this isn't directed at you in anyway, but that is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You are locked on those servers because you can't transfer characters to other servers later, which means if I start early there is a good chance that I will be stuck on a server filled with streamers who get paid for exploiting and griefing as well as people who really liked the movie but really don't have time to game and will play for two weeks and never touch it again. It is the worst of both worlds. I'm a filthy casual stuck in between them.

So either I accept that week as a total waste of my time, of which I don't have as much as I used to, or stick with something which has the potential for incredibly negative downstream effects.

Not being able to transfer characters between servers is pretty close to a deal breaker for me.

Oh so now I see you are simply butched out about release implementation. Why didnt you just say so to begin with? LOL comming from a Zero level Hidden Profile. Uh, Huh.

[Stranger]

Originally posted by Harry.Taco:

Originally posted by Stranger:

I appreciate the answer, and this isn't directed at you in anyway, but that is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You are locked on those servers because you can't transfer characters to other servers later, which means if I start early there is a good chance that I will be stuck on a server filled with streamers who get paid for exploiting and griefing as well as people who really liked the movie but really don't have time to game and will play for two weeks and never touch it again. It is the worst of both worlds. I'm a filthy casual stuck in between them.

So either I accept that week as a total waste of my time, of which I don't have as much as I used to, or stick with something which has the potential for incredibly negative downstream effects.

Not being able to transfer characters between servers is pretty close to a deal breaker for me.

Oh so now I see you are simply butched out about release implementation. Why didnt you just say so to begin with? LOL comming from a Zero level Hidden Profile. Uh, Huh.

I keep my profile hidden because I think looking into past posts and game libraries is kinda weird. I have a decade old profile, knowing what I thought about anything when I was in my 20s isn't particularly applicable or useful. . .I also think people who do that sort of think are probably creeps I'd be better off not engaging with.

And yeah, I am disappointed by the rollout. Hence the post. Great work Sherlock.

[imadot]

"Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this."

Look at it as you would test driving a new car. Kick the tires, look under the hood, and take a trip around the block/desert. Yes, go explore and do some quests. Once the 20th arrives the knowledge gained will be worth the trip to the car lot early. At least, that's what I am gonna do.

[Stranger]

Originally posted by imadot:

"Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this."

Look at it as you would test driving a new car. Kick the tires, look under the hood, and take a trip around the block/desert. Yes, go explore and do some quests. Once the 20th arrives the knowledge gained will be worth the trip to the car lot early. At least, that's what I am gonna do.

Thanks, I appreciate how this could be useful, but that would still be a waste of my time. What I don't understand is the underlying need these restrictions are addressing. I was hoping that knowing the concerns Funcom was trying to meet with all this I could get on board with the decision. . .But it seems like the only rationale is Funcom promised not to make the game Pay to Win and the fear is 5 days early access is going to give people some overwhelming advantage -and I don't find that answer convincing or compelling.

Thanks again. For the moment I am not going to refund my pre-order, and I am not going to complain, but I am still very unhappy about all of this and hope they will reconsider their policy before launch. People should be able to move servers if they find that the activity or conditions on any server unsatisfactory -for any reason. I just can't think of one defensible reason why this wouldn't be supported. Can it be abused? Absolutely. And it also presents a solution to that abuse.

[PoohPus]

Originally posted by Stranger:

Originally posted by imadot:

"Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this."

Look at it as you would test driving a new car. Kick the tires, look under the hood, and take a trip around the block/desert. Yes, go explore and do some quests. Once the 20th arrives the knowledge gained will be worth the trip to the car lot early. At least, that's what I am gonna do.

Thanks, I appreciate how this could be useful, but that would still be a waste of my time. What I don't understand is the underlying need these restrictions are addressing. I was hoping that knowing the concerns Funcom was trying to meet with all this I could get on board with the decision. . .But it seems like the only rationale is Funcom promised not to make the game Pay to Win and the fear is 5 days early access is going to give people some overwhelming advantage -and I don't find that answer convincing or compelling.

Thanks again. For the moment I am not going to refund my pre-order, and I am not going to complain, but I am still very unhappy about all of this and hope they will reconsider their policy before launch. People should be able to move servers if they find that the activity or conditions on any server unsatisfactory -for any reason. I just can't think of one defensible reason why this wouldn't be supported. Can it be abused? Absolutely. And it also presents a solution to that abuse.

Note that for all we know it could be as simple as that they haven't prioritized and gotten around to it yet. After all they have said they will be looking at the possibility in the future, which means they aren't opposed to the idea.

Many assumes the forum-assaults and review-bombing that are likely to result from a perceived advantageous head-start is the reason, but as far as I know it's just a guess. My speculation is that the mentioned assumption comes from the fact that the information that the characters are locked was clarified as a result of the initial backlash of the advanced start premium "p2w" offer. Who knows the real reason..

[crzyfsh123]

Play your 5 days. Then decide. You can use your knowledge to give you an edge if you choose to reroll on a fresh server.

What ever you do pick a fresh reroll with the longest queue. Do not join any public outcry server.

[Palmer Eldritch]

Originally posted by Stranger:

Originally posted by imadot:

"Like, why do these five days matter? I am totally lost on this."

Look at it as you would test driving a new car. Kick the tires, look under the hood, and take a trip around the block/desert. Yes, go explore and do some quests. Once the 20th arrives the knowledge gained will be worth the trip to the car lot early. At least, that's what I am gonna do.

Thanks, I appreciate how this could be useful, but that would still be a waste of my time. What I don't understand is the underlying need these restrictions are addressing. I was hoping that knowing the concerns Funcom was trying to meet with all this I could get on board with the decision. . .But it seems like the only rationale is Funcom promised not to make the game Pay to Win and the fear is 5 days early access is going to give people some overwhelming advantage -and I don't find that answer convincing or compelling.

Thanks again. For the moment I am not going to refund my pre-order, and I am not going to complain, but I am still very unhappy about all of this and hope they will reconsider their policy before launch. People should be able to move servers if they find that the activity or conditions on any server unsatisfactory -for any reason. I just can't think of one defensible reason why this wouldn't be supported. Can it be abused? Absolutely. And it also presents a solution to that abuse.

If you don't want the 5 day headstart then just refund your pack and buy the cheaper version without the headstart. I don't see the problem.

As you say, the reason the servers are separate is to make sure there is no pay to win. That seems like a good thing to me.

[Lich Lord]

Originally posted by Stranger:

Originally posted by Lich Lord:

5 Day headstart servers will not LOCK you on those servers. If you really want to play with your friends its only 5 days of progress you will lose if you switch to their server. OR you could grind up a bunch of starter stuff for them and they join you after the game drops on the headstart server.

I appreciate the answer, and this isn't directed at you in anyway, but that is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You are locked on those servers because you can't transfer characters to other servers later, which means if I start early there is a good chance that I will be stuck on a server filled with streamers who get paid for exploiting and griefing as well as people who really liked the movie but really don't have time to game and will play for two weeks and never touch it again. It is the worst of both worlds. I'm a filthy casual stuck in between them.

So either I accept that week as a total waste of my time, of which I don't have as much as I used to, or stick with something which has the potential for incredibly negative downstream effects.

Not being able to transfer characters between servers is pretty close to a deal breaker for me.

With all due respect I think you are looking at things the wrong way. Those 5 days you get to learn the area, find a great base location. Find resource hot spots so when your friends join YOU will be their fearless leader full of knowledge and skills to set them up for success. The 5 days head start is not there to give you an unfair advantage over other players. Its there to give you a peak at the game before everyone else and it is there to stress their servers to see if a sudden flood of people with cause problems which will help the regular launch go smoother. In other words the head start is a clever stress test.

Hope this helps.

[Stranger]

Originally posted by Lich Lord:

Originally posted by Stranger:

I appreciate the answer, and this isn't directed at you in anyway, but that is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You are locked on those servers because you can't transfer characters to other servers later, which means if I start early there is a good chance that I will be stuck on a server filled with streamers who get paid for exploiting and griefing as well as people who really liked the movie but really don't have time to game and will play for two weeks and never touch it again. It is the worst of both worlds. I'm a filthy casual stuck in between them.

So either I accept that week as a total waste of my time, of which I don't have as much as I used to, or stick with something which has the potential for incredibly negative downstream effects.

Not being able to transfer characters between servers is pretty close to a deal breaker for me.

With all due respect I think you are looking at things the wrong way. Those 5 days you get to learn the area, find a great base location. Find resource hot spots so when your friends join YOU will be their fearless leader full of knowledge and skills to set them up for success. The 5 days head start is not there to give you an unfair advantage over other players. Its there to give you a peak at the game before everyone else and it is there to stress their servers to see if a sudden flood of people with cause problems which will help the regular launch go smoother. In other words the head start is a clever stress test.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, honestly I mean that. I have no interest in PvP. I mean, it is fine, I don't dislike it, it is just isn't anything that interests me. I am playing this game for myself, "advantage" does not enter into it. My focus is exploration and narrative, I like video games because I love books and video games allow me to be part of a story I could only experience passively otherwise. I want to make decisions without knowing the outcomes, I want to make mistakes and recover from them, I want to fail and figure ♥♥♥♥ out and make progress, and above all I want my time to be respected. I am here because the game is Dune, not because its an MMO. I would actually be happier if this was a single player game because that is mostly what I prefer.

I know you're trying to help me adapt to the most reasonable expectations of what I will likely encounter, and that is very cool of you and I really do appreciate it, but I'm not a kid anymore and I know what I like. I'm not disappointed by the cosmetics because I want power creeping gear, I am disappointed because I want more narrative rich content. I am not disappointed by the special servers because I want to use my five days to power game and dominate nubs, I want to be able to choose my neighbors and play alongside people looking for the same experience I am.

Thank you again, for your time and your patience and the friendly hand you're offering, I'm alright though. I can live with a little disappointment and who knows, maybe the game will be worth it.

[Valethar]

So all streamers are exploiters and griefers?

Must be nice to have all the answers. LOL

[Proudly Toxic]

Anyone thinking the 5 days head start is giving people an unfair advantage doesn't understand how the game works.

There is no PVP on Hagga Basin outside of some shipwreck locations.

The only PVP where having more progress matters is in the Deep Desert, and progress there gets wiped every week.

So even if some people started a week earlier and got to endgame and got more resources to engage with the deep desert on the normal launch week, by week 3 or 4 everyone that kept playing the game will be on about the same level of equipment and resources. People don't get to entrench themselves on the deep desert forever since its getting wiped every week.

You could argue some people are going to get to engage with the deep desert and the spice outcroppings there earlier, but that's about all that the early start is going to do.

You can still have friends starting later join you in your world, or you join them in theirs.