The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria promises to bring many interesting ideas to the genre – but one that is most often discussed is the death system, which is also linked to the payment model.
In principle, it is a kind of permadeath. Your character in the game will actually die at some point, which means you will need to purchase a “Spark of Life” to create a new character – which is based on the old one and inherits some of its traits. However, if your character dies in the game, it’s not immediately over and you don’t have to buy a new one. The system is a bit more complex.
Those who die a lot, live shorter
A resident of the fantasy land lives, on average, 105 years in game time. This corresponds to approximately one year of real time. However, each death in the game results in a portion of that lifespan being lost. If your character dies frequently due to battles, they will not survive a whole year. If you die about once a week, you can play your character for nearly nine months. But if you die daily, it is not even four months. Once the lifespan is exhausted, you must purchase a “Spark of Life” for 29.99 USD and can then create a new character.
Developers consider the model fair
This may sound unfair to many. Should one not take any risks? Shouldn’t we experience adventures in dangerous areas? What if my character is constantly attacked by others in PvP? The developers believe that even if you really die every day in the game, spending 29.99 USD is still cheaper than a World of Warcraft subscription. If you calculate the money for a “Spark of Life” in the worst-case scenario, where you die daily and therefore only have about 4 months of lifespan, you still end up paying about 8 dollars per month. That is about half of what you have to pay monthly for a World of Warcraft subscription.
And according to the developers, there is no need to worry about so-called “griefers” – players who kill others for fun. Anyone who constantly attacks players for no reason goes to jail and loses their own lifespan.
What do you think about this? How does this business model sound to you?
The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria comes with a few interesting concepts: The Soulbound Studios want to build a realistic and functioning fantasy world where your ...
