What is the point of my $15 a month?

^ That's the questions I have with 2.1. When compared to other F2P MMO's (choosing DCUO as I subscribe to it, and have since launch), if I buy something on their cash shop (aside from consumables), I get it on every single character. 2.1 grants that ability, if I spend more on top of what I already spent. I can change the features of my character, any time, any place, to any style I have ever added. In 2.1, I can, once again, for a price. For me, I have questions on why if your competition does it, and does it better, how come you aren't matching or beating it?

Well, from personal experience, I'd say that the sad truth is that the Cartel Market is aimed at subscribers more than it is aimed at F2P players, which was its original purpose apparently. If someone doesn't care about the game enough to pay 15 dollars a month, I think it's a pretty safe bet that he couldn't care less about new armor sets, vanity items, pets, emotes etc. Most F2P players I know of only buy one-time upgrades (like artifact equipment) or access to certain areas (like Section X) or rarely weekly ops passes.

On the other hand, the subscriber spends much more time in the game, he can appreciate new armor sets and likely wont be shy to pay extra to make his/her characters look cool. Several people I know have spent hundreds of dollars on the Cartel Market and purchase 7-8 hypercrates when a new pack comes out. I person I know confessed of having spent more than three thousand dollars on the Cartel Market so far. It's these crazy people that the CM is aimed that.

I agree, it's a slippery slope and Bioware is going downhill. So far nothing "essential" has been added to the CM, I agree, but I have a strong feeling that Bioware is purposefully "designing" extremely disgusting looking-armor, so that people would have to purchase armor from the Cartel Market. Sure, enough, you can wear the landing platform-sized shoulders and the cooking mittens without losing any stats but let's face it, a true subscriber will not.

If the cartel market items are luxury etc why are developers wasting time to develop them when bugs from a year ago are still there? also people who say you get 500 coins probably did not check how expensive is the darn cartel market. your 500 is nothing, you cant even buy an armor set with it. our subscription is only buying us to play the game as is, nothing more. rest is all illusion.

Developers don't work on 99% of the CM stuff.

Why? Because the guy programming in new bosses has no idea how to build 3D models. And the person designing the art for CM gear has no idea that C++ is a language.

Well, the fact is that it's Star Wars. People play it because it is THE Star Wars game, not because it's slightly different from the other ten million fantasy MMOs already on the market. People won't abandon their lightsabers, blasters, Force powers, droids, starships etc. just because some other games have a more rewarding cash-shop system.

Star Wars fans will stick to this game no matter what kind of cash shops WoW, GW2, Rift, DCUO, TES etc. have. The developers can get away with everything because this is Star Wars and it has no competition.

Take the quotes off "essential" and add them to "have to" (purchase) and I agree.

600 CC can only go so far - which is next to nothing. But it seems that some believe it's magical and you can buy everything with that.

yes but there is a certain budget covering dev salaries. And it looks like cartel market team is getting the lions's share of the budget paid from our subscriptions.

I see where you're coming from. I just have a hard time believing they do it because they can.

Does this make sense to anyone? Guess my first mistake is trying to make sense of someone complaining about paying $15 for hours of entertainment. Even if you only play one hour a month it is still a bargain to be entertained for one hour for the price of $15. Try to go to a bar, stripclub, Six Flags, or whatever you are into and try to only spend $15 and see how far you get. If you dont like it dont pay and shut up. If you want to play as a cat then save up your cartel coins and buy your access to your beloved Cat. Bottom line is that this game is a business, if it doesn't make enough money it will be gone, PERIOD.

We all liked the days that we paid 15 bucks and we got it all. The truth is Gamers are stupider now then they used to be and they think they are getting ripped off for playing a monthly fee so MMORPGs found a way to trick dummies into paying more by not calling it a monthly sub. This model is not going anywhere so we need to get used to it. The only game i know of that does not have this model is WOW and that is for obvious reasons. Regardless, if you dont want to buy that game fluff you dont have to. I personally ignore everything in the cartel market and use the coins to buy perks.