Enter…. the Clans!

Just when you thought PGI might be coasting till the start of the new year…. they hit you with a big announcement.

The Clans are coming!  (OK, so, if they were still following their original timeline, the Clans would have been around for awhile now…but, they’re not so…)  The Clans are coming… On June 17th that is.

Starting today, you can pre-order a clan pack (much like the Project Phoenix packs from a little while ago).  Before we talk pricing, what’s in the packs, etc… spend a few seconds to watch the teaser trailer:

Yes, it’s not much… just a bunch of destroyed ‘Mechs laying around River City…and I would have loved to see even the silhouette of one of the Clan ‘Mechs in the distance… but, it’s setting the stage for the Clan Invasion.

 

So, about those Clan packs… here’s the package info, straight from the source:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each ‘Mech in the package, breaks down to $10 a ‘Mech, which isn’t a bad price point (considering most Hero ‘Mechs go for $30+).

The “gotta catch ’em all” package (Masakari) comes in at a hefty $240.00.  But, that’s 24 ‘Mechs, 8 Forum Badges, 8 Titles, 90 Days of Premium, signed digital concept art (not clear on how many pieces of art this is, ideally, 1 for each chassis), 8 Warhorns (again, not clear on what this is, I believe it’s the Clan equivalent to the loyalty medallions that came with Project Phoenix), 4 Hanging Medallions, 1 Exclusive Wallpaper, and 4 bonus modules.

So, there’s a lot of stuff included in the package (obviously, the ‘value’ of some of those items is going to be totally subjective at this point).

 

But wait!  There’s more!  Want to truly pilot a ‘Mech that is going to be extremely uncommon on the Battlefield?  You can!  MWO has also added some limited quantity versions of the Clan chassis, with a…unique… paint scheme….

Yeah, you’re reading that price point correctly.  Taking a page from the crowd funding book, and going the “limited availability = higher price point” route for GOLD skinned versions  of the Clan ‘Mechs available in the other packs.

For me, the Gold skinned ‘Mech is neat…but, not $500 neat.  I get paying a lot for digital goodies to fund your game of choice (look at the millions raised by Star Citizen!), so, I understand the appeal these chassis will have for some.

Where I think PGI is going to have issues (and, based on the feedback thread, already does), is with the timing of this announcement.  This is relatively soon after the Project Phoenix ‘Mechs (heck, they just stopped selling those packages on the 3rd).  The bigger issue is that this announcement, comes BEFORE the player base has seen some of the promised “coming soon” features like Community Warfare, DX 11, UI 2.0, etc.  Granted, at least UI 2, and DX11 have made appearances on the test realm so there is some proof for the community that those features are coming.  It’s still not going over well with some of the community.

 

Russ Bullock attempted to address some of the concerns via twitter, shortly after the announcement yesterday.

A few people asking why we would sell these before x features are released.  The answer:

1. keep in mind that every program thus far has delivered what was sold, founders, Phoenix, etc. what was sold was delivered.
2. many features like UI 2.0 and launch module as well as others like achievements and many others will release BEFORE these clan mechs hit.
3. when these clan mechs hit players will have everything needed to support them like tech balancing including weight restricted mm.

 

While I get what he’s saying (he’s trying to show they’ve lived up to their commitments on the pre-order packages), he’s wrong about every program having delivered what was sold so far.  My Project Phoenix ‘Mechs aren’t providing the promised loyalty bonus yet, nor are the in game badges present for them.  Granted, that’s minor stuff, but if you’re going to make blanket claims about everything delivering what was sold… make sure everything has delivered what was sold.

 

Having bought a Legendary Founder’s Package, and a Overlord Project Phoenix Pack.. I’m no stranger to throwing money at PGI for this game (even though my play time has dropped a bit).  I haven’t, as yet, made the plunge to grab a Clan pack.  There’s some information that I think PGI HAS to provide before they can expect people to buy into these packs (that isn’t covered in the FAQ yet):

• We need information on how Clan tech will be balanced.  PGI has already said it won’t be implemented as OP as it is initially in the lore, so how is it going to work?
• Hardpoint information for at least the Prime variants needs to be released.
• Full Artwork, it’s hard to see from the little pictures just how good these ‘Mechs do, or don’t look.
• Way more information on the Gold ‘Mechs.  We need something besides “Limited” to justify a $500 price point.
• Hard dates for implementation of the features people were expecting to see before Clan implementation (DX11, UI2, CW).

 

What are your thoughts?  Sound off in the comments, or head over to the Feedback thread on the PGI forums.