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Although I haven't seen a physical copy yet (and seeing a physical copy sparks my consumer temptation more than anything), as of right now I have no intention of buying the Player's Handbook 2. Is it that I don't care what's in it? Do I think it is a poor product? Of course not. The previews have been pretty cool (especially the zealous assassin that I can use for an updated Darkmask). I just can't bring myself to shell out an extra $20+ for stuff I'll be getting with the next update of the Character Builder. Granted, I'm paying good money for that program considering I get little use out of the rest of my D&D Insider subscription, but if it makes me not want to buy the books, is it going to benefit Wizards of the Coast financially? I guess it will if the profit from my subscription payment is the same or higher than the profit they would have made from my purchase of the book, but it just seems counterproductive to me. I guess they'll make plenty of money on accessories that don't get 99% of their content added to Character Builder.Oh well. I guess it isn't really my concern unless they stop cranking out the accessories and updates.
In the long run though buying the PHB2 is cheaper than paying money for the DDI subscription - it's my understanding that there will be a new (read more expensive) set of pricing once more of the e-tools are available if you want access to them (i.e., Dungeon & Dragon mags will be available at one price, the e-tools for x more per month), thus making the PHB2 even more of a bargain. The other issue is that if and when you cancel your subscription your ability to use the add-on books drops dramatically.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much I like the endless stream of PHB x and DMG x books that are going to be coming out over the next few years but the PHB2 seems to finally round out the character classes so that you can have a little more diversity in the party and thus it's a worthy addition for me for 4E games.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I understand correctly, when my DDI subscription expires I will still be able to use all of the updates that I downloaded while my subscription was current. If it works the way I think... if/when I decide it isn't worth it, I can cancel and all of the updates that I have already downloaded will still work. I know that they still do even when I'm not connected to the net.
ReplyDeleteStill, good points... still pondering...