So I just saw RTW put up a bunch of new chapters and got excited. I felt the story had been dragging for a while, but the plot finally seemed to be picking up, so I got excited. Lo and behold, what do I find? There is no longer the option to watch ads to unlock chapters and the prices for these extra chapters are 7-8 spirit stones instead of 4.

Before I rant, let me make it clear that I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch. Qidian has been offering free spirit stones, chapters, etc. to build a following so that they could later make money off us. Fair enough. Businesses exist to make money; if you thought Qidian was altruistically giving you stories to read and expecting nothing in return then you have too much trust. However...

We all knew monetization was coming, but damn this move comes off poorly. They are just like EA making the once free monopoly money they created (spirit stones) harder and harder to obtain while upping prices of chapters until the only way you can have a viable amount is if you pay for it. They won't make it just a straight cash transaction because that would mean the users would actually watch their real money go away with each chapter. Instead, you make one big payment each month and then happily watch little virtual blue rocks go away. And god forbid they allow refunds, because that would hurt the bottom line and give those who may have a bit of an addiction a way to realize how they are losing money and stop. The badge system they just implemented is just another way to encourage this behavior.

I posted this not to trigger a war, but to have a legitimate conversation about this. How does everyone else feel about Qidian's recent moves to monetize the site? Are you happy, enraged, indifferent? Why?

    ImperfectInfinity Considering they are releasing free chapters from the premium pool i have no problem with this. Honestly i was expecting to get shafted harder and the ad system is coming back in a few weeks just gonna be different. If the spirit stone changes were for all novels u would agree but all novels not in the premium pool are still a static 4 and u can still watch the ads for those advanced chapters. and imo the problem with EA has always been that there is no alternative to those shit loot boxes that are at all reasonable. While here there are realistic alternatives other then paying which is nice .

        Sphiinnx What do you mean by the "premium pool?" This is the first I am hearing about it.

        Piggy-backing off of that statement, Qidian is terrible at communicating any changes they make to their users. The sole means they have of communicating how their website works/changes outside the forums (not everyone uses the forums I might add) is "The Book of Answers," something that you wouldn't know is important to read unless someone told you, and even that has not been updated since they first introduced the power rankings.

            ImperfectInfinity so the premium pool/chapter what ever u wanna call it are just the chapters being released from now on for those novels in the premium program. Those chapters will be unlocked at a scheduled rate for free users to enjoy atm it seems like 1 chapter a day.So the easiest example is RTW instead of having 2 chapters a day you will have 1 while the other would be a premium chapter since RTW is 14 chapters a week

                ImperfectInfinity The premium novels are still releasing 7ch / wk for free.
                Communication with the consumers has always been done quite incompetently, that couldn't be more true.

                    Klepar yea one way they could fix that is by using twitter more. Giving out SS for following them on twitter would be a decent way to get followers.

                        Sphiinnx Thank you for the information, that does seem like there could be worse business ethics. I still stand by my point about the monopoly money though. You are less likely to think about how much you are actually spending when what you are spending doesn't actually look like money. It is the same reason casinos use chips instead of cash.

                            Sphiinnx I used EA simply as a topical comparison that others might recognize. I will admit that this is not on the same level.

                            I also think that anyone paying the premium should not have to use spirit stones to unlock ANY novels. If you want to make Qidian a subscription service then open it up to all content.

                                this is completely fine with me.
                                pls do note that this is for extra bonus chapter and not the normal daily release.

                                the normal release is still watch add or 4 stones.

                                im actually hoping they go for broke and release like 100 chapters like this.

                                  Sphiinnx i played the game and refunded it. so just saying EA did the same they start low and they end up where they are now since there are some comparison with EA and how qidian is going as long as they STAY here and don't succumb to greed i'm fine.for now im not planning to go premium( still thinking about it).

                                  if they pulled an EA well i will jump ship faster than i click new chapters

                                      the real question is : do they intend to block all futur chapter with SS or the chapter who are block right now in RTW will be deblock after tomorow and the day after that ? If it's the case, we are f**k and we will have to pay to read futur chapter... If the chapter get deblock in time, it's the same way patreon work, I could pay to read one book in advance on DE for exemple or I can wait that they release the chapter every day.. I just have to be patient and I can read the same amount of chapter than a guy who pay 20€ per month. He will just finish before me! Who said it's a race ?

                                      It's not because the chapter are release that you have to use your spirit stone to read them ..... just wait 2/3 days and they will be free!

                                        Sphiinnx i think if thwy implemented this while they are ready on releasing the new ad system will be mich better... At the current situation.... Big no

                                            Vuezta Unfortunately ita not 4 stones or watch ads at the moment... If yes thn i agree

                                                NormalReader yea i agree as long as they keep the same model and dont devolve like the degenerates that EA are it will be fine and honestly i dont think they will.

                                                    xanadu there will be a release schedule for free chapters atm it seems like it is 7 per week for the current premium novels

                                                        Well, for me it's not a monetization really... It's like the government having a tax hike in order to sustain the country needs and to improve the country itself. Just like what Qidian is doing, they need our support to improve it's work and to have a better novels. Also, you can get free SS in many ways :3 This is what I understood from the announcement. Just my mere freakin opinion lmao

                                                          ImperfectInfinity I'm indifferent to this because I like to read in bigger chunks, usually 10 chapters of the same novel or so at a single time, and I rotate to a different novel each day. If nothing I'm following is ready, I start something new and add it to the rotation. Waiting an extra few days isn't a big deal to me, this is already way better than waiting for releases compared to traditional book series, where it can be months or years before you get the next part of the story.

                                                          For me, as long as novels get some kind of free chapter releases to completion, even if they are slow, I'll probably never have any complaints.

                                                              I now understand why they made an expiration date for spirit stones lol

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