WRUP: Larry will be staring at chest hair edition

Massively columnist Larry Everett has informed me that despite having sent in a different response for this week's WRUP, he will spend this weekend staring at chest hair. Why will he be staring at chest hair? I don't know, exactly. Perhaps he's captured by the primal energy it offers, the sense of a fundamental connection with mankind's somewhat savage roots. Perhaps he just really doesn't feel like logging into a game. Whatever the reason, he dared me to share this with the world, and now I'm doing precisely that.

Where were we? Oh, right, WRUP. This week's edition is... well, like every other edition, with the Massively staffers letting you all know what they'll be up to over the weekend. We're also talking about the maximum fee we'd pay for a subscription to an MMO. So jump on past the break to check out our gaming plans, then let us know yours down in the comments!

@Beau_Hindman: I'll be switching to Fiesta Online for Rise and Shiny next week. This time it will be different because I will be playing through in a new browser-only version of the game. That's pretty exciting! I'll also be running through tons of dungeon levels in dungeoneering and finishing up the Burthorpe newbie tutorials in RuneScape. I absolutely love what Jagex has done with that newbie area; it's probably one of the best I have ever been through. My cities in Illyriad are getting up there and actually starting to produce some goods, so I will start selling my stuff on the market. Trade in that game is fun. After watching Jeremy Stratton's livestream of the PvP server in Wurm Online, I have to travel there now. As if I didn't have enough to do in that game!

I've paid as much as $75 a month for subscriptions in our house because we usually needed two accounts for every game. I'm currently subbed to three games and paying for rental property in Second Life. Would I pay much more? I would say no, not for subscriptions. That doesn't mean I do not pay; I could easily spend that amount on virtual goods... especially if there is a sale!

@nbrianna: I'd really like to get some good leveling in in Star Wars: The Old Republic — I don't want to stall out. But now Guild Wars has new content, I just bought some costumes in City of Heroes, and hello... Skyrim mods!

There was a time long ago when I dropped $60 a month just so that my family could access four Star Wars Galaxies characters on the same server, so I'd say my true limit is somewhere around there. My standards are higher now, but my pockets are fatter. Show me another game worth that much and I'll pay for it.

I'm going to have to get some time in with Ryzom this weekend, hopefully a bit less scattered than last week. Otherwise, I'll be haunting Star Wars: The Old Republic and Final Fantasy XIV as scheduling permits.

Honestly, I'd rather subscribe to two or three different games at once than subscribe to a single game at the same price. For $15 a month, I expect a game to know what it does well and focus on that. At $45 a month, it needs to basically be doing the job of three different games — to use an offline example, it would be like asking a single-player game to provide me equal shares of Tetris, Mass Effect, and Split/Second. I'm willing to pay $60 a month on subscription fees, but I don't expect one game to provide everything under one roof, and so I tend toward spreading my time.

@elixabethclaire: This is barely a question for me. Guild Wars just got updated with the final chapter of Winds of Change, so I'll be sinking my teeth into that this weekend!

The most I've spent on a single subscription was $15-20 a month, but there have been times when I've had multiple subscriptions up at once. I don't necessarily begrudge games their subscription fees, but I do expect that they be well worth it (and I take a pretty dim view of cash-shop items after I've paid box and server fees).

I've returned to EVE Online (for the sixth or seventh time; maybe it will stick), and I'm also dabbling in Fallen Earth, PlanetSide, and EverQuest II.

I'd pay upwards of $75 a month for a quality MMORPG that isn't a feature-deficient DIKU retread. People look at me funny when I say that, but compared to many other hobbies, that's pocket change for what amounts to unlimited entertainment. Try playing a couple of rounds of golf per month at that price or taking the family to dinner and a movie for $75.

Also, I've been paying that for many years, except I've had to spread the cost over several games to get my feature fix. It would be nice to play one.

@Sypster: I might actually be skipping MMOs this weekend for a Valentine's Day outing, but if I do get some times I'm certainly going to dive into the new Star Trek Online featured episode The 2800 and maybe get in some Star Wars: The Old Republic and Lord of the Rings Online as well.

Unlike some, I'm not averse to subscriptions, but $15-20 per month for a high-quality AAA title is definitely my limit. Multiple subscriptions are another matter entirely...

@JayeRnH: Not too much gaming for me this weekend. I've now caught the cold that's been cycling through the family. If I do play, it will probably be something low key. I haven't been in DC Universe Online in a while, so I might pop in game to check things out.

As for subscription price, I've carried Station Access for a while, which used to be as high as $29.99, but because I played several of the games, it was worth it for me.

@Shaddoe: Dailies and hard-mode flashpoints in Star Wars: The Old Republic consume my weekend activities. So yeah, nothing very exciting. That said, a couple of friends of mine have agreed to livestream some new characters with me. Let the griefing begin!

I have a gaming budget that averages to about $75 a month. Right now, no single subscription merits my whole budget. I may dish out $20 a month for my current rotation of gaming subs, but if I could dream, I'd spend my whole $75 on one game. If this were my whole family's entertainment, I would spend even more, but that's way too much to ask of one game.

@mvmatt: Well, I woke up Thursday morning with a pretty nasty fever, so it looks like this weekend is going to be spent indoors playing recovery. But since I'm going to be stuck indoors anyway, I'll probably be passing the time with some Star Wars: The Old Republic, some RIFT, and some of the newly released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Seriously, I don't care that it's not an MMO; it's one of the best RPGs I've played in a while. Frenetic action-based combat, mind-numbing amounts of customization possibilities, and an interesting story from R.A. Salvatore? Sold.

As for the bonus question, I'm with Jef in theory but Justin in practice. As Jef said, show me a game that's new, exciting, receives constant updates, has plenty of content, and did I mention new? As in, not yet-another-DIKU-clone? Yeah. Show me that, and I'll throw down whatever you ask of me (within reason). Practically speaking, I'm a starving college student, so $15-$20 is definitely my limit — but as of right now, I think I'm subbed to three different games? So make of that what you will.

I am playing the coolest game: "Soak up the Cali sun and have a blast with family!" If I make it online, I will be seeing how well the wifi works for some mellow EverQuest II decorating. Then I might plug in the newly purchased cable and try a few rounds in Aion (yes, I went ahead and bought a hardline to connect even while on vacation).

I don't have a dollar figure for what I would spend, but it wouldn't be above $15 a month unless it just happened to be my dream game with every sandboxy wonderful feature I ever wanted. Then they might be able to gouge me a bit...

@terilynns: It's Star Trek Online for me of course! The new featured episode finally makes its debut on Saturday, and I can't wait to play it! It's so great to have something to really look forward to in this game. The fleet is becoming more active again, and we're chatting up a storm as we prepare to take on The 2800!

As for sub fees I'd pay? You know what — to do away with the griping, moaning and kvetching about "pay to win" or "grab bags" or any of the other myriad things people find a way to bemoan with a free-to-play model, I would ditch it all and pay $50 a month. I was happy buying my lifetime sub before beta was even done. Like others who have answered, this MMO is my form of entertainment. I live too far from everything go out frequently, and most television sucks so bad it makes me want to punch puppies. So the money that would have been used for movies, baseball games, concerts, etc. when I lived in L.A. is now free to spend on my MMO joy!

At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!