More than anything, the one thing I use my Discord Nitro subscription for is to spam emojis from my 80-something servers wherever I damn please. Animated avatars, better stream quality? No, all I need is my adorable cat emojis when sending DMs to my pals. Thankfully, for people like me who only need that from a Nitro subscription, Discord is now offering a cheaper tier.
Nitro Basic is the newest, cheapest option of subscription for the premium service. It costs $2.99 a month—that's $7 less than the full version and $2 less than mid-tier subscription Nitro Classic. As the name applies, it's a lot more barebones than Nitro's full offering: it gives you up to 50 MB uploads, customised video backgrounds and, of course, the ability to use any emojis across any server or private message. Nitro Basic also gives you access to both Discord's stickers and custom server stickers, something which is sorely lacking from Nitro Classic's benefits. Paying just to use emojis may seem silly to some, but for people like me who use Discord as their primary way of talking to pals, it's more than worth the few bucks a month.
It's not the only new feature to hit Discord. Remember all those YouTube music bots like Groovy and Rhythm that bit the dust last year? Copyright problems aside, it also looks like Google and Discord have been working together to create a YouTube Watch Together feature. According to The Verge, it's actually been in testing for over a year, but is now being pushed out to users at large. Anyone can create a playlist of videos which other Discord users can then join in order to watch or listen along in sync. It seems pretty similar to what certain extensions and websites already offer, but it's nice to have it available straight out of Discord now.
YouTube Watch Together is part of a new Activities function. Joining a voice channel and clicking on a rocket ship icon will drop down a handful of activities—some are free, others require Nitro in order to use. Along with Watch Together, there are some classic minigames like chess, 8-ball and poker. I can imagine it being a fun way to kill some time while queueing for other games or for a silly bit of casual gaming as the night winds down.
Nitro Basic rolls out fully on October 20, or should already be available if you're in the UK like me. Activities should be rolling out now. Watch Together and golf minigame Putt Party will be free, while the others will require at least one member to have Discord Nitro.
Correction: The article originally stated that Nitro Basic came with 20 MB upload size, when it comes with 50 MB upload size. The article has been updated to reflect the correct upload size.
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