Why P2W (Pay To Win) Ruins MMORPG Games
I invested a lot of time in different MMORPGs and I'm sure many of you have as well. Despite their differences in appeal or other characteristics, most of the ones I played were really fun and fulfilling. The leveling, gearing, grinding, crafting and so on. But what's the main disappointment in certain MMORGPS? Of course, the ability to purchase in-game gold, gear and boosts, or otherwise called P2W.
Some games try to directly persuade you into paying for in-game goodies or leave you no other choice, because you can not progress anymore without paying a certain amount of money. This is actually pretty ridiculous and I've encountered so many similar schemes that require you to pay money if you want it to be somewhat fair.
I'm going to take the MMORPG called ArcheAge Online as an example. I started playing this game a couple of years back, because the beautiful appearance, open-world and literally the ability to do whatever and whenever you please attracted me. I've always had a thing for sandbox MMORPGs and though that ArcheAge would be something worthwhile.
I'll start off by saying it's a great game, but if you to save time and have a chance against other players, you must invest a good amount of cash. Crafting in ArcheAge is solely RNG based and if you want to be able to craft for a longer amount of time, you need to buy potions. Buying potions means higher chance of a rare weapon. There are charms in the cash shop which increase your chances to upgrade weapons. You could call in "Pay To Reduce Time", though if you spend enough cash, most players will never be able to catch up.
Also, the cosmetics add tons of bonuses for players who purchase them. So you would really have to spend 20 hours a day if you want the slightest chance to catch up.
At least for me, this is a huge turn-off when I play MMORPGs. Having the thought in my mind that all the hard work I put in and try to compete against others is nullified because others can achieve the same in 10 minutes by using their credit card. I would rather pay a certain amount of money on a monthly basis, but have the same access and ability as the other players.
Thank you for reading and share your thoughts!
I remember playing archeage, i really enjoyed it but there was always that looming presence of pay to win, be it with crafting or making money. There is a game coming out called ashes of creation that has the better model of monthly subscription that promises more that what archeage could ever deliver, it is being made by fans of the genre and as it stands right now it is possibly the most anticipated mmo in the fanbase.
Nice, never heard of it. I'll be sure to check it out.
I think it would be very interesting if a game adopted some kind of cryptocurrency model. Wouldn't it work better if players could generate the same currency in game that people paid for, but as more people bought in, the value of the coin went up?
Would it be possible to have in game actions/player inputs create hashing power?
Sounds possible but I couldn't be the one to imagine how a system like that could be arranged.
Neither could I. Id love to hear someone knowledgeable weigh in. I agree that an unlevel playing field ruins the experience, but I feel like there's potential for crypto and mainstream gaming to merge.
Every time I read about about P2W and Archage I remember this
To me, Archeage could have been an amazing game if it wasn't for the enchanting. I could ignore everything else that was wrong with the game but the enchanting part was the last straw. All that effort I put in farming and doing trade runs just to end up with the same quality or worse, lower quality gear, was frustrating and heartbreaking. I don't know if you can consider it P2W after that video but it was definitely a terrible business model for the player base.
Yeah it's just sad even looking at the video, the guy looks devastated.
Great topic and great post. P2W is a big problem, and some games are always patching in worst possible direction, tampering with rules to create wallet warriors. I do respect Blizzard model of "everybody pays subscription" , but after that, game is fair and square.
Yes, if the game is fair for everyone, then it's fine. Otherwise, there's no point in investing your time.
I really hate pay to win games. It's really unfair and unbalanced gameplay. What ever happened to having skills to win? Great post!
There are a lot of fair and skill based games, though if you do a google search, a lot of P2W shit will pop up, lol.
Still a good game tho