I have played a lot of free to play MMOs, well into the double digits of quantity. And unlike what the OP mentioned, it is NOT difficult to find a free MMO that is not good. Quite the opposite, it's hard to find one that is good.
Every single free to play MMO that I have tried, EVERY LAST ONE, has either had the following issues right from the start or has developed them after not too much time:
-The game may have microtransactions to help pay for stuff and zillions of users, but only an insigificant spec of the users of the game will actually pay for anything so the company that is supporting/hosting the game does not have a reliable amount of income, and it shows. Compared to most subscription games the variety of content in terms of activities that can be done is very limited, addition of new game content that isn't simply new cash-shop items is very infrequent, and technical glitches are frequently found. They don't have the income needed to have a proper support staff for all the issues.
-Despite what the OP posted, the cash shop items almost always DO have an affect on the player's power, sometimes significantly so. Unique clothing items often come with stat boosts, items that assist in crafting allow rich players to get ultra-rare power levels on their equipment easily, sometimes they can get full equipment sets well beyond what a character at their level should be able to have. Pay-to-win runs rampant , and is completely unfair when you get into PvP; two players at equal levels with proper planning and skill builds , should have a roughly equal chance of winning regardless of how much real money they've dumped into the game.
-Most of the time the cash shop items can be traded for in-game cash through player shops, like pretty much any other item in the game. The sellers of the cash shop items can charge pretty much whatever they want, and those prices also affect the prices that people charge for other standard items since they all want to save up to get one of the cash shop items that they would not normally buy themselves. This leads to massive inflation everywhere, to the point that the amounts that people charge in their shop for standard items is several times what you would get for that item from selling it at an NPC store, and it wrecks the player economy.
-Those "rich" players that put a lot of money into the game often group together in guilds, etc. and they seem to universally want to brag outrageously; "Hey, look at meeeee, look at my leet stuff, I'm better than UUUUU!!!". The amount of snobbery that happens is downright putrid.
This NEVER FAILS to happen in free to play games with a microtransaction shop, at least none that I've seen. The game needs the microstransactions to pay for itself, the players the vast majority of the time will not spend a dime on anything in the microtransaction shop UNLESS those items give them some kind of power benefit, the microtransaction items are therefore set to give those power benefits and boom: you have pay to win which = bad.
And let's not even start on the fact that 90+% of the free to play MMOs these days are mindless WoW clones.
These are why I think free to play MMOs are absolute garbage as a whole.
Ugh this thread is ridiculous. You people who are saying F2P is pay to win, and worse yet, games like LOTRO, why don't you support your pointless argument with evidence. Name items from LOTRO, for instance, that are pay to win.
Lets see.... Just a few random examples from the LOTRO Store...
Vitrue: Valour + 1
Tome of Might
Tome of Revival
Tome of Remove Dread
+5 % Attack Damage 90 minutes
Enhanced XP Supply
+262 Max Morale
Fall Injury Immunity
Legendary - True Rune of the Dark Watch
Legacy Tier Upgrade.
I could go on....in fact about 90% of what's on offer in the LOTRO store falls under the definition of "Pay 2 Win" as I see it.
In an MMO like LOTRO "Winning" (i.e. "a measure of succes/achievement") is about...
- Defeating PVE Challenges and Content
- Advancing a Characters Level and gaining EXP.
- Enhancing a characters abilities in Combat/Adventuring/Crafting or whatever activity the player deems important to them within game.
- Aquisition of wealth/power & magical items.
- The granting of titles/reputation and recognition.
- Progress through the Epic book line and gaining access to higher Tiered Content.
ALL of the above are measures of the players Achievement/Success in the game (i.e. "Winning").
The vast majority of things on offer in the LOTRO store...are either a DIRECT purchase of such things....or a purchase of things that assist the characters chances and aquisition of such things.
They are "PAY to Win" every bit as much buying an extra Queen in Chess or an extra Ace in Black-Jack are. The fact that you are not in DIRECT competition (i.e. PvP) with other players for most of the game (outside Monster Play) does not change the fact that it is "Pay 2 Win" anymore then purchasing an extra Queen when you are playing CHESS AGAINST a Computer Opponent rather then a human player does. In fact with our Chess Solo play example.....at least the RULES of the Game (i.e. content) are NOT ADJUSTED to make the game more difficult for the player who CHOOSES to play without purchasing an extra Queen just because other players DO make such purchases....and the maker of the Chess Game does NOT have a financial incentive to disadvantage the player with only one Queen.
In a shared environment like an MMO....what one player does WILL effect anothers experience EVEN when there is NO PVP or DIRECT COMPETITION. When PvP enters play...it gets even more pronounced.
Following up .... I see this dynamic as no different then the guy in a Pen n' Paper D&D Campaign who says to the GM... "Hey, I'll pay you $10 if you give me an extra +2 to hit and 20 extra Hit Points for the next play session".
If it's a solo campaign run just for that Player by the GM...then fine, whatever nonsense entertains you....
But I SURE AS HECK don't want to be playing in the same Campaign and the same D&D Group as that guy.... even when he's fighting on MY SIDE against NPC Monsters.... wrecks my enjoyment of the game. Period.
There are free to try games for sure, but hardly any are free to play (spare me examples of the few that actually are). So honestly, when games claim to be free its such an obvious lie that it makes me question the game itself.
So maybe not all "free" games may be substandard, but most actually are (I am not so much against it, that I dont try them). On top of that as other already mentioned, those games are from the core designed to make money from shop solutions, which usually makes them worse.
All is not black and white, and for me an honest free to try game is that you can buy ONE premium version period, it is the entire idea of relative money to power ratio that annoys me.
That's a pretty reaching opinion if you're saying that being against F2P games selling items that make leveling faster or gear is the same as not thinking that the devs shouldn't be paid in anyway.
I feel that haters of F2P and Cash Shops are saying, "We will only tolerate items that we don't want, and won't buy being sold in the Cash Shop." Hater will say things like, "Fill the Cash Shop with Ball Gowns, Pink Dresses, Handbags (Non-Inventory Enhancing), and non-Combat Pets". But will scream bloody murder if a Sword of +10 PvP attributes, is put in the Cash Shop. Hardcore PvP gamers value "End Game PvP", and "PvP Gear". They don't value the grind or the leveling process, so Leveling enhancing items are sold in the Cash Shop. They value Gear, so Gear is sold in the Cash Shop.
So Yes, being against F2P games selling items that make leveling faster or gear is the same as thinking that the devs shouldn't be paid in anyway.
Pardon any spelling errors
Konfess your cyns and some maybe forgiven Boy: Why can't I talk to Him? Mom: We don't talk to Priests. As if it could exist, without being payed for. F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing. Even telemarketers wouldn't think that. It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
So Yes, being against F2P games selling items that make leveling faster or gear is the same as thinking that the devs shouldn't be paid in anyway.
Except for the fact that almost everyone espousing a dislike of F2P games is stating a preference for P2P games. Pay. To. Play. I have no problem paying developers, I just don't want to pay them $5.00 at a time to overcome engineered inconveniences. I want to pay a single, larger fee that gets me into the game, a single fee that grants me access to anything and everything, a system where my ability to cancel my subscription at any time provides the developers with constant motivation to improve the game.
I am not stating that I want all F2P games to be shut down and set on fire, I am not stating that all F2P games suck. I'm just stating that the payment model offered is not one that appeals to me personally. I like subscription-based games because, once I subscribe, I never have to think about real world finances again until I cancel; I just log in and play. That, to me, is valuable. If it's not valuable to you, that's perfectly fine. In fact, it's more than fine - it's precisely the reason that both types of payment models exist. My way isn't better. Neither is yours. My way is best for me, your way is best for you. Yay for both of us.
Following up .... I see this dynamic as no different then the guy in a Pen n' Paper D&D Campaign who says to the GM... "Hey, I'll pay you $10 if you give me an extra +2 to hit and 20 extra Hit Points for the next play session".
If it's a solo campaign run just for that Player by the GM...then fine, whatever nonsense entertains you....
But I SURE AS HECK don't want to be playing in the same Campaign and the same D&D Group as that guy.... even when he's fighting on MY SIDE against NPC Monsters.... wrecks my enjoyment of the game. Period.
The P-n-P D&D game has 10 players. Two players pay $15 a month, they get +30% Xp, +5 to hit and 30 extra Hit Points every month. Then there is the one guy who pays $10 to get an extra +2 to hit and 20 extra Hit Points for the next play session. The next fellow buys a "Fabulous" Sparkling Jade Pants Suit with no stats, and a Turquoise Unicorn mount all for $5. The only woman in the group spends $10 and gets a wand of +15% Healing, a Robe of +10% Hp & Mana.
The other Five players don't spend a cent. They get no bonus Xp, To Hit points, or Hp. When the GM asks them to bring drinks or snacks (Watch Advertisements), most of them laugh, and call the game P2W, and lame. They go to the bathroom, go outside and smoke a cig, and never bring drinks or snacks. They gripe about how long it takes to level, the session feels like a grind. They keep coming over for 8 month, then go and join another D&D group and do the same thing all over again.
Pardon any spelling errors
Konfess your cyns and some maybe forgiven Boy: Why can't I talk to Him? Mom: We don't talk to Priests. As if it could exist, without being payed for. F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing. Even telemarketers wouldn't think that. It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
So Yes, being against F2P games selling items that make leveling faster or gear is the same as thinking that the devs shouldn't be paid in anyway.
Except for the fact that almost everyone espousing a dislike of F2P games is stating a preference for P2P games. Pay. To. Play. I have no problem paying developers, I just don't want to pay them $5.00 at a time to overcome engineered inconveniences. I want to pay a single, larger fee that gets me into the game, a single fee that grants me access to anything and everything, a system where my ability to cancel my subscription at any time provides the developers with constant motivation to improve the game.
I am not stating that I want all F2P games to be shut down and set on fire, I am not stating that all F2P games suck. I'm just stating that the payment model offered is not one that appeals to me personally. I like subscription-based games because, once I subscribe, I never have to think about real world finances again until I cancel; I just log in and play. That, to me, is valuable. If it's not valuable to you, that's perfectly fine. In fact, it's more than fine - it's precisely the reason that both types of payment models exist. My way isn't better. Neither is yours. My way is best for me, your way is best for you. Yay for both of us.
If you are a fan of P2P, then I applaud you for supporting your favorite game developer(s). My comment only applies to fans of F2P. There are fans of F2P who are not bothered by overcoming engineered inconveniences. They are not fans of P2P, or sometime B2P, they are only fans of all things Free. They are not fans of being expect to pay for their play. They are not fans of others whoes play style matches their own, and who pay for their play. They are not fans of paying, but they are fans of F2P.
For three years in the Naughties ('00-'09) I maintained 11 subs, in B2P & F2P I bought Cash Shop items. At all time I felt I payed for my play. If you are an Omnivore don't try to control the eating habits of Vegans. But if you are a Vegan, be expected to pay for all those vegetables you are eating.
Subscribing and paying members are the only ones paying for F2P games, and they are a small fraction of the player base. So they are the ones that Devs Target for additional sales. This is regrettable, and is a flaw of business culture. Yeah, for the both of us anyway.
Pardon any spelling errors
Konfess your cyns and some maybe forgiven Boy: Why can't I talk to Him? Mom: We don't talk to Priests. As if it could exist, without being payed for. F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing. Even telemarketers wouldn't think that. It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
Oh, okay, gotcha. I apologize for the misunderstanding. The context of the post I quoted caused me to misinterpret what you were saying as an attack on anyone who voiced dislike for the F2P model; I didn't realize we were actually on the same page, relatively speaking. Developers definitely need to be paid, regardless of the billing scheme. Cheers.
Put a TV out on the sidewalk with a sign on it saying "FREE" and it will sit there for weeks. Replace the sign with one that says "$25" and it will be stolen over night.
People fool themselves into believing the intrinsic value of something equates to the price tag that's on it. Too bad for them. They deserve to be parted from their money.
Well to be honest there is something to that, your average person isn't going to give away something for free to someone random if they could make money off of it. So yes, that free TV will likely sit there for a good while.
Now if your average person isn't going to give away something they could make a profit on if they sold it then is it logical to assume a corporation that is designed to make money will give something away if they could make money selling it instead?
We get traps like this all the time, free weekend in Hawaii... just spend the bulk of your weekend being harassed by salesman trying to sell you a time share. Here is a free sample, it's free for 14 days.... if not returned by then we are authorized to charge your card $129.99.
Free doesn't often = free. Especially when offered by some company or corporation.
Sure, call people a fool for not jumping at anything labeled free but do understand free has become a word that has a habbit of biting you right on your arse.
When it comes to free to plays the word free has come to mean many different things, not just because we assume so but because many free to plays have shown us these definitions.
Free = Wasn't worth charging for and will be shutdown soon
Free = Expensive as hell due to many items needed to fully play the game or compete with others being things you must buy on the cash shop
Free = Poor customer service and support
Free = Community Ceaspool
These are just a few examples of how many, many F2P MMO's have used the word free.
You can call people fools but the truth of the matter is summed up nicely by an old saying "Once bitten, twice shy".
Ugh this thread is ridiculous. You people who are saying F2P is pay to win, and worse yet, games like LOTRO, why don't you support your pointless argument with evidence. Name items from LOTRO, for instance, that are pay to win.
Lets see.... Just a few random examples from the LOTRO Store...
Vitrue: Valour + 1
Tome of Might
Tome of Revival
Tome of Remove Dread
+5 % Attack Damage 90 minutes
Enhanced XP Supply
+262 Max Morale
Fall Injury Immunity
Legendary - True Rune of the Dark Watch
Legacy Tier Upgrade.
I could go on....in fact about 90% of what's on offer in the LOTRO store falls under the definition of "Pay 2 Win" as I see it.
In an MMO like LOTRO "Winning" (i.e. "a measure of succes/achievement") is about...
- Defeating PVE Challenges and Content
- Advancing a Characters Level and gaining EXP.
- Enhancing a characters abilities in Combat/Adventuring/Crafting or whatever activity the player deems important to them within game.
- Aquisition of wealth/power & magical items.
- The granting of titles/reputation and recognition.
- Progress through the Epic book line and gaining access to higher Tiered Content.
ALL of the above are measures of the players Achievement/Success in the game (i.e. "Winning").
The vast majority of things on offer in the LOTRO store...are either a DIRECT purchase of such things....or a purchase of things that assist the characters chances and aquisition of such things.
They are "PAY to Win" every bit as much buying an extra Queen in Chess or an extra Ace in Black-Jack are. The fact that you are not in DIRECT competition (i.e. PvP) with other players for most of the game (outside Monster Play) does not change the fact that it is "Pay 2 Win" anymore then purchasing an extra Queen when you are playing CHESS AGAINST a Computer Opponent rather then a human player does. In fact with our Chess Solo play example.....at least the RULES of the Game (i.e. content) are NOT ADJUSTED to make the game more difficult for the player who CHOOSES to play without purchasing an extra Queen just because other players DO make such purchases....and the maker of the Chess Game does NOT have a financial incentive to disadvantage the player with only one Queen.
In a shared environment like an MMO....what one player does WILL effect anothers experience EVEN when there is NO PVP or DIRECT COMPETITION. When PvP enters play...it gets even more pronounced.
On top of your list Warner-Turbine has removed game play features from the game and into the store (want to skip the tutorial?) even for subscribers. A subscription doesn't buy you access to the entire game either.
I don't care about "pay to win". That is just a trite slogan in the ongoing propaganda wars. I care about game play, fun, immersion, and the total cost of my entertainment. The entire game play is centered around the store. Warner-Turbine has ripped the fun out of the game and offered for resale in the store. They've tossed immersion out the window with store buttons all over their game And the total cost to get the full game experience is quite high.
Admittedly, the tomes do increase max stats....but the rest of your items mentioned are merely convenience. Tome of Fall Immunity? Pft, that is something so limited it seems worth not mentioning at all. Things like virtues, legacies and so on? That is all available to F2P players. Why even mention them if it is available to all? I never buy any of this junk other than the stat tomes and I get by just fine. As for the stat tomes, if you think +50 to a stat gives you a huge edge....ha, forget about it.
As for the ingame advertisements, after a while, you stop seeing buttons that open the store. Unless of course, you feel like letting it bother you a whole lot. But why let it? The actual gameplay is something that would cost immersion, but no more so than the average MMO out there.
Again, this is useless bashing you people are proposing just put down the F2P model. Like it or not, it is here to stay, and will surpass the subscription based model. And why not? It makes more sense. You stop feeling like you are obligated to play a game every moment just to get your money's worth out of a month.
My blog is a continuing story of what MMO's should be like.
I never played DnD paper I heard of it but in my opinion overral is not the game model, the story of game or anything is the current player base...which is so mix up that does not know what it wants and is jumping from game to game affecting game play. Some of the most succesful f2p models are hacked like crazy economy prices are in the sky inflation hits the games so hard is crazy and most have to rely on using money to continue playing who can afford an item in millions earning peanuts..then you have pvp and pve mix in the same game.. I have played RP-pve servers and I have come accross people asking for pvp and I like why dont you join a pvp server and the answer is blank.. they go off mad.. pretty much all this people asking pvp have no staying power on p2p games and is the main cause why games are failing now.. The sense of xploration and adventure is lost in this people then there are the ones asking which is the best class of the game so they can play it.. and of course the new one parser freaks cause x third party software said you are not doing x damage you are kick out group... and final WoWism (belief no game is better then WoW) you cant go any game that world chat is reference to this game even beta games are full of this crap chat in any game you go.. instead of listening how the game mechanics or difference of game play no.. is chat of comparing the game to WoW..
Pretty much zen ethics of play have gone down the toillette, the play nice rule doesnt exist there is no respect while attacking mobs someone can just walk off and finish your mob when you are not needing any help. The days where if you where huning one spot being respectful you go look for another are long gone... most people have no grouping skills nor faith in groups but if you ask them .. they are top players...
There is too much uncommon/treasure/epic/legendary items that the market is flooded with them in any games armor change rather being every 10 or so levels is just 2 levels... Even the Trivial loot code is out the window as anybody with trick can go and loot rare drops from any mob like in eq2 mentor mode and duo boxing...
Dev have to really take a step back and look at what they are designing cause copying WoW waterdown mechanics is just ruining new games storylines... I wonder if we ever gonna go back to the time where earning item thru sweat/strategy and conquest make you proud to wield such item..or the times where skills meant more the having top armor and you can just shout and say "Paladin LFG for X zone" and you get invites right away.. and as well could trust that the healer was a good healer or just wing it if they were learning..
It feels lousy when a paper tank(rogue/scout/cleric) tanking in group and there is another cleric and mage and rogue and when ask who was healing the other cleric says not me I was dpsing I thought the mage was healing..(Yup Rift Online brought this mess .. the purpose of having different souls was to fullfill the empty spot while in battle but that went out the window)
Dev got start to separate pvp and pve the current game formula for games is so broken that no one crowd is happy... Specially if they listen to pvp crowd that has no staying power..which prefer games that are cheesie, lazy and where they can gank and bully other players.. Also got make more effective vulgarity filters .. you can't chat without some idiot insulting you or trying to be a smart alex..
Convenience IS advantage. There is no two ways about it. For me it's not whether an item is a power item, it's that there is a cash shop at all. Fluff and advantage items are the same to me. It's all loot I would normally have been able to get in game. My favorite games are subscription where my sub buys me full access to the game and there is no cash shop.
You may be able to overlook the ad spam and willing to accept less than a full game, but that doesn't excite me to play a game. When I play I want the full game experience, or it's not worth my time.
Criticism isn't useless bashing. Disagreement is only useless bashing to you because you have another opinion. Of course F2P is here to stay, but so is the game as a service (subscription) model. I pay less than $9 / month in RIFT and I pay by the year. I don't feel obligated to log in at all since I buy a large chunk of time at once. That few dollars a month gets me full access to the game. I haven't been able to play a F2P game (that I've stuck with for more than a month) for any less per month and still play the whole game.
I do play EQ2 and Aion along with RIFT. Aion *is* actually free to play. It's the most refreshing evolution of the F2P model I've seen.
I guess I can not agree. Convenience has never been an advantage to me. Especially with my playstyle. Any of LOTRO's items would be wasted on me, as they are all useless junk. Furthermore, the entirety of LOTRO can be bought for about 60 dollars. Then you own it. No subbing, no more payments. That is dirt cheap compared to double or more per year you have to pay for any subscription games.
My blog is a continuing story of what MMO's should be like.
Sorry but while i play F2P games sometimes most of them offer Pay2Win style items in their cash shop, your article is just plain misleading. If not from the start then when they figure you're sufficiently addicted. And many of them have started on this gambling/lottery fashion where you can spend hundreds of dollars for a chance to gain an ingame item which is shady as heck.
When you pay a subscription game you know that the developer puts effort into providing the best game experience to keep you playing - that is his sole interest. Wereas the F2P developer provides the experience to keep you PAYING - sufficient nagging frustration as to make you pony up as much cash as they think they can get away with. Getting beat up by players who did throw cash as the game so as to provoke you to spend as well.
For example APB:Reloaded - premium guns that are better than regular ones.
World of Tanks - premium tanks, gold ammo (lmao)
Star Trek Online - most high end Ships are in the C-Store
Battlefield play4free, Battlefield Heroes - better guns, only permanent weapons can be upgraded
And the aggravating thing is that most of the proeminent free games today STILL have a subscription option available, except the subscription now buys you like 2xexp, or 2xcash and similar now, not the whole game. So besides trying to get you to throw your money at items they now push you into buying premium as well with horrific grinds that you can only alleviate with a subscription to your free game (e.g. World of Tanks, APB, etc..).
Hence the newer term of Freemium - the worst of both worlds.
F2P games are not free. They just want you to believe that. The game is designed to make you want to use the CS as often as possible. Normally this means terrible grind and that you must buy "time savers" in the CS to avoid it. Very boring, IMO.
Games like that are credit card competitions. And unless you buy every time saver and boost in the CS it will be painful to play.
I would have to agree with Hurvart on this one. Pretty much wrote what I was going to write. There is no such thing as a free to play game. Every game has a price. The games that do not have a direct monetary price have artificial stumbling blocks put into the game such that they are usually painfull to play unless you spend money in a shop. These games almost always end up costing more than the typical $15 a month to become "pain" free.
The exception to this general rule are older games which have allready had their development paid for by a stint as a pay to play game or sub based game and now the devs are merely trying to keep a large enough population around with just enough income to keep the game viable. In this scenario the f2p model can actually be enjoyable.
I have learned over the years to not bother with any "f2p" game as I never find them enjoyable. The devs always have to have a way to make a living and I would rather the means for that be upfront and understandable than hidden by a bunch of game mechanics that end up costing bucketloads of cash.
Comments
I have played a lot of free to play MMOs, well into the double digits of quantity. And unlike what the OP mentioned, it is NOT difficult to find a free MMO that is not good. Quite the opposite, it's hard to find one that is good.
Every single free to play MMO that I have tried, EVERY LAST ONE, has either had the following issues right from the start or has developed them after not too much time:
-The game may have microtransactions to help pay for stuff and zillions of users, but only an insigificant spec of the users of the game will actually pay for anything so the company that is supporting/hosting the game does not have a reliable amount of income, and it shows. Compared to most subscription games the variety of content in terms of activities that can be done is very limited, addition of new game content that isn't simply new cash-shop items is very infrequent, and technical glitches are frequently found. They don't have the income needed to have a proper support staff for all the issues.
-Despite what the OP posted, the cash shop items almost always DO have an affect on the player's power, sometimes significantly so. Unique clothing items often come with stat boosts, items that assist in crafting allow rich players to get ultra-rare power levels on their equipment easily, sometimes they can get full equipment sets well beyond what a character at their level should be able to have. Pay-to-win runs rampant , and is completely unfair when you get into PvP; two players at equal levels with proper planning and skill builds , should have a roughly equal chance of winning regardless of how much real money they've dumped into the game.
-Most of the time the cash shop items can be traded for in-game cash through player shops, like pretty much any other item in the game. The sellers of the cash shop items can charge pretty much whatever they want, and those prices also affect the prices that people charge for other standard items since they all want to save up to get one of the cash shop items that they would not normally buy themselves. This leads to massive inflation everywhere, to the point that the amounts that people charge in their shop for standard items is several times what you would get for that item from selling it at an NPC store, and it wrecks the player economy.
-Those "rich" players that put a lot of money into the game often group together in guilds, etc. and they seem to universally want to brag outrageously; "Hey, look at meeeee, look at my leet stuff, I'm better than UUUUU!!!". The amount of snobbery that happens is downright putrid.
This NEVER FAILS to happen in free to play games with a microtransaction shop, at least none that I've seen. The game needs the microstransactions to pay for itself, the players the vast majority of the time will not spend a dime on anything in the microtransaction shop UNLESS those items give them some kind of power benefit, the microtransaction items are therefore set to give those power benefits and boom: you have pay to win which = bad.
And let's not even start on the fact that 90+% of the free to play MMOs these days are mindless WoW clones.
These are why I think free to play MMOs are absolute garbage as a whole.
Where's the any key?
Lets see.... Just a few random examples from the LOTRO Store...
Vitrue: Valour + 1
Tome of Might
Tome of Revival
Tome of Remove Dread
+5 % Attack Damage 90 minutes
Enhanced XP Supply
+262 Max Morale
Fall Injury Immunity
Legendary - True Rune of the Dark Watch
Legacy Tier Upgrade.
I could go on....in fact about 90% of what's on offer in the LOTRO store falls under the definition of "Pay 2 Win" as I see it.
In an MMO like LOTRO "Winning" (i.e. "a measure of succes/achievement") is about...
- Defeating PVE Challenges and Content
- Advancing a Characters Level and gaining EXP.
- Enhancing a characters abilities in Combat/Adventuring/Crafting or whatever activity the player deems important to them within game.
- Aquisition of wealth/power & magical items.
- The granting of titles/reputation and recognition.
- Progress through the Epic book line and gaining access to higher Tiered Content.
ALL of the above are measures of the players Achievement/Success in the game (i.e. "Winning").
The vast majority of things on offer in the LOTRO store...are either a DIRECT purchase of such things....or a purchase of things that assist the characters chances and aquisition of such things.
They are "PAY to Win" every bit as much buying an extra Queen in Chess or an extra Ace in Black-Jack are. The fact that you are not in DIRECT competition (i.e. PvP) with other players for most of the game (outside Monster Play) does not change the fact that it is "Pay 2 Win" anymore then purchasing an extra Queen when you are playing CHESS AGAINST a Computer Opponent rather then a human player does. In fact with our Chess Solo play example.....at least the RULES of the Game (i.e. content) are NOT ADJUSTED to make the game more difficult for the player who CHOOSES to play without purchasing an extra Queen just because other players DO make such purchases....and the maker of the Chess Game does NOT have a financial incentive to disadvantage the player with only one Queen.
In a shared environment like an MMO....what one player does WILL effect anothers experience EVEN when there is NO PVP or DIRECT COMPETITION. When PvP enters play...it gets even more pronounced.
Following up .... I see this dynamic as no different then the guy in a Pen n' Paper D&D Campaign who says to the GM... "Hey, I'll pay you $10 if you give me an extra +2 to hit and 20 extra Hit Points for the next play session".
If it's a solo campaign run just for that Player by the GM...then fine, whatever nonsense entertains you....
But I SURE AS HECK don't want to be playing in the same Campaign and the same D&D Group as that guy.... even when he's fighting on MY SIDE against NPC Monsters.... wrecks my enjoyment of the game. Period.
There are free to try games for sure, but hardly any are free to play (spare me examples of the few that actually are). So honestly, when games claim to be free its such an obvious lie that it makes me question the game itself.
So maybe not all "free" games may be substandard, but most actually are (I am not so much against it, that I dont try them). On top of that as other already mentioned, those games are from the core designed to make money from shop solutions, which usually makes them worse.
All is not black and white, and for me an honest free to try game is that you can buy ONE premium version period, it is the entire idea of relative money to power ratio that annoys me.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
I feel that haters of F2P and Cash Shops are saying, "We will only tolerate items that we don't want, and won't buy being sold in the Cash Shop." Hater will say things like, "Fill the Cash Shop with Ball Gowns, Pink Dresses, Handbags (Non-Inventory Enhancing), and non-Combat Pets". But will scream bloody murder if a Sword of +10 PvP attributes, is put in the Cash Shop. Hardcore PvP gamers value "End Game PvP", and "PvP Gear". They don't value the grind or the leveling process, so Leveling enhancing items are sold in the Cash Shop. They value Gear, so Gear is sold in the Cash Shop.
So Yes, being against F2P games selling items that make leveling faster or gear is the same as thinking that the devs shouldn't be paid in anyway.
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
Except for the fact that almost everyone espousing a dislike of F2P games is stating a preference for P2P games. Pay. To. Play. I have no problem paying developers, I just don't want to pay them $5.00 at a time to overcome engineered inconveniences. I want to pay a single, larger fee that gets me into the game, a single fee that grants me access to anything and everything, a system where my ability to cancel my subscription at any time provides the developers with constant motivation to improve the game.
I am not stating that I want all F2P games to be shut down and set on fire, I am not stating that all F2P games suck. I'm just stating that the payment model offered is not one that appeals to me personally. I like subscription-based games because, once I subscribe, I never have to think about real world finances again until I cancel; I just log in and play. That, to me, is valuable. If it's not valuable to you, that's perfectly fine. In fact, it's more than fine - it's precisely the reason that both types of payment models exist. My way isn't better. Neither is yours. My way is best for me, your way is best for you. Yay for both of us.
The P-n-P D&D game has 10 players. Two players pay $15 a month, they get +30% Xp, +5 to hit and 30 extra Hit Points every month. Then there is the one guy who pays $10 to get an extra +2 to hit and 20 extra Hit Points for the next play session. The next fellow buys a "Fabulous" Sparkling Jade Pants Suit with no stats, and a Turquoise Unicorn mount all for $5. The only woman in the group spends $10 and gets a wand of +15% Healing, a Robe of +10% Hp & Mana.
The other Five players don't spend a cent. They get no bonus Xp, To Hit points, or Hp. When the GM asks them to bring drinks or snacks (Watch Advertisements), most of them laugh, and call the game P2W, and lame. They go to the bathroom, go outside and smoke a cig, and never bring drinks or snacks. They gripe about how long it takes to level, the session feels like a grind. They keep coming over for 8 month, then go and join another D&D group and do the same thing all over again.
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
If you are a fan of P2P, then I applaud you for supporting your favorite game developer(s). My comment only applies to fans of F2P. There are fans of F2P who are not bothered by overcoming engineered inconveniences. They are not fans of P2P, or sometime B2P, they are only fans of all things Free. They are not fans of being expect to pay for their play. They are not fans of others whoes play style matches their own, and who pay for their play. They are not fans of paying, but they are fans of F2P.
For three years in the Naughties ('00-'09) I maintained 11 subs, in B2P & F2P I bought Cash Shop items. At all time I felt I payed for my play. If you are an Omnivore don't try to control the eating habits of Vegans. But if you are a Vegan, be expected to pay for all those vegetables you are eating.
Subscribing and paying members are the only ones paying for F2P games, and they are a small fraction of the player base. So they are the ones that Devs Target for additional sales. This is regrettable, and is a flaw of business culture. Yeah, for the both of us anyway.
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
@Konfess
Oh, okay, gotcha. I apologize for the misunderstanding. The context of the post I quoted caused me to misinterpret what you were saying as an attack on anyone who voiced dislike for the F2P model; I didn't realize we were actually on the same page, relatively speaking. Developers definitely need to be paid, regardless of the billing scheme. Cheers.
Well to be honest there is something to that, your average person isn't going to give away something for free to someone random if they could make money off of it. So yes, that free TV will likely sit there for a good while.
Now if your average person isn't going to give away something they could make a profit on if they sold it then is it logical to assume a corporation that is designed to make money will give something away if they could make money selling it instead?
We get traps like this all the time, free weekend in Hawaii... just spend the bulk of your weekend being harassed by salesman trying to sell you a time share. Here is a free sample, it's free for 14 days.... if not returned by then we are authorized to charge your card $129.99.
Free doesn't often = free. Especially when offered by some company or corporation.
Sure, call people a fool for not jumping at anything labeled free but do understand free has become a word that has a habbit of biting you right on your arse.
When it comes to free to plays the word free has come to mean many different things, not just because we assume so but because many free to plays have shown us these definitions.
Free = Wasn't worth charging for and will be shutdown soon
Free = Expensive as hell due to many items needed to fully play the game or compete with others being things you must buy on the cash shop
Free = Poor customer service and support
Free = Community Ceaspool
These are just a few examples of how many, many F2P MMO's have used the word free.
You can call people fools but the truth of the matter is summed up nicely by an old saying "Once bitten, twice shy".
Admittedly, the tomes do increase max stats....but the rest of your items mentioned are merely convenience. Tome of Fall Immunity? Pft, that is something so limited it seems worth not mentioning at all. Things like virtues, legacies and so on? That is all available to F2P players. Why even mention them if it is available to all? I never buy any of this junk other than the stat tomes and I get by just fine. As for the stat tomes, if you think +50 to a stat gives you a huge edge....ha, forget about it.
As for the ingame advertisements, after a while, you stop seeing buttons that open the store. Unless of course, you feel like letting it bother you a whole lot. But why let it? The actual gameplay is something that would cost immersion, but no more so than the average MMO out there.
Again, this is useless bashing you people are proposing just put down the F2P model. Like it or not, it is here to stay, and will surpass the subscription based model. And why not? It makes more sense. You stop feeling like you are obligated to play a game every moment just to get your money's worth out of a month.
My blog is a continuing story of what MMO's should be like.
I never played DnD paper I heard of it but in my opinion overral is not the game model, the story of game or anything is the current player base...which is so mix up that does not know what it wants and is jumping from game to game affecting game play. Some of the most succesful f2p models are hacked like crazy economy prices are in the sky inflation hits the games so hard is crazy and most have to rely on using money to continue playing who can afford an item in millions earning peanuts..then you have pvp and pve mix in the same game.. I have played RP-pve servers and I have come accross people asking for pvp and I like why dont you join a pvp server and the answer is blank.. they go off mad.. pretty much all this people asking pvp have no staying power on p2p games and is the main cause why games are failing now.. The sense of xploration and adventure is lost in this people then there are the ones asking which is the best class of the game so they can play it.. and of course the new one parser freaks cause x third party software said you are not doing x damage you are kick out group... and final WoWism (belief no game is better then WoW) you cant go any game that world chat is reference to this game even beta games are full of this crap chat in any game you go.. instead of listening how the game mechanics or difference of game play no.. is chat of comparing the game to WoW..
Pretty much zen ethics of play have gone down the toillette, the play nice rule doesnt exist there is no respect while attacking mobs someone can just walk off and finish your mob when you are not needing any help. The days where if you where huning one spot being respectful you go look for another are long gone... most people have no grouping skills nor faith in groups but if you ask them .. they are top players...
There is too much uncommon/treasure/epic/legendary items that the market is flooded with them in any games armor change rather being every 10 or so levels is just 2 levels... Even the Trivial loot code is out the window as anybody with trick can go and loot rare drops from any mob like in eq2 mentor mode and duo boxing...
Dev have to really take a step back and look at what they are designing cause copying WoW waterdown mechanics is just ruining new games storylines... I wonder if we ever gonna go back to the time where earning item thru sweat/strategy and conquest make you proud to wield such item..or the times where skills meant more the having top armor and you can just shout and say "Paladin LFG for X zone" and you get invites right away.. and as well could trust that the healer was a good healer or just wing it if they were learning..
It feels lousy when a paper tank(rogue/scout/cleric) tanking in group and there is another cleric and mage and rogue and when ask who was healing the other cleric says not me I was dpsing I thought the mage was healing..(Yup Rift Online brought this mess .. the purpose of having different souls was to fullfill the empty spot while in battle but that went out the window)
Dev got start to separate pvp and pve the current game formula for games is so broken that no one crowd is happy... Specially if they listen to pvp crowd that has no staying power..which prefer games that are cheesie, lazy and where they can gank and bully other players.. Also got make more effective vulgarity filters .. you can't chat without some idiot insulting you or trying to be a smart alex..
I guess I can not agree. Convenience has never been an advantage to me. Especially with my playstyle. Any of LOTRO's items would be wasted on me, as they are all useless junk. Furthermore, the entirety of LOTRO can be bought for about 60 dollars. Then you own it. No subbing, no more payments. That is dirt cheap compared to double or more per year you have to pay for any subscription games.
My blog is a continuing story of what MMO's should be like.
Sorry but while i play F2P games sometimes most of them offer Pay2Win style items in their cash shop, your article is just plain misleading. If not from the start then when they figure you're sufficiently addicted. And many of them have started on this gambling/lottery fashion where you can spend hundreds of dollars for a chance to gain an ingame item which is shady as heck.
When you pay a subscription game you know that the developer puts effort into providing the best game experience to keep you playing - that is his sole interest. Wereas the F2P developer provides the experience to keep you PAYING - sufficient nagging frustration as to make you pony up as much cash as they think they can get away with. Getting beat up by players who did throw cash as the game so as to provoke you to spend as well.
For example APB:Reloaded - premium guns that are better than regular ones.
World of Tanks - premium tanks, gold ammo (lmao)
Star Trek Online - most high end Ships are in the C-Store
Battlefield play4free, Battlefield Heroes - better guns, only permanent weapons can be upgraded
And the aggravating thing is that most of the proeminent free games today STILL have a subscription option available, except the subscription now buys you like 2xexp, or 2xcash and similar now, not the whole game. So besides trying to get you to throw your money at items they now push you into buying premium as well with horrific grinds that you can only alleviate with a subscription to your free game (e.g. World of Tanks, APB, etc..).
Hence the newer term of Freemium - the worst of both worlds.
F2P games are not free. They just want you to believe that. The game is designed to make you want to use the CS as often as possible. Normally this means terrible grind and that you must buy "time savers" in the CS to avoid it. Very boring, IMO.
Games like that are credit card competitions. And unless you buy every time saver and boost in the CS it will be painful to play.
I would have to agree with Hurvart on this one. Pretty much wrote what I was going to write. There is no such thing as a free to play game. Every game has a price. The games that do not have a direct monetary price have artificial stumbling blocks put into the game such that they are usually painfull to play unless you spend money in a shop. These games almost always end up costing more than the typical $15 a month to become "pain" free.
The exception to this general rule are older games which have allready had their development paid for by a stint as a pay to play game or sub based game and now the devs are merely trying to keep a large enough population around with just enough income to keep the game viable. In this scenario the f2p model can actually be enjoyable.
I have learned over the years to not bother with any "f2p" game as I never find them enjoyable. The devs always have to have a way to make a living and I would rather the means for that be upfront and understandable than hidden by a bunch of game mechanics that end up costing bucketloads of cash.