As for LP being an "artificial" barrier, all the rules in any MMO are "artificial barriers". They usually exist to regulate game play in a way that the game designer intended. It's not unusual for players to refer to the rules as "stupid" when they don't like the rules.
There is a significant difference between mechanics and monetization. The issue people have isn't that the rules are a barrier to their gameplay, it's that cash is a barrier to their gameplay. You expressed this same concern when awaiting Wildstar, so I'm not getting your lack of understanding/empathy here.
You don't see the difference between my complaint regarding "usual Cash Shop monetization strategies" and the situation in AA ? Quite simply then, in AA my sub gets me what I want, whereas in most F2P games that is not the case. Hence no complaints about AA in that regard.
I take issue with the fact that many people are accusing the game design of being purely a money-grab. They refuse to acknowledge that it could be strongly motivated by the need to curb goldsellers, which would be rampant in AA if the F2P accounts had free access to everything. These curbs are only effective if backed by a dedicated publisher who monitors and polices game activity, which does not appear to be the case in Russia (?).
The most common complaint hinges on the fact that players can't do stuff "fast enough". They are frustrated and angry because they can't powerlevel their crafting professions to 70K in the first week after launch. That is the "modern way" in the west, and any game that dares to run against that expectation is immediately labeled as a "monumental asian grinder"...
There is no difference other than your personal acceptance of a paywall here and rejection of it elsewhere. It doesn't impact how you want to play, there you find it agreeable, citing with great hyperbole your assumed reasons why other people dislike it despite them saying nothing of the sort.
As for the gold sellers, this doesn't affect them. They are often using hacked and stolen accounts, and they will cycle through them as necessary to achieve their goals. Historically, they have a pattern of identifying the best mid-level drop/resource or mid-level grind spot to maximize their return.
Those bots are 'playing' for a different reason than you are. They are 'playing' differently than you are. They are not restricted by the same caps that you are restricted by. The most significant difference is that their characters and accounts are disposable to them.
What "acceptance of a paywall" are you talking about ? Which "paywall" am I accepting here and "rejecting" elsewhere ?
...
I have a problem with F2P games that usually force me to pay for cosmetic items which are often 90% Cash Shop exclusives.
...but you don't have a problem with the LP system, a system modeled after the energy systems of Facebook and browser games - a paywall for a particular playstyle. Since it doesn't affect your playstyle, you see it as just another rule of the game, whereas a paywall between you and the content for your playstyle is, as you made clear in the linked post, a deal breaker.
You accept it here, but reject it - dread it, even - in games where your personal fun is walled off.
Labor points are in the game ever since it was p2p; so calling them a paywall is silly. I'm sure in the many posts of this thread people explained why they are necessary so won't bother doing it again.
There is no difference other than your personal acceptance of a paywall here and rejection of it elsewhere. It doesn't impact how you want to play, there you find it agreeable, citing with great hyperbole your assumed reasons why other people dislike it despite them saying nothing of the sort.
As for the gold sellers, this doesn't affect them. They are often using hacked and stolen accounts, and they will cycle through them as necessary to achieve their goals. Historically, they have a pattern of identifying the best mid-level drop/resource or mid-level grind spot to maximize their return.
Those bots are 'playing' for a different reason than you are. They are 'playing' differently than you are. They are not restricted by the same caps that you are restricted by. The most significant difference is that their characters and accounts are disposable to them.
What "acceptance of a paywall" are you talking about ? Which "paywall" am I accepting here and "rejecting" elsewhere ?
...
I have a problem with F2P games that usually force me to pay for cosmetic items which are often 90% Cash Shop exclusives.
...but you don't have a problem with the LP system, a system modeled after the energy systems of Facebook and browser games - a paywall for a particular playstyle. Since it doesn't affect your playstyle, you see it as just another rule of the game, whereas a paywall between you and the content for your playstyle is, as you made clear in the linked post, a deal breaker.
You accept it here, but reject it - dread it, even - in games where your personal fun is walled off.
No, I don't have a problem with the LP system actually, even though it's quite limiting to my playstyle as a serious crafter. It will restrict how much of a certain part of AA I can play every day, but it won't affect the rest of my AA game play. I need no LP to PvP or PVE or man a cannon on a galley...
Unlike the "paywall" designs of the Facebook and mobile games, where you simply can't play the game AT ALL unless you pay or go do something else for a few hours.
AA doesn't kick you out when you run out of LP. You choose to stop playing because the other aspects of the game don't interest you. It's no different to logging out of a standard themepark because you've done all your dailies and have no interest in the other parts of the game.
Much of the complaining about AA's design is filled with heaps of heavy hyperbole and exaggeration. Very emotional in fact, with deliberate emphasis on the disliked aspects at the expense of all others. I suspect that at least 50% of these rants will end up as Patrons at launch. One doesn't usually spend large amounts of energy on things you don't care about...
Comments
Labor points are in the game ever since it was p2p; so calling them a paywall is silly. I'm sure in the many posts of this thread people explained why they are necessary so won't bother doing it again.
No, I don't have a problem with the LP system actually, even though it's quite limiting to my playstyle as a serious crafter. It will restrict how much of a certain part of AA I can play every day, but it won't affect the rest of my AA game play. I need no LP to PvP or PVE or man a cannon on a galley...
Unlike the "paywall" designs of the Facebook and mobile games, where you simply can't play the game AT ALL unless you pay or go do something else for a few hours.
AA doesn't kick you out when you run out of LP. You choose to stop playing because the other aspects of the game don't interest you. It's no different to logging out of a standard themepark because you've done all your dailies and have no interest in the other parts of the game.
Much of the complaining about AA's design is filled with heaps of heavy hyperbole and exaggeration. Very emotional in fact, with deliberate emphasis on the disliked aspects at the expense of all others. I suspect that at least 50% of these rants will end up as Patrons at launch. One doesn't usually spend large amounts of energy on things you don't care about...
Ahh, I've kinda missed reasonable comments over the matter. Thank you:)