Home › Game Forums › ArcheAge
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Pay King = Game King
This discussion has been closed.
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
Yep, and people also won't catch up as long as there's no progression cap (which there never is in any whaling F2P that knows what they're doing. Given that they've yet to get a set of the best equipment in Korea Archeage, Archeage clearly knows what it's doing)
The vast majority of whales spend like crazy AND play the game like crazy. They wouldn't be spending like crazy if they didn't play the game like crazy in the first place. So saying "I can catch up only if I play like crazy" eggregiously misses the fact that they're ALSO playing like crazy, with the major difference being that while you're spending all your time earning gold to buy labor potions from them, they're spending the same amount of time using that gold they got from you to craft their super weapons that they will then upgrade using cash shop items you'll have to spend even MORE time getting gold just to buy from them. By the time you've earned enough gold to buy the labor potions and the re-grades, they're already out with a BFG blowing you to smithereens (and taking even MORE of your gold from your trade packs while taxing you with their castles) and working on making their BFG+1.
Note that it takes a few months for this to settle in, which is why you might not see it yet in the west for AA yet (although it's starting to creep in already, apparently)
By the way, whales tend to attract other whales and they tend to form pods together. They're kindred spirits a lot of the time, after all. So teaming up with your friends to take them down usually doesn't work because your attempts to create a 5-of-you vs 1-whale situation usually quickly becomes a 5-of-you vs 3(or sometimes 6)-super-whales-each-capable-of-killing-4-of-you-by-themselves situation.
Its pretty shocking how many people vehemently refuse to accept that AA is P2W. Putting OP gear directly in the cash shop is an outdated FTP model that the industry moved away from quite a while ago. Its now about power bars (labor) and adding 500 ways to RNG upgrade your gear with cash items that improve chances and the higher you go the more expensive and risky it gets.
I guess for some people just having a character existing in a virtual world to escape to for a while is good enough and any type of narrative that tells them they are suckers or just fodder for whales to get their jollies off on isn't an acceptable reality.
My gaming blog
Meh....
Gamers are their own worst enemies, and sooooooo many are too dumb or addicted to see it. A little bit of self discipline will go such a loooooong way.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
That video is a riot!
"What? I lost??!"
-pulls out credit card of doom
"Now I win!"
------------
2025: 48 years on the Net.
Isn't that the point of games like this though? aren't F2P players in effect, the content that those who pay have access to. Uncomfortable truth perhaps for those who would rather not pay to compete, but hardly surprising.
Yes, that is the point of those games (marginally sure this was mentioned in R2's presentation too, but I forget). Nihilist's own point is that lots of people naively don't realize that's the point (well, in some cases they do realize the point but just don't care. Both net the same profitable "whales are happy being on top of them" end result for the company though).
mmorpg junkie since 1999
Sadly yes, these games are only vaguely about creating interesting virtual worlds. They instead are just cash harvesting simulations that prey on the human psychological desire to derive self-esteem and attention from success in a video game.
In balanced games that are actually competitive it is extremely hard to 'win' - FTP games gives these people who can't win legit but have some cash lying around an outlet to be champions for at least a little while until the ignorant FTP ppl catch on and leave.
First off... thanks bully, that was hilarious.
Secondly, am I the only one seeing the irony of a twitch stream with the list of biggest donors up on the upper left ranting about pay to win? "Pay to watch a pay to win!"
Third... is that Dieter's monkey on his back?
Fourth... I propose we just skip all the formalities and intermediary steps and buy a certificate from the cash shop that says "You have won Archeage! Congratulations!" What do you think an appropriate price would be for that ultimate item?
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
I like that. It's not a pay-2-win game, it's just a cash harvesting simulator.
BWAHAHA!
------------
2025: 48 years on the Net.
The main benefit of F2P is that it removes the forced cap on player spending. You are no longer restricted to only spend $15 per month (or whatever the sub fee is). You can spend $150 or $1500 or $15000 or whatever you like !
Don't feel like grinding today ? Drop a few $ in the Cash Shop and you can have instant fun !
It's what players have always wanted, the freedom to pay for what you want, when you want and only if you want. Works perfectly if you're the only person in the game.
The problem is that in the competitive environment of a PVP game, that illusion is quickly shattered. Other players may pay for something that they want (which you might not have yet), and then proceed to beat you over the head with that item until you buy something better or quit the game...
I was a big supporter of Archeage during Alpha but the business model leaves a lot to be desired at this point. They did a lot of pre launch tweaks that really altered that great experience I had before. I can't support and do the whole "it's not P2W" thing anymore, because it basically is (you have to be an extremely frivolous spending fool, but it is).
As a patron I feel like I run out of labor and it takes too long too regain when I'm not playing now. I'm not even a heavy crafter/gathering type either. If I leave the game alone of an entire day and come back and my labor isn't replenished it's disenfranchising. I feel like if I don't pay for pots, I can't do what I wanted to do.
I dunno man, between this and the utter ineptitude of the headstart + auroria launches AND Trions inability to do anything about anything. I feel like I want to step away. It's hard though. I don't want to lose my land, or stop playing with the cool guild folks I've met. Meh.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Given that the guy is now #3 despite spending over $12,000 on the game, I'd say the appropriate price on your "You have won Archeage" certificate would be greater than $12,000.
Patron status is a huge scam because you still need to buy labor pots every single day and use them on multiple characters to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.
Since you can buy them with gold people don't think its P2W, but like Tiamat posted earlier, while the average player is buying pots for gold, the wallet warriors are taking that gold and directly upgrading their gear. By the time the average patron player gets what he wants, the cash shop player is already several tiers ahead.
This was pretty much my exact personal gameplay experience. I was buying labor pots for gold and using the labor to get money and buy regrades. By the time I had heroic GHA, I began to see people in 5v5 with celestial ephirim/delp weapons who were literally 2-3 shotting our entire team. All my worst suspicions became true and I uninstalled.
Sadly things like this are one of the major reasons F2P games get away with it. When people say F2P companies prey off of peoples' psychological needs, that is NOT hyperbole.
No irony having gold selling advertising up when the streamer willingly says that the game is p2w. And everyone knows that buying in game currency is the norm in the Korean market.
The irony is that the vid shows what many of the NA community like to holdover the asian market and say they are better, they just don't want to admit that they accept the p2w business model.
I am amazed at the absolutely brilliant command of the English language demonstrated by the man in the video.
I give this video, two fingers up!
FU XL! FU Trion!
Lulz
The most dangerous weapon in PVP is the all mighty CREDIT CARD.
Lol.. love the video.
Come on people open your eyes and stop supporting garbage like this.
Spending money = P2W.
I bought Warlords expansion for WoW, when I'm lvl 100 I'll stomp any lvl 90's who didnt. P2W.
its not about how many people are in a pvp match. Its about pvp being pay to win.
Wait...why does this sound uncomfortably much like real life?
EDIT: Anyway, this thread makes me feel much better. Now, I feel like I got out cheaply after spending about $200 on AA, including the $150 archeum pack. I thought I was "investing" in my long-term up front, getting my land together so I could make gold that way. I didn't quit because I figured out the p2w aspect of this game. I quit because of how the publisher managed (mismanaged) it, and because of the poor customer service. I still regret spending the money because of that, not to mention money I spent subbing to Rift, and actually buying Defiance and a Season pass based on my now long lost trust of the publisher. Sucker.