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Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Microtransactions Are Shaping up to Be Pay-To-Win

A

Arttemis

Member
MutFox said:
Hmmm...
We need to find out how many possible gameplay hours it'll take to possibly earn it all...
Click to expand...
MutFox said:
Yep, just gotta see how long it'll take to possibly grind it out.
Someone will do the math in the first few weeks post launch.
Click to expand...

In the beta, you can buy a crate after 3 or 4 matches. A crate comes with 3 random items (or one might be currency to create star cards) of random quality.

You also get a free crate to open every day you play.

There are also checkpoints that reward with a crate for reaching gameplay milestones.
 
B

BreezyLimbo

Banned
MutFox said:
Yep, just gotta see how long it'll take to possibly grind it out.
Someone will do the math in the first few weeks post launch.
Click to expand...

I can tell you itll take a long ass time and wont be feasible to grind without paying.

Dice seems to have followed clash royales model- that is you can unlock the base cards, and then any copies you earn of it can ve used to level it up. You can buy boxes to earn mass amounts of cards quickly, probably the currency needed to level it up as well.

The point is, the levels do matter and people will quickly have a bad time. Especially since there doesnt seem to be a mode that restricts the levels of the star cards.

It sucks.
 
T

TangoAlphaLima

Member
nuclearaddict said:
The beta is most likely extremely sped up.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but there are also a ton of different cards you can earn in the game. Abilities, weapons, mods, emotes, skins, etc., all for multiple varieties of troops, heroes, starfighters, vehicles, etc. They could dole out cards pretty quickly in the full release and it would still take forever to get it all.
 
Reallink

Reallink

Member
Tovarisc said:
Coming from Shadow of War threads to this one is giving me serious whiplash.

Shadow of War is getting crucified by large portion of GAF for loot box / MT model very like this one. Milking people for more €, artificially adding grind to the game, selling power progress...

SW: Battlefront 2? Disturbing amount mental gymnastics to justify why this is only good thing. How it's 100% optional so selling some power progress is fine, game isn't padded out with slow grind to promote pack sales (do we know they don't for release?)...

But then Battlefront 2 has Star Wars printed to the box so need all reason not to ignore it and purchase it.
Click to expand...


EA employs more 'turfers than WB, they've been at it a lot longer.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
At this point AAA publishers should just drop the pretense and turn every £50 game into the gacha skinner box bullshit future they're all dreaming about. At least that way I wouldn't have to watch good franchises slowly ruined with the creeping tide of legalised gambling.
 
D

DrDomVonDoom

Member
Ughn, you fucking fools, you could have just had loot boxes for different peices of armor and weapon skins and dodged the hate, but noooooo.
 
LoveCake

LoveCake

Member
What did he mean by this? said:
People seriously want this sort of stuff over season passes?
Click to expand...

I had no issue with the first game, I loved it and that Walker Assault on Hoth BETA sold me the game, I had the season pass and I had hundreds of hours in the game, many people complained about the game, the lack of a single player campaign and the season pass, EA changed this to what we have in this sequel, I would much rather have no single player campaign and no micro-transactions and have just paid £25/30 for a season pass for eighteen months of multiplayer maps.

I still have this on pre-order, I also have Forza 7 UE, so if you want to talk about loot-crates running a game then there it is..

Michael Pachter has been on about this for sometime, the pub/devs now give away free stuff like maps etc to keep people playing but then charge (loot-boxes/micro transactions) as a way to re-coup the costs and thus make more money.
 
K

Kinyou

Member
Why can't devs just stick with lootboxes giving only cosmetic rewards? Paying real money to get access to new perks etc. is simply bullshit.
 
Crayon

Crayon

Member
What did he mean by this? said:
People seriously want this sort of stuff over season passes?
Click to expand...

The problem is that people really enjoy it. Many people really get a rise out of putting the money on the line and seeing what they get. Kind of a weird problem but that's how it is.

If the publishers want it and the developers want it and the general population wants it then it will be like this. For my part, I feel like I can take my business elsewhere.

I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys this or even just puts up with it. Even if I sound like it sometimes.

But yeah honestly I think a lot of people actually like it. Better than a 19.99 season pass.
 
K

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
Kinyou said:
Why can't devs just stick with lootboxes giving only cosmetic rewards? Paying real money to get access to new perks etc. is simply bullshit.
Click to expand...

Why is it okay for cosmetics to be MT bait, to begin with? I see this a ton. Awful.
 
BigEmil

BigEmil

Junior Member
I don't see anyone buying this consumables unless richest people or old people who's not good at the game and wants to play better

But still even normal users can still get these aswwll just less often through normal grind
 
T

Tovarisc

Member
Saucycarpdog said:
It's more because GAF loves single player games. I mean, this is the forum where some people believe only a story driven SP game can win GOTY. With Shadow of War, people are afraid more and more SP games will adopt this model.
Click to expand...

Surely SP game loving GAF realizes that when not called out and acted on all types of games (SP, MP, Coop...) this kind loot box practices aren't going anywhere, but will get more common?

At the end I can't, but chuckle at crucifying one game for these practices while coming up with reasons and mental gymnastics to justify them in another.

Edit: Reasons that 100% apply to both games, but somehow not fine another

What did he mean by this? said:
People seriously want this sort of stuff over season passes?
Click to expand...

Reading this thread, yes.

Some really do want Pay 4 Power over Season Pass.
 
A

ArkhamFantasy

Member
GearFourth said:
I don't see anyone buying this consumables unless richest people or old people who's not good at the game and wants to play better

But still even normal users can still get these aswwll just less often through normal grind
Click to expand...

This is built to exploit gambling addictions. They have this down to a science, they even hire mental health professionals to help them do it.
 
S

Sky87

Member
What did he mean by this? said:
People seriously want this sort of stuff over season passes?
Click to expand...

Of course, ends up saving me 30 or 40$ (whatever the previous season pass cost) and i have never bought a loot crate with real money in my entire life, nor will i start doing so now. Won't affect me in any way negatively and i get free content because of it.
 
F

frontovik

Banned
You guys didn't seriously think EA gave up the season pass model because they are being consumer friendly... did you?

Did you??!
 
M

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
At the very least, can the people crusading against loot boxes stop calling them gambling? It makes your entire argument look ridiculous, and you're never going to get any traction that way. They're not gambling in any sense unless you're prepared to apply the same label to baseball cards and gumball machines. The essence of gambling is the idea that you could either get a greater value than what you put in, or you could get nothing. Loot boxes by definition give you something. Just because it's not what you wanted doesn't make it nothing, or make it valueless.

It's not gambling and there's no way to cogently argue that it is. There's plenty of bad stuff to say about loot boxes without undermining your own argument.
 
MADGAME

MADGAME

Member
Anyone flying the "you can earn everything in the game without paying" flag is disingenuous at best, an apologist shill at worst.

Yes you can earn everything, but it is random and the cards affect gameplay. Who knows how long you have to play to buff your character meanwhile those who pay extra have better loadouts instantly and enjoy significant gameplay advantages.

It's a scummy practice and the the apologist defense force is getting old. But hey, "it's my Star Wars and I like it so it's justified"
 
V

Vital Tundra

Member
Nt to mention it just makes progression feel really unrewarding. Just playing the beta I just don't feel like I obtained anything substantial.
 
S

Scuffed

Member
This is really disapointing. Why are they doing this? If a game becomes pay 2 win then I just stop buying stuff in game. I always think that if I can't compete with whales then I just won't buy anything at all. I am one that thinks that gating all the cool cosmetics behind loot boxes is terrible too BUT at least I never feel disadvantaged in game so I'll still work for them and maybe buy them but make them p2w and I can't be bothered.
 
SargerusBR

SargerusBR

I love Pokken!
I will say this, the success or failure of this model in BF2 will determine if future MP games from EA will drop the season pass/premium model or just continue with it.
 
N

nuclearaddict

Banned
MattKeil said:
At the very least, can the people crusading against loot boxes stop calling them gambling? It makes your entire argument look ridiculous, and you're never going to get any traction that way. They're not gambling in any sense unless you're prepared to apply the same label to baseball cards and gumball machines. The essence of gambling is the idea that you could either get a greater value than what you put in, or you could get nothing. Loot boxes by definition give you something. Just because it's not what you wanted doesn't make it nothing, or make it valueless.

It's not gambling and there's no way to cogently argue that it is. There's plenty of bad stuff to say about loot boxes without undermining your own argument.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious. The definition of gambling is to "take risky action to get a desired result". Chance based loot crates are by definition gambling and if you want to go that route, I believe baseball cards are too. You take a gamble on any pack. What makes loot crates any different from pulling a lever on a slot machine?
 
R

Ravelle

Member
It's really true to the source material.

rey-sees-luke-skywalkers-lightsaber-for-the-first-time.gif
 
I

Ibuki

Banned
MADGAME said:
Anyone flying the "you can earn everything in the game without paying" flag is disingenuous at best, an apologist shill at worst.

Yes you can earn everything, but it is random and the cards affect gameplay. Who knows how long you have to play to buff your character meanwhile those who pay extra have better loadouts instantly and enjoy significant gameplay advantages.

It's a scummy practice and the the apologist defense force is getting old. But hey, "it's my Star Wars and I like it so it's justified"
Click to expand...

The lootboxes you buy are subject to the same RNG as earned ones.

So what are you talking about?
 
ebullientprism

ebullientprism

Member
GraveRobberX said:
Wait what?

How isn't Battlefront 2 Competitive?
Click to expand...

I think he means competitive in a CSGO/Dota/LoL kind of way. A game that has to be carefully balanced and scummy shit like this would make the game instantly unplayable.

This is more like MW2.

IMO it doesnt excuse this bullshit. But you can kinda see his point.

MADGAME said:
Anyone flying the "you can earn everything in the game without paying" flag is disingenuous at best, an apologist shill at worst.

Yes you can earn everything, but it is random and the cards affect gameplay. Who knows how long you have to play to buff your character meanwhile those who pay extra have better loadouts instantly and enjoy significant gameplay advantages.

It's a scummy practice and the the apologist defense force is getting old. But hey, "it's my Star Wars and I like it so it's justified"
Click to expand...

I swear these guys are in every thread where this discussion comes up.

Yeah we know that you can earn everything without paying it. There is literally no one arguing otherwise. So thanks for stating the obvious and feel free to leave if that is the entirety of your contribution to this discussion. Cause you clearly havent got a fucking clue as to what people are talking about.
 
ComputerBlue

ComputerBlue

Member
TangoAlphaLima said:
Over a $50 season pass? Probably, yeah.
Click to expand...

Here's the problem with this though. And I'm against season passes, but this isn't a better solution.

With a season pass, you're going to get 15 or so new maps with new locations at the end of it all. How many new maps do you expect we'll see here? I bet 5 at best with maybe one or two new locations. A couple of those maps may also just be reskins from the previous game.

In the first Battlefront, those season maps eventually went free for everyone. They're free right now.

Uncharted 3 had loads of DLC maps, in total there are 35 maps for that game, all eventually went free for everyone. Uncharted 4 has gotten 4-5 new maps, with micro-transactions filled with weapons and shit replacing the season pass.

Titanfall is another example, first games maps went free, second got rid of the season pass, but at least their micros are only, literally only cosmetic.

Replacing season passes with cosmetics is a great thing, emotes, costumes, skins, stances, player cards, emblems etc. This is all great, but when you lock game changing weapons behind random loot crates in a full priced game, you're fucking doing it wrong.
 
MADGAME

MADGAME

Member
Ibuki said:
The lootboxes you buy are subject to the same RNG as earned ones.

So what are you talking about?
Click to expand...
Come on, really? I spend $50 on loot boxes, you spend none. I won't get advantageous items when they are guaranteed? For example - some boxes guarantee a trooper card, hero card, etc. plus random items. So the guaranteed random trooper/hero and random items are still gameplay boosting cards I have and you don't, simply because I paid for them. I can buy as many as I want and keep buffing my characters while you slog and grind and face better equipped opponents. If you think that doesn't give someone and advantage I"m not sure continuing this convo will be fruitful for either of us. Maybe you already know that is obvious but are purposely being obtuse?
 
S

shimon

Member
MADGAME said:
Anyone flying the "you can earn everything in the game without paying" flag is disingenuous at best, an apologist shill at worst.

Yes you can earn everything, but it is random and the cards affect gameplay. Who knows how long you have to play to buff your character meanwhile those who pay extra have better loadouts instantly and enjoy significant gameplay advantages.

It's a scummy practice and the the apologist defense force is getting old. But hey, "it's my Star Wars and I like it so it's justified"
Click to expand...

This right here. Why some people don't get it I have no idea...
 
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