• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

IISANDERII

Member
No they aren't because they give you items every time. Gambling does not. Might not be the items you are looking for mind you, but still guaranteed items every time.
There are slot machines designed exactly like this. They always give you a payout, usually a tiny one naturally much less than what you spent.
 

WillyFive

Member
My biggest worry is the amount of content in the game. Without a Premium pass to fund maps as the main product for DLC, I don't expect this game to get a lot of additional maps in the future. Also, the progression system is way too similar to a mobile game for me; I haven't played much of Overwatch and I get it's the same thing, but it doesn't feel like a merit based reward system, you are just getting random stuff and none of it makes sense.
 

Rodelero

Member
Good to see you agreeing its cheating (p2w).

I wonder how long those races would last and how popular they would be when cheating is allowed with more money.

Lets go play hockey / football etc. and with every extra 10mil $ you give you can have 1 extra player on the field, would be so good competitions.

... Do you have any idea how real world sport works? Rich teams have numerous advantages over poor teams in almost every major sport. Soccer is the most popular sport on the planet and it is entirely dominated by teams that spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase the best players so that they can win.
 

IISANDERII

Member
It is an irrelevant factor in a large scale game mode like this.

Sure, a worse player may earn enough points to utilize a powerful card, but they aren’t going to be very effective with it.
On the other hand, a better player can utilize Common cards much more effectively and can snowball a huge advantage.
So imagine that better player coupled with bought lootboxes and it'd be that much worse.
 

Rodelero

Member
So imagine that better player coupled with bought lootboxes and it'd be that much worse.

Practically though this problem already exists in a great proportion of contemporary shooters whether they feature pay to win or not. Games like Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Battlefield all feature systems which see experienced players advantaged by having more weapons, more perks, more attachments, and so on. Let's not act as if prior to this all games featured level playing fields - most shooters haven't for a long time (let's also not neglect that in various ways games like Call of Duty and Battlefield do tend to feature items that you can only get by paying or opening loot boxes).
 
Practically though this problem already exists in a great proportion of contemporary shooters whether they feature pay to win or not. Games like Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Battlefield all feature systems which see experienced players advantaged by having more weapons, more perks, more attachments, and so on. Let's not act as if prior to this all games featured level playing fields - most shooters haven't for a long time (let's also not neglect that in various ways games like Call of Duty and Battlefield do tend to feature items that you can only get by paying or opening loot boxes).

The level playing field comes in game balance where different weapons and load-outs are side-grades rather than upgrades. Loot boxes and microtransactions don't necessarily impact balance just by existing, but they do exacerbate balance issues that already exist. This is the primary bane of most mobile games. Gold 5 star characters are CLEARLY going to be better than lesser star heroes in most mobile games so gating things behind random boxes affects the balance regardless of player skill.
 

IISANDERII

Member
Practically though this problem already exists in a great proportion of contemporary shooters whether they feature pay to win or not. Games like Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Battlefield all feature systems which see experienced players advantaged by having more weapons, more perks, more attachments, and so on. Let's not act as if prior to this all games featured level playing fields - most shooters haven't for a long time (let's also not neglect that in various ways games like Call of Duty and Battlefield do tend to feature items that you can only get by paying or opening loot boxes).
You just reinforced my point.
 

LifeLike

Member
So they make you pay 79.99$ CAD for the game and the progression can only happen if you buy loot crates because there is no incentive or reward for being a better player? If you have two kills and someone else 20 kills, you'll end up having the same amount of scrap money to buy upgrades? This should be free to play. Ouch. Is this what gaming has become? I'll stick to my single player games thank you.
 
Microtransactions have always been a slippery slope but people kept defending them. At least don’t charge full price if you’re going to have bullshit like this in it.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
It can give you an ‘edge’ while not impacting the overall game.
If someone pulls out a Darth Maul card after 10 minutes of consistently dying, they may pull out a kill, but it isn’t impactful to the game.

This is exactly my reaction to all of this. Sure, I guess there's an "edge" here and there, but I've yet to see anyone have a card that clearly gives them a leg up. A situation where someone is not good/awful at the game, but they get a card and are suddenly much better. I'll reserve my feelings until I see a situation that astounding.

I agree that the idea of this practice is certainly dirty. But I feel like this situation could be a lot worse. Pardon me if I missed anything, but has there been verification of hard currency being allowed in the game? Because from my understanding it's all been in-game currency. Obviously, one route is far dirtier than the other.
 

Hanmik

Member
Eurogamer thinks the same..

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-09-star-wars-battlefront-2-has-a-loot-crate-problem

Wouldn't it be easier if you had a big pile of money to spend on a stack of loot crates instead? Yes, in other words, Battlefront 2 - a full-priced game - is pay to win.

Yes, in other words, Battlefront 2 - a full-priced game - is pay to win.
Yes, in other words, Battlefront 2 - a full-priced game - is pay to win.
Yes, in other words, Battlefront 2 - a full-priced game - is pay to win.
Yes, in other words, Battlefront 2 - a full-priced game - is pay to win.
 
Because they’re entitled ass hats. That has nothing to do with loot boxes being a bad practice. The correct move is not purchasing the game/ loot crates at all, not stealing.
Agreed with the bold, but also for another reason. These are free-to-play techniques being applied to full priced games. Techniques meant to return a regular profit with a zero dollar buy-in, and that have been proven effective.

Whether you buy a game used, on sale, or decide to be an entitled ass-hat and pirate it, you're still right where they want you to be. Publishers miss out on the initial asking price, which of course they'd rather you pay, but you're still "in the system" so to speak. Still being acclimated to solving grinds, looking forward to those next RNG unlocks, and acclimated to using an in-game store to buy things with virtual currency as part of the core gameplay loop - (a repeated rehearsal for spending real money) - and thus still a potential buyer of enough microtransactions to make that initial price look like nothing.
 

smisk

Member
This sucks, but if it's the price to pay for free updates rather than DLC, I'll take it. I don't think I've ever bought a loot box in my life (maybe once in TF2) and don't plan on it with Battlefront 2.
 
oof been playing the beta. Wow, those star cards are bad. Not even special traits or perks, a lot of them are literally just base Increase Damage or Decrease Cooldown. Clear upgrades to your character that just make them better.

I was really taken aback by just how much this game is just about loot boxes. it'd be impressive it wasn't so exploitative.
 

uncapped

Member
It could be the worst pay to win game of all time and that still has zero reason for you to pirate. You sound like you were looking for an excuse.

nope, simply making fun of the fact these companies cry about it, but constantly do stuff like this. they get what they deserve.
 

Z3M0G

Member
Mr Sterling chimed in (should have its own thread)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUfkGSbabSo

He makes a GREAT point of how in just a few short months we have seen 4 immediate examples of Pay-To-Win loot boxes that are progressively worse with each game:

Destiny 2 << Shadow of War <<< Forza 7 <<<< Battlefront 2

Something is starting... It feels Publishers really want this to be the next acceptable thing...
 
Top Bottom