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Eurogamer: Star Wars Battlefront 2 has a loot crate problem.

I didn't find earning loot boxes to be much of a problem in the beta. I got several gold and silver cards from my crates and played only 4 to 5 hours at most. I was able to upgrade a couple cards too.

That said the game is pretty boring mechanically and not a must purchase to me.
 

Briarios

Member
Oh i'm playing other games, at the moment Warframe.

I like Warframe's implementation of loot boxes. You can easily get useful frames and weapons without them, but the relic unlocks make it part of the game to try and collect them. I actually enjoy that shiner box approach because I'm playing and having fun to unlock the stuff -- and no one has a horrible advantage over me. I mean, of course, the difference is that it's co-op ... But co-op is a place where this sort of thing is better implemented because you're unlocking for yourself, not to compete.
 

Nick_C

Member
3600 hours to unlock 12 guns?

rofl

To be fair, I also hear that weapons unlock based on character levels, so scrap will get you a high end weapon earlier rather than later, but it still looks to be pay to win. You'd still need to open an average of 60 crates to get a gun if you haven't unlocked it by leveling, according to Joe's math.
 
No, Overwatch can eat shit too. Just keep it so you can buy the skins with in-game currency gained from matches and sell the skins direct. You don't need lootboxes at all.

ehhh i would own everything by now if it worked like that.
And that's less exciting.

I like the way it works, especially the way there is WAY less chance for a dupe now.
 
feelings are fun though, and why else are people playing games.

I dont give a fuck about your gameplay experience, I care about mine. Customization is part of my gameplay experience and its been fucked over consistently in modern gaming.

Good, I don't care about your experience either! I hope you keep fighting your fight, I frankly don't care if they shove a bunch of suits in boxes. Never have, never will.
 
You can't really add cosmetics to a star wars game.
Battlefront 1 had cosmetics which they decided to drop for some reason.
Star-Wars-Battlefront-Release-Date.jpg


They also took map specific hero costumes and hid them in loot boxes.
 
Disgusting. Not surprised the defense force for loot crates that's been making the rounds from thread to thread over the various games isn't showing up here.
 

Pooya

Member
why these dumb developers don't keep it cosmetic when it's the proven method to work extremely well. I guess you have to actually put work into that instead of these garbage stat modifiers...
 

Fbh

Member
I just realized Christmas gifts are loot crates.

Nah. Chirstmas gifts were at least picked by someone you know and are something they think you will like.

Loot crates are as if your friend walked into the store, handed the store clerk $50 and told him to gift wrap literally anything in the store worth $50 or less.
And sure the store might have just picked the one think you really want....or you might get a pack of gum you don't even like.
 

Nokterian

Member
I like Warframe's implementation of loot boxes. You can easily get useful frames and weapons without them, but the relic unlocks make it part of the game to try and collect them. I actually enjoy that shiner box approach because I'm playing and having fun to unlock the stuff -- and no one has a horrible advantage over me. I mean, of course, the difference is that it's co-op ... But co-op is a place where this sort of thing is better implemented because you're unlocking for yourself, not to compete.

Also you get something every day but it doesn't punish you, i love how much stuff you get to craft things. But also co-op works great i really like it.
 
why these dumb developers don't keep it cosmetic when it's the proven method to work extremely well. I guess you have to actually put work into that instead of these garbage stat modifiers...

You blame the developers, I bet most of the blame lies with some suits in a board room.
 

Nick_C

Member
I don't know. I'm having a hard time seeing much a problem here other than you can pay real money it get stuff sooner.

Say I decide to not spend any money and just grind for loot crates in hopes of what I'm looking for. How is it any different than grinding in an RPG or MMO for that rare drop your looking for? At least it gives some incentive to keep playing and unlocking stuff rather than having everything thrown at you quickly. Really all its doing is deviating from a linear progression of leveling up your character and knowing what your getting as you increase in level, to a RNG system more along with lines of an standard loot based RPG. People grind thousands of hours is games like Diablo to get gear and never complain.

Yeah it's not really an RPG, but I guess I'm one of the few not to bothered by all of this.

Angry Joe's (Unfinished) Math
In the BETA
Average of 15CM per loot crate
900 CM per class for 2 weapons
3 guns per class
4 classes
3x4 = 12 guns
12guns x 900 CM
10, 800 CM to unlock 12 weapons
10,800 CM /15M per loot crate =720 loot crate openings
so basically 720 loot crate opening for 12 guns
which he says you're rewarded the same amount of credits irregardless of how well you play the game. And it took them 5 hours to open 2 loot crates on average
And the items actually affect the gameplay such as decreasing damage, etc.

X____________X

To be fair, I also hear that weapons unlock based on character levels, so scrap will get you a high end weapon earlier rather than later, but it still looks to be pay to win. You'd still need to open an average of 60 crates to get a gun if you haven't unlocked it by leveling, according to Joe's math.

.
 
Fuck Loot Crates. I didn't care when it was with multiplayer games and cosmetics, but it's going to far now.

Will vote with my wallet of course.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
I would give this game a shot if it was free. It would probably annoy me if it ... since it's pay to play. I don't particularly like the whole loot crate thing unless it's not something that feels like a big grind to get (overwatch loot crates feel like a big grind to me).
 

Rodelero

Member
Or maybe the lootbox system runs more and more rampant throughout gaming in general while getting more and more brazen with the contents of them.

Destiny having one times use shaders and getting 3 of those shaders in boxes while you have 4 gear parts to use them on is manipulative as fuck and worth calling out.
The times when we complained about horse armor surely are far far away at this point. You remember the times when you could unlock weapons through normal gameplay? I do. This won't get better, it will get worse. The more journalists calling this crap out the better.

I know it's annoying but I feel it's necessary for someone to try and maintain the accuracy of things being stated in this thread.

1) There are far more than four things to shade in Destiny. Five pieces of armor, three weapons, plus, technically, the ghost, sparrow and ship.

2) You get, from my experience, far, far more shaders in Destiny 2 than you ever did in the original which easily makes up for the fact they are consumable. Plus, the fact you can now individually colour things is great.

3) A large part of the furore was that people started to suggest Destiny 2 was pay to win because bright engrams can give you blue (rare) modifications. This turned out to be entirely irrelevant because (1) blue modifications are incredibly common by the endgame, (2) you can't open bright engrams until said end game and (3) you really need purple engrams which are rarer.

I am entirely happy for journalists to be pointing this stuff out... but accuracy matters. I'm not a fan of the system in Battlefront II, but quality of discussion on these kinds of topics is dismal.
 

Rektash

Member
The amount of people in here still defending this make me believe this will get a whole lot worse before it will get better again.
 

Ros8105

Member
Angry Joe's (Unfinished) Math
In the BETA
Average of 15CM per loot crate
900 CM per class for 2 weapons
3 guns per class
4 classes
3x4 = 12 guns
12guns x 900 CM
10, 800 CM to unlock 12 weapons
10,800 CM /15M per loot crate =720 loot crate openings
so basically 720 loot crate opening for 12 guns
which he says you're rewarded the same amount of credits irregardless of how well you play the game. And it took them 5 hours to open 2 loot crates on average
And the items actually affect the gameplay such as decreasing damage, etc.

X____________X
Jesus Christ. Fuck videogames.
 

Polk

Member
Pity Angry Joe missed out one of the main ways you get currency (at least in the beta) which is through challenges. Also, is 900 crafting materials correct? I don't think it is that much.
600 per gun + 3 attachments 100 each.
 

Chao

Member
Remember when they used to compare games with drugs back in the 90s. Kids were hooked on those games like a junkie is to heroine.

Now they're actually trying to keep you hooked for as long as possible by artificially padding the content of the game. You need to keep playing or you won't unlock the stuff, ever. That is unless you pay more.

This should be illegal, i can't possibly think of a positive thing bout these practices.
 

Nick_C

Member
Nah. Chirstmas gifts were at least picked by someone you know and are something they think you will like.

Loot crates are as if your friend walked into the store, handed the story clerk $50 and told him to gift wrap literally anything in the store worth $50 or less.
And sure the store might have just picked the one think you really want....or you might get a pack of gum you don't even like.

Okay, okay. How about a compromise? Christmas gifts are loot crates with the odds weighted in your favor.
 

Odie_Esty

Member
I can see it now. Giant Bomb GOTY: Please stop: "Non Cosmetic Only Loot Crates."

I hate this phrasing because it seems specifically designed to give overwatch a pass when the problem isnt that these crates change gameplay, it's that loot crates are gambling. They are spwcifically and insidiously designed to gouge you for more money. The box you get for logging in or leveling up isn't to keep things fair, it's to keep their hooks in you. It's the same thing a casini does when they give you a meal ticket or upgrade your hotel suite, it keeps you locked in their ecosystem. Never forget overwatch charged you sixty bucks and then gives you a box once every 6 matches or so.
 

Gator86

Member
ehhh i would own everything by now if it worked like that.
And that's less exciting.

I like the way it works, especially the way there is WAY less chance for a dupe now.

"Lootboxes are good because they prevent you from getting things you want AND are exploitative!"
 

chidrock

Member
Hold up...don’t you get specific crates for performing certain things in the game? Doesn’t that mean that even though they are still coming in the form of loot boxes you will still be leveling up based on gameplay?

For example I thought if I played as a an assault player I would get an assault-themed crate for it. I played on both the PS4 and the XB1 and got the same contents in that crate..

Edit - I don’t mean the random ones; I mean the class specific ones you get for hitting certain milestones.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Disgusting. I'll get it, play the campaign and sell it. As far as I am concerned it's a single player game.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Hold up...don’t you get specific crates for performing certain things in the game? Doesn’t that mean that even though they are still coming in the form of loot boxes you will still be leveling up based on gameplay?

For example I thought if I played as a an assault player I would get an assault-themed crate for it. I played on both the PS4 and the XB1 and got the same contents in that crate..

Edit - I don’t mean the random ones; I mean the class specific ones you get for hitting certain milestones.

There's only a couple of those in the beta. If those were much more common in the final game and scrap was more abundant for being able to upgrade/unlock specific stuff you want I would have much less of a problem with it.
 

Fj0823

Member
Yikes, the industry is becoming more repulsive by the day. *hugs Nintendo switch*

How many "rare" Amiibos are you hugging along with it?

This is BS, all they needed was to have armors paint, hats and decals for your characters and people would still pay for the boxes
 

Struct09

Member
This one has gone too far for me. The boxes in Shadow of War don't really bother me* since I'm only going to play that game single player and can ignore them. I can't accept them bordering on P2W for multiplayer games. I was looking forward to SWBF2 but I'll be passing for now, hopefully EA does something to correct this because the game looks like a ton of fun.

*opinion subject to change after I actually play the game
 

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
You say that as if this isn't a normal part of the experience anyway. Being beaten by someone who has better stuff than you is part of Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, Rainbow Six: Siege, Uncharted 4, and so forth. Some games allow you to earn that stuff through playing or paying, some only support earning it through playing - none of these games are truly level playing fields.

The question that needs to be asked isn't whether you can pay for an advantage (you can, but then you can in all of those other games too) but whether the advantage a paying player has over a relatively experienced non-playing one is excessive.
Here is my problem:

Both players are paying players. They both dropped 60+ dollars on the game already. So this whole thing amounts to EA saying, "we already have your money, but if you give us MORE money, you can win more."

That is awful no matter how much more they let you win by.
 
Imagine if TV shows, movies, or books tried to pull this fucking bull shit?

Why are video games the one medium allowed to get away with this?

It makes no sense to me.
 

KORNdoggy

Member
So Battlefront was a bare bones, low content simplistic online shooter.

The sequel seems set to better it in every conceivable way, including all future dlc being free...only they ruin it with this shit.

Great job EA!
 

Audioboxer

Member
Game is fun but the progression system feels like an iOS game.

A paid for game acting like a F2P game? Apparently that is required now or else Battlefront 2 couldn't afford to be made /s

Yeah, this sounds like a really bollocks attempt at over monetization. Well played EA.
 

shimon

Member
Disgusting. Not surprised the defense force for loot crates that's been making the rounds from thread to thread over the various games isn't showing up here.

Really? I actually am surprised. I was waiting for people to defend this garbage and was wondering what kind of stupid arguments will they use.

This should be illegal, i can't possibly think of a positive thing bout these practices.

Every game with shit like this should at least be rated M. Period.
 

Nick_C

Member
How many "rare" Amiibos are you hugging along with it?

This is BS, all they needed was to have armors paint, hats and decals for your characters and people would still pay for the boxes

By tying loot boxes to gameplay altering systems, like guns and abilities, they have broadened the customer base for them. Skins, hats and decals have a limited market if the, "It's only cosmetic, so I don't see a problem. I just won't buy them," people are anything to go by. Much like Forza 7, making these drop items that affect the way the game is played make them much more appealing to many more people.

It's no longer about being profitable. It's about squeezing every red cent out of as many people as possible now.
 

antispin

Member
I hope sites have the balls to review the games accordingly. The score is the bottom line that'll get the pubs' attention.
 

brawly

Member
I would imagine that you get lootboxes faster in the full game than in the beta. Then again, it also took a ridonculously long time to level up in Battlefield 1, so who knows.
 
I would imagine that you get lootboxes faster in the full game than in the beta. Then again, it also took a ridonculously long time to level up in Battlefield 1, so who knows.

You might, but there will also be WAY more items to unlock so your chances of getting what you want will greatly decrease. The beta had a very limited amount of items.
 

LAM09

Member
Get enough points for crates quite quickly in the beta (2 crates after four games). Still not a fan of abilities being stuck behind them, though.
 
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