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Gears of War 4 Microtransactions are Out of Control
- Thread starter creatchee
- Start date
Jawmuncher
Member
Yeah the booster pack system is all over the place. I don't mind boosters, but geez they needed a better set up. It's just way too much
The only thing I have an issue with is that if I cannot get a pre-made group for Horde, pickup matches with randoms have lasted about 2-5 rounds until I am either the last or second last person still remaining, since everyone else dropped out.
That makes getting credits hard. Horde literally cannot be done with randoms. So you have a mode that essentially requires a pre-made group at all times, which may not be possible depending when you and others log on to play the game.
Maybe there is something unknown that I missed but regardless, I need to play Horde to get credits and if people quit a few rounds into Horde mode, there is no incentive to keep playingthe game that game mode.
That makes getting credits hard. Horde literally cannot be done with randoms. So you have a mode that essentially requires a pre-made group at all times, which may not be possible depending when you and others log on to play the game.
Maybe there is something unknown that I missed but regardless, I need to play Horde to get credits and if people quit a few rounds into Horde mode, there is no incentive to keep playing
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
I play horde too. Belive me I understand the frustration.
But horde is very playable without the buff cards. Speaking from experience too.
EVA UNIT 01
Member
Id prefer it if I could just pay with $ for the EXACT skins I wanted.
Diablohead
Member
One of the reasons overwatch does it well is because win or lose, you gain reasonable XP and after about 60-90 minutes of playing you get a loot box, you can be a bad player but still earn boxes at a reasonable rate.
They are also all pure cosmetics, no damage boosters for horde mode or anything gameplay changing.
They are also all pure cosmetics, no damage boosters for horde mode or anything gameplay changing.
Kaffeemann
Banned
I wish people who spend hundreds of dollars on cosmetic items would rather donate it to charity.
And in Gears even getting the 1k Operations pack can take quite some time. It's awful.
mullet2000
Member
It's not just cosmetic though.
And even if it was, RNG loot boxes are just not very fun to deal with if them existing makes the base game's unlock system worse for regular players, or if you don't have a way to build up to getting what you specifically want/they feel too grindy. It doesn't mean the base game isn't good, but I base he can be good AND the unlock system can be good at the same time.
This is why I have no problem with Overwatch's loot box system, while I think Gears 4's is a bit gross.
Link on the $200m budget please.
Reineldinho
Member
We need a OT which provides clear information about all this stuff. I don't know all the number by hard, but I do know the system is not linear and it does depend on difficulty as well.
Playing 1 - 10 gives less credits than playing 11 - 20. Also playing Easy gives less credits (and experience) than Normal
I do enjoy the feeling of progression. Besides, why all the people want to play Insane maxed out on certain ability(s)? First game I played I jumped in directly on High. It was OK-ish until the boss wave. Then I tried Casual and it was OK until the second boss wave. Then I tried Normal and I found my sweet spot. Now that I've some upgraded abilities it's getting easier 1 - 30, but still difficult beyond 35. Now, I'm mixing my games on a higher difficulty. I know I'll make it to Insane, eventually. Don't understand the rush.
SocksAndShoes
Banned
Microtransactions that change gameplay are terrible. I don't care how they're implemented, they're an abomination. Especially in a multiplayer focused competitive game.
They need to Fix Horde Mode badly. I made it through 50 waves on this double XP weekend and was still only able to buy 2 packs. Ridiculous.
The game is AMAZING, but they need to fix the leveling and earning credits. Getting really annoying as I'm only interested in Horde mode and not MP.
When you commit several hours to one match and to hardly get any rewards is pretty bad.
The game is AMAZING, but they need to fix the leveling and earning credits. Getting really annoying as I'm only interested in Horde mode and not MP.
Totally agree my buddies and I were just talking about this very idea last night.
When you commit several hours to one match and to hardly get any rewards is pretty bad.
KillerDark
Member
Welcome to our dark future.
Okami Haundo
Member
Got it! That's what I thought.
In that case, I can't really be mad about the general existence of these microtransactions. That being said, I can definitely see that they're pretty poorly implemented. There's no reason for "limited time" packs to be randomized. They should at least guarantee something new every time.
Halo 5's REQ system is really the gold standard in my eyes for "random" gear packs. Sure they're random, but it's incredibly easy to attain them via in-game play.
Yup, my thoughts exactly. We want to enjoy the game and for the most part, I really am! However, this random loot box thing feels really aggressively sleazy when you can play 50 rounds of horde and somehow not have enough credits for the basic Horde box or if you do, you get 5 cards that you might want to scrap entirely which nets you a cool 25 scrap. Yay.
For those not in the know, horde skill cards cost 40 scrap to create. Weapon and player skins range from 600-2400 scrap. A single level 4 skill will need 10 cards to reach level 5 and each class has like a dozen or more skills. So yeah, the progression BADLY needs tuning.
Clint Beastwood
Banned
Agreed. People shouldn't spend money on anything, just donate it to charity.
2000 ? I don't believe you.
If you do not use any credit bounties which I do not have currently and you are at a higher level where you don't get 500 credits for level up easily (I was 81 2-3 days ago still 84 despite playing a lot) THERE IS NO WAY you get 500 let alone 2000). On normal I get around 50 credits each 10 wave.
Resident_UA
Member
It's partially a reason why I didn't stick with Horde mode. The progress was way too slow. I rented the game so it's not a big deal at all, but if I really enjoyed that mode I would have purchased the game at some point in the future...
Sain Drevia
Member
So, I was generally unaware of how dependent Horde mode was going to be on these cards and how slow of a drip the means of procuring said cards was going to be. Right now I'm plodding my way through the campaign (30-45 minutes/night) and was really excited to give Horde mode a try after... Now that I've read this thread, I might not even jump in at all. It just seems like I would be spinning my wheels, particularly because I'd be primarily playing with randoms. Really disappointing.
Novel Mike
Member
This is exactly why I didn't buy the game and don't plan to even if they do change things. Honestly I used to even accept things like the loot boxes in Overwatch and stuff like that but its gotten to the point for me where I'm just sick and tired of being taken advantage of by all of these companies and I just don't want to even buy games that have shit like this in them.
The Jackdog
Member
Im not sure the math, but ive played about 4-5 matches online, and a BUNCH of horde on casual and normal.
Im level 20.
I have not been able to afford a single elite pack
Im level 20.
I have not been able to afford a single elite pack
LegalEagleMike
Member
If people are spending over $500 to get some cosmetic items then I am pretty sure it is working as Microsoft intended.
We deserve it. Look at people on this board defend these in every possible way. The market can't stop buying them. It's a lost battle already.
Look forward to games designed around irritating you into spending more money or with progress/unlocks designed to be damn near impossible to get without forking over extra cash.
Gai Murakumo
Member
I agree somewhat OP that micro transactions are becoming too commonplace and out of control. If it is mostly cosmetic I do not really care too much if people are willing to spend money for skins etc. When it can start to affect gameplay or in this case affect how well you can do in Horde 3.0 then I start to take notice of this. My most hated thing when it comes to micro transactions is the gambling and randomness aspect of it, especially if you can pull duplicates which should not happen if the boxes/loot crates are programmed properly.
The Jackdog
Member
if the goal is short term profit, yes.
they have a years worth of DLC planned. im pretty sure maintaining that is gonna require a revenue stream.
hard to have a revenue stream when no one is playing your game because of how frustrated they are
Storm Chamber
Banned
You know, you have a point when you put it like this. How much more should gamers pay to balance their moral compass?
After level 50 it really becomes a HUGE grind for horde players. I feel like I'm stuck ages at my higher level despite playing a lot. Which makes earning credits even worse if you can believe it. I don't understand why they upped the credits for Versus where you get more credits for a shorter amount of time but did not increase it for horde where you play hours and hours and get less in comparison to the time you put in Versus. And to make things worse you get more credits the longer you play in horde but if people drop which happens a lot you lose that too which makes it even more frustrating. And on top of all this if you intend to survive insane horde you have to depend on the cards you get to improve your game which is essential to survive insane but the cards you get are mostly trash all green cards and scrapping them is worthless too. It's really demoralizing and tiresome and makes you give up on the game.
The Gears team has been leading the charge on micro transactions. Gear 3 had a tonne of stuff that wasn't included in the season pass but I think it was all cosmetic.
Clint Beastwood
Banned
There's people on this site that implied Gears 3 was worse (where you could buy the skins you wanted)
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
The argument that big pretty games cost too much to make is also crap when applied to Gears of War 4, specifically.
It's shorter than any previous Gears of War.
There's less cinematics, less characters, less campaign levels.
The visuals are not a quantum leap above Gears of War 3 in terms of modeling, texture work, or effects. There's not that many big set pieces.
It launches with 10 maps. Extra maps will cost money to permanently own them.
Horde mode reuses the same 10 maps.
Its cosmetic work involves only a few alternate character models, and is mostly painted skins for weapons and a handful for characters.
In short there's less game for a $60 price tag than the previous big game in the series, Gears of War 3. And in GoW3, many of the unlockables and bonuses were earned through gameplay and in-game challenges, not microtransaction gambling. There was a seaso pass, but it had a fairly large amount of content for the money.
I'm not inherently against loot crates or micro. In a few games, they don't feel terrible because there's already a lot of content and the game is robust. Halo 5 is actually pretty great, being stuffed with content before you get to the loot packs.
But many games suffer from the problem that Gears of War 4 does: the existence of loot crates and micro-transaction gambling is a ready excuse to ship a game with less features, bonuses, length, and content than previous generations.
It's shorter than any previous Gears of War.
There's less cinematics, less characters, less campaign levels.
The visuals are not a quantum leap above Gears of War 3 in terms of modeling, texture work, or effects. There's not that many big set pieces.
It launches with 10 maps. Extra maps will cost money to permanently own them.
Horde mode reuses the same 10 maps.
Its cosmetic work involves only a few alternate character models, and is mostly painted skins for weapons and a handful for characters.
In short there's less game for a $60 price tag than the previous big game in the series, Gears of War 3. And in GoW3, many of the unlockables and bonuses were earned through gameplay and in-game challenges, not microtransaction gambling. There was a seaso pass, but it had a fairly large amount of content for the money.
I'm not inherently against loot crates or micro. In a few games, they don't feel terrible because there's already a lot of content and the game is robust. Halo 5 is actually pretty great, being stuffed with content before you get to the loot packs.
But many games suffer from the problem that Gears of War 4 does: the existence of loot crates and micro-transaction gambling is a ready excuse to ship a game with less features, bonuses, length, and content than previous generations.
Diablohead
Member
I remember gears 3 having weapon skins for a few quid, I bought the team metalic colour pack because I felt like having a shiny weapon. I don't think anything else was sold apart from the map packs.
User123456
Member
How much do microtransactions affect Horde, especially for someone who doesn't like a heavy grind and will absolutely not pay for anything other than the base game and maybe fixed DLCs, but who could not give the slightest hint of a damn about cosmetics?
I was really looking into buying this, but if this affects Horde's gameplay/weapon availability/etc, I'm out.
Getting wrecked in Halo 5 Warzone Firefight, deciding to use your limited REQs in a game and then getting wrecked anyway because you were the only one who used them is bad enough.
I was really looking into buying this, but if this affects Horde's gameplay/weapon availability/etc, I'm out.
Getting wrecked in Halo 5 Warzone Firefight, deciding to use your limited REQs in a game and then getting wrecked anyway because you were the only one who used them is bad enough.
New dev team with more members makes for more expensive games. And honestly, Gears 4 is pretty feature-packed between the 3 modes. Not saying I endorse this random loot crate system (see my other posts) but I will say its pretty clear that the game was quite expensive to make.
Mass Effect
Member
Clint Beastwood
Banned
You need to buy Horde packs to level up your classes which will make hardcore/insane a lot easier.
It's annoying but since you don't care about customization it probably wouldn't be a big deal, since the packs are only 400 credits
UpDownLeftRight
Banned
It has a massive effect. There are skill cards that can be unlocked and upgraded with a maximum of 5 that can be equipped at once when a character is maxed. Some of these would be stuff like 60% headshot damage + exploding headshots, Increased turret damage, decreased turret costs etc. They basically completely change the game, especially if you have a full squad well kitted out. Of course, it would take either an insane amount of play or a lot of cash to max those skills out. I broke level 60 before I gave up on it and was not even halfway to maxing a single class.
Gai Murakumo
Member
The microtransactions for Horde are not as bad as with Halo 5 Warzone Firefight where the REQs are one time use. They really just help in your survivability and overall contribution to your team in terms of perks you can carry.
Such disgusting casino terminology finding its way into regular game design is realy sad, and as a result, economy specialists and behavioral psychologists have become bigger players in the design of big modern games after the whole Facebook games boom, which later matured into F2P game models and has now been added to premium games because hey, why not!
Crafting microtransaction models that prey on people predisposed to spending more money on that kind of stuff is seriously not what I wish game companies were focusing on. If the argument is that you need more money to create bigger and better looking games at a $60 price tag, then I'd argue that having to implement underhanded casino tactics to rake in additional cash (and for profit, because of course being a shareholder is about wanting companies to maximize their profits so that their dividends go up in turn) is not the way to go, and that maybe the obsession with technical features that are proving to be so much of a time and money sink, while understandable, is also undermining AAA game development.
Thankfully, AAA games are no longer alone in the industry at the very least, so there's always another game or developer to fall back on if your game of choice ends up being a microtransaction trojan horse.
And this is exactly why I wouldn't shed a single tear if so-called 'AAA gaming' balloons in costs so much that it all comes crashing down. It's unsustainable.
Devs seriously don't need almost a quarter of a billion to make entertaining games. Hell, most of the best games I play today are made on modest budgets by smaller, cost-conscious developers and publishers with fresh new ideas.
And even that wasn't very good :/
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Speak for yourself.
Uh... pretty sure that's what I just did.