Whats with people hating F2P?

[Lemuria]

I think everyone already knows why F2P has such a bad reputation, and why people automatically roll their eyes at the thought. Bad free-to-play games outnumber the good ones a thousand-fold.

Think of all the times you've seen paywalls or 'pay to win' strategies in these games. They're rife with them. And the games that don't resort to these get forced to eventually. Or they'll use the classic 'lockbox' as a mechanic, enticing players with the promise of rare and unique loot for purchasable keys, when in reality it's just another wind crystal.

Good free to play games are something of a rarity because it's really difficult to toe the line between content people actually want to buy, and content which would be considered overpowered or pay to win. It's also very difficult to balance out the enjoyment for non-paid and paid players in these sorts of games. Want more fun? Open your purse.

So, is it really a surprise that so many people grimace when they hear the words 'free to play'? It's been done so poorly lately, that groaning is practically a reflex action at this point.

[Xau]

i played for some time f2p games, and me waste by plaiying such games on me whas around 60€ per month, now look back to FFXIV sub price, on f2p games, if you whant something, you will usualy to pay for it, on sub ones you earn it(most of the time if we add the few aditions to mogstation)

then theres other problem added to f2p games, less mature comunity, trolls, a even greater flood of cheaters(to the point what is imposible to control if the player base is huge)

[SargentToughie]

Everybody in this thread keeps hating on F2P. Calling it Free to Lose, Pay to Win, whatever.

Yep! And that explains why to this day, FF14 and WoW are the two biggest video games played on computer. Certainly, there's no possible way that a free to play game could ever succeed, or be balanced in a way that you can achieve play at the absolute highest level without ever spending a dime on the game. SURELY there's no possible way that they could succeed if they just pushed you to spend real money on things to speed up grinding a bit, or by giving you amazing cosmetic changes to your character that you'd actually WANT to spend money on. No game has ever been able to do that before.

[StrejdaTom]

Nice try.

Sorry friend, but LoL is small game (any MOBA is) compared to a MMORPG.
You just can't go and compare 2 completely different genres.

[SargentToughie]

Sorry friend, but LoL is small game (any MOBA is) compared to a MMORPG.
You just can't go and compare 2 completely different genres.

Uh, yes I can. If this many people are playing it, then I suppose they're doing something right.

[AskaRay]

Everybody in this thread keeps hating on F2P. Calling it Free to Lose, Pay to Win, whatever.

Yep! And that explains why to this day, FF14 and WoW are the two biggest video games played on computer. Certainly, there's no possible way that a free to play game could ever succeed, or be balanced in a way that you can achieve play at the absolute highest level without ever spending a dime on the game. SURELY there's no possible way that they could succeed if they just pushed you to spend real money on things to speed up grinding a bit, or by giving you amazing cosmetic changes to your character that you'd actually WANT to spend money on. No game has ever been able to do that before.

But not everyone likes MOBAs.

[StrejdaTom]

Uh, yes I can.

By small game I meant the developement costs. 1 champion monthly? Ok, they have to balance stuff, but that's it.
Finances put into developement of MMORPG are much bigger, that's the main reason why most companies decided to go with smaller games (MOBAs for example) because there isn't so much risk in them and they can be paid with vanity/hero shop.

[SargentToughie]

But not everyone likes MOBAs.

You're missing the point. League found a way to become literally the most played video game in the world while humoring the F2P market. There are zero pay to win mechanics in the game, and everything that influences the actual game balance you get either through leveling up or buy through IP. RP just allows you to buy specific champions, skills, and rune pages.

It's not impossible, it's not even really all that HARD. Just make content that your players are willing to spend money on.

[Calypsx]

snip

It's a pvp game and the first to make a game that's pretty much easy mode dota which was already popular. It got a good headstart and exploded in popularity after that.

pvp games like LoL and TF2 have a totally different audience that they attract. LoL doesn't require new content, new worlds, trials and dungeons being created like MMORPGs require.

[SargentToughie]

snip

Yeah, but they did it anyway. Did you see the preseason changes they're making going into S6? Every year Riot changes LoL drastically, to the point where it's an entirely different game. New champions barely scratches the surface of Riot's extreme balance changes at the start of every new season.

The S6 client and itemization changes, and the inclusion of rift herald, is an expansion so broad that it actually puts Heavensward to shame... In a F2P game.