New ways to monetize the game through customization.

[Syln]

100% agree, FOMO is one of the worst thing used by a video game company to retain players.

[SturmChurro]

100% agree, FOMO is one of the worst thing used by a video game company to retain players.

I hate it. Unfortunately, it seems to be the latest trend for every game. I'll watch devs acting like their "new" monetization scheme is so much better. Including fortnite style battle passes and the like. All FOMO.

[Packetdancer]

I hate it. Unfortunately, it seems to be the latest trend for every game. I'll watch devs acting like their "new" monetization scheme is so much better. Including fortnite style battle passes and the like. All FOMO.

If your "battle pass" is a "you pay once and everything we come out with during the duration of this pass, you get" system -- e.g., season passes that come with "any and all DLC we come out with" and such -- I'm inclined to like it somewhat more -- or at least, hate it somewhat less -- than actively "here's a Cool Thing! Don't you want the Cool Thing? Better buy the Cool Thing right now, or you'll never see it again!" followed by, three weeks later, "Here's the Cool Thing with new, better colors! Don't you prefer this Cool Thing? Better buy it right now, or..."

But if your "battle pass" is "you need to pay us money in order to be eligible at all for any rewards you would earn in-game during this period", then your entire business model is bad and you should feel bad.

If you make things I earn in-game dependent on paying you real money and earning those things in game, I will stop playing. It's even worse if you make earning those things in-game become gambling a'la loot boxes. I bailed on Secret World Legends after having been a loyal player of The Secret World from beta -- having a Grandmaster lifetime subscription and all -- because they started dropping in-world loot boxes from mobs that you had to pay real money to get keys to open, and which you had no idea what they might contain. And that was a hard pass from me. (Despite the fact that, as a holder of one of those legacy lifetime subscriptions, they threw a large number of those keys at me per month.)

I will pay for extra content. I will grind for extra content. I will not pay you (beyond any applicable subscription fee to the game in general) for extra content which I must then also grind for.

[SturmChurro]

...

Regardless of if it's pay to get more, or play to earn all ("free"). You still are forced to play during specific periods, seasonally, otherwise you miss out. These games conveniently allow you to pay a large premium to unlock everything without the need to play during this period. I would rather not play these games altogether. Every game has their own passes nowadays, there are too many to keep up with, and it leads to burn out.

Let's be real, if this game is going to go off the deep end (if it hasn't for you already, lol) then I would say them introducing a WoW token like item to the cash shop would be the final nail. They can milk those types of sales via expansions.

WoW token would be worthless as gil is largely worthless. It would definitely be one of the worst things they could add to the game though.

[Packetdancer]

Regardless of if it's pay to get more, or play to earn all ("free"). You still are forced to play during specific periods, seasonally, otherwise you miss out. These games conveniently allow you to pay a large premium to unlock everything without the need to play during this period. I would rather not play these games altogether. Every game has their own passes nowadays, there are too many to keep up with, and it leads to burn out.

I mean, that's fair. And entirely reasonable; lord knows I've dropped games due to burnout.

I just consider "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period" part of gaming reality -- even if I also find it exhausting and would prefer that any timed exclusive reward eventually have some alternate way to get it -- whereas "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period but you also have to give us money before you get the rewards, otherwise you're just playing for no rewards" is something I consider borderline unforgivable.

And "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period, except the rewards are loot boxes where you might not get what you want, and you need to give us real money in order to open those loot boxes" is, in my opinion, flat-out the gaming business model equivalent of a war crime. Loot boxes you pay to get in a cash shop are bad enough. Putting the loot boxes in your inventory, forcing you to pay to open them or else deliberately, consciously throw them out... that's the worst sort of psychological manipulation and abuse of FOMO.

[SturmChurro]

I mean, that's fair. And entirely reasonable; lord knows I've dropped games due to burnout.

I just consider "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period" part of gaming reality -- even if I also find it exhausting and would prefer that any timed exclusive reward eventually have some alternate way to get it -- whereas "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period but you also have to give us money before you get the rewards, otherwise you're just playing for no rewards" is something I consider borderline unforgivable.

And "play during this period to earn rewards exclusive to this period, except the rewards are loot boxes where you might not get what you want, and you need to give us real money in order to open those loot boxes" is, in my opinion, flat-out the gaming business model equivalent of a war crime. Loot boxes you pay to get in a cash shop are bad enough. Putting the loot boxes in your inventory, forcing you to pay to open them or else deliberately, consciously throw them out... that's the worst sort of psychological manipulation and abuse of FOMO.

Companies are definitely trying to make it a part of gaming reality. I understand seasonal rewards (summer events, holidays etc.), but entire games being structured around these battle passes is extremely fatiguing. They are often made incredibly grindy, you are looking at 50-60 hours MINIMUM per on a lot of these passes, and that can be EVEN IF you pay for the premium variant with several tiers already unlocked. I get that they are a good way to revitalize a game for specific periods, but I just don't like it. FFXIV is doing this as well with their CC season malmstones or whatever.

I've never liked lootboxes, it's a big reason I cannot stand ESO's shop for example. Not only does Zenimax have FOMO "limited time" items in the shop, they had limited time lootboxes. Not to mention the high prices, and $100 houses. It was incredibly ridiculous.

[Packetdancer]

FFXIV is doing this as well with their CC season malmstones or whatever.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they say that the malmstone rewards from one series would be available in future series? E.g., if you didn't get the archfiend armor as a malmstone during this PVP series, you'll be able to purchase it outright with crystalline trophies during the next series.

(Admittedly, I seem to recall they might remove it after that. Which is perhaps a little annoying if you start doing PVP in series 3 and can't get something you wanted from series 1 as a result, but still... it's at least marginally less annoying to make the grind-for-the-thing stuff available for outright purchase once that grind is no longer current.)

We're 100% in agreement on the practices of the ESO shop. :|

[Raoabolic]

WoW token would be worthless as gil is largely worthless. It would definitely be one of the worst things they could add to the game though.

Whew, good thing the devs have nothing but good ideas! Had me worried for a sec, lol.

[Raoabolic]

I hate it. Unfortunately, it seems to be the latest trend for every game. I'll watch devs acting like their "new" monetization scheme is so much better. Including fortnite style battle passes and the like. All FOMO.

Let's be real, if this game is going to go off the deep end (if it hasn't for you already, lol) then I would say them introducing a WoW token like item to the cash shop would be the final nail. They can milk those types of sales via expansions.