So I started playing “The First Descendant”.
(And here is where you say: Here we go…)
And from what I’m seeing, their monetization is way, waaaaaaaaay more predatory than anything you would see in the Diablo IV store.
By a large amount.
Look at this situation: I got my character. Cool, I like him. Im getting invested into him.
But now i want to make him look better (as you usually do).
But, to even change the color of the basic character (the basic skin that comes with him), you need to do 2 things first:
0 - We start from the point you can’t change the color of your basic character.
1- You need to buy 2 skins for your character.
1A - One for the head
1B - Other for the body
2 - After that you can BUY the color you want for the skin.
So… For a simple change (that won’t even make your character so different) you need to buy 2 skins and buy the color.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Oh, you are planning to make that cool weapon?
Nice, but it will take 4 hours to complete.
But I know you want to play with it fast.
So we will let you buy this gimmic that speeds up the time so you can have your weapon now.
I can see that they are emulating the Warframe model of monetization.
But its even more abusive, since that in Warframe you can change the color of your basic character without spending anything.
So this thread is more to let you know that Blizzard and the Diablo IV team are kinda going soft on us with the microtransactions.
And if you thinking about the prices, my brother, they are practically the same.
The difference being that “The First Descendant” will try to squeeze even more from you in all fronts.
“It’s okay that he screams at me every week and throws bottles at the wall. My last boyfriend beat me. This is better.”
8 Likes
It’s more like:
“My last boyfriend wasn’t the prettiest, but he was fair to me. The new one is gorgeous but he is cheating on me and I think he does crack.”
3 Likes
You mean the free to play game?
No you are wrong, Blizzard is way worse.
In that game you can earn everything…yes some of the drop %'s for the ultimate stuff is pretty low…but beyond that it is what you expect monetization of a f2p game to be.
Also you don’t need to buy anything there.
Also play for a while and you will see they give you cosmetics…and when their servers go down they give out compensation in the form of boosts.
4 Likes
Irres, my boy, my beloved…
0,4% in one of the parts of one character.
But you can unlock it if you pay…
Irres…
Irres…
No, my dude.
And yes, I saw that you have ways to make that chance go to, what, i dont know, 8%?
(but this if you already have a good character to do the content)
Comparing the wrong games. D:I versus First D would be a better comparison. D4 you need to compare it to a game you purchase first that has only cosmetic options to buy afterward.
There is no pay for convenience or pay to win monetization in D4. Even purchasing the battle pass isn’t that bad considering you get 700 platinum back. Now that doesn’t mean stuff isn’t overpriced in the shop, but none of it helps you in any fashion other then to look ‘cool’.
3 Likes
Yeah it was like 3% for the ultimate drops and people(streamers) have mentioned it.
I have been playing it since launch, and have not needed to spend a dime.
I bought the battle pass as it is only $4 based on the currency you get back. And I have no problem supporting a free game I am finding fun for now.
Yeah the single apply paint is also somewhat stingy but whatever…it is not the biggest deal to me.
This is Nexon after all.
I just got the Toxic girl…grinding, it took like a few sessions but that is kind of what I expected with the pacing of this game.
Wait, so that paint, you can only use it once?
I thought that if you got it, it would stay there in the inventory for you to use it again later (maybe in another character).
Nope 1 time… but the battlepass gives you more and I think they even can drop in places.
And again these are things they can change later…but today that is how it works.
I have been focusing on getting Valby not so much the cosmetics.
Im half way for the poison girl you mentioned.
But im also not trying to farm her.
Im kinda ok with Ajax.
But I understand that in a game where the character are like tools, sometime I may want (have) to really farm the other Descendants.
You will have to farm…but follow the story. You will get Bunny before anything else. And honeslty she is currently the best hero.
Wow… I have never played a Looter Shooter… I think this First Descendant game is amazing, complex and I enjoy the challenge. I am not walking thru that game with ease like Diablo 4.
it is a free game, so they must rely on the store to maintain. So if I enjoy the game, yes I will invest in the game… Not there yet, I can not beat the damn Devourer… Boss.
Blizzard charged folks 100 bucks for the game of DEIablo… the game was not ready. Upon release, they change the game 30 days in, essentially angering everyone.
30 dollar portal windows ring a bell? This game DEIablo 4 is why I will never buy Blizzard ANYTHING AGAIN… ever…
Rob Ferguson is parasite.
2 Likes
People defend the “free to play” micro transactions with the argument they are giving you the game for free so I’m just showing my support as a thank you.
But giving it for free is the honey in the fly trap. More people will play it for free which makes it more likely that they buy something for a small amount because “it’s still cheaper than $70”. And when these freemium games do something like reducing the build time of at item so you no longer have to wait 4 hours they’ve just tied the dopamine of getting an item to spending money and before you know it people have spend 4-5 times the cost of a AAA game with these micro transactions sometimes it’s way more than 5x.
The freemium model is a plague on the gaming industry and not at all in the same category of optional cosmetics sold in AAA games. I hear people use the term “whales” referring to people buying sets I’m D4 but it’s not even on the same level as whales in freemium games who can end up spending 100s per month.
What I hate about freemium games is the the lack of support for the game. Everything is for profit. Any change has to have a profit increase or it’ll never happen.
Who cares? Let them. People like me who buy no more than a BP, are not impacted by what others spend.
Sure but a company like Blizzard double dipping with both hands is better?
Try the game, and see how much support it has. It will cost you nothing but bandwidth and the time it takes to play. Compare that objectively to what the level of support this game gets. And no I don’t mean campfire chats 
. Just see how they compare as games even.
They are not the same thing. And this isn’t me being a fanboy or whatever other nonsense people say to discredit a post.
One is praying on addiction by tying the dopamine from unlocking an item faster with money. I’m sure you e heard plenty stories of a parent getting credit card bills for 1000s because their kid kept buying unlocks. Not just parents but adults too. They spend $3 here $2 there and before you know it they’ve spent the rent money.
When have you heard that happening with cosmetics? I don’t even think it’s possible to spend that much even if you bought the whole store.
As for the whole you’re not impacted by what others spend. That is certainly true but a somewhat self centered view on it.
How are you people even playing the game? I have a 5800X3D and 4090, and the damn mouse cursor doesn’t even move correctly. It’s literally the worst-optimized game I have ever seen.
I never said anything like that. Just telling you it is not an objective stance.
I don’t really defend f2p but the ones that have more p2w aspects most people avoid.
This game seems to have p2 save grind, but those items can be earned. The rest are cosmetics…which as I stated I have gotten some from just playing and you get in the BP.
But you are defending $70-100 entry fee and then all the same stuff, and just lower overall quality. FD is doing a balance pass already, just an idea of the current support level. Sure that may fall off, but Blizzard barely ever cared until it was time to sell an expansion.
I know people who have spent that on RMT’s here, no matter how much they deny it, just because it is not offered in the store, don’t overlook Blizzard does nothing to stop that blight.
You don’t have to look THAT far to find a way worse monetization system, D4 predecessor.
Yet, Diablo 4 is doing perfectly fine.
It sure is pricey for a single skin, but I’d argue they made quite a fortune with some specific Barb skins this season, I just keep seeing " Demon’s Heart", " Hell’s Champion" & “Lord eater” if I got the name correctly.
I have a I9 12900K, 3090ti. Game runs fine on Ultra for me at 1080p. Have not tried it in 4K, most shooters I don’t bother I would rather have frames.
I also have RT on at high.