You can’t buy ow2. It’s free so what are you even talking about
I hope it’s a gate to Comp mode honestly. That way, if someone that is boosting accounts or a cheater, that hero gate stands in their way.
off the top of my head
- there’s now an uneven playing field. I don’t care how much you’ll try to say it’s small, there still is one now that wasn’t there before.
- new heroes tend to be op and meta, so not having access to them can screw you over
- you can own all heroes but due to roleq one of your teammates may not and there’s nothing you can do about it
the only “good” reason i can think of is that blizzard makes more money, but anyone paying attention to the industry should know that “more money =/= better game”
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Not so. I would have been quite jubilant indeed if it was not F2P. For one, there are consumer protections in place for purchases that are not in place for using a service.
Plus it would be harder for Smurfs to keep getting new accounts.
If OW2 is good enough, and Microtransactions weren’t a thing, I’d be willing to pay $120. (Not too much higher than that though.)
It’s a yes/no proposition.
If a player has additional gameplay mechanics as a result of a payment transaction, it is pay2win. There is no need to elaborate beyond that point. Skill level, win rate, loss rate, team comp, etc - all just noise with respect to the foundational problem.
Add in that the “FREE” path may have a lengthy time element whereby instant gratification is SO enticing at a CHEAP price, it is not only pay2win, but also predatory.
Edit: In terms of solution, the real value and true differentiator for the OW team is narrative, art and design - that aspect alone would benefit from maximizing the audience size (f2p) as well as maximizing the opportunity for emotional attachment to the broader hero pool (no hero locks). I would bet that the revenue from cosmetics alone would yield healthy profits. I know I’d pay a lot and often, as I did in OW1.
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Honestly, trying to convince these people is like trying to convince a brick wall. Their minds are set. Even the content creators that are dancing around the issue are also saying it’s not a great idea. When it comes to locking heroes it becomes “that’s another thing, but…” and they go on to shill for the pass. Except Fredo, who claims he was totally against it, but now he isn’t because “it’s going to be amazing,” but he “can’t tell us why yet.”
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For this thread, I mostly just wanted to get this off my chest, and bring attention to the topic. But yeah, it’s pretty annoying when people argue with you about basic, factual points like “what is P2W”. But hey, it’s the internet. People of all sorts abound.
I watched most of YourOverwatch’s two videos on the matter, after being pointed at them by the forums. I’m skeptical that Blizzard changed much as a result of feedback from creators/pros. My take was it was more Freedo being relieved at any compromise being made–allowing him to internally justify continuing with the game. It’s probably going to be something relatively small like: instead of special time limited grinds to unlock the new heroes after the battle pass is over, players can grind whenever. Still the 30 or 50 hours per hero, and minus the rewards of the battle pass, but whenever. Which is much better for intermittent players, but doesn’t really address the main issue here.
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I just watched his video and it was more shill trite. “Trust me bro, I’m not just on my knees for them because that’s how I make money on the internet, honestly. You believe me, right? RIGHT?!”
He made a point to say OW1’s monetization was the reason content stopped. OW1 averaged about 3 hero releases a year with lootbox only monetization and only stopped when the DEVs said “We’re holding all new content for the new game”. It had nothing to do with monetization.
He says that adding the heroes makes sense because it incentivizes the BP. People were ALWAYS going to purchase the BP. The cosmetics, the Mythic Skins, they are more than enough to get people to buy the GD BP. But putting the heroes into it now doesn’t incentivize players to buy it, it forces them to. You want that Ana/Queen hard counter? Buy it! You know you don’t have the time to grind it out.
And as far as people pretending this is anything other than pay to win, if you’re putting the hero on the 55th tier out of 80 you’re doing that knowing that most casual players are not going to get her unless they buy her. On top of that, this BS notion that “We’re moving away from hard counters” is just waffle to try to do damage control after making their terrible decision and having it leak because they knew it was never going to fly. Why else wait till basically the day before launch to say it?
Everything they are doing with the new game is terrible and the worst part is it’s not going to make a damn bit of difference. People are just going to throw away $30 a year and get NOTHING for it but contempt from people who would sooner see you dead than actually give you something worth while.
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I made myself go back and finish the 2nd video just now… the shilling gets really bad yeah.
I’m mostly okay with the new game and direction, but I don’t think OW1 should be deleted, and OW2’s pay/grind 2 win crosses the line for me.
You know who else it keeps out? New players lmao.
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And then they did exactly this
You don’t want to pay 10 bucks every couple months…is that the hill you’re going to die on dude? I found 10 bucks in my drawer the other day. What’s the big deal with 10 dollars?
It’s my heartfilled opinion HotS 2 was the turning point of that game from what I remember. Overwatch 2 going down the exact same route’s got me worried. Too early to tell yeah, but uh…
Seems sus.
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