So let me get this straight.
Overwatch 1: All heroes were available, you only had to buy cosmetics through loot boxes and you could earn loot boxes over time but they did not effect gameplay.
Overwatch 2: You have to grind to level 55 which most people don’t have the time for to unlock the new hero and all cosmetics are paid ONLY with no earning option like OW1 and on top of that the hero is now unlock 1 in the battlepass which directly effects gameplay and mechanics and their respective interactions.
This is actually predatory, completely predatory. They know exactly that people will not have time to grind to 55 generally and so they are banking on people who have a job or family life to deal with and will exploit them for it (whales too) while simultaneously effecting gameplay as well.
They want players to buy the Season 2 battle pass to get instant access to Rammatra. This is literally pay to win in the sense that the vast majority of people whom are not everyday players i.e playing 3 hours or more a day will be able to unlock it, meanwhile working a job and having a family life, people will not be able to unlock it in time before the two week honey moon is over, the vast majority of the player base do not play every day and are gated out of exp on top of that by the horrid match making. More over after that point he WILL be locked behind a paywall as well. Taking this further it is the monetisation of GAME MECHANICS and CORE GAMEPLAY, this takes the game down a very awful road that most do not come back from without becoming just a cash grab.
Diablo Immortal is free to play isn’t it? Oh wait its pay to win? Ohhhhhhh so thats what happens when you monetise game mechanics. Right.
“oh but you can unlock it…” yeah after DAYS of getting rolled by someone playing as him and you cannot play him yourself immediately without buying him, it takes days to get to 55 not hours. This directly affects gameplay. Monetising core gameplay mechanics is a bloody mobile game tactic and shouldn’t be on a console or PC.
I am genuinely enraged by this. More over, they’re hoping people will get angry enough and buy the damned thing so they have access. This is just…the levels of exploitation this game engages in is completely repulsive.
DO NOT buy season 2 battlepass if you do not want to be used as a corporate doormat.
Edit4: Please see edit1 below for my solution.
Edit3:
To clear something up, the following is NOT what this thread is about:
- It is not about the battlepass overall, it needs some work to improve and could be better.
- It is not about the price of the battlepass or the price of the shop, the price of the shop is entirely another discussion.
- This is not just about time consumed to obtain the hero, albeit is still significant due to it affecting a large portion of the player base.
- This is not about wanting something for free instead of earning it
- This is not about being entitled. Most of us here PAID for overwatch 1, were lied to about overwatch 2 and then given this excuse of a sequel as a means to squeeze the player through a new shop. It isn’t even a new game, all of this could of been done in a patch. So we’re playing the same game and now far beyond worse for the player.
- This is not a tirade against capitalism, I actually support capitalism just with some level of regulation in a attempt to prevent crony capitalism which is not the same as capitalism and something else entirely. Unfettered anything isn’t a good thing except free speech which is the only absolute in my opinion. (Note: I am a brit, I have no basis in which to argue for the US’s 2A so please don’t ask)
The following is what this IS about:
- This is about the longevity of the game and the state of the game moving forward
- This is about blizzard monetising gameplay mechanics and core mechanics
- This is about the threat of the game becoming egregiously predatory.
- This is about the time consumed as well and time per $/£/euro (I dont have the Euro symbol lol) which is extremely relevant as it helps determine worth and generally the fun of the game as a whole for those who don’t have time. As we have seen with the current system of coins we can get and how long it would take to unlock a single legendary, this should be a very relevant point.
Disclaimer: Please see Edit2 for WHY business is not inherently predatory, if you believe it is then you need lessons on what capitalism actually is and should get off tribal, mastadon and Instagram. Free markets and mutual self interest are not instantly predatory nor are they instantly greedy, both are products of the human mind and not the system. Capitalism is not Crony Capitalism.
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EDIT1: Quote from one of my comments further down as I see it as the best solution and the only way I will buy the battlepass.
It is the only way I will because I will not enable them further, I don’t care if it “does nothing”, I will not pay and encourage this crap and no I don’t care if its in “other games”, I don’t play those “other games” and other games doing it should not be an excuse for it to be an acceptable norm.
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EDIT 2: Second quote to make the point to people complaining that they need to make money and that this is some how the only way blizzard will make enough money from the battlepass.
I hate having to make this edit but some people seem to think the problem is some how the pricing or that its not much, the price is irrelevant its the principal and the negative effect it will have.
(or lowering the level requirement, idk)