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> Seems like most multiplyer games have some sort of "pay to win" (or pay for an advantage) scheme in them Can you share an example of this outside of mobile g

> Seems like most multiplyer games have some sort of "pay to win" (or pay for an advantage) scheme in them Can you share an example of this outside of mobile games?

giantg2 2y ago
Plenty on here. Also it's not as egregious as straight pay to win, but often it's stuff like buying a season pass to level up or unlock items faster. https://fictionhorizon.com/best-pay-to-win-games/ https://fictionhorizon.com/best-pay-to-win-games/
- alex_lav 2y ago
  1. noncompetitive game 2. mobile game 3. mobile game 4. not actually pay to win. 5. noncompetitive game 6. mobile game You see where I'm going. You can't relate "has microtransactions" with "is pay to win". They're different.
  - giantg2 2y ago
    That's only 1/3rd of that list. Any multiplayer game is competitive to some degree. If you see my previous comment, it specifies "pay for advantage". Some games you have to pay to unlock gear or xp boosters to make it really playable.
    - alex_lav 2y ago
      > Some games you have to pay to unlock gear or xp boosters to make it really playable. Again, can you provide an example? Also > Any multiplayer game is competitive to some degree Is just blatantly incorrect, unless you just mean "One player is further in the game than the other", in which case literally all games are "competitive", including single player.
      - giantg2 2y ago
        "Again, can you provide an example?" I can but I won't, because I'm done with this conversation based on the inauthentic responses.
        alex_lav 2y ago
        So 0 real examples have been provided, either by a commenter or via the link. Exactly as expected.
BalinKing 2y ago
This shows up in fighting games, where DLC (i.e. paid) characters often have increasingly overpowered properties or even entirely new mechanics that the rest of the cast struggles to deal with.
xnorswap 2y ago
You can buy gold in World of Warcraft. So you can essentially skip half your character's progression arc by entering a credit card number. Now, you can argue that the best gear is BOP (Bind on Pickup) so this isn't a huge factor, but there's still definitely an aspect of "pay to win", since there are plenty of other things you need gold for that payment skips. You can also argue that WoW isn't competitive, but all multiplayer games have a light competition of being ahead of others in progression, even if it's not direct competition. (I'm ignoring PvP because actual PvP is a tiny minority interest. )
- safety1st 2y ago
  This description of the pay to win properties of WoW is slightly dated. Gold buys you very little in the way of gear these days. They have de-emphasized the role of gold over time because players kept buying it. That didn't stop players from figuring out how to pay to win though. They now pay "boosting" and "carry" services - other people who group up with you and then clear dungeons while you just follow along behind them and collect the loot as it drops. There are advertisers spamming ads for these carry services all over the place inside the game even though they're against ToS. It does still have its charms but on balance WoW really has become a train wreck.
  - claytongulick 2y ago
    > WoW really has become a train wreck Do you have a recommendation for something better that's subscription based?

> Seems like most multiplyer games have some sort of "pay to win" (or pay for an advantage) scheme in them Can you share an example of this outside of mobile games?

giantg2 2y ago

Plenty on here. Also it's not as egregious as straight pay to win, but often it's stuff like buying a season pass to level up or unlock items faster. https://fictionhorizon.com/best-pay-to-win-games/ https://fictionhorizon.com/best-pay-to-win-games/

alex_lav 2y ago
1. noncompetitive game 2. mobile game 3. mobile game 4. not actually pay to win. 5. noncompetitive game 6. mobile game You see where I'm going. You can't relate "has microtransactions" with "is pay to win". They're different.
- giantg2 2y ago
  That's only 1/3rd of that list. Any multiplayer game is competitive to some degree. If you see my previous comment, it specifies "pay for advantage". Some games you have to pay to unlock gear or xp boosters to make it really playable.
  - alex_lav 2y ago
    > Some games you have to pay to unlock gear or xp boosters to make it really playable. Again, can you provide an example? Also > Any multiplayer game is competitive to some degree Is just blatantly incorrect, unless you just mean "One player is further in the game than the other", in which case literally all games are "competitive", including single player.
    - giantg2 2y ago
      "Again, can you provide an example?" I can but I won't, because I'm done with this conversation based on the inauthentic responses.
      - alex_lav 2y ago
        So 0 real examples have been provided, either by a commenter or via the link. Exactly as expected.

BalinKing 2y ago

This shows up in fighting games, where DLC (i.e. paid) characters often have increasingly overpowered properties or even entirely new mechanics that the rest of the cast struggles to deal with.

xnorswap 2y ago

You can buy gold in World of Warcraft. So you can essentially skip half your character's progression arc by entering a credit card number. Now, you can argue that the best gear is BOP (Bind on Pickup) so this isn't a huge factor, but there's still definitely an aspect of "pay to win", since there are plenty of other things you need gold for that payment skips. You can also argue that WoW isn't competitive, but all multiplayer games have a light competition of being ahead of others in progression, even if it's not direct competition. (I'm ignoring PvP because actual PvP is a tiny minority interest. )

safety1st 2y ago
This description of the pay to win properties of WoW is slightly dated. Gold buys you very little in the way of gear these days. They have de-emphasized the role of gold over time because players kept buying it. That didn't stop players from figuring out how to pay to win though. They now pay "boosting" and "carry" services - other people who group up with you and then clear dungeons while you just follow along behind them and collect the loot as it drops. There are advertisers spamming ads for these carry services all over the place inside the game even though they're against ToS. It does still have its charms but on balance WoW really has become a train wreck.
- claytongulick 2y ago
  > WoW really has become a train wreck Do you have a recommendation for something better that's subscription based?