So Gears 4 released a new character/weapon skin pack today featuring outfits and weapon skins from the UIR faction of the game, previously only mentioned in conversation or shown outside of the actual games via comics and expanded lore. That in itself is not really news, but I think the approach is worth discussing here since it has also blown up on Reddit and the official Gears forums.The packs cost either $10 or 4400 credits, which is the currency you earn from playing either VS multiplayer or Horde mode online. Many players are upset and feel the asking price for these packs is a bit insulting, considering other packs such as the Carmine pack and Holiday pack cost 200 and 400 credits respectively.
So what's in them? Players can buy a single pack which contains 5 cards in it, only 3 of which are guaranteed to be from the UIR theme and the other 2 cards being from the standard launch card set. There are 30 total cards in the UIR set, so in order to get them all, you'd need to buy 10 packs and not get a single duplicate the entire time. Players who have bought previous pay-only packs such as the esports packs have recorded video of them opening 25-30 packs and still not getting the one skin they were looking for (usually esports Kait) since the chance to get duplicates is very high.
Sounds fine since there is a free option, right? Well the pack is only available for 24 hours and if you started with no credits and just played the most lucrative game mode in VS, you'd have to play for 24 hours straight in order to earn enough credits to buy 3 of these packs. Alternatively, you could organize a dedicated horde team to play nonstop and speedrun the mode for a day and earn enough credits to buy 8 packs. That's a little better obviously but not everyone has the connections to gather a team with that kind of time OR skill. Most likely you'll be playing with randoms and suffering drops after wave 20, which has been a problem for some time with this game. Simply put, by putting a 1-day limit on the item, you are pressuring players who are short on credits to just buy them with real cash.
Yes, this stuff is only cosmetic, however the Gears community has been begging for this stuff as well as other legacy skins since the game launched. The skins included at launch were pretty limited, especially when compared directly to other Gears games. Some of us would be happy enough with a straight port of the assets from Gears: Ultimate Edition since just about all the Gears 3 character skins got an HD update for that game. It is also worth noting that these UIR characters are already in the game. These aren't newly created assets. The very first chapter of the game has you fighting these characters so they have been modeled and done since the game was in development. I think trying to make the argument that it is content that was created later doesn't hold water in this case.
So Gears fans, what do you think? Are you going to get a UIR pack? Do you not care? Are you contemplating selling your copy?
Personally, I think I'm going to take a break from the game for a while over this. I really love Gears and I think its been a good time, but I just don't like the message this pack sends. The Coalition has told us they are listening to the fan base and they have all this great stuff in store for us, but then they go and do the opposite of what fans are asking for. If this was a $10 pack that gave you all the UIR skins, I think a lot of people would feel better about it and there wouldn't be all this uproar. Gears of War 3 had a ton of possible microtransactions, but at least if you wanted one, you could just buy it and own it. The way Gears 4 does it, you're buying a lottery ticket that may or may not get you the thing you want. Again, I understand you can use in game credits. But if they are going to make the packs this expensive going forward, it will make the experience sting that much more when you just want the Character X skin and you don't get it after all that time saving up credits. Plus you only had a day to buy it so if you're out on vacation or something then I guess you can fuck off?
I'm waiting for the locust to come back to horde mode and for my favorite old characters to make their return. This UIR pack gives me the impression that all bets are off and if the stuff I'm waiting for ever comes out, I'll have to do this expensive lottery stuff just to get them. I'm so not interested in that.
So what's in them? Players can buy a single pack which contains 5 cards in it, only 3 of which are guaranteed to be from the UIR theme and the other 2 cards being from the standard launch card set. There are 30 total cards in the UIR set, so in order to get them all, you'd need to buy 10 packs and not get a single duplicate the entire time. Players who have bought previous pay-only packs such as the esports packs have recorded video of them opening 25-30 packs and still not getting the one skin they were looking for (usually esports Kait) since the chance to get duplicates is very high.
Sounds fine since there is a free option, right? Well the pack is only available for 24 hours and if you started with no credits and just played the most lucrative game mode in VS, you'd have to play for 24 hours straight in order to earn enough credits to buy 3 of these packs. Alternatively, you could organize a dedicated horde team to play nonstop and speedrun the mode for a day and earn enough credits to buy 8 packs. That's a little better obviously but not everyone has the connections to gather a team with that kind of time OR skill. Most likely you'll be playing with randoms and suffering drops after wave 20, which has been a problem for some time with this game. Simply put, by putting a 1-day limit on the item, you are pressuring players who are short on credits to just buy them with real cash.
Yes, this stuff is only cosmetic, however the Gears community has been begging for this stuff as well as other legacy skins since the game launched. The skins included at launch were pretty limited, especially when compared directly to other Gears games. Some of us would be happy enough with a straight port of the assets from Gears: Ultimate Edition since just about all the Gears 3 character skins got an HD update for that game. It is also worth noting that these UIR characters are already in the game. These aren't newly created assets. The very first chapter of the game has you fighting these characters so they have been modeled and done since the game was in development. I think trying to make the argument that it is content that was created later doesn't hold water in this case.
So Gears fans, what do you think? Are you going to get a UIR pack? Do you not care? Are you contemplating selling your copy?
Personally, I think I'm going to take a break from the game for a while over this. I really love Gears and I think its been a good time, but I just don't like the message this pack sends. The Coalition has told us they are listening to the fan base and they have all this great stuff in store for us, but then they go and do the opposite of what fans are asking for. If this was a $10 pack that gave you all the UIR skins, I think a lot of people would feel better about it and there wouldn't be all this uproar. Gears of War 3 had a ton of possible microtransactions, but at least if you wanted one, you could just buy it and own it. The way Gears 4 does it, you're buying a lottery ticket that may or may not get you the thing you want. Again, I understand you can use in game credits. But if they are going to make the packs this expensive going forward, it will make the experience sting that much more when you just want the Character X skin and you don't get it after all that time saving up credits. Plus you only had a day to buy it so if you're out on vacation or something then I guess you can fuck off?
I'm waiting for the locust to come back to horde mode and for my favorite old characters to make their return. This UIR pack gives me the impression that all bets are off and if the stuff I'm waiting for ever comes out, I'll have to do this expensive lottery stuff just to get them. I'm so not interested in that.
