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Overwatch marks a new low in Unlocking and Microtransaction systems that I'm aware of
- Thread starter Saty
- Start date
ãInaba Residentã
Banned
Leveling up doesn't take long.
PatThePassive
Member
OP needs to see the FIFA bullshit for true disgust.
The amount of characters along with only getting a skin every other box makes the progress slow. Getting a rare skin for a character I haven't touched is annoying but its still far from the worst thing out there
The amount of characters along with only getting a skin every other box makes the progress slow. Getting a rare skin for a character I haven't touched is annoying but its still far from the worst thing out there
I agree. Paying for random chance needs to go. Let me know exactly what im spending my money on.
one your paying the developers for something they created, the other you are paying the developers for something they created. Holy shit, you're right. Nothing even close to the same.
what were we thinking!?!?
you don't think you're paying for those minor DLC packs somewhere along the way? The devs are just making those and putting them out for free?
Man, just laying down the knowledge for us!
It all comes down to keeping developers in business who make content you enjoy. Keep giving them money, they keep giving you new content. Microtransactions, DLC, season passes and first sale purchases are all different denominations of the same currency. Get over yourself.
TransTrender
Gold Member
Is this bait or did you actually do this?
Regardless, congrats on bankrolling all that free content I'll be enjoying for the next few years! By then I would have unlocked all the skins, sprays, and quips anyway.
Well, here's my unsolicited 2 cents. Some more and I'll be redeemable for a loot box.
Overwatch's microtransactions bug me. (Edit: Okay, so apparantly PC Overwatch is $40 and Console is $60, that clears up so much confusion from me. You'll forgive me because they literally advertise it as $60 on the home page) It just doesn't feel right to have a $60 title be shipped with microtransactions, and I'm not one of those people who's complaining about it being MP only). Cosmetic or not, microtransactions are by their very nature designed to make you buy them and use them as quickly and often as you can, and the whole random loot crate system that VALVe pioneered is the perfect way to kick your psychological gambler's fallacy into high gear. It just gives me a vibe of subtly double-dipping that most people would balk at.
Some people say it's because you can switch characters in game and sure it has more characters than TF2 but I don't find that reason for not being F2P, let alone a premium priced $60 game, to be compelling and I find it hard to believe that Blizzard isn't smart enough to find an interesting solution to that if it were F2P.
I find it so surreal to see people saying "you're paying $60 premium, and the microtransactions are there to support it further". It didn't used to be like that. Used to just be pay 50, 60 dollars for the game and maybe some DLC afterwards. It speaks a lot to the state of the industry now when it's seen that a huge company like Activision-Blizzard needs to include microtransactions to support a premium-priced game and have people praising them for doing so. I remember when unlockables and collectibles were just fun things that really dedicated players could get by playing well or long enough.
It feels like every new system that's brought in to part consumers with their money just needs to wear the storm of the first few iterations of smaller companies/projects before the bigger companies come in and are lauded for using the same system that was reviled earlier.
Overwatch makes me think of all these subtly interconnected things, from the lack of pricing diversity in retail to companies desperate to eek out any amount of cash via microtransactions, and it just kind of makes me wonder just where all of this is heading.
I dunno. I don't want to sound like a geezer reminiscing with rose-tinted glasses. But still, it feels icky to me.
Overwatch's microtransactions bug me. (Edit: Okay, so apparantly PC Overwatch is $40 and Console is $60, that clears up so much confusion from me. You'll forgive me because they literally advertise it as $60 on the home page) It just doesn't feel right to have a $60 title be shipped with microtransactions, and I'm not one of those people who's complaining about it being MP only). Cosmetic or not, microtransactions are by their very nature designed to make you buy them and use them as quickly and often as you can, and the whole random loot crate system that VALVe pioneered is the perfect way to kick your psychological gambler's fallacy into high gear. It just gives me a vibe of subtly double-dipping that most people would balk at.
Some people say it's because you can switch characters in game and sure it has more characters than TF2 but I don't find that reason for not being F2P, let alone a premium priced $60 game, to be compelling and I find it hard to believe that Blizzard isn't smart enough to find an interesting solution to that if it were F2P.
I find it so surreal to see people saying "you're paying $60 premium, and the microtransactions are there to support it further". It didn't used to be like that. Used to just be pay 50, 60 dollars for the game and maybe some DLC afterwards. It speaks a lot to the state of the industry now when it's seen that a huge company like Activision-Blizzard needs to include microtransactions to support a premium-priced game and have people praising them for doing so. I remember when unlockables and collectibles were just fun things that really dedicated players could get by playing well or long enough.
It feels like every new system that's brought in to part consumers with their money just needs to wear the storm of the first few iterations of smaller companies/projects before the bigger companies come in and are lauded for using the same system that was reviled earlier.
Overwatch makes me think of all these subtly interconnected things, from the lack of pricing diversity in retail to companies desperate to eek out any amount of cash via microtransactions, and it just kind of makes me wonder just where all of this is heading.
I dunno. I don't want to sound like a geezer reminiscing with rose-tinted glasses. But still, it feels icky to me.
CountAntonius
Member
I don't want DLC packs.I don't want to buy the game and have only the contents in the box forever. I want constant support for years and the way they go about it is fine because this makes it so people who don't want to spend more don't have to and those who want to will and fund the future of the game.
TransTrender
Gold Member
It's not really packed with microtransactions. Play a real AAA game that's packed with DLC, microtransactions, and season passes.
There is no need, point, or incentive to buy and use the microtransactions in Overwatch aside from your own vanity and being a completionist.
What who question mark exclamation point
This is an unfortunate side effect of the current AAA game development cycle which seemingly requires massive budgets and constant revenue streams until the next iteration of a title comes along. Given all the shittiness that's happening in the industry at this point I ADORE what they're doing with Overwatch. I wish it were different but because there are soo many weak and exploitable people out there that buy incomplete games from these companies and continue to buy DLC and season passes they will continue these practices and all their piers are required to do so by their stakeholders. Vote with your wallets. To me, Overwatch is a complete game with optional microtransactions I don't give a single fuck about and have no impact on the game and I'll gladly pay the entrance fee. I'm sure 90% of the people in this thread that are complaining about these microtransactions have already inserted an additional $50 for whatever unfathomable reason yet still complain about it. It's simple: don't give them your money if you don't like it.
Please explain.
Lack of pricing diversity? The game is $40 for PC and $60 for consoles. That's practically unheard of. Also, all you digital only (console) fanboys can pay full MSRP or MORE while everyone else can sign up with Best Buy GCU or Amazon Prime or whatever retail outlet and get the game for much less than MSRP well before and after launch. It's only those that buy at GameStop or the MS/Sony stores that pay a premium.
As for where all this is heading? It already headededededededed in a direction and this is the first significant deviation...and it's a good one.
I'm a staunch, hardcore, cloud yelling, vote with my wallet mother fucker that holds grudges against companies for their shit practices for life and this is not one of them. The time for that [bolded quote] has already passed and has come full circle. This might be the first page in a glorious new era.
Minustephen
Neo Member
I'm sure someone has already posted this, but ill post again as a "bump?"
Why does everyone get so huffy about this stuff? If you're not interested in the microtransactions, don't buy them. If the progression system bothers you, don't buy the game. If the lack of a campaign bothers you, don't buy the game.
Blizzard had a sweet beta for Overwatch that essentially contained the entire game and its content and we all knew it was gonna be $60 for quite some time. No amount of bitching will change anything. Use. Your. Money. Blizzard is obviously able to take note on how many people purchase loot boxes and I'll bet you enough people like it that it's an easy way to make money in a capitalist society that gorges on FREE stuff which diminishes the trade.
Let developers and publishers do what they want. No one is forcing you to do anything here...
Why does everyone get so huffy about this stuff? If you're not interested in the microtransactions, don't buy them. If the progression system bothers you, don't buy the game. If the lack of a campaign bothers you, don't buy the game.
Blizzard had a sweet beta for Overwatch that essentially contained the entire game and its content and we all knew it was gonna be $60 for quite some time. No amount of bitching will change anything. Use. Your. Money. Blizzard is obviously able to take note on how many people purchase loot boxes and I'll bet you enough people like it that it's an easy way to make money in a capitalist society that gorges on FREE stuff which diminishes the trade.
Let developers and publishers do what they want. No one is forcing you to do anything here...
uuuuh....
Would you be ok with it if they were unlockable just by playing the game?
you dog you
The unlock types I was referring to were things like being rewarded for, say, doing specific actions or accumulating experience in, say, getting 100 headshots or unlocking every attachment for every sidearm, and being rewarded with some fancy new, specific thing. Not getting a random lootbox that is designed to make you go "just one more".
Admittedly small nitpick/difference between those types, but still.
Meant more as "shipped with" rather than "filled to the brim", my mistake.
And most microtransactions feed into that type of incentive in some way, making it inherently exploitative in some way. I don't think microtransactions are inherently evil or whatever, but I think people should be inherently skeptical to wherever they are applied. People have complained about less intrusive microtransactions.
At least this person talked about it andthere have been comparisons to TF2 and LoL in terms of character access. Not a huge thing, but it's certainly being talked about.
Preorders, early-access, microtrasactions have all started being hated on, and people are slowly coming to accept them, or at least be complacent with them. There's pushback, mostly for when they get a bit too wacky,
OK, that clears up SO many things for me. I've only ever seen it advertised as $60 everywhere, and I even made sure to google the $60 thing because I saw people tossing around $40, but you'll forgive me for my confusion since even the overwatch website advertises $60 (which is what they'd like, really).
I'll rescind my criticisms of the pricing.
I wish I was as optimistic as you. But like I said earlier, I think we should be inherently skeptical of things like microtransactions, even when they seem to be done "right". I remember when LoL was heralded as doing microtransactions "right", and now I hear murmurs of people complaining that it's imbalanced and Riot tries to money grubbing everything. Probably just my friends complaining, but it's something to be thoughtful of.
Sir Blaming
Member
I guess it comes down to what microtransaction we think are correct, cause let's face it, it's here to stay.
"But if we vote with our money!" yeah right, that's going to work. See where that took us.
I think we should agree to microtransaction that does not change any aspect of the game mechanics, and shun those that do just that(i am looking at you payday)
"But if we vote with our money!" yeah right, that's going to work. See where that took us.
I think we should agree to microtransaction that does not change any aspect of the game mechanics, and shun those that do just that(i am looking at you payday)
It's true, Overwatch has the worst microtransaction system I've ever seen. Not only do I not want to spend money on anything in the shop ever, but the rate of getting currency and odds of getting anything I would ever care about in a loot box are so low that I feel nothing for what's made out to be a significant segment of the game.
Maybe, maybe not. The unlocks start really slowing down in the later levels. Also the boxes seemed very very stingy. I haven't received a single skin for the characters I actually play and I'm lvl 16. I also only have 255gold so far. The unlock system is honestly terrible from my point of view. Incredibly stingy.
This is only partially true. I'd rather just buy the skins I want than play this loaded lottery game of buying random boxes or grinding forever to maybe, hopefully get what I actually want. This system is all kinds of ass and promotes gambling.
『Inaba Resident』;204941466 said:
Man this game is going to have quite the backlash in about a month when people see the real grind of these loot boxes lol.
cleveridea
Member
Cant you just get a ton of lootboxes by playing all the characters briefly since they level quickest at low levels?
Personally I hate this random crate mechanism thats popular now - a lot of people struggle with gambling addiction, its deliberately designed to be additive and I get a feeling a lot of players end up depressed after finding they have spent too much when they add everything up.
Personally I hate this random crate mechanism thats popular now - a lot of people struggle with gambling addiction, its deliberately designed to be additive and I get a feeling a lot of players end up depressed after finding they have spent too much when they add everything up.
What? Many people are already at the maximum level for the "grind". The grind stops increasing at level 20, and it resets when you reach level 100 until you get to 120, and so on and so on.
Yes, you're right, spending money isn't as good as just playing the game due to the rng, so don't buy them. It would be a good point if the game didn't let you just...get everything like that for free.
The grind slows down at 20 to basically an hour a box if you are in a group. That's pretty reasonable. I got 5 legendaries already, and have felt zero pressure to buy any. Would I like to have some of the others? Yeah, sure, but they'll come with time and currency, if not a drop.
There's really nothing to be upset about with this game unless you lack patience. The baubles are just the frosting on an excellent game.
ãInaba Residentã
Banned
If you aren't getting absolutely destroyed quickly or leaving every match, leveling up doesn't take long at all. The amount of exp needed stays the same starting at level 20 and then resets when you get to level 100 where you do the same thing again.
You don't level up your characters, but your general profile.
If people have such a gambling problem that they feel they need to spend tons of money on cosmetics, then that problem should have been addressed professionally years before Overwatch came out.
Pixel Fist
Member
I bought the 24 loot box bundle yesterday and I actually feel like I've got it out of my system now.
I got a legendary skin for a character i play and bought some epic skins with the currency I had left over. I'll be quite happy to grind for the loot boxes now.
I got a legendary skin for a character i play and bought some epic skins with the currency I had left over. I'll be quite happy to grind for the loot boxes now.
SomeOneInaHat
Member
you dog you
The unlock types I was referring to were things like being rewarded for, say, doing specific actions or accumulating experience in, say, getting 100 headshots or unlocking every attachment for every sidearm, and being rewarded with some fancy new, specific thing. Not getting a random lootbox that is designed to make you go "just one more".
There are sprays and Icons that can only be acquired through achievements.
I never got this argument. "Cosmetics" used to be part of the gameplay, since they were often tied to the gameplay via minigames, challenges and such to unlock them.
More so, people act like aesthetics doesn't affect someone enjoyment of the game or it's not part of the game. Let's replace all the female characters with a generic dude and lock their skin behind a paywall, since it's just cosmetic, all it matters is how the game play, not how it looks, right?
ãInaba Residentã
Banned
The cosmetics are apart of the gameplay since you get loot boxes for leveling up which is done by just playing the game. You can pay for loot boxes if you're really impatient and just want shit right away.
Yeah no, it's not really like Overwatch's skins are really something you essentially need to enjoy the game as besides minor alterations to the viewmodel, a different skin doesn't provide anything interesting to you, playing in first person.
Neither does Overwatch do something as change the gender or anything extreme of the sort, so your example is a bit far fetched for what is actually the case here.
『Inaba Resident』;204974943 said:
Also this, I've played some Overwatch today and honestly getting a loot box isn't that hard (went from 18 to 20 in a matter of two hours) as it just requires you a small number of matches to level up. The experience requirement for the next level caps out at Level 22 and really it never really gets abnormally long to get your next loot box. Matches are pretty short and thus you do level up pretty fast if you play more than a match a session, especially due to getting a bonus for consecutive matches and grouping up.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
They are tied to gameplay. Level up to get a box.
And for aesthetics, it's kind of hard for me to care in first person. Everything is pure vanity here.
piratethingy
Self professed bad raider
For $60 you get a great game and ALL of the characters. And ALL of the maps. Forever. The user base is never split. Awesome.
There's also a lot of cool cosmetic stuff that you can earn totally from playing the game. Every item in the game you can earn from playing. In two days I've amassed enough coins just playing to buy any skin in the entire game for any character. Awesome.
Also people who want to can spend money to get more of that cosmetic stuff quicker. I like this game and their approach to al this so I'll probably vote with my wallet and spend some cash at some point for a nice infusion of cool loot.
There's also a lot of cool cosmetic stuff that you can earn totally from playing the game. Every item in the game you can earn from playing. In two days I've amassed enough coins just playing to buy any skin in the entire game for any character. Awesome.
Also people who want to can spend money to get more of that cosmetic stuff quicker. I like this game and their approach to al this so I'll probably vote with my wallet and spend some cash at some point for a nice infusion of cool loot.
This is honestly a flat out lie. The game doesn't let you get everything for free without a substantial time investment. As in hundreds if not thousands of hours played. That's not ok. Not everyone has the time or desire to grind on a game for hundreds of hours to unlock a skin.
My time isn't free and I'm not going to grind a game just for extras. So I most likely will never get the skins I want due to rng and an overly hefty time requirement.
『Inaba Resident』;204963462 said:
Ive never quit a match. And once again this post is less than honest. You level up at best once an hour after the early levels. That's very slow.
Yes of course there are going to be people already past max level. Those people are insanely good/spending crazy amounts of time on the game. Even my more hardcore friends are sitting in the 20-40s so being over cap is extremely hardcore at this point.
I'm also not a bad fps player. Been to the lighthouse in destiny on 3 different characters multiple times over. I routinely do well in this game. We have people in this thread defending a poor rng system designed to fleece people with rng and a heavy grind mechanic. It's that simple.
constantstatic
Member
This sounds just like cod I wonder how long till they start putting stat changing weapons into the crates.
Confused Cheeseburger
Member
This thread is still going? That's impressive, and reading some of these posts, not much has advanced.
have an answer to this.. as I am playing.. it's actually really nice seeing the other skins around the game. adds to the enjoyment of the game considerably.. thus... me changing skins would seemingly add to the overall enjoyment of the game as well.
not to mention I see my skins in my highlight intros
motorised mallard
Member
If you are the kind of person who would grind that long just for a skin then you might have a problem also.
I might be crazy but I will play OW for hundreds of hours because of the actual gameplay, not because I want to unlock everything on everyone. They are just extras.
So an hour per RNG roll is acceptable to you? It is not to me. Not at all. Doing the math that lays out a very very large grind requirement to even unlock 1/2 the non trash extras in the game. As in 100s of hours.
That's my point. Blizzard designed it so people will pay. It's not a proper unlock system it's designed to force people to pay. I already said I won't sit and grind on a game so they've locked a portion of the already really limited content away from me unless I pay even more for a chance at RNG rolls. It's gross.
Pellegri Testament
Member
Guess it's a good thing that you get currency over time and can buy skins if you're not getting what you want from boxes. Unless you think that you need every skin for every character, when at the end of the day, you'll be using 1 or 2 at most and likely won't even be touching half the characters.
mysteriousmage09
Member
The only thing I wish is that the achievements rewarded something other than sprays. Where are the skins for actually completing difficult tasks or hitting a milestone? As it stands, all skins will lose their value, hell they already have, because everyone will get them in no time and just throw money. I already see as many legendary skins as normal ones.
Would be nice to have something to actually work towards and be rewarded for it other than just fill the xp bar up over and over and over again. They can and will keep adding more but if it's just the same as save up gold, get lucky from boxes or throw money at the screen, the novelty instantly wears off.
Would be nice to have something to actually work towards and be rewarded for it other than just fill the xp bar up over and over and over again. They can and will keep adding more but if it's just the same as save up gold, get lucky from boxes or throw money at the screen, the novelty instantly wears off.
Which is very frustrating for me. I'm older (37) I have more money than time. You know how many skins and content I've unlocked for the 5 characters I actually like to play at level 19? 1 skin and some various sprays. I also have 255 gold. The skin is a palette swap not even a real skin. That's annoying.
Yeah that gold mechanic lol. Lvl 19 and 255 gold means it's going to be lvl 80 or so before I actually can buy one legendary skin I want. That's an 70 hour grind more or less. That's nuts.
Acerac
Banned
Geez, if skins mattered at all that would suck. As is I guess that would be annoying, but not nearly as annoying as paying for all DLC down the line.
To each their own, I suppose.
Dropped $40 on a 50 box pack yesterday and got a bunch of skins I love for a game I love and will play forever. I'll accept all of your thanks now for helping support continued development of this amazing game.
Weird to see people complain that you'd have to play Overwatch a lot to get their ideal skin randomly. The game is intended to be played for a really long time, so of course it's all doled out in small doses. Plus, given that you get currency (faster as you start rolling duplicate unlocks that turn into currency), if you aren't getting what you want via loot boxes, you can unlock the specific items you want.
As games have gotten shorter or easier, to complain about a multiplayer game's length is crazy. It's not like you would stop playing once you get the skin you want. These games SHOULD have long reward cycles because the ideal player (in terms of value for both sides) will play for a very long time.
As games have gotten shorter or easier, to complain about a multiplayer game's length is crazy. It's not like you would stop playing once you get the skin you want. These games SHOULD have long reward cycles because the ideal player (in terms of value for both sides) will play for a very long time.
If this game were free to play then this would be a generous system. As is, its implementation is simply greedy. The game is still awesome, but it is still pretty scummy.
If they gave you three boxes per level for your first ten levels, two boxes afterwards, and then went to one box per level from level twenty on the system would be way more reasonable.
If they gave you three boxes per level for your first ten levels, two boxes afterwards, and then went to one box per level from level twenty on the system would be way more reasonable.
You and everyone in this thread won't be alive to see such a thing i'm afraid.
civilstrife
Member
Sprays, one-liners and skins are really that important to some people?
Id say it's more annoying since the game is already very small in content. Also nothing is skill gated it's all RNG/money gated. You can't earn anything cool it's just how long are you willing to grind how much are you willing to pay. It's a poor system in a good game. Being a non major part doesn't excuse what blizzard is doing.
You could play this game for 400 hours and not unlock everything. If you can't see the problem and obvious design there I don't know what to tell you.
the people who are going to play this regularly would put in 400 hours even if the unlocks did not exist at all. the game itself is the point, not skins and sprays.