Looks interesting, but I gotta be honest: when I click on the Steam page and the first thing I see is a cash shop to buy “Epoch Points” for this early access game? That’s an instant turn-off for me. I’m sure it’s not as predatory as what Blizzard did with D4’s monetization, but I don’t want it in my games, period.
Part of buying the game and early support long ago, was that it came with some currency for the eventual cosmetic shop.
I played on and off for a long time without there being a shop. It was always a planned long term monetary support method for the game, and optional, but it was never their first priority. They only recently added the currency and shop to the game around the time they finally released multiplayer, with the 1.0 release being planned by end of year.
I personally cut them some slack, as the ‘early access game’ is almost to final release before they even added the shop, not something they were milking for a 1.0 release that may never come.
On the D4 hand… I tried the open beta… it was fine, but didn’t seem worth the cost. I decided at release to wait for it to go on sale for my $30-40 price point. Did see it on sale for $55 recently, but with all the knowledge I have of their monetization, battle-pass, fomo, and recent news… I don’t know if I’d buy it even if it hit $30. Anyone I know that has played it, has regretted the purchase.
Jokes on them. That stuff turns me off. I’ve been playing one iteration or another of Diablo for over 25 years. I mean I take long breaks but I always come back. But Diablo 4, as well as it’s made, isn’t Diablo. I don’t want other people in my games unless they are IRL friends, and while I enjoy seasonal powers because I enjoy the gameplay, I don’t care about the rewards. And I’m just not a big fan of stacking tiny little 1-2% buffs and calling that advancement. When I drop a skill point I want to feel it without breaking out statistical analysis.
I played the hell out of it up until the season and then for about a month into the season. And I think I’m already done with it. Rather play BG3, or replay Jedi, or finish Horizon Forbidden West assuming I still remember how to play. D4 was a good story and the production values are top notch, but it doesn’t have the replayability joy of earlier games.
I don’t think I have interacted with another person on D4 except for a IRL friend I played with for a little while. I’m back to playing D3 and some PoE.
Looks interesting, but I gotta be honest: when I click on the Steam page and the first thing I see is a cash shop to buy “Epoch Points” for this early access game? That’s an instant turn-off for me. I’m sure it’s not as predatory as what Blizzard did with D4’s monetization, but I don’t want it in my games, period.
Part of buying the game and early support long ago, was that it came with some currency for the eventual cosmetic shop.
I played on and off for a long time without there being a shop. It was always a planned long term monetary support method for the game, and optional, but it was never their first priority. They only recently added the currency and shop to the game around the time they finally released multiplayer, with the 1.0 release being planned by end of year.
I personally cut them some slack, as the ‘early access game’ is almost to final release before they even added the shop, not something they were milking for a 1.0 release that may never come.
On the D4 hand… I tried the open beta… it was fine, but didn’t seem worth the cost. I decided at release to wait for it to go on sale for my $30-40 price point. Did see it on sale for $55 recently, but with all the knowledge I have of their monetization, battle-pass, fomo, and recent news… I don’t know if I’d buy it even if it hit $30. Anyone I know that has played it, has regretted the purchase.
What’s predatory about Diablo 4’s monetization? Seems pretty standard skins and cosmetics stuff. And the battle pass.
But it’s not like you get better gear or anything, right?
Time limited rewards on battle passes are pretty predatory. They’re designed to keep you playing when you otherwise wouldn’t want to.
Jokes on them. That stuff turns me off. I’ve been playing one iteration or another of Diablo for over 25 years. I mean I take long breaks but I always come back. But Diablo 4, as well as it’s made, isn’t Diablo. I don’t want other people in my games unless they are IRL friends, and while I enjoy seasonal powers because I enjoy the gameplay, I don’t care about the rewards. And I’m just not a big fan of stacking tiny little 1-2% buffs and calling that advancement. When I drop a skill point I want to feel it without breaking out statistical analysis.
I played the hell out of it up until the season and then for about a month into the season. And I think I’m already done with it. Rather play BG3, or replay Jedi, or finish Horizon Forbidden West assuming I still remember how to play. D4 was a good story and the production values are top notch, but it doesn’t have the replayability joy of earlier games.
I don’t think I have interacted with another person on D4 except for a IRL friend I played with for a little while. I’m back to playing D3 and some PoE.
Slaps that FOMO part of people’s brains.
Oh yeah, I see. I guess I’m too used to that stuff that it didn’t struck me as that egregious compared to any other game.