So there’s obviously been a lot of existing discourse on DD2’s micro transactions, and I’m curious to get the thoughts of people here.
I haven’t played the game yet, but the consensus I’ve gotten is that the MTXs are largely meaningless because they’re so easy to get in-game, but if they weren’t so easy to get they would be outrageous. It seems there’s some amount of counter-backlash defending the game saying that those who are upset just don’t understand how easy it is to get those things in-game.
Personally, I don’t think Capcom is dumb; my money would be that they wanted to test the waters to see what player response would be to these types of transactions, or that they would want to (quietly) adjust how easy they are to get in-game later on.
I would push back on this a bit. Some of these items are easy to acquire small quantities of, but are not available in infinite amounts, such as (as far as I know) the fast travel tokens. I am 20-ish hours in, and I think I have 8 fast travel tokens, which means that I really just don’t use them, and hoard them for emergencies.
Convenience is addictive, and people absolutely will have trouble not pouring tens or hundreds of dollars into MTX once they get a taste of the convenience it offers. Ask ESO users how many don’t have ESO Plus; it’s incredibly common to have, because it gives you free fast travel and a dedicated, infinite inventory for crafting materials. It’s weaponized convenience.
Other items in DD2 I’ve used CheatEngine to dupe, but I think most people (and obviously, no one on console) aren’t going to be able to figure out hex editors, and shouldn’t have to.
So there’s fast travel tokens but you can get to most places by Oxcart for very cheap. The ferrystones also get more common as you go and I’ve never had a lack of them. I just finished the game yesterday and have not felt the game design being influenced by micro transactions.