DbD is pay to win.

[NeoColossus]

Let me preface this by saying that I really like the game, I think it had great potential, but since we're talking about a 2016 game, I say "had", because nothing is going to change by this point.

How can I earn about 150 Iridescent Shards per hour, but to get new characters I have to pay 9000?! That's almost 90 hours to get a single new one. This wouldn't be much of a problem if perks weren't tied to characters locked behind a pay wall. Perks that shape up how the meta game is played because of how powerful they are. If you don't have them, you're at serious disadvantage.

I know about grinding. I know about being rewarded for playing the game. This is neither of those things. Take Rainbow Six for example: New characters in that game cost 25000 rn; in-game currency that can be earned in about 15 hours, 20 at maximum.

The funny thing is that even if you spend the hundreds of hours required to unlock the characters that have powerful perks, you will never be able to get the licensed ones without paying real money. So give me an argument for saying DbD is not pay to win.

You're in denial if you simply pass off this criticism without giving it a second thought. I know many of you here love the game, but accepting this kinds of practices in the gaming industry only hurts us, the consumers.

Edit:

Should have cleared that I'm more specifically talking about killers.
The main counter arguments to my criticism are:

1. The shrine of secrets where teachable perks rotate through every week that cost 2k-2.7k shards.

2. Each new character only costs 5 dollars so why I'm I complaining?

3. You can still win even without the top perks or the top killers.

4. It's not pay to win.

5. You're just bad.

These arguments are weak af, here's why:

1. This is the funniest argument of them all. If, say you want "Pop goes the weasel" or another specific perk, how long would it take for it to appear on the shrine? If only 2 of the 4 perks on there are killer one's, and there are 66 killer perks; you could wait an entire year or more without seeing it. Look at this: "Pop goes the weasel" has a appeared a total of 5 times since the clown came out (2 years), same with "hex:ruin" which has been in rotation 13 times in in the span of 4 years. and many others... https://deadbydaylight.gamepedia.com/Shrines_of_Secrets_Archive#Shrine_Perk_Count

2. The problem isn't about the price, they could be 1 dollar each and it still would be pay to win.

3. Highly depends on what rank you're playing on. If you reach the high ranks and play without "Barbecue & Chilli", "Pop Goes The Weasel", "Hex: Undying" & "Corrupt Intervention" etc. depending on the killer you're using, you will definitely be at a disadvantage.

4. "In some games, players who are willing to pay for special items, downloadable content, or to skip cooldown timers may be able to gain an advantage over those playing for free who might otherwise never be able to access said items. In general a game is considered pay-to-win when a player can gain any gameplay advantage over their non-paying peers, which is shown in games such as FIFA. Such games are called "pay-to-win" by critics." https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Pay2Win&redirect=no

5. I'm constantly getting 4k playing as killer and consistently ranking up, even though I'm new. I'm giving my critical perspective on this game as someone with a masters in game design (not that it matters anyway because any critical person would see the obvious flaws with the game).

[TheMiraculouslyMadDrZygmond]

I wouldnt say Dbd is pay to win for a couple reasons. firstly being every killer can be purchased that isnt licensed for 9000 shards. Additionally even if you dont wanna shell out you can just buy the perks from the shrine. Also if im correct the 4 (maybe 5) free killers are some of the arguable best killers in the game, i know huntress nurse and billy were pretty big contenders for the longest time. Lastly, it isnt really pay to win because you can literally main each killer and master their skills and kick ass, only thing spending money does is let you experience variety, faster. It can never be pay to win because killers are always versing survivors and killers will never be on the same level as survivors because their abilities are too different. Just master what you have and have fun doing it, if you get 9000 shards and wanna buy a new killer to master go for it. Finally, even though youre still technically spending money i have to bring this up: literally almost EVERY other week the chapters are on sale for like minimum 40% to a max of like 70%

[IvaneroWorld]

Messaggio originale di Kraig:

Im rank 1 surv without buying a single surv with money, yeah seems pretty pay2win to me

Yeah it only cost you 800h of gameplay waiting for good perks to be available on shrine right?

[mr bruh]

most of the meta perks and killers in the game are already free

[DeathMetalMarine PCMR]

Nope.

[Yayoi Hozuki]

as survivor i only use free perks:

self-care dead-hard iron-will borrowed-time

and as killer, yes, i use BBQ and pop goes, but shrine exist.

also i think free killers are the best, Hillbilly, Nurse, Huntress... and not lincensed dlcs: oni, hag, spirit.

[IvaneroWorld]

Messaggio originale di yogerman1997:

as survivor i only use free perks:

self-care dead-hard iron-will borrowed-time

and as killer, yes, i use BBQ and pop goes, but shrine exist.

also i think free killers are the best, Hillbilly, Nurse, Huntress... and not lincensed dlcs: oni, hag, spirit.

Yeah wait 2 years to get BBQ through Shrine ROFL

[horse sized nut]

no youre just trash

[Rezox]

I would not call it pay 2 win. Pay 2 win would be, if you could buy items or addons for real cash for example.
Yes, a lot useful perks are from chars you need to buy.
But you can get every perk from the Shrine. But I think the amount of perks in there is not enough anymore.
The problem is that you can't buy all chars with shards. So for someone who is not going to buy any DLC but aims for all good perks it will take a while to get the perks.
For new player they might need to play a while till they have some useful perks. But if they are new they also play against new players who also might lack on having good perks.

A good fix for this would be increase the Perks available in the Shrine to 6 or 8 and it's fine.
There are so many Killer and Survivors added to the game now and you can't let it like it is anymore.

[Dodi]

Messaggio originale di Rezox:

I would not call it pay 2 win. Pay 2 win would be, if you could buy items or addons for real cash for example.
Yes, a lot useful perks are from chars you need to buy.
But you can get every perk from the Shrine. But I think the amount of perks in there is not enough anymore.
The problem is that you can't buy all chars with shards. So for someone who is not going to buy any DLC but aims for all good perks it will take a while to get the perks.
For new player they might need to play a while till they have some useful perks. But if they are new they also play against new players who also might lack on having good perks.

A good fix for this would be increase the Perks available in the Shrine to 6 or 8 and it's fine.
There are so many Killer and Survivors added to the game now and you can't let it like it is anymore.

100% true

[Ifosil]

Isnt the real P2W, these need for buy the DLCs? Or you are lacking important skills. In alternative you can use this "Random-Shrine-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥".

[glythe]

There is actually very little pay to win in DBD. Example : buy a fancy outfit for the spirit and it covers her shards so you cant tell if she phased.

What you are griping about is the "random" nature of the shrine. There is zero reason for free content to be in the shrine - except to make the paid dlc more rare. This is to entice you to buy the content instead of patiently waiting for it.

[NeoColossus]

Messaggio originale di Greatn3ss:

If you don't like it, then don't play it.

Oh ♥♥♥♥ you really got me there mate. Top counter-argument. Don't ever be critical about anything in your life.

[NeoColossus]

I just updated the main thread with an edit replying to all your counter arguments.

[NeoColossus]

Messaggio originale di Anthony John Abbott:

Just stop being salty and get a job instead of typing 3 paragraphs on steam forums

I'm a game designer so this is actually my job, being critical of other games is part of it.

[NeoColossus]

Messaggio originale di Grutzner:

Pay to win fundamentally means that you have an advantage when paying.

This guy gets it.