Is this really pay to win?

[TheSociety]

This game looks awesome, i may try it sometime but i saw the reviews and i am confused... is it true?

[MMOGamer71]

How do you win a PvE focused game?

[BBG.Poyo]

Originally posted by Beer Grills:

This game looks awesome, i may try it sometime but i saw the reviews and i am confused... is it true?

for me this one is awesome :)

[Caravan Master]

The answer to this question is... complicated. While CO isn't exactly "Pay To Win", subscribers (or at least people who buy a Freeform Slot) have access to what is called "Freeform". What this means, is your character's power choice isn't restricted by Archetype (aka "class"). This means a Freeform character can pick-and-choose amongst various powersets (ie. some Martial Arts powers, mixed with Fire powers, and some Celestial powers, too) while Archetype characters only stick to a specific progression (Blade AT is only Single Blade/Martial Arts Powers, Inferno is only Fire powers, etc.). Now, while an Archetype isn't bad in it's own right (in fact, the Archetype makes sure you CAN'T really screw up your build too bad), having a Freeform character CAN mean a player will pick-and-choose only the most OP and unbalanced powers in the game (aka pretty much anyone who does mainly PVP).

So, while the game isn't Pay-to-Win, and no real content is locked behind a pay-wall (aside from Freeform character building), subscribing can give an advantage in power diversity over Artchetype, Free-to-Play players. That being said, Archetypes also get fewer diminishing returns from gear, so they generally have higher stats overall than their Freeform counterparts. So, in the end, CO isn't Pay-to-Win; it's really quite balanced. And, if you WANT to pay, you'll never be able to go back...

[✨Saint✨]

Its play to progress, or pay real money to speed up things, cosmetics etc.
As in every PerfectWorld game, they work with Zen, something you can get with real money or just by grinding and converting currencies, so you can virtually get everything without spending real money and often content of boxes are sold on the auction house.
Good thing there are enough people that support the game.

One thing I would advice, dont get crazy about those boxes, tho the rewards are great RNG can be relentless.

[h4]

All games are pay to win. The question is whether the details of it are acceptable to you, and this varies from person to person. People who enjoy the game will have accepted the pay2win aspects, and they come up with reasons why it is okay. People who dislike the game will reject those reasons and choose to play something else. Ultimately, like many F2P games, its up to the player to decide what mix of time and money they wish to spend in order to reach a certain goal--thus, pay to win.

[Jnoh]

Play to grind Questionite. Exchange Questionite for Zen via the Questionite Exhcange. Spend Zen in the cash store without spending real money.

So no, technically not P2W, no Cryptic game is - they all have ways to convert the "time currency" (Questionite here, Dilithium in STO) into Zen (the cash store currency). But the exchange rate is entirely player controlled, and can be manipulated or inflated, 390 Questionite per Zen, for example, and the thing you want is 500 Zen. Plus there is a limited amount of Questionite you can earn per day (you actually earn Questionite Ore, and are limited on how much Ore you can refine per character into the Questionite currency).

[Marquise*]

And even with 40 characters you still just have 24hours a day and need to rest and eat and sleep and live. ;P

[Peary]

Pay2HaveFun, which is basically the same as Pay2Win

[tower]

Originally posted by E.E.:

Pay2HaveFun, which is basically the same as Pay2Win

Lol what? You don't need to spend a penny on this game to have fun. It actually has a pretty good f2p model compared to a lot of MMOs as the cash shop is mostly made up of cosmetics.

[Peary]

Let me list why you're wrong:
- Most Archetypes (Classes) are locked behind a paywall.
- Freeform (Custom Class) is locked behind a paywall.
- Since Teleios Ascendant, the easily accessible gear sets have had their price quadrupled, at the same time a new overpowered gear set was released (Aurum) - locked behind a combination of paywalls
- Vehicles
- Ability to change the color of your powers
- Sidekicks
- Becomes
- Teleport Devices
- Character Slots
Etc etc
Not to mention the PWEsque ugly tactic of lockboxes + keys

[Peary]

And i'm not going to accept the "You can grind Questionite for Zen" argument, you would need to devote your entire life to this dying game. Compare my playtime to yours, i think i know what i'm talking about.

[Jinxxed]

As it stands right now, in order to get the best gear possible, you can either spend money ( a lot of money) on RNG Lockboxes or you can wast months and months trying earn questionite to convert into premium currency and then open those lockboxes. The ONLY way to gey the end game gear is through RNG lock boxes.

You don't get it from drops. you don't craft it. You either spend 50-500 dollars for a chance to get it. Or you spend 50-500 days for *chance* to get it.

Or you spend all that time and buy it from another player who doesn't want to use it.

This game can be fun, but it's heavily flawed. It's probably said a lot, but I believe the game devs for this game are not bright at all and need to take a look at what other MMOs doing. Right now, in order to beat the hardest Lair they've released, you NEED that armor you can only get through the cash shop.

It's ridiculous. It's like they want the game to die so they can stop working on it. They clearly don't care about it. I wish they'd sell it to another developer.

[tower]

Originally posted by E.E.:

Let me list why you're wrong:
- Most Archetypes (Classes) are locked behind a paywall.
- Freeform (Custom Class) is locked behind a paywall.
- Since Teleios Ascendant, the easily accessible gear sets have had their price quadrupled, at the same time a new overpowered gear set was released (Aurum) - locked behind a combination of paywalls
- Vehicles
- Ability to change the color of your powers
- Sidekicks
- Becomes
- Teleport Devices
- Character Slots
Etc etc
Not to mention the PWEsque ugly tactic of lockboxes + keys

Things like "ability to change color of your powers" and "lockboxes + keys" are absolute garbage reasons to consider the game P2W, they're merely cosmetic only and don't actually affect your gameplay.

If you're a new player I really doubt you would want every single archetype unlocked. I didn't even realize they had more available until I was around level 20 and decided to open up the cash shop for the first time.

The point is, if you're a new player, you can jump in, pick an archetype you like, enter the game and just play. Vehicles don't need to be obtained in order to have fun, neither do sidekicks or anything else you mentioned. NONE of these things concern people who are just getting into the game. Freeform and more archetypes are about the only two things I can actually think of that a player might want to eventually spend money on but even then, you can earn it with questionite. You don't need to "devote your entire life" to get a decent amount of questionite, just grind on your free time and you'll eventually rack in a lot of currency. This is a commonly seen F2P game model. They have to reel in money somehow if they want the game to stay alive - and this is how they do it. CO wouldn't be free if these minor paywalls didn't exist.

[Peary]

Originally posted by Bread-Tan:

Originally posted by E.E.:

And i'm not going to accept the "You can grind Questionite for Zen" argument, you would need to devote your entire life to this dying game. Compare my playtime to yours, i think i know what i'm talking about.

Someone's done that math
It's about a week and a half to reach enough Q to buy enough Zen for a freeform slot.

That's insane.
I would love to see the details of that math.
Numbers of toons, activities, and hours per day spent doing that.

You'd imagine everyone would have FF if this was so simple. (Not counting the free slot, if someone was lucky to get it back then)

[Peary]

G... grinding smashes... endlessly... 3,5G per run... 4 with boost... for Q Crates each worth about 250G... ohhhh... nooooo...

At least the crates have potential of dropping a nice amount of Q, but grinding G is even worse than farming Q.

Doing S to farm G so you can buy C of Q in order to transfer it to Z would make me want to hang myself.