What Happens if WoW Goes F2P?

What happens if WoW goes F2P?
Cute pets and cool looking mounts won’t be the only thing you see here.

Wow isn’t going F2P, but if Blizzard decides to be un-Blizzard-like then you can expect a few changes. WoW would still be the exact same game, only way, way more annoying to get into and far less accessible.

Subscriptions Would Stay

Yep, that’s right. The subscription wouldn’t go anywhere. Players would still be given the option to pay the same they always have and have the exact same experience they have always had in-game. This subscription would be Blizzard’s VIP pass and players would use this to gain access to locked parts of the game. Oh yes, there will be locked parts.

Gated Content Behind Paywalls 

Of course Blizzard would make their raids restricted to paying players. Want to raid? You’ll need to be a VIP. Even the newbie raid finder or whatever the heck they’re calling it these days would require you pay the subscription. Dungeons would be restricted. They’d limit the number of dungeons you can run in a week or cycle in “Dungeons of the Week” that are free for players. Want access to them all? Pay to unlock or become a VIP.

No Epics for Free People

Epic gear or maybe raid level gear (they would probably add a new color to signify “paid gear) would undoubtedly be restricted in some fashion, probably for VIPs or some cash shop validation only. You’re welcome to wear the blues you find in the Dungeons of the Week, though! (more…)

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Smite: A New MOBA Worth Playing

Look familiar? This is the loading screen while waiting for a match to start.

With so many new entrants to what is now being called the “MOBA” genre, I was happy to find one that finally stands out as something a little bit different, yet so familiar.  League of Legends and DOTA2 are both great games, and I appreciate what both do to be different; However, they’re very much the same when you compare them to a game like Smite.  Smite, a free-to-play MOBA currently in closed beta, is being made by the same devs who made Global Agenda and brought back the Tribes franchise.

Imagine League of Legends gameplay, but from a MMO perspetive.  Third person, behind your character, hotbars with abilities that instant cast (most are skill-shot), and controls with WASD and mouse look.  That’s the best way I can describe Smite to someone for the first time.  At times it feels to me like I’m playing in a WoW BG or something like Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes because the focus is very much on how I’m controlling my character.

More Smite thoughts after the jump. (more…)

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My GW2 Expectations

I haven’t taken the opportunity to really explain what I expect out of Guild Wars 2.  I have been victimized by my own expectations for years.  Going into a MMORPG expecting something, and finding something else destroys a game for many people.  I usually talk about what I think a game will be, what I want it to be, and how I’ll go into the game when it launches (like I did with SWTOR), but this time I want to clearly outline what I’m expecting from Guild Wars 2; That way if I end up loving the game or hating the game I’ll be able to reference my own expectations before playing.

I want keeps to be highly contested, but not a 'back and forth' grind fest that players burn out on.

World vs. World

My main focus in Guild Wars 2 will be on the World vs. World gameplay.  I really, really want to rekindle my DAOC days where I would spend hours in the frontiers defending and taking territory from two other factions.  I want this war to be intense, but strategic.  Holding a keep has to mean something, so I expect the reward system already in place to be enticing enough for players to want to go out and claim more land.  I want the penalty, or the consequences for losing, to be enough for my team to care about dropping what they’re doing to rush out and defend.

I’m expecting players to know each other.  In WoW you don’t know your neighbor.  In DAOC you knew hundreds of people because you relied on those other players to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you against an onslaught of hundreds of attackers.

WvW should be something that we can play for years and never grow tired.  This is accomplished in part by reducing the ‘back and forth’ feel.  Keeps shouldn’t swap every ten minutes.  They should go days without changing hands, and in some cases longer.   WvW should be on everyone’s mind, but not be something that is constantly going at 100%.  I’m confident that players burn out when true open-world PvP becomes non-stop.

Read on for more of my expectations. (more…)

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Rumor: GW2 Cash Shop could be a deal breaker

I will preface all of this by saying that I am basing this entirely off of leaked screenshots and information from places like Reddit, twitter, and other sources which are not primary sources or even guaranteed reliable.  I also want to note that I grappled back and forth all day with whether or not I should even post this because I don’t want to jump the gun or overreact to something that could be fake or changing since GW2 is still in testing.  I decided it was best to speak up now since there’s no turning back if this goes through.

If the information is accurate, Guild Wars 2’s cash shop might be a deal breaker for me.  I wrote just a few days ago how I am 100% in support of a cash shop that sells purely cosmetic items.  ArenaNet included a very iffy phrase in their article about their cash shop offering “time-saving convenience items”, and I pointed that out immediately as something that can ruin the entire idea.

The images show things like Experience Boosts, Karma Boosts, Crafting Boosts, Chance to Find Rare item Boosts, Loot bags with random items, megaphones to talk in global chat, keys that unlock specific chests (I can imagine horrible ways that this can be abused by devs) and resurrection orbs to res yourself (not usable in pvp).  I am not comfortable with those kinds of items.  Something about them rubs me the wrong way.  Maybe it’s the fact that most games with those exact types of items make me feel like taking a shower after I play.  On the other hand, the boosts only last an hour making the purchase probably not worth it anway.  My issue is mostly with what those items mean for a game’s current and future design.

Games with those kinds of items in their cash shops usually design towards getting people into the cash shop which alters the ‘pure’ or unadulterated version of the game’s design.  I was hoping that Guild Wars 2 was going to offer only the items like extra character slots, dyes, looks, outfits, cosmetic pets, etc.  Those items are in the leaks as well, but they’re entirely overshadowed by a horrific sense of ignorance on ArenaNet’s part if they’re not taking into consideration the ramifications.  Cash shops that alter gameplay inherently alter game design.

I hope the leaks are either false or very early in testing and not going to make it into the game.  The only reason I am talking about this is because I care.  I want to voice my opinion and let ArenaNet know that I do not approve.  These types of things are why a company wants a NDA on their MMO, and exactly why many formulate a valid argument against hiding away the dirty little secrets.  If this type of cash shop makes it into the game, I’m glad it came out early because my interest in the game may diminish if I sense any change in the game’s design direction as a result.

One last aside, I don’t want to dismiss the potential annoyance of bag slot space being very limited without purchasing bag space.  Those types of transactions that almost force you into the shop can be just as sinister if gone unchecked.

When it comes to something this scary — a potentially ruined game — I will risk jumping the gun and overreacting.  I don’t want to see it happen, and I encourage others to realize the implications if it does. This is usually only the beginning.  (more…)

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