Diablo 4 could end up having microtransactions

[aceperson]

i've given up on diablo 4 being worth my time. diablo 3 vanilla sucked, reaper of souls was decent and then abandoned shortly after, diablo immortal is greed incarnate, and nothing blizz has done with their other games or the scandals have given me even the smallest bit of hope. unless the blizz union is made shortly and immediately gets results (probably the same chances as getting a 5 star gem in immortal), it will definitely launch broken and monetized to crap and MAYBE the gameplay will be decent.

[arkanon]

It will be by release. Plus it was already confirmed cosmetics only.

And it was CONFIRMED that you could NOT buy player power in D:I

Then it was CONFIRMED that you could not buy power on GEAR, but you could buy gems (player power) but you could unlock all gear f2p.

Then it was discovered that you actually need to pay to unlock the highest version of armor sets. You could unlock the questing greens version, but the system to upgrade it, including visuals, is tied to real money.

[Orby]

Whelp I was hesitant on buying but now I wont be buying at all. In game shops are near an almost turn off especially ones from Blizzard lol. Although to be be fair I probably wasn't going to buy it anyway, I stopped giving Blizzard my money nearly 2 years ago, I haven't played a Blizzard game since then. When Blizzard drop this Triple A standard and start setting a good example I will start playing again. Or at least have a game that doesnt have a shop, can that be possible? Be better Blizzard.


It goes from 'Only cosmetic'
until it isnt
then they'll add more than cosmetics then people will say 'you don't have to buy it'
until you will add stuff you may need or feel the need to buy
then its 'just don't play it if you don't like it'

People will go to no lengths to defend this shit. I have heard it all.

[Unholyground]

And it was CONFIRMED that you could NOT buy player power in D:I

Then it was CONFIRMED that you could not buy power on GEAR, but you could buy gems (player power) but you could unlock all gear f2p.

Then it was discovered that you actually need to pay to unlock the highest version of armor sets. You could unlock the questing greens version, but the system to upgrade it, including visuals, is tied to real money.

No, everyone knew Immortal was going to be exactly what it is.

Diablo 4 is a AAA Microsoft title. Stop worrying so much.

[thilicen]

And it was CONFIRMED that you could NOT buy player power in D:I

Then it was CONFIRMED that you could not buy power on GEAR, but you could buy gems (player power) but you could unlock all gear f2p.

Then it was discovered that you actually need to pay to unlock the highest version of armor sets. You could unlock the questing greens version, but the system to upgrade it, including visuals, is tied to real money.

Show me where they confirmed immortal would not do any of that.

With D4 we have devs going out literally stating there will be cosmetic and expansion content only in the store.

[Skildar]

as long as I don't feel deprived of anything while playing, then I don't care

[OrangeJuice]

ya no shit it will have microtransactions. stop buying these fucking stupid games.

[Alroxas]

PoE has huge shop with MTX and the prices are very high. Not to mention all those premium stash tabs that are so important (like currency tab or map tab) QoL that I don't see myself playing without them. I'm aware its f2p game but the price for all those tabs already surpased b2p ARPGs by alot.

But for some reason I don't see people flooding this forum with complains, why? Because it's not Blizzard?

to be fair the PoE, stash tabs are good (IMO necessary) if you are going to play PoE regularly enough. But there's a wide price difference, 6~7 tabs would cost you ~60 USD? versus the craziness of DI 110k+.

Honestly, the bigger complaints of PoE are some of the systems they have (like no DPS numbers, no death log, cluttered ground effects so you can't see what's killing you, etc).

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With D4 we have devs going out literally stating there will be cosmetic and expansion content only in the store.

That's hilarious... Just look up Wyatt Chang's quote on how there isn't player power tied to the MTX store... Which he then reflected only meant gear excluding gems which are...

Until we actually see the game, I'm going to take a huge grain of salt on anything Blizzard PR says.

[Endus]

What's more logical? Selling 7 million 60 bucks games with no P2W or sell half a million 60 bucks games and hoping the whales will carry it? If there's even a sniff of P2W then no one will buy it.

There's better than a decade now of data on MTX and profitability, and there's a reason companies still strongly push that monetization model forward.

Because they make more money. Microtransactions don't push players away, especially when it lets the publisher sell the base game at a lower/no cost to get more players in the door, as they are with Diablo: Immortal; you're getting those figures reversed. D:I is showing more than 5 million downloads on the Android app store, and it's currently topping the "Role Playing" list on the Apple store.

Is it predatory? It's capitalist. The entire economy is predatory. Predation on consumers is literally what capitalism is. It's the center of the entire economic system and the engine that makes the economy turn. This is just successful, which is why the monetization model's exploded throughout the industry.

The people who refuse to play a game due to MTX are vastly dwarfed by the players who don't care/welcome them. That's why microtransactions are so successful as a model. I'm not gonna try and argue you should play these games; I tend to avoid them myself, but you at least need to have the self-awareness to realize the truth of how these things work, and that you are the outlier, complaining about a capitalist model success story that isn't going anywhere.

If they could've made more money off Diablo: Immortal by selling it at $30 (or whatever) and no microtransactions, they would've. They aren't, because they almost certainly wouldn't make more money that way.

[Big Thanks]

It will be by release. Plus it was already confirmed cosmetics only.

From my understanding the EXACT quote was:

"Cash Shop is built around cosmetics"

It doesnt say "ONLY" around cosmetics....and i have bad news.
Blizzard is hiring people for a cash shop in Diablo IV:

[Jerot]

More worried about the base experience than the the monetization, it does sound like it's going closer to DI than D2/D3.

No offline mode, while games like PoE have this limitation too, PoE doesn't force you into combat zones with other players (Only towns) where it sounds like D4 will. There is something to be said for the ability to play at your own pace, and making the activities multiplayer removes that choice from you. You will keep up to the rest of the players or you will be walking through empty zones. Fighting other players over bounty targets in DI is one of the stupidest additions to the genre I've ever seen. Next to the return of missions that require low drop % quest items, the game itself is a grind, we don't need to add pointless side-grind to stretch it out.

No linear zones, this is code for scaling enemies, it breaks the power fantasy. If no matter how much gear or how many levels you grind, the enemies feel like they take the same amount of time to kill, you're essentially just running on a treadmill going nowhere. How will we feel the upgrades we're earning?

Open World PvP zones, sounds like we're pushing into MMO territory even further, especially with open world Raid bosses. I can already see people partying up to form a roving death ball through these areas for anyone unfortunate enough to venture into them alone. Also forced group content doesn't work well in an ARPG unless you're severely restricting the kind of upgrades a character can get. If movement speed is a stat on gear or in a paragon tree, your party is going to be progressing at different rates and it will feel janky to play. Some people will zoom ahead, others will fall behind. It ends up being quite restricting on the kind of build customization you can allow.

ARPGs have never lent themselves well to PvP because its about the grind for more levels and more powerful gear. It takes a lot of balancing that tends to remove a lot of your freedom as a non-pvp player, unless they're actually going to take the time to balance skills separately for PvP and PvE. Even then it would probably require some pretty heavy scaling to make it a compelling experience.

I'm worried with blizzards history with MMOs, we'll be seeing more daily or weekly quests, potential limitations on certain grinds, dungeon or raid cooldowns, login bonuses, first x drops of the day are boosted. To keep people coming back regularly and playing on a schedule blizzard deems optimal. I much prefer the PoE model of live service where the thing that keeps you coming back is the content. You aren't limited to how much you can grind, and won't feel like missing a day or two is punishing you by removing your chance for rewards those days. Blizzard LOVES fomo-driven mechanics.



For those saying Blizzard stated "No money for power", don't forget they said the exact same thing in D3 before the RMAH.

That's hilarious... Just look up Wyatt Chang's quote on how there isn't player power tied to the MTX store... Which he then reflected only meant gear excluding gems which are...

Until we actually see the game, I'm going to take a huge grain of salt on anything Blizzard PR says.

Yeah... "We don't sell gear rank ups or exp" only battle pass levels with exp and materials for rank-ups, and paid-only crafting materials like dawning echoes that paywall 30% damage, 30% cooldowns +more. "Only selling cosmetic items" could just mean the gear you can pay for has unique art. At the strictest definition it only "involves/relates" to a persons appearance, and doesn't preclude other benefits.

For reference,
(On one of the regular sales) PoE Map tab $12, Currency tab $6, Div tab $4, Fragments $5.50, Premium tab $3. $30.50 total for basics.

If you want to go full convenience Delirium/Blight/Metamorph/Delve/Essence (3 each) $15, Quad tab $12, Unique collection $11. $68.50 for everything. (Gem and flask tabs are useless)

Seems like a pretty standard rate for games, it's a one-time purchase across all seasons. You don't even have to worry about your items poofing between resets because they get moved to standard into remove-only tabs with no time limit. Unlike D3 where they are in the mail and will be deleted. And its feasible to play through the entire game without them if you don't want to pay, nothing is gated.

[Unholyground]

From my understanding the EXACT quote was:

"Cash Shop is built around cosmetics"

It doesnt say "ONLY" around cosmetics....and i have bad news.
Blizzard is hiring people for a cash shop in Diablo IV:

Expansions count as shop items too, as well as mounts.

[Big Thanks]

Expansions count as shop items too, as well as mounts.

I hope so
Never played Diablo before and after watching the gameplay trailer...i must say im hyped for this game.

[Kumorii]

And it was CONFIRMED that you could NOT buy player power in D:I

Then it was CONFIRMED that you could not buy power on GEAR, but you could buy gems (player power) but you could unlock all gear f2p.

Then it was discovered that you actually need to pay to unlock the highest version of armor sets. You could unlock the questing greens version, but the system to upgrade it, including visuals, is tied to real money.

Only statement I've seen regarding the shop in DI is that free players wouldn't be far behind. Since the dev mentioned that he would do just fine without the shop in closed beta (which is frankly a stupid conclusion). Not that it would not have p2w aspects... Companies in general don't mention p2w more times than not because of stigma and says convenience instead.

[Sluvs]

Diablo Immortal and diablo 4 are not remotely the same.

People saying that they are the same are factually wrong.

One is a MOBILE GAME, the other one is a core diablo experience focusing on gamers on xbox and PC. Literally their core audience. They are not even remotely the same. And to pretend that they are is laughable.

This is literally taking the worst read of a thing and making a bad faith argument for it.

They can get away by charging a Battle Pass or Cosmetics. And the Battle pass is a little iffy. But if they go full P2W on a 60 dollar game (that will not even be on gamepass) I do not think they can salvage their IP after this.

"BUT THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR REPUTATION AS LONG AS THEY ARE GETTING RICH"

P2W works because it lures you in with the promise of free shit. Put a Pay Wall on that and you basically destroyed that premise. If they implement this on an attempt of a revival of an IP, they will not get rich.

[Ealyssa]

p2w exists because you "don't care" about cosmetics, it let them in

Except no. Plenty of F2P are honest and only sell cosmetics.

It’s 100% the choice of the editors to purposely create friction to sell P2W shit or be fair and offer a great game people are willing to support by buying cosmetics.

Obviously we still not know what Diablo IV gonna offer. But being a full priced game with an ingame store is already a bad direction

[infinitemeridian]

I'm more worried about the long-term support of the game. Expansions are nice and all, but they really need to add actual new content in between.

[Violent]

And where is the problem?^^ Modern games usually have some kind of microtransactions anyways.

Lol!
And this is why they get more and more from us at every turn while giving us less and less. This persons' view right here ^^^

It's THE SAME THING they are thinking as well, same logic as "Well you all have Cellphones don't you?!" "Everyone has a Cellphone! Of course they're going to LOVE a mobile-rpg, with microtransactions.. "We've already conditioned them into wanting it!"

You, "Lady Atia" are the Epitome of a "Shut up & take my money Consumer". Pretty gross.

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Except no. Plenty of F2P are honest and only sell cosmetics.

It’s 100% the choice of the editors to purposely create friction to sell P2W shit or be fair and offer a great game people are willing to support by buying cosmetics.

Obviously we still not know what Diablo IV gonna offer. But being a full priced game with an ingame store is already a bad direction

After this long? The #4 game, you dunno what it's going to offer? Oh Jeez...
Here let me help you out then...
Full Character roster that D2 had, Finally with the same features as D2, with a D3 skin, called D4...
You're welcome.

[Kralljin]

It will be by release. Plus it was already confirmed cosmetics only.

They said there will be cosmetics.
They didn't say "there will be no play power".

Same as Wyatt Cheng said that players couldn't purchase GEAR in Diablo Immortal.
Anything he said before launch is, as far as i know, still correct, but obviously implied that there wouldn't be any P2W, yet we all know by now that Diablo Immortal is P2W.

What they said about D4 Store is still very much true even if it goes P2W.

[Elim Garak]

They said there will be cosmetics.
They didn't say "there will be no play power".

Same as Wyatt Cheng said that players couldn't purchase GEAR in Diablo Immortal.
Anything he said before launch is, as far as i know, still correct, but obviously implied that there wouldn't be any P2W, yet we all know by now that Diablo Immortal is P2W.

So who've won?