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Diablo IV Monetization Explained - No Pay-To-Win

clarky

Gold Member
I don't think they could announce that at E3, since they have yet to own them.

The monetization is a little more aggressive than Path of Exile, which is F2P, so that side would shine on their service.


Agreed about userbase being split with expansions, UT wasn't like that, however. They were included with their patch updates, so everyone had those maps/skins, etc.. And then when you logged into a server to play, and you did not have a custom map, your game would quickly download the map, mods, etc..

For ... Free. I miss the days of user dedicated servers.
Never played UT, they must have sold a ton if there was no paid for dlc/maps to keep the lights on, sounds like i missed out.

To counter id say your example was the exception rather than the rule, as far as i can remember anyways. I might he wrong, i took a lot of drugs back in the day.
 

Fbh

Member
Look , if all these mtx non-sence was out of it, i couldnt be happier. Hell in D3 if my specific wings make me look cool, i love it and yes ad you said its part of the experience. Paying for them in D4 is going to blow big time. And if its just that well, it suck , but wtf can we do, not play it and miss a great game? I came and go with D3 passing some seasons, and missed a few cosmetic stuff, do i hate the game because of it?

Only thing im scared is that all cool looking stuff is lock behind a paywall. I just hope that we still get like 90% of cosmetic like available, and only a few items will be for purchase. If its the contrary, oh yes i will not be happy, and im sure ( i hope ) blizz are not to dumb about this. Or else it might receive the same response of auction house.

Well as someone who replied to me above said, it does seem like they plan to support the game with new content. If that actually translates into free content updates with new locations, enemies, bosses, playable classes, loot, etc than I guess it's easier to accept the mtx, but only time will tell.

Personally I'd rather have gotten a proper full game with no MTX at full price, and then big $30-40 expansions along the way. As things are now I have no problem waiting until the game is on sale.


Its a live service game with content updates seasons etc the usual stuff. Looks like a lot here just expect a fairly sizable team to work for free for a couple of years after the game ships.

If the base game is shit then fair enough but if the base game is great then i really dont see the issue.



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Reading through it it does sound like they want to add a lot of content. If that ends up being true and it's actually substantial content and not mostly new quests recycling the same assets, then I guess the mtx are more acceptable.
Though I'd still rather get a complete game and then pay for proper big expansions rather than this whole live service thing.


Nothing is more unrewarding in a purely loot based game like Diablo when you can just buy the cool looking armor for yourself instead of grinding for it.

And nothing makes the grind more unrewarding than knowing you'll never get the truly cool stuff unless you pay up.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Never played UT, they must have sold a ton if there was no paid for dlc/maps to keep the lights on, sounds like i missed out.

To counter id say your example was the exception rather than the rule, as far as i can remember anyways. I might he wrong, i took a lot of drugs back in the day.
I mean, they built and licensed the Unreal Engine, and look what they are today, lol.

i took a lot of drugs back in the day.
Half Baked Yes GIF
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Nothing is more unrewarding in a purely loot based game like Diablo when you can just buy the cool looking armor for yourself instead of grinding for it.
And nothing makes the grind more unrewarding than knowing you'll never get the truly cool stuff unless you pay up.
This is where the issue may come to fruition. Again, may.

Path of Exile for example. Sure you got that powerful rare weapon, but it does not look nearly as cool as someone who skinned their weapon type with the cool ass particle effect having skin.

So the whole aspect of looting that powerful and cool looking weapon that was also recognizable by mere glance, will be bland unless you cosmetic it up to look tricked out and awesome. Maybe.
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
I will get it after 4 or 5 years when the inevitable "Eternal Collection" or some shit like that comes along. Game sounds like hot garbage right now and will probably suck ass the first year until Blizzard has patched it and delivered some worthwhile content to the table.
 

clarky

Gold Member
This is where the issue may come to fruition. Again, may.

Path of Exile for example. Sure you got that powerful rare weapon, but it does not look nearly as cool as someone who skinned their weapon type with the cool ass particle effect having skin.

So the whole aspect of looting that powerful and cool looking weapon that was also recognizable by mere glance, will be bland unless you cosmetic it up to look tricked out and awesome. Maybe.
Yeah you do need a balance in a game like this, at least some of the really cool looking shit needs to come from late end game AND be rare as fuck. But then you get people moaning about drop rates.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Back in my day press releases were about how fun and cool the game would look and play.
Just one of many updates on the game, a few have gone over what you're after(including this one if you read the full thing).
 
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Free Tiers will reward players with "gameplay boosts", better known as Season Boosts, which will help accelerate players' progress during the active season, for example by increasing experience gains.

This could mean anything. What does it even mean? :messenger_grimmacing_
it means free for all

Peasants GIF by GIPHY Studios Originals


Which will be shitty by themselves, while those who pay:

Homer Simpson Laughing GIF


and Blizzard:


Cash Money GIF by Shelem
 

Ogbert

Member
What a fucking cancer this era of gaming is.
In general, agree.

That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a battle pass in a free to play game. What Epic did with Fortnite is clever. And the game is good enough to keep people playing.

But why the fuck does Diablo have it?? Forget the fact we’re supposed to be thankful for them not making it pay to win. Just as a basic principle, it shouldn’t have one.
 

clarky

Gold Member
In general, agree.

That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a battle pass in a free to play game. What Epic did with Fortnite is clever. And the game is good enough to keep people playing.

But why the fuck does Diablo have it?? Forget the fact we’re supposed to be thankful for them not making it pay to win. Just as a basic principle, it shouldn’t have one.
Have you read the blog? it goes into it in a fairly lengthy manner why.
 
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Lupin3

Targeting terrorists with a D-Pad
I'm not saying it shouldn't be pushed against, and I'll do it in the best way, with my wallet.

I'm not sure why the fuck people are so hyperfocused on the the monetary cost of cosmetics, opposed to the time cost of grinding to hit the next level of the free battlepass

They're already talking about xp boosts in the pass, leveling is going to be a fucking slog and the free xp boosts are a means to keep you hooked

I'm against all of it.
 

Ogbert

Member
Have you read the blog? it goes into it in a fairly lengthy manner why.
Just read through it.

Unless I’m missing something, it just looks like a standard season pass stuck onto the regular ‘Diablo Seasons’ that we’re all used to.

I’m sure there will be lots of stuff involved, but is there any reason why that couldn’t be part of the regular season rewards? They’re just monetising ongoing support.

I dunno. Doesn’t really annoy me. I’ll play the game and enjoy it. It’s not even the money that annoys me. It’s just the fact that they’re always tapping you on the shoulder while you’re playing. Buy this. But that. It’s intrusive.
 

DavidGzz

Member
If it was free to play the servers would be overcrowded so I'm good with this. People praise the PoE model but an armor set costs as much as a normal game so what's the difference? If you get serious with the game at all you need to buy stash space and then a crafting mat organizer so it ends up costing more than a normal game. PoE is free to try, like a demo.

Blizzard is too big to be releasing games like indy devs. You want a game to be worth their time to update and release expansions for? It needs a way to have continued revenue. If you don't like it, play games like Vampire Survivor and other Indies.

I'm not saying I like it, but I know there is no changing what games like PoE have standardized. For Game Pass subscribers it will be free to play as well anyway.
 
Can't say I'm too bothered or surprised by this model, considering the zeitgeist of the AAA gaming industry. I doubt people who consider this a dealbreaker had any serious intention of buying D IV or any Blizzard product at all.
I'm looking forward to it's release, so far the gameplay footage looks pretty damn good.
 
I don't see an issue with monetisation if it doesn't affect gameplay. Even though I think it's a waste, then if somebody wants to spend their money on differently shaded / shaped / textured polygons then that's on them. I play games so casually now that I have evolved beyond competition and collect-a-thons and digital dress-up. As long as I can sofa co-op with my partner and have no impediments in doing so, that's all good.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
A solid plan for monetizing GamePass players and building a service relationship with paying players. Seems par for the course really...CoD (with its battlepass), Forza (with its expanded car selection through purchasable DLC), Halo (I don't know but I would guess the new Halo has something like this), all do this, right?

You can play the entire game and not even touch the battlepass mechanics if you choose not to. You don't even need to go to the screen. Just read the tutorial bit and dismiss or ignore any little "pop up" reminders that are presented during game play.
 
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and people still defend blizzard despite all the bullshit that is Diablo Immoral

stop inhaling that copium and face reality!


It's a full priced game with all the battle/season passes, plus premium currency. A reminder that they nerfed the drop rates in D3 significantly to make people use the auction house.
 

Salz01

Member
Nothing is more unrewarding in a purely loot based game like Diablo when you can just buy the cool looking armor for yourself instead of grinding for it.
I came to post something like this. Totally agree. Getting better stats on equipment is one thing, and having cool looking armor is the second part.
 

hinch7

Member
Remember when we paid for games that had everything on it instead of content of being locked behind paywalls? What happened?

The 'only cosmetic thing' is a shitty way of excuse of these corps for extracting more cash from paying customers. I hate modern gaming sometimes, or Blizzard..
 

DaGwaphics

Member
Remember when we paid for games that had everything on it instead of content of being locked behind paywalls? What happened?

The 'only cosmetic thing' is a shitty way of excuse of these corps for extracting more cash from paying customers. I hate modern gaming sometimes, or Blizzard..
It works both ways though. We didn't have all of the diversity of options in regards to unnecessary cosmetics either. And the players that really enjoy that part of gaming wouldn't want to go back. Personally, I could not care less what the character I control looks like, at least not enough to spend $ on it, but I know there are people that find those details important.
 

supernova8

Banned
Call me old school but I just don't like the idea of being able to buy your way to better stuff (including better looking stuff) unless it's a purely single player game. Back in the day when WoW didn't have any real money shop stuff, you'd see some player with maxed out gear and you'd be like:
Thank You For Your Service Nicksplat GIF by Hey Arnold


People saying "if it's cosmetic then it doesn't matter" have never spent hours in a dungeon trying to get rare gear. Sure we can argue that people who want to do that probably still can, but to me it kills the magic.
 
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Filben

Member
Don't believe it. Bethesda also said there won't be gameplay affecting monetisations and here we are.

Also, it's Blizzard. Sooner or later they will do something shady.
 

GenericUser

Member
I don't know if people, that claim to be upset about this, are honest or not. What did you guys expect from a AAA title these days? I'm honestly happy that blizzard does not go even further with the monetisation. I think they totally could and players would eat it up.

I'm all for old school expansion packs and beefy DLC and stuff, but it's not going to happen. That business model is a thing of the past and it won't come back (for the majority of AAA titles). I will buy Diablo 4 day one, I love diablo.
 
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