I had a nasty thought (FOMO and recent decisions)
So a few weeks back, they announced that all non-licensed cosmetics are eventually going to become available with shards. Everyone cheers, give or take a few saltlords that don't want anyone to own things for free that they had to pay for. Consensus is that this is a great step forward and a pretty generous move from BHVR.
New outfits are now cell only for about a month, whereupon they become available with shards permanently thereafter.
Now, this. And it gets me thinking...
Did we just trade the old system where they release half their cosmetics cells-only and half free, to a new system where they do the exact same thing, except the cell-only cosmetics go away forever?
Like... I don't like conspiracy or ascribing malicious motives where Occam's Razor will do the trick. But was this a stealthy ploy where BHVR pretended to do something nice and then snuck a sting in the tail by changing the whole system to something worse, and coincidentally more profitable? From where I'm standing, it looks like that's exactly what happened and this was planned from the start.
Because if so, I want my "some skins are randomly auric cells only, but they're always available" model back. Like, a lot.
Almost nobody wanted FOMO. Please stop.
Comments
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+1 completely agree, if this is where we're going then take me the ######### back.
(Also if I'd known you'd use it I'd have spent some time getting a better screenshot lmao)
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I was hoping it was the case where those were the ones locked to the event track since those skins come out a year later. But unfortunately yes it appears bhvr is moving to a fomo based store, which is disappointing.
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This was first thing I thought when they announced these time limited cosmetics. They JUST announced original cosmetics would be available for shards after 4 weeks then come out with the time limited cosmetics which are a loophole to that announcement. They can't just do something that makes the playerbase happy and gain good will without doing something else related that ruins it.
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it's giving one step forward and then falling down the staircase
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Despise FOMO microtransactions. The tactic preys on people with less than stellar impulse control and makes people with limited funds feel less appreciated. It would be one thing if the ever increasing monetization of this game led to an increase in quality. But every release shows quality control and version control is poor.
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I was tempted to photoshop it and draw a bunch of big red arrows pointing to the top right, if that helps. But mostly I'm just lazy and it does the trick.
Part of why I'm so pissed about this. It looked like a phenomenal goodwill decision at the time and now I can't interpret it as anything other than a sneaky, pretty-looking setup for a predatory marketing tactic.
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I’m guessing the loophole is the outfits will be available again during Halloween 2023, and you can use shards at that time.
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but there's no guarantee whatsoever since this is all brand new, unprecedented territory for bhvr. and without being loud about how terrible this decision is now there's no guarantee they'll bring them back at all.
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One hopes, but personally I'm thinking that's a generous assumption at this stage.
I wouldn't have an issue with cycling cosmetics, but the stuff they said in the survey before the last one talked about going away forever.
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Pretty much what's happening I believe, yes :(
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BHVR and their anti-consumer habits at it again, nothing strange here 😉
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I'm not going to get worked up until BHVR respond to this, but if this is true that will be the last straw for me. Sure I'll still play the game here and there but I won't spend another penny on the game. No more cosmetics, or licensed characters.
For BHVR's sake I really hope this isn't there intention, it would be a complete slap in the face to the community and playerbase.
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I didn’t think of that. That would terrible, especially because Dwight is my main, and I really like his outfit.
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Oh god. FOMO was the sole reason I couldn't play Warframe, I refused to spend money but there was so
much
s t u f f .
I couldn't do it. I don't want it, BHVR.
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...
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There are no guarantees those cosmetics will return, so you are right to assume the worst.
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this exactly.
if you've ever heard the term whale before, it's a gaming industry term for people who spend exorbitant amounts of money on games to the point of financial ruin, often due to, say, poor impulse control or an inability to grasp just how much microtransaction purchases pile up. often bigger studios aim to encourage and manipulate these people into doing so, this being one of many ways of going about it. it's disgusting
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Same, my self control is ######### and I already spend too much on this game 😭
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Sadly is not the first time they change something for "the best" and then add some monkey paw consequence to it.
The Shrine of Secrets comes to mind, the change they made to grinding looked ok but it also changed the Shrine in a way it makes way more appealing to buy the licensed characters than unlocking their perks on the shrine, since you need 12k Shards for Rank3 perk instead of 2k and 3 Bloodwebs like it was before the rework.
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Well, we had the NFT debacle this time last year, so it seemed about time for BHVR to make scummy financial moves.
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Well if it's eventually, then it isn't currently. Also the fact these outfits are specifically halloween themed.
I'm not defending it or anything, just saying. They might be back next Halloween or something. Or I'm looking too much on the bright side and they won't be available again, which is what bhvr has said wouldn't happen, but idk.
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I don't get the hate, but I'm thinking the outfits will come back again next year.
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All online/live service games implement a fomo monetization style eventually. It's a worrying trend I don't see going away. One of my other favorite games (overwatch) just realized a f2p game with a fomo style battlepass is more profitable than loot boxes. I hate it but the higher ups don't care.
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Except you can still level up those perks in the bloodweb? Going for level 2 and 3 is entirely optional. I don't see an issue with that - for the same price of 2000 shards, you get exactly what you got in the old system, except this time it also unlocks it at T1 on everyone. The old way just made it so that the perks could appear in your bloodweb, which hasn't changed.
I'm not sure which I'd hate more, to be honest. Lootboxes are a whole other can of worms (and one I fell prey to once. Never again, JFC.) I think I'd rather at least have the option to purchase a thing I want rather than throw my money into a blender and hope I get the thing I actually want out of it before I run out of money.
But it's a damn shame, because I really respected DBD for not using this model. And here we are.
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How dare a cheap game with constant, regular updates and content offer something that makes them money?! It's despicable! Who would want to support a game they play all the time and ensure it continues to keep running? Where're the torches? I've got some pitchforks around here somewhere...
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Omg wait that means it's been a year since my little banning debauchle
I feel ancient
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But at least that's a F2P game now, not a paid for game with paid for DLCs.
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The issue isn't them selling cosmetics, it's doing so in such an anti-consumer scummy way that excludes newer players or those in difficult financial situations and purposefully targets younger demographics with less developed impulse control. It's genuinely despicable and, in the long run, having the cosmetics available forever will make more money because people will be able to wait and save up for something they enjoy.
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This is a very shallow way of looking at it, no offence. The issue here is that "limited time" cosmetics only serve to prey on people and manipulate them into spending their money. This isn't about supporting the game you like, this is about the devs using underhanded, dirty tactics to manipulate people into giving them money. Someone who suffers from addiction or a mental condition like anxiety can see "limited edition, you'll never see it again" and panic into spending money on the non-refundable cosmetic. Now that would be one thing, but fact is: the people who implement these kinds of tactics do it anyway, SPECIFICALLY to manipulate these people into giving them money, and they simply don't care.
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Its more about enticing the people, you see a perk 2k, then 4k and finally 6k and you think "this is a hassle to farm, its probably easier to just buy the character and call it a day", it was great to get all your characters to P3 and BAM! no more grinding but with the shrine you see all those rank1 perks you have to grind and you dont want to go back to that...
Before the change there was no option, it was the only way so you had no temptation but now you have a system where you pay money and put some work to rank 150 bloodwebs and forget about it forever or still using the old system... I know because it happened to me, had the tought after all those licensed rank1 perks.
Sometimes a small tweak on something changes the perception entirely, even changing only some words can make us perceive something in an entire different light (there is an example with WoW during beta in 2004 where the exact same system went from poorly received to greatly praised just by changing the description).
Post edited by HectorBrando on0 -
Lootbox style monetization was garbage, especially for people who struggle with gambling addictions (it's why gatcha games are so profitable). But I was able to ignore it for the most part. Any skin I wanted, I was able to get as long as I played the game and earned coins. Now those same coins can't be used to purchase new cosmetics.
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Limited edition stuff is cool. Not everyone should get everything. I see zero issue here and would love to see more of it. I'd love to have things that were more rare or even unique that aren't obtainable. The real problem is this sense of entitlement that you (not necessarily you specifically) seem to think you deserve the ability to have everything everyone else has.
I'd love more with limited time challenges that reward unique cosmetics for accomplishing them. Just more things to make people have things that are actually special.
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I dont think they made the switch because its more profitable, I think they did it because lootboxes are starting to get regulated, especially in Europe and Asia, for example Belgian players cant buy lootboxes in Overwatch, if the rest of the EU does the same they lose almost an entire continent to profit from their scheme while FOMO is still unregulated.
They are just jumping ship in case it sinks entirely.
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I personally don't like that logic. Because the devs use that logic to push more predatory monetizations. "Sure we make you grind 100 tiers, don't give back the in game currency you have to spend money on back in the battlepass, make it extremely expensive to go up tiers in case you don't have time to grind the battlepass, but our game is free so deal with it".
Its why I hate f2p games. Now like you said, this ######### is starting to pop up in paid games.
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It wasn't like an "oh this is great" moment, but more a "well at least i can see why they did this". i hate it too, and it will actively turn me against spending any money in a game. like, i've easily spent over £300 on dbd since ive played it, and yet ive played paladins for longer but spent... what, £20 for the founders pack and like £30 max on cosmetics/battle passes?
i cannot stand predatory systems like this.
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"Not everyone should get everything" is fine, and I don't care about limited stuff in general. The problem here is that they're specifically, and knowingly, engaging in a business practice made to prey on people with mental health issues.
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Yeah is the same thing others did with lootboxes and forced goverments to raise an eyebrow. What I really hate is if you are a Casino and the cops/autorities catch you with an underage gambling in one of your tables you are toasted but online games are unregulated and kids as young as 10 years old are exposed to all those machinations.
These things are devastating on adults who are supposed to be more mature (I know, sometimes they arent) imagine on teenagers, I suppose we will see the effects in 5 to 15 years.
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FOMO is bad... But I don't suffer from that
Jokes aside... it does suck that a game company takes advantage
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I agree completely that these whole limited outfits are not worth it. I mean I also didn’t want to be forced to buy something right away. I would have love to have the option to the outfits at a later date.
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Wait so are the Jane and Dwight outfits NEVER coming back, or will they just be removed and then be avaliable in the store again next Halloween?
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I am happy to support DBD by purchasing paid content and cosmetics. I am not happy to support DBD when they attempt to manipulate me into spending money constantly by imposing FOMO, which is well-documented and rampant as a scummy business practice in online gaming. I am particularly unhappy when this goes against several statements they've made in the past about exclusivity (and was the given reason we couldn't get anything half-decent as a prestige reward, while we're at it) and goes against overwhelming community feedback, which makes the fact that they kept asking us if we wanted it all the more ironic. And I'm also unhappy when they passed this off as a big favor they were doing the playerbase by making the shop more accessible, and then proceeded to make the shop even less accessible and much more aggressively capitalistic than it was before.
As someone who enjoys owning exclusive content and was far more amenable to exclusives in the past? That philosophy is gonna bite you in the ass whenever you start playing a new game with exclusives, and every time you take a break from DBD or the month's paycheck is looking kinda tight.
It's not worth it. If I had to weigh the pros of having something cool I can show off to other players so they acknowledge how cool I am (definitely) (probably) (maybe) (probably not), and the cons of finding something I sincerely want and have no way to ever obtain, I'll take no exclusives. Exclusives are better in a game with an economy where you can grind your tail off to purchase the retired item from someone else, but here, if your dream outfit turns out to be a Valentines Day 2023 exclusive and you joined in 2024, you're SOL. And if you join in 2028 and a solid quarter of the outfits the game's ever released are gone forever... gg no re, I guess. I cannot respect the reason they're implementing this, nor does it help anyone except people who want to have the opportunity to flex on others (to which I say P100 and event cosmetics already amply offer that opportunity - bringing that philosophy to the shop is nothing more than a predatory cash grab.)
Seriously, bringing up entitlement from your position is a little hypocritical when the entire thing you're invoking is not wanting other players to be able to access future content so you can be the only person in the room to have it.
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We don't know for sure, but some of the things they've said in the surveys implied never ever. It'll probably be clearer when they're released on the 11th.
If they'll be available at Halloween only, but every Halloween, then I don't have a problem with any of this. That'd be a massive relief.
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If Mental issues are your worries there are other things that exist within the game that actually affect mental issues. Those which are free and do not cost money.
I can’t believe you are actually bringing up the topic of mental health to support your own argument against exclusivity. All when last I checked, the game’s own community is doing a pretty fine job to make sure that those with mental issues have the worst possible experience.
I’ll give you one example: Post match chat.
The outcry on this is unbelievable. Then again color me not surprised.
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Even if they become available again next year there's still the "Deep Rift cosmetics" which are said to be exclusive to the Rift. To me it doesn't sound like those will ever return.
🦆🦂
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Is this forever exclusive, or is it like the Rift cosmetics labeled as "exclusives" and then sold? Is it that little banner that people are worried means forever? Thanks
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I remember that the skins for the old Summer event were distributed to everyone, even if they did not play the event until some time later.
Regarding this, a friend of mine told me that it was because the developer had explained that it was not a permanent limited edition item.
The same goes for this Halloween skin. It does not say it is a permanent limited edition.
I will not be buying it at Auricell this time because I plan to buy it at the shard next Halloween.
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Like we all thought the first Blighted skins to be released would have been available to gain during the future halloween events and then they weren't and were simply treated as regular Auric Cells only skins?
Assume the worst, ask the best.
Assume that BHVR will never bring back that skin again, ask that BHVR does NOT releases time-limited cosmetics. Even if it's an event themed one.
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This whole post was so incredibly well phrased that I did not only upvote but also felt the need to tell you that in a comment.
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To me, even if those outfits came back next Halloween, it's still awful.
What is the technical reason we can't buy them outside of Halloween? None. We are talking about immaterial content, there cannot be a shortage of it. Any argument trying to rationalize such is ridiculous and should be treated as a joke.
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Remember it just a skin u will laught a few times and then come back to default dwight
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