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Should Dead by Daylight become a free to play game?

Ajritoka
Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
edited October 2019 in Polls

Dead by Daylight is infamous for its excessive grind. The grind for perks, grind for characters, grind for cosmetics, and so on. The newest feature to grind out will be the archives, which come with an optional paid rift pass.

Dead by Daylight’s grind is comparable to that of a free to play game. The example that comes immediately to mind is Paladins. Paladins also requires players to grind for progression, grind for characters, and grind for cosmetics. The option to pay for these items is optional.

Dead by Daylight’s model is similar to that of Paladins, yet Dead by Daylight is a paid game. I feel like this is unreasonable. When I began to play Dead by Daylight 1000+ hours ago, I felt like it was worth my twenty dollars. Now, it seems it’s simply asking too much of players.

Let’s look at another very successful paid game (albeit much more successful than Dead by Daylight) called Overwatch. Overwatch’s model seems fitting for a paid game. All characters are available to you upon purchasing the title. In-game currency and cosmetic items are optionally purchasable through loot-boxes.

Dead by Daylight could remain a successful paid game, if it offered some more content included with the base game. Perhaps all non-licensed characters could be available with the base game, and BHVR’s income could come from licensed DLCs and cosmetics. Another option; purchasable characters could remain unlockable and all cosmetics could come with the base game. I believe the first option is better, since I’d guess most of BHVR’s income comes from the paid cosmetics.

TLDR: Dead by Daylight’s system seems flawed. If it is to remain a paid game, either non-licensed characters or cosmetics should come with the base game. If it is to continue using its current system, I believe it should become a free to play game.

Should Dead by Daylight become a free to play game? 131 votes

Dead by Daylight should become free to play
40%
Ark_the_BonsaiChrisFuFuuLuigifan64MrsMaliciousXPhantomMask20763BlueberrybeatddbxChrisx0h_DoctorBigWeeWeePluKev19915ad19970DrazenxCarrieStrancolVSLlÔ_borocamgaming_dbdSkittlesthehusky 53 votes
Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free
59%
GonzaloPuggyMohawkBossdarthtimsterFoggyDownpourNMCKEGibberishAdelooMister_xDzacmangamingkatoptrisDaddyTrappersGirlGamer00SpacingLlamasAjritokaarslaNbrokedownpalaceInnCognitoSletitrocksSblitcher 78 votes
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Comments

  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,998
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    yes then give everyone a hat like the gibus in tf2

  • Raven014
    Raven014 Member Posts: 4,188

    Hopefully a better one in that case. Maybe legacy for console, please.

  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,998
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    I wouldn't mind xbox themed clothing kinda what they did with rocket league and the consoles

  • BBQnDemogorgon
    BBQnDemogorgon Member Posts: 3,615

    No changes!

  • Mikeasaurus
    Mikeasaurus Member Posts: 2,327

    I'd prefer it just stay a paid game. Any game that goes from Paid to F2P is pretty much destroyed overnight by a influx of terrible players. And that's not me being negative, since I get everyone starts somewhere, but since the game is technically 'free' on Xbox Game Pass, I've seen brand new players just butcher games completely becasue they haven't got a single clue to what's going on. Imagine having constant games where it's over in 2 minutes because the new players didn't grasp you avoid the big guy with the knife.

  • GrootDude
    GrootDude Member Posts: 14,110

    neither

  • Eleghost
    Eleghost Member Posts: 1,190

    Nice you don't even have the option to vote no without stipulation. You know the game is literally like 10 dollars like 80% of the time. that's cheaper than pretty much any game out there that isn't triple a and is growing. Good lord if you're going to say make non-licensed characters free i mean hey they technically are you just gotta play to get them like every other game.

  • itsmetimohthy
    itsmetimohthy Member Posts: 43

    Its fine as is. Also there really should be a third option in the vote. The fact the only two options are things you mentioned is basically you trying to make people agree with you. Facts are, nothing is wrong with its current model.

  • FriendlyGuy
    FriendlyGuy Member Posts: 2,768
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    FtP, but only the three original killers and the tree original survivors are FtP. Rest is paid.

  • Boosted_Dwight
    Boosted_Dwight Member Posts: 3,059

    None

  • AngryFluffy
    AngryFluffy Member Posts: 443

    It should stay how it is now. Whyever this is not an option to vote for. This poll says basically nothing at all without this option.

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    To everyone saying they want a third option. I’m sorry. I was planning on adding one but I accidentally posted this poll before it was finished and now I can’t edit the poll options at all.

  • bendermac
    bendermac Member Posts: 772

    What is OP talkng about with making non license characters free? They are all FREE!

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    I mean to make them available with the base game.

  • BenZ0
    BenZ0 Member Posts: 4,125

    Dafuq? What about world of warcraft or most of the other MMO games, they are known for grinding and pretty much bring the grind to the world?

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    They are free. Dead by Daylight is paid. This is why I started this discussion.

  • BenZ0
    BenZ0 Member Posts: 4,125

    @KillerRaccoon

    Think you dont know about these games or you didnt read what I actually meant but World of Warcraft is not for free, its in a monthly subscribe system, black desert online either and much more games like that aswell. And with DBD becoming a for free game there would be ALOT more toxic ppl and smurf accounts to make the life of new players even more harder. This would only bring more chaos and negative effects to this game.

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    I’m sorry, I was thinking of the free game called League of Legends.

  • BenZ0
    BenZ0 Member Posts: 4,125

    @KillerRaccoon

    Thats not a MMO :D MMO means Massive Multiplayer online game.

  • KuromiStarwind
    KuromiStarwind Member Posts: 325
    edited October 2019

    I think if they focus a bit more on cosmetics and add more stuff to the Archives, then they certainly could. There's a lot of stuff they would have to fix that would make the game appealing to new players, however.

  • Elegant
    Elegant Member Posts: 443

    I would leave it at like $5 just to keep people from actively hacking and making new accounts.

  • Larisa
    Larisa Member Posts: 176

    It's in a good spot rn

  • OMagic_ManO
    OMagic_ManO Member Posts: 3,278

    Don't agree with both of your options, would make it so it's harder for Dead By Daylight to be an active and supported game.

  • Micheal_Myers
    Micheal_Myers Member Posts: 1,147

    My Option:


    Keep Game the Same, remove The unneeded Rift.

  • Luigifan64
    Luigifan64 Member Posts: 1,124
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    With the exception of licensed DLC, yes, DBD should be 100% free. We’re getting a god damn BattlePass in a $118 game on top of a cosmetic shop where it costs $10 for one whole skin (and no, they haven’t released one that’s been less than $10 in forever), so yeah, this game should be free seeing as all the ######### they’re trying to pull.

  • Kerbert
    Kerbert Member Posts: 415
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    This game is expensive. If they dont do something to reduce the grind and make it more accessible to get killers for free, then I think it most definitely should be ftp.

    Plus, why the hell are cosmetics so damn expensive? $10 for a full outfit? Thats more than a f*ckin chapter

  • Fibijean
    Fibijean Member Posts: 8,342

    There's no reason to make it free to play or to give us more characters as long as people are still buying the game. The reason that games have made the switch from paid to free to play in the past (Evolve springs to mind) is because they wanted to draw more players. If BHVR decide that they need to expand the playerbase for DBD, then maybe going free to play would make sense, but as it is there's no reason to do so from a business standpoint.

  • Fibijean
    Fibijean Member Posts: 8,342
    edited October 2019

    To be fair, there are many free MMOs out there. But I agree that there are enough paid games like WOW or BDO that it's still not really a valid argument to make that only free to play games should be grindy. Heck, BDO is one of the most infamously grindy games around at the moment.

  • SebaOutbreak
    SebaOutbreak Member Posts: 399
    edited October 2019

    Can't fully agree with the options. The price is fair for the sheer amount of content the game offers (it's also a game that keeps on getting updates constantly), and I wouldn't like to have the unlicensed killers all available from the start. At all.

    I like that sense of progression you get when you slowly but surely start unlocking each Killer (or survivor). It gives the game replay value and a reason to grind, while also giving you something to look forward to.

    However, I can slightly agree that the grind can be a tad bit too much sometimes. Maybe reduce it a bit in some aspects would be ok, but not too much, because it''d be no fun either to just grind for a few weeks and unlock everything.

    On a side note: Paladins microtransactions work in a very different way than DbD. Here, you want to buy something: you just go to the Store and get it. More or less like Overwatch (tho the grind in OW is worst than DbD in my opinion). In Paladins, sooome skins can be directly purchased, but a big chunk of them + sprays/poses/emotes/titles/etc. can only be unlocked via seasonal chests (lootboxes) that may or may not reward you with the item you want. Most of the time you may be paying for a CHANCE to get what you want. The key difference here being that Paladins is free while DbD isn't, but in one you may get what you want - while in the other you just can go get what you want instantly.

  • Luigifan64
    Luigifan64 Member Posts: 1,124
    Dead by Daylight should become free to play

    Um, but being free isn’t conducive to a lack of choice, nor is having to pay to much money for an already paid game conducive to having choice. Paladins made that choice when they could have (and should have) easily given the player the choice for everything. DBD could be FTP while still giving that choice, it’s not a really an option of either or.

  • then4321
    then4321 Member Posts: 234

    OP is out of touch with reality, look at all of the people that completely disagree with both of the votes that obviously are worded to be bias.

    My guess is you got banned once or twice, keep making a new Steam account, and don't want to keep paying for the base price of the game.

  • This content has been removed.
  • Starbricks19
    Starbricks19 Member Posts: 74

    Imo being the game usually under 10 euro would be an insult to be free. Is not about the price/gaming offer... The game has lot of grid, extra reason for people to keep playing

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    edited October 2019
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    I’ve happily owned the same copy of Dead by Daylight for over 2 years on Steam.

    Post edited by Ajritoka on
  • joeyrou
    joeyrou Member Posts: 42

    Hmmm... I have a feeling this poll is biased towards one of the options

  • TragicSolitude
    TragicSolitude Member, Alpha Surveyor Posts: 7,410

    I think it's fine as it is right now. Paid keeps the riffraff out. And you can buy the non-licensed characters with in-game currency earned via playing.

  • then4321
    then4321 Member Posts: 234

    I'm genuinely glad to hear that, it means no funny business.

    Okay, so back to your poll. BHVR is a newer, smaller company. They simply can't afford, currently, to follow the same business model like a bigger company can.

    If they had a couple aaa games under their belt, if DBD had quite a bit more content, and if DBD ran smoothly without too many hiccups, then I could see them removing the initial cost eventually, but that's a long road and they'll need our love and support every step of the way.

  • Ajritoka
    Ajritoka Member Posts: 594
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    Thanks for your input. This is the best comment on this discussion.

    You’re definitely right, BHVR is a small company. They don’t have a lot of games to earn income from, especially since Deathgarden is still picking up traction. I didn’t think about that immediately, I jumped to compare Dead by Daylight to other games. I suppose they’re justified in using the business model they’re using.

  • Mister_xD
    Mister_xD Member Posts: 7,669
    Dead by Daylight should remain paid, but reduce grind and make non-licensed characters free

    if it were to become F2P the amount of bot accounts and hackers would increase massively and it would be too easy to avoid bans that way.

    regarding the 2nd point, original characters are already obtainable for free. after all, you only need 9k shards and the killer / survivor you want is yours.

    they are also working on reducing the grind, though this might take some more time.

  • DeathEscape
    DeathEscape Member Posts: 313

    Money keeps the game going, we spend money on the game to keep our beloved game living

  • hinoutoumei
    hinoutoumei Member Posts: 294

    the game should remain the way it is. it is already filled to the brim with toxicity as it is. F2p games typically breed toxicity. We don't need that.