It’s not all pay 2 win
I’ve heard it come up more and more lately: people calling a game pay to win (p2w). I’ve seen it pop up in general chat in games that I play, on forums for some games, and even comments on articles that I’ve written for this very site. Calling a game p2w has become about the most despicable slander that can be thrown at a multiplayer title these days. So I figured it was time to do a little digging around on the subject and put in my own opinion. I’m looking at this largely within the context of PC gaming mostly because I don’t want to get bogged down with supposedly free mobile games that surprise you down the road. I doubt that everyone is going to agree with me, and you’re welcome to leave a comment below if you find that you don’t and want to engage in some rational discourse about it. Or you can say something stupid and be mocked if you’d like; entirely up to you.
Pay options ≠ pay to win
The first thing that needs to be addressed is that having an option to pay for things does not make a game p2w. The problem here seems to be that some people expect, for some unfathomable reason, that a free to play (f2p) game shouldn’t charge for … well anything. This assumption is utter bullshit. Game developers and publishers don’t get paid by magical joy fairies that use player generated excitement as a form of currency. It turns out that they do, in fact, actually need some segment of the player base to buy things. It’s the kinds of things that they sell that helps us figure out if a game is p2w or not.
What nobody seems to be able to agree on is what exactly is meant by winning. It seems like that should be pretty simple, but as this is primarily an issue for MMO style games that have no real end, how do you win? It comes down to the micro-win through things like pvp or rankings. A game is only p2w when paying imbalances the game in a way that impacts the fundamental interaction between players depending exclusively on whether or not someone forks over cash.
I doubt anyone would care if Frank wants to shell out a ton of money on epic items if the only thing he can do with them is help the rest of his group down some mega boss. However, if he can use that same gear to gain an advantage in an arena against other players that have no way of attaining similar gear without paying, I see that as the game being p2w.
Stores that help support games are good
So what should f2p games sell in their cash shops in order to support themselves? Cosmetic items immediately come to mind. League of Legends is a clear example of a game that sells in game skins that have no mechanical impact on the game whatsoever. They don’t help you win matches, but they can make other players envious. Some might disagree with this, but I would say that resource boosts are acceptable for games to sell as well. This is a simple time versus money investment. If you want to pay $20 to make your dwarf dig more ore and level up his pickax callouses faster, more power to you. At worst, this provides a short term advantage to paying players when the game launches. At best, this allows latecomers to the game the ability to catch up to their friends quickly and better enjoy the game. Let’s face it, within a few months of any MMO release these boosts just become pay to catch up.
What people that wish to play without paying should take into account is that grinding is still gameplay. They still get to play a game that they presumably enjoy and presumably have time to play. As long as they still have the same opportunity to get to the same place in the game as paying players, then the game is balanced and isn’t pay to win. If skill and perseverance are the way they want to advance and they have the time to do so, then that’s awesome. I personally find Neverwinter to be a good example of this. Players can purchase costumes, mounts, and companions not available to free players, but these are merely fancy versions of what are already provided in game. Some would argue that bags and bank slots require cash, but they aren’t necessary to play the game and also don’t provide any advantage over other players unless those players are competitive hoarders.
Making paid players untouchable is bad
If you want to bag on a game for being p2w, it should probably be reaching into your wallet for something you can’t get otherwise. I mean this on an actual mechanical level and not just because the cash shop griffon is nicer looking than the flying anteater you get for free. Exclusive, top end gear is a great example. SWTOR started doing this with their cartel market when they moved from exclusively subscriptions into a weird quasi-f2p system about a year ago. On top of that, non-subscribers became severely hindered in several modes of interaction with other players. Likewise, selling keys required to access the top end areas are probably also p2w.
Another interesting example is Blacklight Retribution. There is literally no way to acquire long term versions of certain powerful items in the game for free. Sure, if you grind non-stop you can use in game credits to purchase temporary versions of these items that will eventually expire and force you to grind to acquire them again. The only way to acquire a permanent version of powerful pre-made weapons and armor in the game is to buy them. While it’s not exactly pay to win, it does remove the ownership of items that you earn by spending the time to grind in game. If you play anything less than balls-out OMFG I LIVE AND BREATH THIS GAME, then you’re either going to be out-gunned or you need to shell out cash just to not get your head exploded every time you load it up.
Then there are the games that sell items that all players have a slot to equip them to, but that aren’t otherwise available in the game. This was the case with the end game of Allods in its f2p form, although playing on their subscription servers is a completely different story. Allods specifically did this with the ships used to sail the astral which is essentially a giant team based open pvp zone. Runes had to be purchased and made the game statistically unbalanced in the favor of paying players. Wartune does a very similar thing with what would appear to be cosmetic items (bathing suits, special weapon graphics, wings, etc.) that are actually stat heavy bonus items. The game has a good deal of pvp emphasis and severely favors those willing to open their wallets.
A little misunderstanding
Unfortunately, some people seem to feel that allowing people to buy what can still otherwise be gotten for free makes a game p2w. The one very simple example that I’m going to call out is the Penny Arcade Report article calling Hearthstone a p2w game. “If you pay more money, your deck will be better, faster.” While the article isn’t malicious toward the game, it’s off target about what p2w is. When Hearthstone is released, people that dump money into buying card packs will gain a short term advantage by having more cards to turn into magical card dust to then use to make the cards that they really want. They’ll get to build their ideal deck quickly instead of doing so over time by playing. They cannot, however, purchase any exclusive cards (shinier perhaps) that wouldn’t be available to free players. Paying doesn’t give people any innate deck building skills or better draws in matches. Paying does not equal winning and within a few months of release any savvy player will be able to build a deck that will perform just as well.
Paying for a game you enjoy doesn’t make you a bad gamer
Games are fun and if you read this site, you probably agree with that. The people that make games for our entertainment deserve to be paid for their efforts when they deliver a good experience. When a game isn’t really p2w, I just can’t understand the weirdly inflated pride some gamers seem to have about never paying a dime for it. If you play the game and enjoy it, why not support it as well? Try to recognize games that prey on your wallet and demand money every time you want to interact with other player and avoid those. But do try to remember that the joy fairies aren’t going to keep the updates coming for your favorite title; they’re not programmers.
