After two years of pay-to-win mobile games, let me tell you, avoid them like the plague! Here’s why.
Sliding a Credit Card Doesn’t Bestow Skill
Anytime you associate skill with a credit card purchase, it’s a losing battle.
Games offer more powerful units, or more energy (remember the worst offender FarmVille ?), more skill slots, permanent stats, or more powerful items for purchase. This gives players an advantage over other players usually to the point of beating them without any challenge in the worst offending pay-to-win games. This however gives the purchaser a feeling of skill over the lesser equipped players, yet in reality it’s at the person who didn’t pay as much expense.
The illusion of skill. Sliding the credit card gives power buyers the feeling of power over lesser spenders.
The Lesser Skilled Power Buyers Often show their complete lack of skill…
…much to the rage of the casual buyers. How do you know this is the case? Try fighting an even battle and see who wins, or see how much they run away when the fight is remotely fair. Losing to mother’s of two who don’t even play real games? Welcome to pay-t0-win.
Pay-to-win Creates Untouchable Bullies
For 1 and 1/2 years we’ve played against 3 players who can kill anyone in the game at will and no one can do anything to stop them. You can’t even gang up on them because they just run at any somewhat fair fight and pick people off when they are not teamed. On top of that, they spend time talking trash in chat, or just blatantly harassing players that have no prayer of even damaging them. They’ve spent $30,000+ on their bases. Who wants to deal with these fux for years at a time with no prayer of hurting them except by outspending them.
Pay-to-win Games Attract Extremely Wealthy People
Remember the “Am I Rich?” App on Apple Play Store? People paid $1,000+ for an app that did nothing except show that they could buy it without any concern for the price.
Have you ever played games with an oil Barron? People from Dubai? Well pay-to-win, especially mobile games are your chance to actually play in games with these people.
I’ve seen people spend $3,000 in 10 mins. It’s very similar to gambling. Ironically they’re spending this much on gambling on video game items having the right stats. haha.
Pay-to-win Result in Class Shaming
One thing you’ll see for the first time is the rich players shaming anyone who doesn’t spend as much as them. That’s the appalling shit you only read about or see in old 1980s movies but if you join these types of game, be prepared to be called POOR by big spenders. Ironically you might be richer than they are and are just smart enough to not waste it on a stupid video game. hah.
Good Game Makers Make Every Item that affects Balance Available for Free
Proper game makers make things available (even if difficult to get) for everyone, whether they have paid or not. That allows everyone a chance at being the best, even if they have to play more to get the rare items.
Game makers that want to rob you blind, offer you more powerful things if you pay more money.
Examples: higher levels, better units (super ship 3 vs. super ship 1), 200 power weapons vs., 130 power weapons., etc.
The top bases in Mobile Strike are as much as $200,000. And don’t talk about Eve Online or Star Citzen.
Pay-to-Win Game Developers Prey on Gamers’ Desire to be #1 or to win
Gamers want to compete and win and these game makers prey on that by continually selling you better versions of things to help you do better in the game. They’re even preditory by selling you more and more expensive “packs” after you buy each one. For example they’ll sell you a $9.99 pack, then a $19.99 pack, and so on until for some people in a game I’m playing, they’re getting offered $299.99 packs haha.
Pay-to-Win Game Developers Prey on Addiction
They always keep giving you new deals that you HAVE to buy to keep up with other players. You get sucked in and you keep spending until $1,000+ have been spent. It prays on people susceptible to gambling. It’s sad to watch. One player put in $5-10K then quit. Another player put in $35,000, lost their base due to cheating, then had to start again and put another $30,000 into their base. Insane.
Pay-to-Win Developers Scam you with LOW DROP Chests/Boxes
Watch out for things being offered but the percentage to get them is extremely low. For example this company was selling get the best ship for $19.99 but the actual chance to get the item was 1% in the box. They then sell/have a special DOUBLE CHANCE box/event where it just changes to 2% to get the ship. haha. If there’s ever a place to look up the drop rates, make sure you check out how low the actual drop rate really is. The other day I watched a girl in my guild spend $100 for 5 packs and didn’t get the item at all. They give you other minor stuff like resources and crap you didn’t want in return but don’t actually give you the item you thought you were buying.
Myself I got conned by a “guaranteed item” for an item set. There are 6 pieces in the set and I already had 1. So I bought the $20 pack and I got the SAME item I already had and even a crappier version of the item on top of that. So it was completely useless and in no way worth $20. They should have ran a check to see if I already had the item and gave me one of the 5 other items I didn’t have but these guys are jerks and want you to keep buying again and again until you get the right item despite telling you it’s a guaranteed drop.
But do you get anything from these games?
- Always something to upgrade – Because they want you to never quit playing
- Always something to do – Unless you run out of energy.
- Bonuses for logging in every day – To keep you playing
- Great game tech support – To keep you playing/paying
- Temporary Maintenance Rewards – These games actually make you feel good about maintenance because they give you great rewards including stuff you couldn’t normally get without paying. You’ll be wishing for maintenance in these games
- Great game Updates – They want you to never quit so they keep adding new cool things to keep you playing. These have been the best continual game updates I’ve seen for games you’re paying nothing for (but can’t ever win)
- Somewhat nicer quality of gamers – Because these are non-gamers who just pay to play on their phone, they’re typically a lot nicer than the people you run into in regular games. You can meet some great people.
- You can hang on the coattails of the big spenders – We had the #2 person in our guild and it was great following them around looting their leftovers. Until they quit, haha. We had to kiss his ass though. But what ends up happening is the #1 player has a guild who are all unstoppable when he’s around but are terrified to quit because then they’d actually lose and have a challenge in the game. So they’re all his bitches. haha.
But overall, stay away. They’ll suck your life away.
