The battle pass broke CoD for me.

[nomotog_v1legacy]

Story time

Last year CoD came out and I jumped into the multiplayer. I like it. It's fun, unfair, but still fun. I was playing a bit so I bought the season pass. You know, cool new stuff i'll unlock well I play. That was good. I got to near the end of the season and realized I had about 15 days left in the season and about 25 levels to max level. I can finish this. I just need to get 2 levels a day for the next 2 weeks. Easy. Then Saturday happens I was a little behind on my goal. I don't normally play on Saturday It's not my CoD day, but I was like so close to finishing and I didn't want to waste all that time and money I put in already. So, I played extra to grind out some levels to catch up. After is when things turned bad.

Actually, I think it's more accurate to say that is when I realized things were bad for awhile. I was setting up time to play CoD not always because I wanted to play, but because I had a big chore to justify my sunk cost. That realization complexly broke my perception of the game. No longer did I view the game as fun. I viewed it as work.

I haven't played again after that Saturday. Don't know if I will play again. Now this isn't just about CoD, there are a lot of games using the battle pass even more that have some system to ask you to log in and play every day. Is this going to break? Am I weird or has this happen to other people?

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

I?m playing RDR2 Online and they?ve been doing Outlaw passes, which are free if you?ve made enough gold bars in game. The first pass was I think 25, and this one?s 40. There is of course an option to outright purchase them, but the thing is you still have to play to unlock the rewards over 100 levels. Then once you?ve acquired enough gold from playing (40 could be about as many hours of grinding on average to get), you get a double XP bonus and start raking in the rewards. Eventually when you get to 100 levels (which can be acquired faster than the gold using the Collector role to find sets of treasure to sell), you?ll have made back all the gold spent and then some.

It?s not something I typically do in any game as just grinding for SoulsBorne stuff is about all I usually have patience for, but I think Rockstar struck a decent enough balance here. You also get to keep all the perks and gear cumulatively after the passes end, so in a way they?re gifts that keep on giving as long as you?re playing.


But thanks for the feedback on this CoD one. I was contemplating getting back into the series the last couple days, but will probably pass (no pun).

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I think caring about such things is wrong, I just see them as little bonuses. I don't know about CoD in particular cause I don't play much FPS games but in other stuff the things you get for doing X amount of stuff is only there as a bonus for me. The reason I play a game is if I actually wanna do this stuff independently of the bonuses.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

That's why I never played an MMO because I would feel obligated to play it, plus none of them ever looked fun to play.

Unless you have quite a few buddies you play with, there's quite a few older shooters you can go to that are far better and have none of the battle pass garbage. Remember when shooters gave you literally everything from the beginning and you just used what you wanted to and people played those for 1,000s of hours because they were fun? You can still play those games. I never got the point of playing any of these new shooters because they have worse gameplay than past games so why play a new shooter until something actually surpasses your favorite shooter.

 

[BrawlMan]

COD has been crap for me since MW2. It gets worse every year with few exceptions. Glad I ditched the series for better shooters when I did. Then again, I was always a Medal of Honor fan before EA screwed that up.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Then again, I was always a Medal of Honor fan before EA screwed that up.

Warfighter had the best FPS MP of last-gen, it was amazing.

 

[Yoshi178]

Then again, I was always a Medal of Honor fan before EA screwed that up.

Warfighter had the best FPS MP of last-gen, it was amazing.

not really.

 

[Squilookle]

It's a harsh lesson to learn but nevertheless an important one:

NEVER buy battle passes. I would extend that to every and all post-launch DLC, but some just can't hop on the wagon that much.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

It's a harsh lesson to learn but nevertheless an important one:

NEVER buy battle passes. I would extend that to every and all post-launch DLC, but some just can't hop on the wagon that much.

I don't hate DLC, but I am really getting burned out on games that demand you play them. It's not even just battle passes a lot of games have log in bonuses, or some kind of mechanic to being you to com back every day. They are often softer because they don't come with the same sunk cost, they want to erode your choice of when to play.

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back. Second story time. It stated with anthem 2.0. I bought it cheap. It's fun to play but loot is bad. Who has good loot? Oh, destiny let me look up destiny 2. I look at the reddit form and there is a tread that says "If you your getting board playing, then you should take a break." I click it and the first reply is. "I can't stop playing because if I do I will miss out on my season rewards. I'll get behind and have a hard time catching up." Most live service games that I like that I have played for a long time. I have played in segments. I'll play a bit leave. Come back when they announce a new update. I think it's a more healthy way to run a live service game. Let your players quit. Don't drive them to keep playing past the point of fun for them.

OK kind of the same story, but I think it's important to know it's not just a CoD thing. Cod as Cod was fun. It was the stuff around it that wasn't fun.

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

I had the same problem with Destiny 2's season reward track. The first season they pushed it out, I was in the same situation, about 20 levels off of level 100 with 15 days to go. I don't get a lot of free time, but what I do get I pushed hard to get in the required levels per day to hit max rank... And it seriously burnt me out on the game. When the next season started, I played the new story missions, tried the new activity a couple times then dropped the game entirely.

 

[Squilookle]

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back.

That's not it- it's 'games as a service' itself that is holding GAMES back.

 

[Dalisclock]

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back.

That's not it- it's 'games as a service' itself that is holding GAMES back.

Pretty much.

It's an inherent problem GAAS have. Each and every one of them wants you to pick their game to be THE game you play and thus they keep drip feeding content and employing FOMO to keep you coming back. Daily rewards/Weekly Changes in loot/new expansions/etc.

You can never really finish the game and if it's MP-based you need to keep playing to have any hope of keeping up with everyone else(who is also playing for the same reasons).

THe game only ends when GAAS Game 2.0/3.0/ETC comes out and the previous game ceases being updated or supported because it's expected that everyone moves onto the new game now, and the race begins anew.

I already have a similar issue with streaming series where it feels like I'm often trying to keep up with the new season of whatever series I'm following. I don't need it in my videogames.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back.

That's not it- it's 'games as a service' itself that is holding GAMES back.

Pretty much this. Instead of making a game a lot of fun to play and people just keep playing because it's fun, GAAS games are really just Skinner boxes with decent gameplay. Remember when people would play SOCOM or Halo or Goldeneye for 1,000s of hours because they were fun? GAAS games are only tricking you into thinking they're on par with those really special games when they're just masquerading as them.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Btw, I think this type of thing started with trophies/achievements long long before passes were a thing. I know tons of people who were playing stuff just to platinum them despite not having fun, just so they could say they got the platinum. I raised the same objection back then but I was told people were having fun because of achieving a goal lol.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Btw, I think this type of thing started with trophies/achievements long long before passes were a thing. I know tons of people who were playing stuff just to platinum them despite not having fun, just so they could say they got the platinum. I raised the same objection back then but I was told people were having fun because of achieving a goal lol.

People like Skinner boxes...

 

[tippy2k2]

I guess it depends on your attitude going into it

I had gotten Battlepass for Fortnite because I knew I played it plenty often enough that I would unlock everything naturally. I never had to "force" myself to play the game to get stuff. When I started to taper off and move away from Fortnite (once Blackout in CoD came out as I much prefer the gameplay of CoD and I never liked building stuff in Fortnite), I just kind of blew off the rewards I wasn't getting until eventually, I just stopped buying the passes as I moved on.

Although I suppose I know people who HAVE to 100% games or else they don't feel like they got any worth out of them (no matter how miserable they are getting that 100%) where I'm more than willing to just dump a game I've put a dozen hours into if I think it's getting bad or not entertaining me so maybe this is just a mind-set thing.

EDIT: This thread had nothing to do with it (coincidence, nothing more) but I decided to pick up the Battlepass for Dead by Daylight. I've really enjoyed the game, I play it all the damn time, and since I got it for "free" with Gamer Pass, I figured it was a nice way to kick the devs $10.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back.

That's not it- it's 'games as a service' itself that is holding GAMES back.

Pretty much.

It's an inherent problem GAAS have. Each and every one of them wants you to pick their game to be THE game you play and thus they keep drip feeding content and employing FOMO to keep you coming back. Daily rewards/Weekly Changes in loot/new expansions/etc.

You can never really finish the game and if it's MP-based you need to keep playing to have any hope of keeping up with everyone else(who is also playing for the same reasons).

THe game only ends when GAAS Game 2.0/3.0/ETC comes out and the previous game ceases being updated or supported because it's expected that everyone moves onto the new game now, and the race begins anew.

I already have a similar issue with streaming series where it feels like I'm often trying to keep up with the new season of whatever series I'm following. I don't need it in my videogames.

I think if GAAS games didn't do this they would be much better off. I recall a video by the path of exile Devs where their players run ina cycle. A new update comes out and they get a big spike in new and returning players. They play the update for a time until they get board then they leave until the new update. I think GAAS should work like that don't try to keep your players playing when you have nothing to offer them and they will com back when you do. It's more healthy that way. More sustainable.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I think if GAAS games didn't do this they would be much better off. I recall a video by the path of exile Devs where their players run ina cycle. A new update comes out and they get a big spike in new and returning players. They play the update for a time until they get board then they leave until the new update. I think GAAS should work like that don't try to keep your players playing when you have nothing to offer them and they will com back when you do. It's more healthy that way. More sustainable.

Maybe, but that would also completely defeat the purpose of GAAS. They're not about being healthy or being sustainable. They're arguably not even about benefiting the players at all.

They are all about creating "engagement". And no matter what the marketing and PR boys will tell you, within the context of GAAS engagement is not synonymous with entertainment. But you know what are some synonyms of engaged? Occupied. Busy. Tied up. Unavailable. That's what GAAS are the intended for: using a constant stream of content busywork to manipulate you into sticking to one game by having you invest so much time and energy into it that the sunk cost fallacy comes into effect: "You can't stop playing now, you haven't unlocked everything yet. What about all that progress you've made? New season's in a few weeks and comes with a bunch of temporary events of other toss. Better stay or you'll miss out. And your friends are still playing, what if you get left behind?"

GAAS are explicitly designed to try to prevent you from leaving, to discourage you from hopping in and out on your terms. Because if you leave, you might just go somewhere else. And because the engagement in GAAS is almost invariably tied to monetization, your money goes with you. GAAS need you to keep buying in. Over and over. And why?

So the publishers can enjoy a nice steady stream of revenue. The sole reason GAAS exist. Being fun is only a bonus.

 

[Xprimentyl]

The reason I made this thread is because I think it's the big thing holding games as a service back.

That's not it- it's 'games as a service' itself that is holding GAMES back.

Exactly. And statements like nomotog?s are evidence to the fact that the businesses pushing ?games as services? are getting their way, and the ?new norm? has changed customer expectations for the worse.

 

[Dalisclock]

GAAS are explicitly designed to try to prevent you from leaving, to discourage you from hopping in and out on your terms. Because if you leave, you might just go somewhere else. And because the engagement in GAAS is almost invariably tied to monetization, your money goes with you. GAAS need you to keep buying in. Over and over. And why?

So the publishers can enjoy a nice steady stream of revenue. The sole reason GAAS exist. Being fun is only a bonus.

Turning Players into Payers.