The current multiplayer environment punishes people who like more than one game

[CountAntonio]

That content either exist as a gamepass type incentive or not at all. I'm glad it exist for the many people who play certain games for months and years. Everyone else can skip it.

I don't miss games dying after a year or getting a few patches every year. I like games as a service for multiplayer gaming. I've never played and enjoyed games longer than I do now. Constant content and updates are great and passes are the best way they have been implemented. Yes there a few games that do it with minimal microtransactions but they are and have always been a rare exception.

 

[Evolution of Metal]

Simple, let games fall to players and interested parties for server space to keep online active then work on your next project. The need to keep servers running is created by the desire to have a service to sell on top of the base game. We had unlocks way before we had engagement driven GaaS games. Even single player games without MTs have somehow made unlocks a thing. So did many past MP fanes prior to the major GaaS push.

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You had base-game unlocks, which are still in every game. You don't start with all non-BattlePass content in BF/COD/Destiny. You still the base-game progression loop.

We moved to the sustained stream of new gameplay content at no extra cost, and whoever wants to collect all the clown costumes has either play daily, or pay money.

And your solution of third parties running servers is stupid. Like... seriously? Am I really arguing against the idea that developers just build the base game/infrastructure and move on? Who is going to build new content? Will you build more Overwatch heroes? Will your version of Rocket League be the one played in esports?

 

[Deleted member 4482]

someone should make an edit of that tyler the creator cyberbullying tweet but for this lol

if you don't have the willpower to not click on a big, flashy advertisement, because it is so big and flashy then there might be deeper issues at play here

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is your argument that both cyberbullying and advertising are ineffective and can easily be ignored? because if that were the case neither would happen

 

[Deleted member 8196]

I love how people were previously complaning about expensive Season Passes locking ALL POST-LAUNCH CONTENT behind a paywall and now with free maps, guns and shit, the grinding to unlock COSMETICS, SKINS is seen as the worst thing ever.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

This is one of the many reasons I don't play multiplayer games much anymore. Every game is trying to be a recurring thing like a service and are introducing artificial scarcity to encourage people to only play that game.

 

[Deleted member 4482]

I love how people were previously complaning about expensive Season Passes locking ALL POST-LAUNCH CONTENT behind a paywall and now with free maps, guns and shit, the grinding to unlock COSMETICS, SKINS is seen as the worst thing ever.

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It's not the worst thing ever. The free stuff is awesome. I'm gaming more now than I used to and having a ton of fun. The battle pass stuff has just gotten increasingly annoying as it has proliferated. I know me saying my opinion won't make it stop and that's okay.

 

[DerpHause]

Apex released a poor first season and they learned, the third season was well received and Respawn is slowly ramping up.
Yes people still play it because there still content being made and released, it's not like Respawn stopped releasing events, skins and shit.

Mordhau was released, sold 1 million copies but devs were not able to release content and fix issues, the results? Now it is a forgotten game.

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Fixing issues is something you should not be depending on suplemental revenue for. MW2 still had players long after sequels and running out of things to sell. Mordhau's issue was itself not appealing and flooding it with DLC wouldn't have made it the next big sensation.

 

[Ragnarok Flames]

It's a bit of an arms race. The game that doesn't include all these retention features is the one that loses out.

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the game yes, but these features are just exploitative.

It's not the worst thing ever. The free stuff is awesome. I'm gaming more now than I used to and having a ton of fun. The battle pass stuff has just gotten increasingly annoying as it has proliferated. I know me saying my opinion won't make it stop and that's okay.

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dont forget that most battlepasses are paid. so you are just paying for the opportunity to unlock more cosmetics.

 

[collige]

someone should make an edit of that tyler the creator cyberbullying tweet but for this lol

if you don't have the willpower to not click on a big, flashy advertisement, because it is so big and flashy then there might be deeper issues at play here

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Just like that Tyler tweet, this sentiment is dumb because you have to read the bullshit first you close your eyes to stop seeing the bullshit. There's a reason why advertisers pay per view.

 

[IronicSonic]

Take the control back OP. You choose what to play and where to spend. They don't. Enjoy your hobby!

 

[Deleted member 8196]

Fixing issues is something you should not be depending on suplemental revenue for. MW2 still had players long after sequels and running out of things to sell. Mordhau's issue was itself not appealing and flooding it with DLC wouldn't have made it the next big sensation.

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Mordhau followed Chivalry success and it was appealing, but after playing the same mods and maps for hours people will legit start to be bored and switch games, this happened to Chivalry as well.

 

[CountAntonio]

It's not the worst thing ever. The free stuff is awesome. I'm gaming more now than I used to and having a ton of fun. The battle pass stuff has just gotten increasingly annoying as it has proliferated. I know me saying my opinion won't make it stop and that's okay.

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I agree that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. I had to give up on fortnite because their pass was super grindy and changed the way you played the game. It was then i realized I only played fortnite for the passes and it was time to move on. Rocket league is the only pass I still pay for because I just enjoy the game and playing it normally as I always have is more than enough to finish the pass and get my credits back.

Stick to games you enjoy and that you feel respect your time. If you are only playing for the carrot on the stick and not enjoying the grind let them go.

Mordhau followed Chivalry success and it was appealing, but after playing the same mods and maps for hours people will legit start to be bored and switch games, this happened to Chivalry as well.

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Yes. Progression isn't a bad thing. A game can be fun with a large skill gap Rocket league probably being the best example but having some new content to constantly look forward to is a great thing for the die hards and rarely are they the ones complaining. They will keep throwing money at the devs to support the games they love.

 

[Nome]

the game yes, but these features are just exploitative.


dont forget that most battlepasses are paid. so you are just paying for the opportunity to unlock more cosmetics.

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I wouldn't say all retention features are exploitative. Anything on a timed cadence would fall into the retention category, from daily quests to weekly raids to special modes and events. The majority of retention features are very beneficial to the player and the only input needed is attention and time.

 

[DerpHause]

You had base-game unlocks, which are still in every game. You don't start with all non-BattlePass content in BF/COD/Destiny. You still the base-game progression loop.

We moved to the sustained stream of new gameplay content at no extra cost, and whoever wants to collect all the clown costumes has either play daily, or pay money.

And your solution of third parties running servers is stupid. Like... seriously? Am I really arguing against the idea that developers just build the base game/infrastructure and move on? Who is going to build new content? Will you build more Overwatch heroes? Will your version of Rocket League be the one played in esports?

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You asked for an alternative, that is an alternative. Works better for game preservation as well.

Edit: Why do we need endless limited time suplemental content anyways?

 

[Cranster]

This is why I stick with Halo as my go to multiplayer series.

 

[Nano-Nandy]

Many developers has talked about this. Over the years, player retention, spending and play time has been a bigger focus than actual sales. They just don't want you to buy a game, they want you to play it every day. Same way as sites making headlines for clicks or putting ads, YouTube or streamers in general with exaggerated reactions, made up titles... all that results in more revenue.

 

[DerpHause]

Mordhau followed Chivalry success and it was appealing, but after playing the same mods and maps for hours people will legit start to be bored and switch games, this happened to Chivalry as well.

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If Mordhau was dependent on recurrent player spending people moving on would have been a legit issue. It's not because they aren't looking at a product to support indefinitely.

 

[RavFiveFour]

There may be a few battle passes that catch my eye and I love that games are supported throughout their life cycle.

 

[melodiousmowl]

I currently HATE that wow, destiny, dauntless, etc etc, have things set so to do X, you have to sink in a huge chunk or all of your gaming time. Theres no skill in most of it, just busywork.

WoW? Could get rid of adds in raids, lower the #of quests needed to do emissary stuff, take out 90% of the trash in dungeons, so on and so on
Destiny? Reduce the # of things you have to shoot in 1/4 to complete things. Make it so you dont HAVE to go anywhere to deliver quests.

So yeah, I agree on the face of it, and really despise the purposeful tuning these games use to suck up your time so you will not play anything else.

 

[oofouchugh]

Too much media already exists that you will never consume all of it in your lifetime, doesn't mean creators are punishing you.

 

[nekkid]

I disagree with the mindset of OP, but I do feel "punished" in some ways for not being able to play MP games as often as I used to in terms of playing field. It seems like skill matching just isn't a thing anymore.

 

[-Peabody-]

I thought this was going to be about the in-game meta in shooters because god damn it seems like those are advancing twice as fast as they used to. I literally cannot play a new Call of Duty game anymore because of how different the experience is now.

 

[ty_hot]

You are absolutely right, my gaming day starts with me booting up PES 2020 just to get the login bonus, then as I am already there I end up playing a match to get some more GP, then I go to Apex Legends, try to do some of the daily challenges (at least 2) and then from there I feel that I am finally free to play whatever I really want, because these other things feel like an obligation even though I do have some fun doing them. It is fucking weird though.

When I used to play GT Sport I would also race enough to get the daily gift car which meant 10-15 minutes of dumb racing against AI or tense serious moments against real people... In the case of Apex though, this season was a lot easier to get high BP level than the last one, I think I play more or less the same amount of time and I am close to reaching the maximum level and it's been 4 weeks (?) that I only play the seasonal even that those work for those achievements, so this week I will probably get a lot of easy leveling up from the dozens of weekly stuff that I ignored in the past month or so.

 

[daedalius]

The FOMO junk that is rife in destiny 2 now is literally the reason I stopped playing it. I feel like I can't have fun in it anymore, it's kinda sad.

 

[HardRojo]

FOMO is a huge thing. Stop caring so much about so many MP games, focus on fewer, the ones you play the most and will last longer. The only MP games I still play somewhat are SFV, DBFZ and CTR. Getting time-limited items on them isn't hard at all and I still try to mostly play SP games. I'm telling you, OP, it's the healthier choice.

 

[ShapeGSX]

My first experience with a Battle Pass is COD: MW.

The stuff you get is ok, but not exactly life or even game-changing. I'm only at level 27 (haven't skipped any levels), though, so maybe the later levels are the epic ones?

 

[Fawz]

I hate the trend of artifiially controlled value in the form of limited offering. If tied to a specific accomplishment as a reward to what players did, then sure that's fine but in most cases they just want to stress people out that the thing they like might never come back so they should buy it now instead of later!

Battle Passes is just the new trend of trying to get more money out of the same amount of work, and although some games try to frame in a way that looks positive to the players (ie: You get back the currency you spend by reaching max level, or you can buy it with in-game currency) in most cases it's much less consumer friendly way of just making everything available for purchase/acquisition in perpetuity.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

The moment it ceases to be fun and becomes more like an obligation is when you knows it's time to stop.

at some point I realize I really don't need to log into Iceborne and TEPPEN Everyday to do dailies.

 

[Swig]

Because now it's the fault of developers and publishers releasing too many games/content?

Thank GOD there is a lot of variety for MP experiences lmao

I play Siege, Dota 2 and Apex and i'm set, i don't need other MP games.

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Lol, this sounds like me, except I throw in Dead By Daylight occasionally when I don't want to play a high stress game.

But yeah, I feel like the OP all the time and I am not a completioninst or collector.

for example, the skins in R6 are pretty pricey with in-game credits. I occasionally buy skins that I like, but if I'm not constantly playing, if they release one that I like, I can't get it. Add in other games that you grind for packs or whatever in.. It's kind of a lot. I would feel better if it were slightly easier to get in-game skins and things. I don't play Overwatch anymore, but Overwatch felt decent. Very few things were limited time and I felt like I had enough time to earn coins before too much new content came out. This was a few years ago, so Overwatch may have changed, especially with the way Activision has been acting lately.

 

[night814]

I totally get this mentality and its why I had to drop every mobile game I was playing except Pokemon go which I play with actual people on the regular. Just too many events especially around any and all holidays when everyone already has more on their plate.

If a game starts to feel tedious or even overwhelming with it's content its probably a good idea to walk away for awhile and try a different game. You'll miss out on whatever was there at the time but you will probably feel better in the long run.

 

[Neolombax]

I understand the logic behind developers doing it, its one of the ways to maintain a healthy amount of player engagement. I've been trying to juggle Destiny 2 and Modern Warfare. But the last few days, I decided to say eff it all, and started to play Dragon Quest Heroes 2 to finish it. I'm enjoying the change quite a bit.

 

[bonch00ski]

It's overkill and overwhelming trying to keep up with several GaaS titles, which helped me get over caring about it lol

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This.

last year I was playing quite a few other GaaS titles and after a while I just gave up because I was missing this or that from the games because I was spending more time on another one. Now I don't touch any GaaS at all.

 

[i hate cheaters]

agreed. competitive multiplayer gaming was much better without progression and unlocks

the new models have their benefits, but it's worse for people who just care about jumping in and playing quality matches and nothing else

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

Yeah I really hate it, a lot of MPs have become too competitive and too grindy

 

[SecondNature]

I get what youre saying, but Im able to ignore all the content considering its always cosmetic. It's a necessary way to entice players to stay though, so its more that it rewards people who play

Games like OW and Siege which have lasted numerous years is unheard of last gen. These games exist so strongly because of how they reward the fanbase

 

[Chance_Boudreaux]

It's not always the case, but I've found that Destiny 2, Rainbow Six: Siege and Red Dead Online are on pretty similar release schedules. Destiny 2 and Siege have roadmaps so you can expect when you're getting new content, but with Red Dead they more-or-less announce an update and release within a few weeks. I find it's especially shit with these games because it's actual, new, content and not just skins.

I dip my toe into all of them and experience the new content as soon as possible, but since Siege is just a straight-up PvP game, it usually has to take the backseat, even though I love it the most. Unfortunately it's hard to justify spending most of my time playing it over, say, Red Dead's new Role updates. The worst part (same as all games, really) is when you hit a lull and there's a month or two of nothing - you've gone through the content, maybe you've unlocked all the bells and whistles, and now you're just waiting for the next update(s), wishing that if just one of these games released their update at this point you wouldn't have had to spread your time out so much jumping back and forth.

 

[Prine]

Well either stop caring over missing some stuff, or drop some mp games from your rotation.

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Simple as this, but so blinding obvious, it shouldn't have to be said. Select a few or bare the consequences of time.

I simply do not care for grindy cosmetics, holds no value for me. GaaS games are instant no-go games as a result.

 

[Acquiesc3]

Yeah just pick one or two to focus on OP.

Been playing FF14 for years now and it's my main game. Sometimes I get to sneak in some Destiny 2 or a game of Overwatch and Siege and that's totally fine.

 

[TheGhost]

Just pick one
I picked destiny because you can level up the battle pass a lot quicker in that than you can in say COD

 

[Conkerkid11]

Don't feel obligated to unlock everything. Cosmetics don't even tend to matter in a lot of those games. Who's looking at cosmetics in Apex Legends or Modern Warfare?

Also, thankfully the "battle passes" for Destiny 2 have been ass so far.

 

[Moebius]

I'm the same way OP. I just stopped buying battle passes or playing those games. I can't spend the time to unlock things through the battle passes because there are too many now so I just don't buy them.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

I can relate to some extent to OP. I bought the battle pass for CODMW because I got the game gifted and investing 10EUR seemed kind of fair to me. But I didn't know it takes THAT long to level up. There are plenty of skins I find cool but I'm completely alright with not getting them because they're simply to expensive for me personally. But there were two skins who only cost 800 points and I who had 500 points thought it was somewhat easy to get at least 300 points to buy at least that ONE skin by playing. I've played several hours each day for three days and only managed to reach 600 COD points, still 200 short and just to realise that skin isn't available anymore.

There is no timer, no indicator when something will disappear.

And it's also total bullshit that you have to activate those challenges beforehand. And there are like a million of them you can't do them simultaneously like in Apex -- no, call in a radar 30 times needs to be activated and is then then the only challenge you can do and if you kill 30 guys with a pistol it doesn't count because you hadn't activated that challenge.

I like to grind to some extent when it feels rewarding and fair. CODMW is veeeery time intensive and it just doesn't feel good to work through challenges compared to Apex.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

The FOMO junk that is rife in destiny 2 now is literally the reason I stopped playing it. I feel like I can't have fun in it anymore, it's kinda sad.

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Destiny 2 really seems to be the biggest offender. Has Bungie ever spoken about this?

 

[Ohri-Jin]

First, not all time-sensitive content is cosmetic. The first season of Modern Warfare has two guns in its battle pass. I'm not sure if they'll be free later on, but the only way to get them at the moment is to play the game a lot. Battlefield V does something similar, placing weapons behind weekly challenge sequences. If you miss a week you can still unlock them with in-game currency that is easy to earn, so it isn't too bad.

Second, I don't appreciate being called weird for my personality traits and psychological weaknesses. These systems are designed to target people like me and I don't think I should be blamed for feeling the way I do, even if most of what I'm missing isn't of any real consequence. I know I'm going to miss it anyway, but missing things isn't meant to feel good, and it's easier for some to not care than it is for others.

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Personally I dropped BFV and Modern Warfare. FOMO is disgusting and I stopped giving a f about them.
If I were you I would just focus on 2 GaaS games MAX. More than that and it will become like a chore.

Also FFXIV is worth it, but needs the most time invested of them all...

 

[ArchedThunder]

Time locked content in battle passes actively makes me not want to play. Devs, just let me keep unlocking stuff after the season ends.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Like others have pointed out, caring so much about cosmetics in games you don't play that much isn't worth stressing about.

Its games with predatory limited time only shit that bugs me. Even RDO, which I praise alot for having a stupid generous premium currency you can earn and extremely easy to complete battle pass, has flashes of this with some clothes on rotation. Luckily, It's as simple as logging in an buying it and not some filling out of a meter to be able to access it.

 

[Deleted member 10726]

I personally just started ignoring BP content and instead focus on the content that I can unlock without any time limit. I don't like the idea of forcing myself to play a game just because of time limited content, because by the end of the day it's still my time to spend and I'd rather spend that on just playing what's fun to me vs. what I feel like I should play lest I want to miss out on something.

 

[ecnal]

How do people feel about CSGO's Battle Pass with the Shattered Web Operation?

Obviously very similar to most BP's in terms of progression and unlocking content, but most of -- if not all -- of the BP specific content is sellable on the community market. Meaning anyone will be able to purchase past BP content, regardless if they actually purchased or participated during that BP's time frame.

 

[Poimandres]

I actually miss the simpler times when a game was a game. You get a few balance patches, maybe an expansion or two, and then you can set about mastering the content that you have. This is why I'm thoroughly addicted to Halo on PC at the moment... Because it's just like I remember it. I wouldn't even contemplate picking Destiny up now because there's so much shit to sift through.

 

[ned_ballad]

Time locked content in battle passes actively makes me not want to play. Devs, just let me keep unlocking stuff after the season ends.

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Yea, same here. I avoid games with battle passes due to the random times I pick up games and then put them down.