What you need to know
- As Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched on PC Thursday evening, a previously hidden suite of microtransactions became available for purchase.
- Things you can buy for the single player ARPG include fast travel points, Rift Crystals for hiring Pawns and buying special items, appearance change and revival consumables, a special camping kit that weighs less than normal ones, and a few others.
- In response to the microtransactions, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is being review bombed, with the game currently sitting at “Mostly Negative” on Steam.
$70 price point for entry, microtransactions for stupid shit, and launches with severe technical issues.
I’m so sick of your shit Capcom.
When a game releases with multiple purchases along side it, it just means you chopped up my full price game and are charging me extra for what I should have already gotten
WWE 2k24 in infuriating like this. If you want the full game on release, it’s actually like $150.
Supposedly a lot if not all of these micro transactions are simply faster unlocks to the content/feature, still though not a good look.
This is what I’ve pieced together as well. Everything can be fairly easily found and used (or hoarded) in game. However, this in no way excuses the other issues.
That said, I don’t blame the devs. Someone light the C-Suite bonfire.
If the devs know what they’re working on, they’re choosing to participate in it.
Following this thread of logic the thousands of devs laid off in recent weeks must be heroes. After all, if they don’t have a job, according to you they can do no harm, and that’s a good thing.
Unless you think someone who refuses to do the work they’re assigned are likely to retain their position?
Peoole can’t just quit their jobs because they don’t like a few decisions by the suits. If that were feasible for everyone then the world would be a better place.
Seems like it’s just being accurately reviewed. How else are companies supposed to learn this is not okay?
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is being review bombed
No, it’s not. Review bombing is a reaction caused by an extrinsic factor. DD2 is being reviewed negatively because of what’s built into the game.
Yeah, too many “journalists” chuck around the term review bombed to mean when a AAA game gets a load of (deserved) hate.
Good journalists go back, edit their original review to call out the bait and switch of hiding the microtransactions from reviewers, and adjust their score accordingly with microtransactions taken into accout.
And release a follow up “article” just letting people know what happened and that they’ve updated the review, so it doesn’t fly under people’s radar.
Seriously, reviewers need to stop softballing when this shit happens. It’s one thing for review copies to maybe be missing the final coat of polish. It’s something completely different to completely leave out a feature known to be contreversial in an attempt to pump up scores, then turn it on after the initial wave of buyers can no longer return their purchase. Not like they spontaneously developed this shit since review copies went out.
Too many reviewers don’t want to get kicked out of getting early releases and review codes so they can earn those yummy clicks.
I’ve never heard of your definition before. It was “review bombing” when Payday 2 added MTX to the game, which I think was one of the early uses of the term even.
Review bombing is when people organize and get other people to review a game poorly for something they’re opposed to, rather than the product actually being bad as a whole.
This isn’t to say it isn’t deserved for DD2. I have seen tons of reviews of bad performance and things like that. Also one where someone got stuck in the floor and had to delete their save to be able to play the game again. The MTX stuff mostly sounds overblown from my experience with DD:DA, but it does suck it’s there are all. I can’t tell you if it deserves mostly negative or not because I haven’t played it.
Publishers at the slightest inconvenience: We are getting review bombed.
Imagine putting microtransactions, paid character edit vouchers, Denuvo, and anti-cheat into a $70 single player only game. They know what’s happening, they’re just trying to shift blame onto the community.
…putting microtransactions, paid character edit vouchers, Denuvo, and anti-cheat into a $70 single player only game
This reads like satire wtf
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Kernel level anti-cheat
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Micro-transactions
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Paid character edit vouchers
Ouch, I’d be pissed too if my $70 was still not enough to buy all the character models, let alone that I would have to pay to re-customize my character. They 100% deserve this negative criticism.
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“we won’t have fast travel…”
FOR FREE.
They do have fast travel for free. It’s the same as the first game. You can get the fast travel crystals in game and the consumable to teleport to them in game. The MTX is just a different option for them. There’s also carts that let you travel in some form, I assume between cities.
I haven’t played the game yet, but I wish people would stop lying about the MTX. They’re bad enough that we don’t need to make things up like the only way to fast travel being the MTX.
Edit: Yeah, sure. Downvote my comment without actually saying how it’s wrong (because I only stated factually correct things). I don’t understand you people. You’d rather be lied to so you can hate a thing more than have the truth and dislike it for the real reasons.
You are being downvoted for defending this shit. Fact is you can buy fast travel options with real money. I dont care if you can unlock it for free too. The fact that a single player rpg has mtx is terrible and completely destroys all immersion when you csn open a shop to pay with real money.
Am I defending it? I’m correcting a factually incorrect statement. It sucks it’s for sale, but the fact of the matter is it is available in the game. The first game it wasn’t for sale and worked the same way.
I don’t think it breaks immersion though. I don’t get that. Do you think about how much you paid for the game while playing it? It can feel bad, but immersion breaking? It shouldn’t be for sale though regardless.
The article states that in a complete playthrough, he found exactly 2 fast travel crystals; in the second, he got one. those are definitely artificially limited to make sure someone drops some cash. if you read the article, you wouldn’t get downvoted man.
It was the same in the first game where there were no micro transactions. 1-3 sounds correct from my memory. So in this case, it still feels like an additive.
The first game was full of micro transactions until it was removed in dark arisen. It’s hilarious how everyone has forgotten this.
https://dragonsdogma.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Downloadable_Content#Misc
It looks like one of those bundles also includes Ferrystones.
I’m certain there are more than two. I’ve played the first game and they’re rare, and you actually have to find them, but I think there’s about five or so. You may not find all of them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The fact that the first game functions like this without the ability to purchase them screams intent, and that intent was not for it to be sold. That was something forced on them by the business side.
If you want to argue the limitation is only about selling them, you must explain the existence of the same mechanic in the first game.
Edit: It looks like both games have a hard limit of 10 at any time. Once you hit that cap there’s no need for more. With this consideration, it really doesn’t seem like a great way to try to force MTX to happen. If they really wanted to do that it would be a different item without a limit. The fact there’s a limit means once you reach 10 any extra are wasted, and it appears that they may be purchasable in game in 2, and I’m confident you can find many as well.
Since when do we trust game journalists to get things right all of a sudden? Then saying they found 2 shouldn’t be an indication of anything, other than them finding 2 and certainly missing more.
That doesn’t change the fact that you might just have a game where you get shafted and have to pay to get meaningful fast travel going. i’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case in dd1, and that they hid the MTX in the review copys they sent out and activated their garbage when they started selling it shows that they know that it’s not acceptable and that their reviews would have suffered quite a bit.
also, delivering a single player game as always online, Denuvo Antitamper AND Anti-Cheat (so you can’t circumvent the MTX-crap) simply doesn’t fly in a post-Baldurs Gate 3 Era.
Putting conveniences into a VIDEO GAME as MTX means that the inconveniences are part of the design. This is BAD design.
That doesn’t change the fact that you might just have a game where you get shafted and have to pay to get meaningful fast travel going. i’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case in dd1
No, it was so much worse in 1. There was no cart system to travel to cities. I think there was a static port crystal in the main city and that’s it. The consumable to use it was also too bad to make good use of the system. It’s so bad that enhanced edition (Dragons Dogma: Dark Arizen) , which I think is the only version available today, added an additional static port crystal and gave the players an unlimited use teleport consumable. Players were absolutely “shafted”, but it was a design decision, not a business one. The fact it still works the same to me says it’s still a design decision, but the business side wanted to sell players a way to subvert the designed intent.
and that they hid the MTX in the review copys they sent out and activated their garbage when they started selling it shows that they know that it’s not acceptable and that their reviews would have suffered quite a bit.
Yep, this is super fucked up. This is one of the huge things that should be being critiqued. People critiquing made up issues ensure people just think it’s all made up when they discover the reality of the situation.
also, delivering a single player game as always online,
I believe I’ve read you can play offline. The people talking about saves being backed up are confusing it with Steam Cloud, not something the game is doing. Steam Cloud can be enabled or disabled regardless of it you’re online in game. I’m not sure about this, because I haven’t played the game and probably won’t for a while, but I’m relaying what I’ve read.
Edit:
Denuvo Antitamper AND Anti-Cheat (so you can’t circumvent the MTX-crap) simply doesn’t fly in a post-Baldurs Gate 3 Era.
It “didn’t fly” long before BG3. It still happens anyway, because the suits don’t get it. They see it as ensuring sales, not harming sales.
The disappointment matches the excitement I felt when it got announced
Dragon’s Dogma 2 shits the bed after being one of the most anticipated games of the year.
Coulda been great sought profit instead, receives neither.
I was suspicious when it was multiplayer only. This usually means the game will be shit.
I’m going to be angry about microtransaction once the game actually runs. A 5800X3D and 7900XT should not be getting 20 - 40 FPS with medium settings at 1440p.
This is why we don’t pre-order :/
lol. First it had denuvo and now microtransacrions? pathetic
Yeah I get it, I would never pay for microtransactions. I’m enjoying the game so far. I used mods to get all 999 of the items they sell so I don’t have to be bothered. It runs well enough on my system so imma keep enjoying it. I’ll leave a negative review for yall
I’m glad you can still mod it.i thought it being always online precluded that
Something was off with the way fast travel worked but I didn’t expect they’d try to fucking sell it.
From my understanding, it works exactly like the first game (though prior to Dark Arizen which gave an infinite teleport item). You can get teleport crystals you can place and spend a consumable to teleport to them, just in 2 you can pay real money to get more. 1 also didn’t have the carts that 2 has to travel to different places. I’m not sure how those work, but I assume it’s cheaper than teleporting, and you don’t need a crystal there.
Kind of, yeah.
The difference is that the first game has a reusable ferrystone that you are given for free (patched in post launch) and you couldn’t buy them with real money.
DD2 has a much bigger map but you are still only allowed to teleport to the 2 big cities by default, fast travel is a lot more important than in the first game.
It looks like it was done on purpose to sell MTX rather than to make the game better, they knew ferrystones were a problem in the first game since they fixed it and still went ahead with this.
That permanent stone was only added in dark arisen after they removed the micro transactions. This system is exactly the same as the first game in launch.
I didn’t know the original had MTX at launch, looks like they didn’t learn from it.
they knew ferrystones were a problem in the first game since they fixed it and still went ahead with this.
This is the big one for me. I don’t know how affordable they are in 2, but the fact DD:DA made them free in 1 shows there was some kind of issue. Was that just a design issue that’s been fixed in 2 or something more fundamental though? I can’t say without experience. Fast travel is absolutely in the game for free though, despite what some people are saying. It’s a lot more limited than most games, but this isn’t most games. It’s about as limited as the original at launch, a little less actually.
Cant wait to play the next Monster Hunter and buy hunting permits at $2.99 for each hunt.
They almost got me with preorder last night, but I was like nah I’ll just wait and see in the morning. I love how i’ve been reading for weeks that “it’s good they made fast travel hard”, like preparing us for a fast travel MTX. Or it’s the greatest character creator of all time, but to edit after you have to spend more money - the game is basically $100 canadian. Absurd.
Fuck, really? I mean, I’m not like a die-hard fan of the game(s) or anything, but the first one is still pretty enjoyable. And it’s $5 on steam.
And it’s a totally complete game, with an in-game barber/character customizer. You can’t change your character’s body type though, only the hair and skin colors/styles.
totally complete
Nah m8, they had circumstances that forced them to release it before they wanted to. There is a bunch of cut content and other not fully realized features. People just don’t notice them much because the game is phenomenal as is.
Don’t forget the performance. One review was saying it’s so bad that a dragon was speaking before his animation started playing.
Never pre-order. Learned that long ago. Even games I have waited on for a long time, i’ll still wait. Starfield was most recent example of that.
I think I will break the rule though for the factorio DLC, if they do a preorder.
Just curious on what you think the benefit of pre-ordering a factorio dlc would be instead of buying after release?
No real benefit. Guess I was trying to say that i trust factorio devs.
Damn game has devoured years of my life…
Fast travel worked almost identically in 1 with no MTX. This isnt why it’s like that, but it was an opportunity they say that they could sell.
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