cross-posted from: https://lemmy.tf/post/370646
It’s hard to find a game without IAP (in app purchases) these days and that’s a shame as Pay 2 Win really isn’t about skill, it’s just how much you can sink in. That said, developers often need to incentive to keep developing a game and to pay for the costs such as servers, etc. I remember there were a few games that were Pay to Play on the horizon, but after their announcement, they never seemed to materialise. Anyway, I’m waffling. Basically I’m okay with an upfront cost or a subscription, I just want a good game which appears to have longevity and as few events as possible. I want to play when I want to play as opposed to when the developers want me play.
Not sure if you’re into this. But Warframe.
It’s free, optional IAP to get stuff faster but not in a P2W way. Everything is possible to get free if you sink in time and/or be social and trade/sell stuff for premium currency so you still can buy stuff you want.
Game is loaded with content. Steep learning curve but when the game ‘clicks’ you’re sucked in. There is a story that will make you go “wtf?” and that part is widely known as the “you completed the 30 hour tutorial. Now the game begins”.
It’s playable solo, recently added cross play which makes playing with others more easy and there are parts that are public where you can interact with everyone there. That makes it feel as an MMO.
The devs are active on Lemmy warframe@dormi.zone is the official Lemmy page since they moved from Reddit.
If you’re able to rush stuff, doesn’t it make it pretty p2w? Clash of Clans was p2w for that reason.
Not really… paid items aren’t stronger than free items.
For example to get a new Warframe (your armor/character with unique abilities)
Free:
Paid:
End result:
Exactly the same Warframe. You only need to grind less and wait less.
Every item/weapon/Warframe needs to be mastered. Either paid or free you’ll need to play missions to level up your gear so you can attach mods to make it stronger. Mods are found in game or can be bought. Mods also need to be levelled up by gameplay to be better.
So in the end you only get the base stuff faster but everyone is required to play to get better.
Als some paid items are simply for more inventory space like extra weapon/Warframe slots. That way you can keep some more stuff instead of dumping/selling it to make room for new stuff.
To level up in Warframe it’s necessary to keep using stuff you haven’t used before. When you stay on your own gear you’ll never really progress. But leveling up with new gear enables you to power up older gear as well.
And since it’s mostly PvE you don’t lose or miss out on paying players. If you solo stuff or are playing with friends then you’re pretty much never in contact with a paid player.
If you play with random players then it is possible to have a higher skilled (either free or paid) player in your team that might make specific missions easier to do. But still that’s totally up to you.
From all the F2P out there I personally believe Warframe to be the best game that handles their premium paid stuff without hurting free players.
The game seems complex, in the beginning it feel overwhelming. But don’t be afraid to ask for help and search the Warframe wiki. The community is very friendly and the Wiki will guide you as well.
I don’t consider myself a gamer but I have had a couple long stints in pay to win games and a lot of the things where you say they’re minor, become major as time goes on and since I’m competitive, I’ll likely get sucked all the way in trying to get an advantage.
That said, you’re an absolute legend for the time you’ve taken to write everything out. I cannot thank you enough.