Says what it says on the tin, it was advertised before the game launched and was immediately inexplicably removed. It doesn’t need to be a lot but at the same time I would love a way to actually grind for them in game even if it takes a while.
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The copy about this was up on Discord for less than 24hrs, and here is the official word (months before release, and again…it was up for less than a day) from Hedge:
I want to own this one, it was a long day and I have since updated the FAQ to clarify.
Aquilas are different from in-game currency, and are used independently of each other. In-game currency can only be earned and spent in an in-game store (on things like weapons, upgrades etc), whilst Aquilas can only be purchased and spent on premium cosmetics. As it stands, we have no plans to move beyond cosmetic stuff. Apologies for the confusion.
We will be updating the FAQs with a specific Store section in the next 24 hours to quell any outstanding confusion.
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We paid basically half the price of a normal AAA game. Have been and will keep receiving significant amounts of content for free. And people really want the damn cosmetics, the game’s only ongoing monetisation to support content updates… also for free. I just don’t understand how/if some peoples’ brain works.
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no-frickin-kidding. even 25 for clearing every week’s objectives would be nice…
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While i agree with the general premise that demanding free premium currency is silly i also gotta point them updating the game for free should just be an expected thing since:
A) That’s literally how the GAAS model works
B) The game shipped a quarter complete
and C) We don’t really have a story yet.
Trying to charge for DLC maps with the current system they developed literally would both not work and not go over well at all. Not going to lie, i literally wouldn’t give a dam if they swapped to the VT2 model since if there is a map i don’t like i don’t need to buy it but im not going to pretend they are doing free updates out of the kindness of their heart, that’s the business model they picked.
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They haven’t sold a new map in VT2 in going on 4 years. Cosmetics are the monetization strategy for Tide games now.
Hopefully classes are free in DT, but I suppose that could work like VT2.
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Hence my comment for not acting like it’s out of the kindness of their heart.
Again, i acknowledge that we get free updates but that’s how the model works.
Game releases, free content to keep the player base actually together gets released over time, main extra money is from new people buying in and cosmetics.
That’s not even a knock against FS, that’s literally just how I don’t feel like just following the model to the letter is a point of note.
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There might be an argument to be made that giving the pants addicts a small taste of earnable Aquilas might make them more likely to purchase more, but I think it’s more likely that the business folks would just view that as cutting into the potential profits (which works against the model).
At any rate, we need more ordo cosmetics!
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Specifically the Ogryn shovel is missing from the (admittedly not particularly sexy) red/blue ordo weapon skins 
As much as people seem to kick up a stink about recolours, I’d actually really like some more colours for the ordo cosmetic shirts and pants!
As for free aquilas I definitely want them but I don’t think that’s realistic. I’d be happier if they were 1:1 with cosmetic prices, but I guess I live in the grim darkness of the distant past!
Then again, a win-win could be introducing a method of acquiring a one-off sum that affords access to one premium cosmetic (per character?). Additional diversity for characters, maybe break the seal for some folks, and give everyone a goal to work for. Level all characters to 30, giving 50 acquilas each? Does that even get you anything? Just an idea.
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I agree with Rocker_Fox, them updating the game is literally expected of them as a company selling a live-service game nowadays. I think it’s fine as a consumer to push for the product to be better, ESPECIALLY since it was pretty lacking when first released.
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I’d want them to fix the recolours so they don’t change the model of the weapon you’re using before they release new ones.
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Neither was I, so let me expand I guess.
Yes, as is having a source of ongoing revenue to fund said ongoing updates, that was my point. Cosmetics are currently the only source of ongoing revenue. If they were charging for any of the content I agree that would a completely different situation.
Now please note this is not me defending the way cosmetics are sold, their price tag, or the bundling of aquilas.
I just want to say I do think that’s a gross exaggeration, but don’t want to get on a tangent about that, so hopefully we can leave that point at agree to disagree.
Now I’m aware there are some shades of grey here on how small amounts of aquilas earnable in game could encourage more general investment and make players more likely to spend small amounts more often to boost their stockpile up to needed amounts to buy desirable cosmetics but that is really not how OP has framed this thread. It’s just “hey you said you’d do this for less than 24h in one post by accident so give me free cosmetics now thanks”.
I just don’t believe things like the talent tree rework would be smart business decisions without the ongoing revenue from cosmetics so if you’re gonna ask them to eat into that with freebies you ought to bring some pretty good arguments and probably some examples or stats do back that up.
Otherwise it really feels like just asking for the Devs to keep providing new content for who knows how many years basically for free which, well, to circle back here, isn’t really how GaaS model functions.
I agree I just don’t think that extends into asking a GaaS game to give away its only ongoing monetisation source.
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If they don’t let you earn a pitiable amount of aquilas without cash, they should at least make the items available in the pay shop with other currency so people will be familiar with what is on offer. This would allow for your friend to say “it would be cool if X was offered,” and you can mention it is in the shop. Pretty simple model many, many other games offer. The current system is an outdated because aquilas are essentially a no go zone for a majority of the playerbase. If you never have aquilas to spend, you will never know their value. This also allows for aquilas to “burn a hole in your pocket,” and incentivize splurging. You increase the use of the currency by putting more of it in circulation even if it devalues it slightly.
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Eh, lots of F2P games have limited amounts of premium currency to string along low spenders. It’s hardly unheard of, and Darktide isn’t even F2P
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Yeah i would rather not go into an essay level breakdown so fair enough.
I think in general the disconnect is that free games which literally sell their entire model on this give away the funny money layer all the time. That’s the thing that F2P games get, it’s funny money, it’s made up, it’s worth as much as what people are willing to buy a skin for or use a service for. Hell Warframe uses it as a trade currency and they commonly give away 10 bucks worth multiple times in the same livestream because it’s funny money.
Companies who have done this model for a long time understand the value of giving people free stuff they actually want because it plays into player agency because they bought it and it’s theirs.
To be fair they already did throw out freebies to the X-Box crowd which is a large part of what got the ball rolling in the first place. The currency is simultaneously too valuable to give out a dollar of every once an a while (a dollar is like 200 Aquilas for reference) but 70 bucks of free currency can be handed out (which, as you stated, is supposed to be apart of their primary business model, deal or not) as a Freebie.
On top of this the fun money layer itself has already failed to generate extra revenue (I highly doubt people are tripping over themselves to buy reskins) and as it stands a lot of people are very like just sting on Aquilas with nothing to buy.
They might as well give enough out to get a free hat since someone might go “while the free 200 aquilla thing is cool what I REALLY want is that new Cadian set so let me fork over 15 more bucks since I already have a dollar off anyways”.
As stated a lot of F2P games, even mobile ones, give out premium currency so people understand the value of what it buys them. I would say the bigger problem right now is half the shop is reskins, rereleases minus weapons skins, or stuff with clipping issues.
Basically if the cosmetics shop didn’t suck no one would even fret over giving out a dollar worth of premium currency every month since people would be willing to fork over the extra 14 our if 15 dollars for stuff.
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We payed 2/3 of the AAA price for a game that was bottom shelf for a year and still is at most a middle shelf game. With a bunch of controversies, exploitative and predatory monetisation.
They literally handed out over $100 of free aquilas to console players. I don’t think giving us 100 aquilas for completing all weekly missions once per week per account would break their bank based on that fiasco.
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The people who said that having the premium shop next to the armory was evil psychological warfare would lose their minds if this was the case. This is a non-starter. Keep it all separate!
i rather pay for every content update, and have acess to ALL content available, rather than have
all the (good) cosmetics behind a paywall.
Dow 1, all the DLC paid, cosmetic army painter for free? sign me up.
ill take that everyday over this new era of “its fine as long as you only pay for cosmetics and not power” apologists, it just sucks.
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i rather pay for every content update, and have acess to ALL content available, rather than have all the (good) cosmetics behind a paywall.
Sorry to be so direct, but I feel this is very selfish thinking. What about all the people who love DT but don’t have the income to purchase additional content for their favorite game?