This topic is a classic, but I want to revisit it and ideally get some honest clarification on the topic from Fatshark (if they even see this…). This is even more so pertinent considering the live-service model they are moving forward with is specially made to encourage playtime (for better or worse); yet the core fan base who continues to consistently pour in tens/hundreds of hours of said playtime are purposely locked out of an arguably large part of the customization within the game unless they are willing to shell out even more money, which feels slightly insulting.
In addition, it would be refreshing to be able to grind towards something other than min/max’ing weapons. It would help add some much-needed variety to the all-present grind.
Players who want to purchase cosmetics can and will still do so, but why can’t there be a path for players who dedicate large amounts of their time to also partake in cosmetics?
@FatsharkCatfish : Is there any internal discussion or plans to allow the acquisition of Aquilas via play?
Would alleviate a lot of problems I have around the game’s cosmetics…even OW 2 (), a F2P game that has a pretty universally disliked cosmetic system has a way to earn premium cosmetics through playing the game normally.
Agreed. It would go a long way to remedying damaged community relationships, while barely even making a difference in the overall store profits. Which is why I’m struggling to understand the rational behind the current system.
I think it’s a great idea. I only see it benefiting Fatshark to let us earn Aquilas, since, as you said, it would boost playtime, and make the cosmetics that can only be bought now more prestigious, since they can be earned through hard work, but there is also the shortcut of throwing money at it (like most things in life for better or worse).
Nice try - they will not answer this question and they will not make aquilas earnable.
Fun thing: I bought 2400 Aquilas for the Armageddon uniform - and as I know already that no death Korps outfit is planned as of now I probably won‘t buy any again. If they were earnable I would be tempted „close the gap“ for stuff like Ogryn flak armor.
Possibly another option would be having cosmetics as very rare emperors gifts. Many games do that, and it probably makes more people want to buy, for example, the shirt of an outfit if they got the pants from a drop, though just earning currency would certainly be more convenient for a player.
I think honestly just doing what they did in VT2 would be fine. Have better, premium quality cosmetics you can buy from the armoury and maybe even with dockets from melk (in a separate tab). And ones that unlock more from playing the game (but aren’t counter team-oriented penances).
Said it before, but in case FS is watching I’d probably end up spending so much more money on premium items if we could also earn aquilas through gameplay. I’m totally fine dropping $5 here or there to get me over the hump for an item when I get sick of grinding, but paying $15-$20 for a single outfit with no other way to get the item is ridiculous.
There also really needs to be more customization items you can earn through gameplay. What exists now is like the absolute bare minimum they could get away with and it just makes the whole game feel like it’s funneling you into the cash shop. Just sucks and feels like I’m playing a mobile game.
VT had the benefit of established characters to make the restrictive customization options not that big a deal. They had their own identities and their designs were distinct enough that I never really felt like I was losing much by not being able to play Reikland dress up simulator. DT characters being generic player stand ins with no relation to each other AND customization options being limited to a few recolors of the same three outfits and small handful of accessories unless you shell out for aquilas kind of makes the whole thing feel soulless, like there was no thought put into the characters outside of “what’s the easiest way to make players spend money on them?”
I think Aquilas obtainable in game would pretty evidently defeat the entire point of premium cosmetics.
What I do want from them though is a very significant amount more cosmetics buyable from the armory with ordo dockets. VT2 got this balance pretty good. Having palette swaps of penance cosmetics is nice, but it definitely need a way more expansive selection of cosmetics bought with in game currency for the premium store to not feel gross.
And charging for maps used to be how FS kept themself going between games. They decided this wasn’t optimal for a bunch of reasons including it splitting the community. Hence they changed their model to free maps and premium cosmetics, later also doing the highly requested paid classes.
I don’t see an issue with this monetisation strategy and I think it’s very odd to tell them to effectively demonetize the only in game thing currently monetized in a live service game.
I just don’t see any kind of issue with some cosmetics being premium only. I’m already getting like 5x the gameplay value for money I’d get from playing pretty much any AAA game. This attitude of “give me more for free” just starts to look toxic at a point.
well cosmetics are also much less effort, compared to a map, and with pricing that rivals a 3 map bundle they would have to sell substantially less cosmetics, to not be able to fund the game.
other games did exactly that. giving out paid cosmetics for free or be semi achievable is part of the success formulae of many live service games.
mind you the most successful all employ this tactic (league, apex, csgo)
maybe its only sustainable for them because they are already big enough, but “defeat the point of premium” not even close if anything that binds the community even harder to your game
if i think about some of my accounts i could easily translate the playtime into cash equivalent sure Irl no one would pay that money for said account but that doesn’t change the fact that it does something to your brain.
single biggest cope I’ve seen lol. If by some you mean 95%, and the only good looking ones, then yes you would be correct. You want your Ogryn to look like the title card one? Thats $12 please.
Honestly, like you said, I would consider actually buying Aquilas to close the gap if there’s something I want and hadn’t earned enough through play…Rather than straight up buying stuff, which I have 0 inclination to do.
And I don’t see how that problem can’t be fixed by making Premium cosmetics earnable. It would probably be at an abysmal rate but that would give people something to work towards besides endless rerolls. The fact that, or at least from what I’ve heard, there’s a ton of cosmetics already in the game slated for the cash shop I think points towards the fact the the Bazaar won’t be getting anything else put into it.
At the very least, I hope the in-game but unobtainable cosmetics that appear on the character creation class selection screens and NPCs will be earnable:
), a F2P game that has a pretty universally disliked cosmetic system has a way to earn premium cosmetics through playing the game normally.