The team behind Tarisland removed all indications of missing Pay2Win content after several critical voices were raised. Now the developers at Tencent have taken the players’ feedback to heart and presented a solution aimed at mitigating the Pay2Win aspect.
What were the accusations?
- Tarisland claimed to be a Free2Play MMORPG without Pay2Win, but players discovered equipment items with advantages in the in-game shop during an initial testing phase.
- The shop encourages players to exchange their real money for gold or silver. With these coins, they can then purchase the equipment items on the marketplace.
- The shop also has advantage packages that can only be purchased with real money. A package for 5.99 euros, for example, reduces taxes at the trading post, provides a portable warehouse, and decreases the Elan costs by 10%.
- After the accusations arose, Tencent deleted the mention that the MMORPG would be without Pay2Win everywhere.
The development team had then promised changes. Tencent had heard the negative feedback from players. Besides the Pay2Win accusations, the gender lock was also criticized. Many of these points have now been addressed by the development team, promising some changes in the future – some of them more far-reaching than others (via Tencent).
In a trailer, you can see the areas and battles from Tarisland:
These are the solutions Tencent is working on
What does Tencent plan? After the now second closed beta, Tencent is drawing its conclusions. The probably biggest change is that the development team wants to remove the gender lock. This way, all classes can be played in both female and male variants.
However, this step will take the most time. The team wants to ensure that the animations and the art style of the characters meet players’ expectations.
Additionally, certain equipment items can no longer be crafted but can only be obtained through raids. This is meant to ensure that the equipment receives the high status it deserves.
Furthermore, the development team wants to ensure that players in Tarisland can only obtain the newly introduced “Inscribed Stone Energy” through daily activities. This way, all players will start from the same point.
They present their promises on their Twitter account:
And what about the gold/silver? Regarding the in-game shop, there will only be one change. Players should now also obtain the gold used as a currency in the in-game shop through daily in-game activities.
This means that Tencent will make it easier for players to get gold and thus the items with improved status values.
However, the team does not currently want to remove the items with status improvements from the shop. The actual problem is therefore not resolved.
Further adjustments to the “commercial contents” are still under discussion.
There are mixed reactions in the comments under the tweet. Many users are pleased with the announcement, as Tencent has listened to the players. However, some still find the MMORPG too “Pay2Win” heavy and want to avoid the game.
In the past, there were several accusations against Tarisland. The MMORPG from China is said to have copied the aesthetics and some features from World of Warcraft:
New MMORPG looks just like WoW, now says it doesn’t want to be WoW
