What do you think about loot boxes in MMOs? Do they bother you or do you enjoy unpacking colorful boxes that spit out wonderful loot?
MMOs and online games have caused many controversial topics, and one of them is loot boxes. To explain briefly: Loot boxes or loot crates are usually boxes that you can earn in the game or purchase for real money.
Sometimes they are available only for real euros. Loot boxes always contain a randomly generated amount of more or less useful items for the respective game. Mostly, these are cosmetic items like skins or boosters that help you progress faster in the game.
The loot box is my friend!
This is a fine thing at first. Because skins and progress items are always useful. And then there is this wonderful feeling when you open a box. Especially Blizzard stages this perfectly in its games Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm: The box shakes just before opening, bursts spectacularly, and then throws out the previously hidden items.
Then the loot is gradually revealed and you enjoy it like a little child unwrapping Christmas gifts. Just this feeling is overwhelming. When the loot is also fitting and there is a coveted item among them, the feeling of happiness is indescribable!
The loot box is the devil!
As much as loot boxes awaken the child in us, they are also viewed controversially by many players. Because almost always, the little loot boxes are associated with microtransactions. Often you can only acquire the boxes with real money. However, they usually don’t cost much and can be had for a few cents.
There is a great danger of completely losing control over one’s spending and spending too much money. After all, the next box could contain a legendary item or the one missing skin for my cool set! This borders on gambling and poses a danger for careless players and children.
Pay2Win in the box
Even worse are loot boxes in the eyes of many gamers when they contain not just fluff and boosters, but tangible items with gameplay advantages. The most recent example of such controversial loot boxes is Star Wars: Battlefront 2.
Because the boxes that you unlock here among other things for real money contain items with relevant gameplay effects. So whoever opens many boxes automatically has better stats in the game and wins more often.
Jürgen says: Loot boxes are great, pay2win is not!
I celebrate all forms of randomly generated loot and I loved opening tickets at the fair or unwrapping gifts as a small child. Therefore, I always look forward to loot boxes and like to buy a few boxes in games that I enjoy, such as ESO. I gleefully enjoy when I open them and the loot flies around me. It doesn’t really matter to me what’s inside; the mere act of opening it is fun!
Only with Pay2Win boxes does the fun come to an end for me; a loot box should contain at most boosters related to gameplay items, ideally only cosmetic items like in Overwatch. In my opinion, this game gets everything right in that regard.
But enough about me, what do you think? Are loot boxes actually a fine thing as long as they aren’t too expensive and pay2win? Or is such “gambling” in games completely unacceptable, and should loot boxes be banned? Let us know in the comments!
