In the MMORPG Lineage 2 published by NCSoft, there are occasional Pay2Win discussions. A new event joins this, bringing a bizarre leaderboard that is being torn apart in the community. We at MeinMMO summarize.
What does the leaderboard show? In the MMORPG Lineage 2 published by NCSoft, there are regular events where the goal is to open specific chests. Depending on the event, the contents of these loot boxes vary, but they are always randomly rolled.
Although the boxes can be purchased for a very high price in in-game currency, it seems intentional from the publisher, and it is also common to open the chests with the game’s real money currency and try one’s luck.
The game then displays the 150 players in a global leaderboard who have opened the most of these chests, thus also showing who has paid the most money.
In another MMORPG from the publisher, you can defeat your enemies with music:
Those who pay a lot, win: And as if a leaderboard of people who have invested the most money in the game isn’t curious enough, the “biggest spender” also wins something. What that person wins varies with the currently running event. However, those who had no luck with the loot boxes can secure some luck with 10,000 euros.
Looking at the current leaderboard on the Chronos server, the event’s winner opened 14,966 loot boxes in 6 days. If one buys all the boxes with real money currency, that would correspond to 12,903 €. Even the user in second place barely hits the 10,000 euro mark.
In total, all top spenders on the two servers Chronos and Naia have opened boxes worth 125,811.13 €. And that in just 6 days. That’s enough money to buy the optional monthly premium pass for 8,387 months, which could also explain why NCSoft conducts these events quite frequently and even multiple times a month.
“This is just crazy”
How does the community react? While many players on reddit are shocked by the leaderboard, there are also fans who view the topic positively. Supporters agree that transparency in such a system is important. However, other voices believe that such things could destroy the game in the long run, and free-to-play players could feel even more left behind.
Some users don’t find the system so bad but are concerned that it could deter new players. Such leaderboards, mechanics, and the discussions surrounding them could ensure that MMORPG fans stay away from the game.
Another opinion in the community is that such events and mechanics help keep the MMORPG alive, even if it no longer has as many users. In this way, those who love the game can pay for it to continue running. However, this opinion also receives a lot of criticism from other fans.
In general, it can be said that the active gaming community does not view the topic as critically. Unlike the reddit users who are looking at the system from the “outside”.
What do the fans say? Some of the user comments we would like to share with you, as usual, to let you form your own opinions:
- Kadden_ writes (via reddit): “Players often stumble into our Lineage 2 Discord and ask questions about the game. Then they immediately run away when they see this. It’s tragic to see how one of the best MMORPGs ever turns into a flashy casino.”
- Belligero writes (via reddit): “Transparency is always nice, and I actually find the system interesting. As someone who regularly spends a lot of money on MMORPGs, this would rather deter me from spending money.”
- kazurengan says (via reddit): “This is the same company responsible for Throne and Liberty. That really doesn’t make me optimistic and is just a shame.”
- LeClassyGent keeps it short (via reddit): “This is just crazy.”
What do you think of the system? Would you spend money to appear on this leaderboard? Do you think it’s good that transparency is created? Would such a mechanic encourage you to spend more money, or not? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
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