The MMORPG Tarisland is reminiscent of WoW in its core idea. It aims to focus primarily on dungeons, raids, and a varied story, borrowing some elements from the genre king. However, the current beta test has received quite a bit of criticism. The developers have reacted, but not everything about it is positive.
What is being criticized? Tarisland promised on the website and in social media that it would not be pay-to-win. The free-to-play MMORPG should offer a shop, but the focus should primarily be on cosmetics.
In the current beta test, however, there is a system that confuses players:
- You can directly buy gear with stats in a marketplace using silver (in-game currency).
- While the items there are offered by players, the game allows players to exchange real money currency for silver in the same window.
- Thus, players are indirectly encouraged to purchase better gear with real money, as the criticism goes.
Additionally, a benefit package for 5.99 euros was offered, which reduces taxes at trade posts and generally makes selling completely free. This subscription also brings advantages, such as a portable warehouse and 10% lower elan costs, which are needed for crafting. Some find these bonuses excessive.
What do the developers say about it? They responded with a statement promising changes, but were not very specific. Additionally, they quietly removed their statement that Tarisland would be an MMORPG without pay-to-win from the website and social media profiles.
Changes to the shop yes, but no statement on subscription and elan
What do the developers want to change? In a statement, they mentioned that they have heard the negative feedback from players. However, it mainly revolved around the issue of gear:
We want to create a fair MMORPG and have therefore decided not to sell such items in our official shop, as we consider this model to be non-P2W. Through this test, we found that our understanding of the community’s perspective differs, and we will be more cautious in our future descriptions of monetization.
Our original intention when developing this monetization model was to provide players with a smoother growth experience and to create a healthy ecosystem in the game. In the current design, all items circulating in the auction house are offered and priced directly by players, allowing them to benefit from the transactions.
At the same time, we have restricted player-to-player trading to minimize the spread of offline transactions and player losses due to gold farming studios and bots.
They did not comment on the buff for 5.99 euros and the associated elan system.
What is elan all about? This stamina system regulates how many materials you can collect and how much you can craft in general. Collecting three ores requires one elan, while crafting five copper bars requires five elan.
You receive elan automatically over time. One elan every 15 minutes. The buff, however, reduces elan costs by 10%, which offers a significant advantage in crafting. Similar systems are known from ArcheAge, Albion Online, or various mobile MMORPGs.
Are the problems really that severe? That depends on one’s own perspective. The exchange of real money for in-game currency is now possible almost everywhere, such as in Guild Wars 2 via gems, in WoW via tokens, or Black Desert via costumes. Direct pay-to-win did not exist either, as the items had to be offered by other players first.
Bonuses for quests, gold, or work points are also included in other games like Albion Online, Lost Ark, or ESO+.
Nonetheless, all these points can certainly be criticized, as can the gender lock that some dislike for the classes. It is also somewhat puzzling that they have removed the statements about being “non-pay-to-win”.
Positive aspects, however, include the dungeons, the combat system, and generally the game’s aesthetics. So not everything is automatically negative.
What is your opinion on this? Have you played Tarisland yourself?
Learn more about Tarisland here: New MMORPG aims to replace WoW in China – Looks so good that it can convince us too.
