In Ravendawn, the developers seem to have accidentally built a Pay2Win mechanic. Just shortly after its introduction, the first complaints from players appeared – after only 3 days, the developers removed the mechanic.
What mechanic is it about? In Ravendawn (PC), the developers actually wanted to do something good for their players and introduced a new mechanic with version 1.0.5 that allows players to reset their profession and reputation trees. Before the update, this was not possible.
The developers decided to give every player a free reset and offer additional resets as a microtransaction. The players did not like this at all.
Here you can watch a trailer for Ravendawn.
After 3 days, the developers give in
Why did the developers have to give in? Already three days after the release of the update that introduced the new mechanic, the developers of Ravendawn addressed the community with a statement. Criticism of the mechanic had grown significantly before that.
In the statement, the developers expressed that they never intended to create a Pay2Win mechanic out of the resets. Rather, they wanted to prevent players from resetting their trees too often and thereby gaining advantages. They decided against using silver as a currency, as that would have favored wealthy players.
We hope that our historical steps and decisions about how we monetize and shape Ravendawn have shown that this was never our goal.
Statement from the developers on Discord
How does monetization look in Ravendawn otherwise? In Ravendawn, real money can actually almost only be spent on cosmetic items. The game does not pursue a Pay2Win approach.
Bought resets will be refunded – But not all
What happens to already purchased resets? The developers announced in the statement that all purchased resets will be refunded. Players who spent real money on this before the announcement will receive their money back.
However, those who continue to spend money on it after the announcement and until the patch that removes the mechanic will be stuck with the costs.
The developers justify this decision by stating that players could otherwise exploit the goodwill of the developers over the weekend, until the next patch, by resetting their trees numerous times.
The community seems to like the statement, as the announcement received over 500 heart emojis on Discord. Additionally, the developers shared a survey in which players can now vote on whether they would prefer to reset their trees for silver or Dawn Essence in the future.
If you want to learn more about Ravendawn, you can read more in this article: New free MMORPG combines the best of Stardew Valley and your favorite fantasy role-playing games
