In a livestream on Friday evening, the developers of ArcheAge announced a new feature for Unchained. Some saw this as an indirect Pay2Win and went up in arms.
What feature was announced? In the livestream, the developers talked about the ability to gift clothing sets that are available in the real money shop to other players.
This new function is primarily meant to allow players to make each other happy. However, many suspected this to be an indirect Pay2Win and complained.
In the meantime, the developers have also responded to the criticism.
Players are up in arms, developers yield
How did the players react to the feature? There was a lot of criticism in the official forum and on reddit after the announcement. Players suspected that the gifting feature could allow real money to be exchanged for in-game currency.
With this, players could again buy an advantage, even though the actual shop of ArcheAge Unchained is free from purchasable advantages.
The reddit user kokodo88 wrote:
These changes naturally open up the whole world of Pay2Win through the sale of items from the real money shop to other players. Gamigo is already backing away from their “no Pay2Win” promise, even before the launch on October 15th. [..]
This is the direction in which the game is going. It’s whaling time.
No matter who leads Trionworlds, it will always remain Trionworlds.
Many other users agreed with kokodo88. They see the problem especially critically in ArcheAge because a lot of gold is needed to obtain the best gear. This path would thus become especially simplified at the start of the game.
How do the developers respond to the criticism? After not even four hours, there was an official statement from the developers on this topic. It states:
Hello everyone,
The ability to gift items from the shop on the in-game marketplace has been disabled for ArcheAge Unchained.
We are interested in ensuring that our revised gameplay experience meets the expectations of our community and is not marred by our past.
We considered introducing the ability to gift items from the shop, as the items are limited in trade and cosmetic. In hindsight, however, it is understandable how gifting could circumvent certain rules.
The decision to remove gifting was unanimous internally and will therefore be carried out.
The players are glad about the developers’ decision, and reddit user kokodo88 has adjusted his post and linked the statement.
Unchained could become a great success
What is the mood like in Unchained? Until Sunday, October 13th, players can have fun on the test server for ArcheAge Unchained.
The first feedback from there is very positive. Among the testers is also the well-known YouTuber TheLazyPeon. They are all optimistic that, as long as the Pay2Win promise is kept, ArcheAge Unchained could be very successful.
One reason for this is also the adjustments with patch 6.0, which bring a new class specialization and a new graphic update.
