In June, the new MMORPG Tarisland will be released and aims to build on the success of World of Warcraft. However, fans of the genre are missing a feature that WoW has had for many years.
What kind of game is this? Tarisland is a free MMORPG developed by the Chinese studio and publisher Tencent. The game will be released on June 21 for PC, Android, and iOS.
With a western setting and colorful graphics, Tarisland visually resembles World of Warcraft intentionally. The game was originally intended to replace WoW in China after it could no longer be offered there.
Meanwhile, we know: WoW is returning to China, but Tarisland will still be released. When it comes to appearance, however, Tarisland remains more limited than its predecessor.
Here, Tarisland explains again how they want to make money:
Skins and outfits in Tarisland are rare
What about the outfits and skins in Tarisland? In World of Warcraft, when you defeat a boss and finally get the desired piece of equipment you’ve been waiting for, you usually equip it immediately. The first look then falls on the character, who now also wears something new visually.
This “visual progression” is partly missing in Tarisland. The equipment items you receive do not change the appearance of the character. For that, you need “cosmetic items” (via Tarisland Discord). To obtain these cosmetic items, Tarisland offers various ways:
You can earn skins and mounts through quests, leaderboard rewards, achievements, and trading in-game currency for premium currency from other players. However, the easiest way to get new skins is through the real money shop, which constitutes the main business of Tarisland.
All games with visual progression either charge fees for expansions or require a subscription; Tarisland is a free-to-play game whose main business is that people spend money on skins and mounts.
Senior Moderator Austrem on Discord
Tarisland had promised to remove Pay2Win from the game, and now there is a monetization strategy that focuses entirely on skins and battle passes. By forgoing Pay2Win content, the new MMORPG is now financed through skin and mount sales.
Those who want to stand out from the crowd without spending real money can do so through small icons above the character’s head, which are available for achievements and from quests; MeinMMO author Cedric experienced this himself in the last technical test. For example, he received an exclamation mark and a mouth with an “X,” which stands for “Muted.”
Mounts are also available as rewards for various reputation events, and those who belong to the crème de la crème and make it onto the leaderboard will receive additional rewards for this. It is thus possible to change your appearance even without in-game purchases.
Several users on Reddit report that there is a visual progression in Tarisland when reaching certain levels in gear score. However, we have not been able to confirm this yet.
How is it perceived by fans? Fans have mixed opinions about the direction Tarisland is taking. Some find it really dumb, while others say they don’t care much. On Reddit, players express their opinions on the topic.
Under the post on Reddit, MongooseOne comments: “This is the same reason why I stopped going to the gym.” suggesting that progress would likely not be visible.
Hemperbud finds the whole situation not so bad on Reddit: “I actually don’t care as long as the gameplay is fun and the PvP is good. The older I get, the less I care about what my digital character looks like and the more I care about the time I spend in the game.”
Menu_Dizzy notes on Reddit that other MMORPGs have largely avoided this system in recent years: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t BDO and LA largely do the same? Skins change the appearance and not much beyond that?”
For MeinMMO author Cedric, Tarisland could become the best MMORPG this year, but there are also points of criticism regarding the game. The focus on mobile and casual players particularly bothers many MMORPG veterans. An alternative to WoW could become the best new MMORPG of 2024 if you get into it.
