Diablo Immortal: Gacha mechanics up for criticism
The sales offer in Diablo Immortal is stirring things up. The hashtag #diabloimmoral – immoral Diablo – is circulating on Twitter. Endgame upgrades were essentially only available through microtransactions, and unlocking everything costs a six-figure sum. The problem is compounded by the target audience. According to an analysis from the YouTube channel, unlocking everything for a hero in Diablo Immortal requires a six-figure investment in Bellular news.
Legendary gems are needed in the endgame, which can basically only be earned from loot boxes. While there are the necessary boxes as rewards for playing through a dungeon, the highest levels only have a minimum drop rate, even if players have purchased decals that increase the drop rates. That is give it a “pitty timer” that guarantees a top rarity stone every 50 crates, but even with the purchase of the largest crate pack, there are only 45 pieces. Boxes can in theory also be earned without a purchase, but according to the analysis, fully upgrading a character takes about ten years of playing.
The bottom line is that it’s impossible to get enough endgame gear by playing normally. At this point, Diablo Immortal becomes clearly Pay2Win – and a hugely expensive one, aimed at those players who have already invested a lot of time and money.
Blizzard before release: “In Diablo Immortal, you can’t buy or increase gear for money!” Post-release Blizzard: “But gems do, of course, they don’t count as gear. We’ve always said that! Unless we didn’t say it.
Anger spreads on forums and social media. however, all content can be accessed for free without spending any money. So casual gamers would have no problem. Only at the highest level, in ranked or PVP games, does a payment become necessary. The magazine calls this a “dangerous and manipulative construct”. What that mostly means is this: the free trial phase, where newcomers can have fun with the game, just makes Blizzard a little longer than usual.
Ultimately, however, Diablo Immortal remains “immoral” in the sense of a typical free-to-play product with an aggressive Candy Crush and Co-style sales strategy. Activision Blizzard, the owner of King, has expertise in the same house. Ultimately, this fact also explains some of the outrage: Diablo Immortal as the next Diablo has the potential to attract many veterans who have little experience with mobile games. In addition, Blizzard is not (yet) associated with aggressive sales models. These players gacha game serving presents problems at the touch of a button. Blizzard already knows that from the awkward announcement of the game.
Digital marketing enthusiast and industry professional in Digital technologies, Technology News, Mobile phones, software, gadgets with vast experience in the tech industry, I have a keen interest in technology, News breaking.
