If you’re anything like me, you know the struggle of grinding through a game only to be steamrolled by someone with a bank account substantially larger than your “ramen noodles six nights a week” budget. With the new Destiny expansion Rise of Iron introducing more “pay-to-win” elements, they are sliding further down the slippery slope that eventually turns players off from pay-to-win games.
Gaming is supposed to be about the grind. It’s supposed to be difficult and you are supposed to have to work for it. Whether it’s just experience points or some sort of elite gear, the joy of earning it after hours of gameplay is something that cannot be replicated through a microtransaction.
Now, Destiny isn’t going full pay-to-win, but they making it so you have the option to purchase experience points through microtransactions. The problem is, they are also making it so you can purchase class-based experience points. As someone who has played Destiny since day one, this bothers me. See, when I want to unlock a nice piece of Crucible gear, I have to spend hours playing Crucible matches. Having the option to buy enough experience to get to the required reputation level ruins all of the fun, and that is not what gaming should be about.
Destiny is just starting to dabble in pay-to-win. Other games are much farther down that road. Clash of Clans, for example, does everything possible to suck money straight out of your wallet. The creators have made it nearly impossible to grind once you have reached higher levels, and players have spent hundreds of dollars just to compete at a higher level.
Destiny may not have gone completely pay-to-win, and they may be introducing it with each update in a way that keeps players interested, but that doesn’t mean gamers should not be cautious when it comes to this beloved MMO.
