Compared to any other Live Service game I know, it does not have lootboxes, has no microtransactions, and the bits of FOMO that once plagued 2016 and 2 have generally been resolved and are incredibly downplayed. H3ās ET suits are mastery rewards now, and the actual time-limited stuff is surprisingly rare, and that is relegated to the Free Starter Pack as seasonal content.
Iād say itās pretty good in my books. Genuinely one of the best Live Services out there, and I donārt think thatās a controversial statement, considering a lot of other game like Skull and Bones and Payday 3 are repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot with shotguns. It is very refreshing to play a game that isnāt constantly trying to dangle toys in front of me for a limited time in an attempt to part with my cash.
And my only gripes right now are to do with offline mode needing a revamp (Oh yeah, so many live services donāt even have an offline mode!) and IOās edition monetization, which has little to do with the business model of being a live service, and more to do with IOās own self-sabotage of how to market the damn game and their PR team that goes to sleep every two weeks.
Even the DLCās that are meant to be DLCās are generally pretty cheap these days, which, when compared to a multiplayer game where one skin can cost four times as much and does not include themed items, Iād say thatās a pretty good deal.
Can you elaborate on why you feel the live service element feels tacked on?
No, itās not, and I donāt think anyone in the fanbase would say that. ETA is probably not what most players asked for, sure, I can see that, but against our wishes? Thatās a bit strong, no? That implies we knew ahead of time of what it was and that we actively hate the mode, which, far as I can tell, we donāt.
And ETA is content like anything else, Like the actual Elusives and the escalations and challenges, so I donāt think itās an excuse by IO to keep it a live service, especially since most of the ETAās were burned through almost two years ago, and people told them to stop as they kept being spammed.
I mean, thatās not inaccurate? Iām struggling to disagree with that summary tbh. And thatās a good thing in some respects, as it keeps the majority of the ETās replayable with minimal interference from optional objectives.
I donāt think ETA quite works as anything more than a remix mode for ETās, but that seems to be what IO was going for, not to mention somewhat preserving ETās. I donāt think it does well at the latter, but I canāt fault the former.
Also, not sure when this was added, but our purple tiddlywink has been added!