An MMORPG is so strong Pay2Win that I can only laugh at the criticism of Lost Ark and Black Desert

The term Pay2Win describes a game where you pay to get stronger. However, the lines are blurring as to what exactly Pay2Win is and what is still considered acceptable. Lost Ark and Black Desert in particular have faced strong headwinds in recent months. However, MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch remembers his experiences with Perfect World.

The boundaries between pay2win, pay2convenience and what is accepted by the masses are becoming increasingly blurred. I myself am someone who approaches games fairly painlessly.

For example, I don’t have a problem with level boosters and actually find them to be very helpful because they often allowed me to get to the midgame of an MMORPG faster and thus get a better picture of the game. The well-known MMORPG YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes also points this out.

I also see Lost Ark as rather unproblematic, because the same thing can be achieved with a foreseeable grind as with real money. I’m more conflicted about Black Desert and the upgrade mechanics of the equipment, because the grind is a bit different here too.

Yet both games pale in comparison to Perfect World International. I haven’t led this game since 2013, but I took a little trauma with me from back then.

Perfect World sells potions and pets that are only available for real money

Perfect World has many systems that I would consider Pay2Win. My biggest problem back then was with the “spells”, two potions that restore life points and mana. These potions were practically mandatory in the game because they could single-handedly decide a PvP fight. And PvP starts at level 30 in the open world.

However, both potions were only available for real money and were limited in their use. That means they were used up at some point and I had to reach for my wallet again.

These potions are still available today, as I could see after a quick look in the shop:

You can also purchase these potions on the in-game marketplace, but only if another player bought them for real money and then sold them. Which brings us almost directly to Pay2Win number two: exchange real money for in-game currency.

Yes, this exchange also exists in Guild Wars 2 or Lost Ark. But especially in Guild Wars 2 I organized the maximum equipment within a few days. I can’t buy any more strength. And the strength in Lost Ark is also limited, at least in organized PvP.

That’s not the case in Perfect World. There is PvP in the open world and also PvP around territories. In both cases, the equipment is king.

In my time, the equipment itself also had properties that fully fall under Pay2Win. Because to get the best gear in the game back then, you had to collect reputation. Or you went straight to your bank account and bought the best equipment in the game.

Of course, this also had to be upgraded. The best way to do this was with orbs from the shop, which resulted in a 100% upgrade. Because chance is only for low earners! For the best equipment, however, well over 100 euros were due per piece – if so, because so!

The fourth aspect that struck me negatively was the Venomancer pets. You could tame them, but you couldn’t tame some legendary monsters. They were only available in the shop for around 200 euros at the time.

And guess which later in the dungeon groups were always demanded by the other players. Right….

Losing items in PvP

By the way, if you actively play PvP in Perfect World, you can lose your items or even the equipment you are wearing. This is for when you’re ranked high and like to kill people who have lower ranks or disabled PvP in the open world.

However, this often does not apply to shop items. It says “Won’t drop on death”.

There is also an XP loss on death unless you have a matching buff active from the shop.

It just seems to have gotten worse instead of better

I haven’t followed Perfect World for years. But about one Thread in MMORPG reddit I became aware of the Pay2Win topic. There, some called Perfect World as a prime example of the MMORPG with the worst shop. And that seems to have gotten worse in recent years.

The shop currently has over 150 different items that you can buy with real money. Among these are:

• Dozens of packs of currencieswhich I have no idea how important they are
• Loot boxes that say there’s a chance for item X – but not what else you can get
• Packs to unlock skills or glyphs
• Teleports to locations of my choosing
• Titles that grant additional stats such as +10 Physical Attack and Magical Attack for 30 days
• XP Booster

There are also a few armor skins, weapon skins and mounts. The mounts start at just under 40 euros.

In reddit, players report that the developers have even removed some intermediate stages in the drops, which makes it more difficult for Free2Play players to keep up with the equipment and almost forces you to spend money. I can neither confirm nor deny that with the current lack of experience.

Basically, Perfect World has everything that is bad

So Perfect World combines the worst of all games:

• You can level through boosts.
• You can directly buy and upgrade the strongest equipment. In general, when upgrading, there is a chance of failure if you don’t use shop items.
• You can provide yourself with additional stats and potions and dominate in PvP.
• Theoretically, you can generate an endless amount of in-game currency.
• You can teleport anywhere, regardless of whether you’ve already been there.
• You can “insure” yourself against damage resulting from death.

Of course you can argue that almost all of this can also be achieved by Free2Play players, for example because the potions can be traded in the market or because the armor can be farmed.

But on the one hand at least one seller must have spent real money on these items in order to sell them and on the other hand the farm effort should be several years – so no comparison to Lost Ark.

Perfect World had a cool idea, but it can’t save it

Perfect World had lured me back then with the idea that I could fly in the air and even fight. But the shop quickly spoiled the fun for me back then.

Personally, I haven’t come across a PC MMORPG that has a worse Pay2Win system, also because there is PvP in the open world. But I’m happy to be taught by you. Do you know a game that is worse? Then write it in the comments!

It’s not for nothing that Perfect World is in my E tier of MMORPGs:

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