Years of videogames working like purchasing malls made me assume that Helldivers 2’s day-one monetization can be the identical outdated story: battle passes, boosters, and cosmetics that value as a lot as the sport itself. It does give that impression at first—Helldivers 2 has two battle passes out the gate, a rotating cosmetics store, and precise weapons and armor you possibly can solely get by shopping for the premium $10 go.
On paper, that is normal and even barely outdoors of what most of us would deem acceptable upselling. However 20 hours in, Helldivers 2’s monetization is not bothering me. It is truly fairly affordable, and so far as $40 video games with microtransactions go… dare I say refreshing?
Here is why: There is a free battle go (Helldivers 2 calls them “warbonds”) and a paid one. Warbonds are progressed with medals awarded for finishing missions or discovered on planets. Warbonds stand out from a standard battle go as a result of they are not only a strategy to fill a closet with cosmetics you by no means use (although there’s a few of that), they’re additionally the way you unlock key gameplay objects like new weapons, grenades, and armor varieties. Together with Stratagems (the roster of unlockable airstrikes and airdrops you possibly can name in), warbonds are one observe of the development system. Play extra, unlock stuff.
With 80 objects throughout eight pages, the free warbond comprises the vast majority of stuff at present within the sport. The $10 premium warbond provides an extra 24 objects. The paid warbond solely has one totally new weapon, a revolver—the remaining are variants of present weapons with elemental harm varieties and vital tradeoffs. These are side-grades, not outright upgrades. The explosive ammo model of the Liberator assault rifle, for instance, does 100% extra harm to smooth weak factors (just like the backs of Chargers) however fires manner slower and has a smaller journal.
The premium warbond feels inessential, however significant sufficient if you wish to experiment with the complete arsenal.
Some player-friendly choices you do not see usually:
- You possibly can’t skip tiers or purchase medals to hurry by a warbond
- The free warbond comprises 700 Tremendous Credit, sufficient to shave round $7 off the paid warbond
- It’s also possible to discover Tremendous Credit in low portions by taking part in missions
- Warbonds by no means expire
I dig it. Together with loadout objects within the warbond makes it matter greater than any battle go I’ve ever owned, and the truth that it’s going to by no means expire means warbonds are mainly little expansions.
“That is vital to us: the Warbonds are NOT a pay-to-win, FOMO-driven system,” Arrowhead mentioned in a current weblog publish. “As an alternative, the gear within the Warbonds simply retains accumulating. We won’t retire earlier Warbonds as new ones are launched—you possibly can decide them up and full them at any time.”
It is good to see a brand new multiplayer shooter push again towards the prevailing seasonal mannequin that holds our free time hostage. Like Halo Infinite earlier than it, Helldivers is proof that the nervousness of $10 wasted on a 3-month battle go you do not have time for would not must be the norm. In a vacuum Helldivers is as centered on monetization as any trendy sport, however by comparability, it is uncommonly beneficiant.
Simply take a look at the shop tab—sorry, the Tremendousretailer tab. The costliest outfit within the retailer proper now’s ~$4.50, its matching helmet is ~$2.50, and the armor subsequent to it’s ~$3. Tab over to the Tremendous Credit foreign money web page and you will find one other small shock: a $1.99 bundle that permits you to “high off” your pockets with 150 credit for those who’re simply brief. The smallest buy you can also make in most video games is $5 or $10 value of credit, guaranteeing that you just at all times overspend for the factor you need.
Contemplating you naturally accrue Tremendous Credit by taking part in missions and the way usually low costs are, Helldivers 2 is the least I’ve felt pressured to pony up money in a service sport in years. So after all I’ve purchased every bit of armor that is appeared within the retailer since launch. Seems I am a simple mark when video games do not hound me like a used automobile salesman.
To be truthful, Helldivers’ cosmetics aren’t the standing symbols they’re in different video games, both. To this point, premium armor units are not any extra detailed or particular than the armor you will get without spending a dime—maybe a concession by the studio that signifies cosmetics aren’t a significant focus in the intervening time.
Nonetheless, there are issues to not like about Helldivers 2’s monetization scheme. As affordable as they’re, Tremendous Credit score bundles and retailer costs misalign sufficient that you will have to overspend on $5 value of credit to get a $3 merchandise when beginning at zero. Nothing new there, however perhaps the subsequent reside service “innovation” ought to be paying precisely what an merchandise prices. Like different video games, premium objects have timers and rotate to encourage you to log in each day (regardless of that earlier remark from the studio, Helldivers is not completely freed from FOMO).
Helldivers 2 is the kind of sport that may solely get higher the extra Arrowhead provides to it, and I am keen to pay for good expansions that do not make me rush to take pleasure in them.
