I'm critical with GaaS because they have a lot of crap that isn't present at all in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 fixed GaaS:
- You can play it single player: there's no main story and the game is better played in coop with random people or specially with friends, but it's ok to play it solo (the difficulty doesn't adapt to the number of players, so will be more challenging).
- No PvP or competitive stuff: everthing is coop and other players can only help you, so there's no frustration of PvP getting too dificult or needing to gring a ton to do something decent, or toxic players
- No FOMO: battle passes won't expire once new ones get released, they'll continue there so you can take your time to complete them
- No important content locked in premium battle pass: Premium battle pass isn't better or longer than the free one, its mostly cosmetics and weapons or armor with minor stats change. The best basic weapons and armor are in the free battle pass
- Important progression isn't tied to the battle pass: the important unlocks (stratagems and ship upgrades) aren't in the the battle pass, they are unlocked with a separate currency you can only unlocked by playing
- No Pay to win: there isn't competitive modes, and even in the missions all players get the same reward. Plus even in the battle passes there isn't a paid way to complete it faster
- No lootboxes and no content locked behind microtransactions: everything in the game including to get the battlepss can be unlocked by playing with currency you earn by playing the game
- No greedy pricing: In every mission or two missions you get enough currency to unlock some cool stuff, no need to grind to get cool unlocks
- Fun gameplay as retention or monetization hooks: you keep playing and playing because the game is very fun and rewarding, you go back to play because the game is fun to play, not because of the rewards or progression
Its predatory p2w garbage gaas.
Premium battlepass in this game offers actual weapons and armour sets. You have option to buy that with actual money.
It has long been established that only cosmetic items should be buyable in games like this. This is going backwards.
There's abosulutely nothing p2w in Helldivers 2.
First, there isn't competitive in the game, so there's nothing to 'win'. Even if you perform better than the other players you don't get a better reward or MVP: all players get the same.
By paying you can only gets cosmetics or the premium battle pass, which is shorter than the free one and only has cosmetics and weapons with worse stats that the ones included in the free battle pass. You don't need to pay real money for the premium battle pass: you can unlock by playing, you find the currency needed to get the paid battle pass as collectable exploring the game. Once you get the battle pass, its progress is only made by playing and completing missions: you can't pay real money to progress faster.
And the most important unlocks, the stratagems and ship upgrades aren't included in the battle passes: they are only unlocked by playing, you can't buy the currency needed to unlock them by paying real money.
Back in the day we would just call this a multiplayer game, not "GaaS" so that's how I regard it. GaaS element comes in with the monetization aspect which - for HD2 specifically - is a non-factor as the game is generous with the 'super credits' it gives out (for now) through natural play that then allow you to buy premium skins from the store, I already have half a dozen with zero inclination or desire to spend an additional red cent.
I understand you've become absurdly obsessed with this topic but a new thread a day is a touch excessive.
Game as a Service refers to the game being designed to have a long post launch support (often partly free, partly paid) of new content. No need to feature weird monetization, even often they have aggresive one. No need to be MP, even if they often are.
Helldivers 2 is a GaaS, but you can play it only solo and unlock all the content of the game without needing to pay any money, only supercredits and other currencies by playing the game normally.
Guilty_AI
you probably need to see this.
vaibhavpisal
,you get my pain! You see what I see! Finally someone who lives in reality!
www.neogaf.com
