Dragon’s Dogma 2 is currently under a lot of scrutiny, as it launched with an onslaught of microtransactions for a title that is otherwise mostly a single-player game. While there have been some reasonable criticisms over it, there has also been quite a lot of misinformation, with many claiming that Capcom is locking gameplay mechanics behind those microtransactions. Let’s clear the air of that.
You Can Buy Character Editing Items, Resources, and Fast Travel Mechanics, But None of These Are Locked Behind Paying
Dragon’s Dogma 2 has officially launched, though not without problems. The PC and console versions all appear to be suffering from performance issues and several other technical issues, though what has recently blown up across social platforms is the fact that Capcom has without warning, released a large collection of microtransactions for the game.
Understandably, players aren’t happy, with many online reviewers even admitting to feeling blindsided by Capcom’s action despite the publisher actually telling us of their microtransaction plans well ahead of release. I mentioned this in my review of Dragon’s Dogma 2, and I wasn’t happy about seeing them do it, though, in the end, it didn’t play much of a role in my experience with the game, disabled or not. I’ll talk more about this later, as I agree with the majority that this is one of the dumbest things to see in a single-player game.
First, I wanted to talk about the misinformation spreading about these sold items and the fact that Capcom greedily locked gameplay mechanics behind the microtransactions. This is untrue, as everything you can buy is earnable in-game.
This isn’t just the case of what some GaaS (Games as a Service) titles do, where things are earnable, but it’s purposely made to be a grind. No, within the first few hours of the game, Rift Crystals, camping kits, Wake Stones, and even the character editors can all be earned with little to no effort in a short time. Some items are limited in numbers per playthrough, like those character editors, and some rare traversal items, like the Portcrystals, but they are completely free and in the game. You can get about three of them fairly early, too, by completing a few questlines. But before that, fast traveling did exist via Ox cart: granted, they can be interrupted if an enemy attacks them during travel, but they do function as fast travel if that doesn’t happen, and that’s meant to be used in the early portions of the game, with the capital having a free dedicated PortCrystal, with one other far area, and the rest unlocking later in the story progression, and of course the quantity versions of them that can be found.
Don’t get me wrong, Capcom selling Portcrystal, one of the rarest items in the game, is scummy (again, I’ll talk more on this later), but it doesn’t lock fast travel behind a paywall. It’s (the fast traveling system), in my opinion, a poor design choice, something carried forward from the last games, much like the single save system, but none of that is being locked by a paywall.
Granted, the director did say they disliked fast travel and all they had to do it make it fun, only for Capcom to sell the items to make it more accessible, which is absolute bonkers.
Everyone is taking the word of a few user reviews as fact when the reality is that things are being blown out of proportion to how they are in-game.
In some ways, the microtransactions remind me of how players called Helldivers 2 a pay-to-win experience. Yeah, that’s a GaaS title, so microtransactions are expected, but because players saw weapons and such included in the War Bonds, they assumed that it was a pay-to-win experience (despite no PvP). The microtransactions, which revolved around currency, were solely for unlocking the War Bond earlier instead of grinding for resources, but the work to unlock those weapons still had to be put in.
The microtransactions in Dragon’s Dogma 2 are solely for unlocking things earlier than intended. Granted, this doesn’t excuse them in any way, which does bring us to the real problem. Why are they even in the game to begin with?
Capcom Has a Massive Microtransaction Problem That Needs to Stop
I understand that making these video games costs a lot, and publishers will always look for any means to recoup and make extra money. I get that; it’s the way of business, and anyone following Capcom knows they have been doing this for a long time. The first Dragon’s Dogma and even Dark Arisen had loads of them (no more), and those came out over 12 years ago.
Since then, Capcom has been adding microtransactions into their single-player games. Some of the Devil May Cry games had them, some of the Resident Evil games had them, and any online game by Capcom has them. Heck, even Mega Man X Remake for the iOS had them. For the publisher, this has already become their norm a long time ago.
I’m not saying we should roll over and accept it, but the reality is that those saying that they are doing this for Dragon’s Dogma 2 and thinking it will become normal have already ignored that it has become normal.
The weird thing is that most of these single-player games from Capcom that have microtransactions are pretty “invaluable,” as the items themselves aren’t even that big of a thing. Look at Mega Man X for iOS and what was offered for sale.
Outside the BGM pack, none of these are locked behind paying, and anyone who has played this game knows just how easy these are all to get.
Let’s look at some of their other games.
There’s some stuff in there, like the costumes, but most of these are completely free and take no time to earn.
This normalization people are worried about Capcom doing has been normal for a very long time now.
But here’s the problem: why do any of these even exist in the first place? It’s one thing if your game is super grindy, but in most of these cases, all of this stuff is easy to come by. It’s the same for Dragon’s Dogma 2, which is why I’m not bothered that you can pay and buy these things, as they’re just thrown to you. I’m bothered by the fact that Capcom would take something with so much insignificance and try to put a price value on it, making it seem like they’re more valuable than they are.
It’s like me going outside, picking some dirt from my driveway, and selling it off. Who in the right mind would pay for something like that? There are probably people out there, but you can see how ridiculously dumb that is, that it’s almost exploitive.
They could have really locked stuff, like exclusive costumes and gear, behind a paywall, something we’ve seen with Street Fighter 6, so this is better than the alternative, but at the end of the day, I just can’t see a reason why they would even do this. There’s almost no time saved with the microtransactions in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and they add way less value to the game than they’re worth; in a few hours, you’ll have earned more than most of what you get from those packs, only to find out how little you’ll end up using them.
What’s the point, Capcom? I’m right there with players who say they have no place in these games. This is almost like selling cheat codes that give you more resources, and it’s dumb. I’m not saying to come up with something else (that’ll likely be garbage); don’t do it. The backlash, user reviews, and refund rate clearly show that this isn’t done for anyone. I can’t tell you if this will be a massive hit on sales, but I can say this isn’t doing the game any favor.
Gamers are tired of seeing this stuff in their single-player games; no matter how optional they are and how redundant these games end up making them, they have no place in these games to begin with.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is still a fantastic game, and I don’t think the number of microtransactions that came out suddenly changed that. I played through it without them, and I don’t see why I would ever need to purchase them now. Everything offered is right there in the game, and they’re not even saving you that much time. Take the prison key.
Imagine spending money on a key to escape the prison in Dragon’s Dogma 2 when there’s a wall that you can punch in your cell and leave the prison in less than 10 seconds. That’s not a joke; Capcom is selling a prison key so you can break out of prison and take longer to do it versus the alternative.
I’m not saying make this microtransaction worthwhile because, again, don’t do it. But the publisher’s greed is obvious, as they hope to reel uneducated players into buying these things.
They think their markets of players don’t see through it, but we do, and we’re getting tired of seeing it.
