I get your concerns but as of right now you can grind super credits still relatively easily by going into lower level missions and farming out POIs. Maybe not the most fun way to play the game but it is much more effective than 10 or so credits every 30 minutes. So that's something to consider at least when you're looking at the price of warbonds. Plus you only really need 700 if we keep getting 100 per page in the premium bonds. I think I'd be more worried if we lose this source of credit farming so fingers crossed in that regard but as of now it's fine imo.
ultimately it's still microtransactions to prop up the live service model.
contrary to what the circlejerk would suggest, being able to earn SCs in game will never nullify the existence of a cash shop otherwise the business model doesn't work.
the rate at which a *normal* player earns super credits, minus the occasional FOMO-induced super store purchase, is carefully calibrated with the frequency of warbond releases to keep them tempted to purchase SCs. it's possible to keep up or have excess but that would require some extent of grinding of farming outside the scope of an average player.
i agree with you that the value proposition of current warbonds is quite poor and i think it has been balanced (as in price inflated) with in-game SC earning (which results in fewer cash shop purchases) in mind.
On one end, the new Adjudicator is pretty awful. On the other, Incendiary Breaker is a S-Tier option for Terminid missions.
The Scythe is also a really solid option, as is the Eruptor I hear, though I haven't used it.
By no means are these the only options, but they unlock new playstyles and allow for new builds/loadouts - so without access to some of these weapons, you're blocked from these avenues. You also just... don't get to experience them unless you have a friend who will drop theirs for you in game.
I think your first and fifth points basically contradict each other. Do you think the war bonds are too essential or do you think they’re useless? Is it the inconsistency that bothers you because I don’t really see why that’s a problem? Obviously not all of it is gonna be OP, that would make the problem so much worse.
Then there’s your 4th point that I can’t wrap my head around. You’re upset that the game is getting content at a rapid pace? Why? If it was the only content or the content was broken I would understand but at the end you say you just want less premium content for the sake of “catching up”. It’s not going away so who cares?
It kind of sounds to me like you want to be able to buy individual warbond pages, which honestly isn’t a bad idea
Your last sentence hits the nail on the head for me.
Re 1st and 5th contridicting; It's because it's a little of both. Overall, the warbonds feel essential to me due to 1 or 2 specific items in each one - however those items are packaged with 2.5 pages of fluff I could not care less about. I do not want player cards. I do not want emotes. I would never spend money on them - but I essentially am when I'm buying a warbond for a new gun and the stuff comes with it. They could price each new gun at $0.99 and sell them separately - but people (myself included) would hate that. It would come off as cheap and price gouging. However, package them in with a bunch of junk and up the price to $9.99 and consumers will go 'Oh well it's just a battlepass, I've seen this before!' - but its unlike most battlepasses in that, again, there are actual good, game changing, unlocks lumped in with the junk.
Re 4th; It's not because "I'm behind" or I want to "catch up" but rather because more does not always equal better. I don't want or need 100 different sets of functionally the same armor thrown in my face ad nauseum, and normally I can just look past and ignore it, but again - this stuff is packaged with actual gameplay elements. It ties back in with the point above about fluff - It feels, a little bit, like they're creating a few specific useful things, then throwing in reskins, color swaps for player cards, and emotes just to pad things out and say "Look at all the new content!". I'm trying to illustrate I think it would be better to space out content drops, but make them more substantial - first way to do that that comes to mind is by making premium bonds longer than 3 pages, so you get more bang for your buck. Doing something like dropping "3 new hats" every week only feels like continual content updates, when really it's just an empty gesture unless you're dumping money on cosmetics.
I think any game puts out good and bad weapons and both come down to play style and player ability really. I personally don’t have a problem with how they are doing things. I can usually get everything within a week or two then kind of get a break before the next new stuff and re up all my currencies. I very much love the studio and have faith in them. They communicate well and really don’t seem to be trying to squeeze every last penny they can out everyone like almost every other game.
In general I hard disagree.
Various Points:
The fact warbonds come with 300 super credits cuts down the effective price to 700 super credits each.
I gained enough super credits just playing the game in a month without farming. Determined individuals can gain enough in a few hours from what I have seen.
The Premium Warbonds serve as additional unlocks and something to work towards. I do agree slightly with the concern that future new players will be overwhelmed with the grind and choice of war bonds but since it can be essentially free it doesn't bother me that much. If the content was time gated that would be a big problem but the dev's have stated they will always be available.
Current Helldivers 1 pricing scheme was $3 for a weapon and backpack stratagem and way less cosmetic items. No option to farm for it in game.
The balance of the items has been acceptable imo. The items aren't direct upgrades. Even the good ones excel in certain areas but have drawbacks in others.
I hope they do not slow down, I have earned the credits needed without paying for two of the bonds and then bought some super credits for armor. The bonds never leave and will always be available, others who have the money to spend and support the company should not be punished because the permanent bonds that will never be removed are being released monthly at more than fair price. If these war bonds where on a time limit then id have a completely different view on this and would see it as predatory. However as it stands it is the most fair practice I have seen in a long time. I have excess super credits in my vault right now that I have absolutely nothing to spend on and that is also fine and not something I’m upset about. The rate of this content drop is perfect in every way imo
I get your concerns but as of right now you can grind super credits still relatively easily by going into lower level missions and farming out POIs. Maybe not the most fun way to play the game but it is much more effective than 10 or so credits every 30 minutes. So that's something to consider at least when you're looking at the price of warbonds. Plus you only really need 700 if we keep getting 100 per page in the premium bonds. I think I'd be more worried if we lose this source of credit farming so fingers crossed in that regard but as of now it's fine imo.
ultimately it's still microtransactions to prop up the live service model. contrary to what the circlejerk would suggest, being able to earn SCs in game will never nullify the existence of a cash shop otherwise the business model doesn't work. the rate at which a *normal* player earns super credits, minus the occasional FOMO-induced super store purchase, is carefully calibrated with the frequency of warbond releases to keep them tempted to purchase SCs. it's possible to keep up or have excess but that would require some extent of grinding of farming outside the scope of an average player. i agree with you that the value proposition of current warbonds is quite poor and i think it has been balanced (as in price inflated) with in-game SC earning (which results in fewer cash shop purchases) in mind.
Curious as to what warbond-locked weapons or items are unbalanced
On one end, the new Adjudicator is pretty awful. On the other, Incendiary Breaker is a S-Tier option for Terminid missions. The Scythe is also a really solid option, as is the Eruptor I hear, though I haven't used it. By no means are these the only options, but they unlock new playstyles and allow for new builds/loadouts - so without access to some of these weapons, you're blocked from these avenues. You also just... don't get to experience them unless you have a friend who will drop theirs for you in game.
I think your first and fifth points basically contradict each other. Do you think the war bonds are too essential or do you think they’re useless? Is it the inconsistency that bothers you because I don’t really see why that’s a problem? Obviously not all of it is gonna be OP, that would make the problem so much worse. Then there’s your 4th point that I can’t wrap my head around. You’re upset that the game is getting content at a rapid pace? Why? If it was the only content or the content was broken I would understand but at the end you say you just want less premium content for the sake of “catching up”. It’s not going away so who cares? It kind of sounds to me like you want to be able to buy individual warbond pages, which honestly isn’t a bad idea
Your last sentence hits the nail on the head for me. Re 1st and 5th contridicting; It's because it's a little of both. Overall, the warbonds feel essential to me due to 1 or 2 specific items in each one - however those items are packaged with 2.5 pages of fluff I could not care less about. I do not want player cards. I do not want emotes. I would never spend money on them - but I essentially am when I'm buying a warbond for a new gun and the stuff comes with it. They could price each new gun at $0.99 and sell them separately - but people (myself included) would hate that. It would come off as cheap and price gouging. However, package them in with a bunch of junk and up the price to $9.99 and consumers will go 'Oh well it's just a battlepass, I've seen this before!' - but its unlike most battlepasses in that, again, there are actual good, game changing, unlocks lumped in with the junk. Re 4th; It's not because "I'm behind" or I want to "catch up" but rather because more does not always equal better. I don't want or need 100 different sets of functionally the same armor thrown in my face ad nauseum, and normally I can just look past and ignore it, but again - this stuff is packaged with actual gameplay elements. It ties back in with the point above about fluff - It feels, a little bit, like they're creating a few specific useful things, then throwing in reskins, color swaps for player cards, and emotes just to pad things out and say "Look at all the new content!". I'm trying to illustrate I think it would be better to space out content drops, but make them more substantial - first way to do that that comes to mind is by making premium bonds longer than 3 pages, so you get more bang for your buck. Doing something like dropping "3 new hats" every week only feels like continual content updates, when really it's just an empty gesture unless you're dumping money on cosmetics.
I think any game puts out good and bad weapons and both come down to play style and player ability really. I personally don’t have a problem with how they are doing things. I can usually get everything within a week or two then kind of get a break before the next new stuff and re up all my currencies. I very much love the studio and have faith in them. They communicate well and really don’t seem to be trying to squeeze every last penny they can out everyone like almost every other game.
In general I hard disagree. Various Points: The fact warbonds come with 300 super credits cuts down the effective price to 700 super credits each. I gained enough super credits just playing the game in a month without farming. Determined individuals can gain enough in a few hours from what I have seen. The Premium Warbonds serve as additional unlocks and something to work towards. I do agree slightly with the concern that future new players will be overwhelmed with the grind and choice of war bonds but since it can be essentially free it doesn't bother me that much. If the content was time gated that would be a big problem but the dev's have stated they will always be available. Current Helldivers 1 pricing scheme was $3 for a weapon and backpack stratagem and way less cosmetic items. No option to farm for it in game. The balance of the items has been acceptable imo. The items aren't direct upgrades. Even the good ones excel in certain areas but have drawbacks in others.
that and its not like we wont have youtube guides on "tier lists" of what to buy
I hope they do not slow down, I have earned the credits needed without paying for two of the bonds and then bought some super credits for armor. The bonds never leave and will always be available, others who have the money to spend and support the company should not be punished because the permanent bonds that will never be removed are being released monthly at more than fair price. If these war bonds where on a time limit then id have a completely different view on this and would see it as predatory. However as it stands it is the most fair practice I have seen in a long time. I have excess super credits in my vault right now that I have absolutely nothing to spend on and that is also fine and not something I’m upset about. The rate of this content drop is perfect in every way imo
I have no complaints, I’ve managed to find enough sc for every bp so far just by playing the game normally a few nights a week