How do you feel about Random Loot Purchases?

It's gambling.

Not a big fan. I don't mind them being there as long as there is an in game currency to access the same loot.

Feels ok in games like TF2 and Dota 2 where the game is free but you can pay money to unlock random cosmetic items that you can also get during gameplay. The implementation in games like Mass Effect 3 and Gears of War: Judgment make me feel sick and hate the industry.

If you're using in game currency I don't mind it and in fact kind of like it. As soon as it involves real money I need to know exactly what I am getting.

@jay_ray said:

This.

@jay_ray said:

@expensiveham said:

Pretty much exactly what I was going to post as far as examples go.

Nailed it!

I actually kind of enjoy the random loot aspect provided it's in-game currency and not my own money. I actually thought the ME loot boxes were pretty awesome, though they've got way better by offering you boxes that have one thing or the other (if you want characters, or guns, or gear). I could do that again in some game.

Paying 2.49 for it though? No, I'll pay 2.49 to get the exact thing I want.

It's no different than buying a pack of baseball cards, or even subscribing to a service like Loot Crate. Sometimes you get what you want, other times you'll be a little disappointed.

I hate them in things like Mass Effect, but in an entirely free to play game like DOTA 2 where they aren't even anything that ever impacts gameplay and are absolutely just cosmeteic, I'm totally fine with it. In fact, I have bought a number of things, including keys to crates, in DOTA 2 just because I felt it was worth kicking a few bucks in after all the free fun Valve gave me.

I also often buy the little totems that give you and everyone playing on the map with or against you "bonus battle points". For one thing, it's another way for me to pay for my enjoyment, but it also is a nice little way to get people on your side. I did this almost from the very first game I played of DOTA 2. It is my first MOBA and while I read as much as I could as to how to play, I knew it would take forever for me to become adequate. When the game starts, a big glowy thing pops up over the head of every person on the server and a message that "Branthog grants everyone a 15% battle point bonus this game!", it quickly sways the room to be kinder to you when they see you fumbling or being dumb. :)

@branthog: Why do you hate it in ME3, when you are happy to use real money in other games? I never spent any real money on ME3 multiplayer and have some of the best weapons.

Also ME3 had a similar multiplayer environment where, people doing gold runs would only play with people who had the best weapons and voice chat, as all players had to play their part at a high ability level.

If you are making the point that ME3 multiplayer is part of a $60 package, then I think you are forgetting that there is a huge single player component and vast multiplayer attached to that price and that you do not need to spend real money on top of that to experience either.

@expensiveham: I never put a penny into the ME3 multiplayer, and saw the random loot crates as a mechanic. Maybe it is because I had played games like Diablo 2 and Torchlight and enjoyed the aspect of grinding to get gear. Saving my points from runs to buy the most expensive crates. Just saying it makes you fell sick is a little unfair as ME3 has a huge single player experience, GoW:Judgement I cannot comment on though.

@vivek: Mass Effect 3 is not as bad as other games as you get crates quite often and you do not get the impression that they made them super rare in order to lure you into buying them. I still do not think microtransactions belong in a 60$ game and i don't think they should ever improve your character.

As long as you earn them through in game currency, I actually like the feeling of taking a risk and seeing what you get. I find trying to fit a strategy around what happen to get more fun than just going straight to the few things that you know want, and rarely straying from those things.

I don't play trash like that.

Another vote for this response's correctness.

I think surprises are fun

@vivek: I dunno, I liked the gear crates in ME3 up until I maxed out my manifest with all the rares. After that it got really tedious trying to get ultra rares. Spending a couple of hours in a multiplayer session and spending 1-2 million credits on crates and getting nothing is fucking depressing. Fucking RNG.

The conditions people maxing out their ultra rares is all over the place to, some people have spent shit tons of time playing matches and might have only half of their UR's maxed while others will get lucky and max em out in half as much time as the other guy.

Mass Effect 3 is scummy for being a retail game but you would have to be dumb enough to buy them in the first place. Non cosmetic microtransactions are almost universally terrible; doesn't really matter if it's random or not but the stupidity on the part of the player is likely higher if they're buying something random as opposed to something not random.

Edit: If you're talking about solely ingame currency then there's nothing wrong with it; Gambling is fantastic in Diablo 2 and Torchlight for example.

Flashbacks to TF2 hat-trading days.

No... no.. never again..

i dislike them but i dont know dude im not very fond of slot machines or the lotto either and get kind of weirded out seeing human beings acting like rats pushing buttons to drop random pellets.

If the game implements them in a good way, I don't care.

I feel like it could be OK in games like Mass Effect 3 and Gears of War: Judgement if they let you trade your items with others. At least then if you shell out a bunch of money for some rare item that you don't want, you might still be able to get something that you do want out of the deal. That's how Magic: The Gathering cards have always worked and I actually enjoy the randomness-for-real-money there.

I used to love stuff like this when I was a kid, hockey cards, magic cards, but now that it's in videogames it pisses me off for some reason.

It was fine in ME3.

I don't think I've played any other games with a similar system.

Basically how I feel about it.

I'm generally fine if they're purchased with in-game currency, but when games let you buy them with real-world money, I'm completely against it. If you get bad drops, you've essentially paid for nothing, if you get good drops and it's a multiplayer game then you get an advantage over other players just because you were willing to pour more cash into the game. I'm not a fan of either of these things.

STOUT SHAKO 2 REFINED!

As for my opinion, as long as there is a trading system implemented (Basically just TF2 and DOTA for now), then I'm fine with it. Because even a crappy loot drop can be turned into something you want, they're even starting to let you sell stuff for Gabe Fun Bucks.

I'd never part with my beloved Stout Shako for such a meagre sum. I painted it yellow and also wear the Summer Shades so it look likes the hat has sunglasses fitted onto it oh man it's so sweet.

I don't play games that use this system, so I have no opinion on it.

I'm fine with it. It brings back that same feeling of opening a pack of trading cards and hoping for the best. When you get something good it felt great. Although, I really don't have any games outside of TF2 that I play that do this. Although I did pay $10 for a hat in TF2 once...

@maskedarcstrike: I agree, I had to put a lot of hours in getting the best weapons and then upgrading them to level X's. But I also found that due to the content added to the multiplayer, with new weapons becoming available and new characters added, that there was always something new to be saving up for.

I don't like it. If it's a microtransaction thing, then I just see it as a way to get more money out of people, and if it's an in game money thing, then I just see it as a money sink.

Either way, if I'm getting something, regardless of if I'm using real currency or not, I want to know what I'm getting. Having it as an option, but still allowing people to purchase what they want (at a higher price, let's say) would be a good middle ground that I would be okay with.

As it is though, things like that just push me away from games that have them. Or at least the part of the game that has them. I played Mass Effect 3 online just long enough to get the Achievements you can only get in multi-player (which I accomplished in a day), and I never touched it since.

I thought the way Mass Effect 3 did purchases was bonkers. I can't figure out why people would pay for a chance to get something they already picked up or are not interested in?

The thing that really irritated me was that not only was it random whether you got a certain weapon, but upgrading it was just as random. If you'd gotten a certain weapon to level 4 or whatever, it's very rare that a new weapon is going to be more desirable than just upgrading the one you have. Very annoying.

But yeah. Mass Effect 3 is the only real experience I have of this. Honestly I think you make a reasonable case for it in the opening post (ignoring the real money aspect), but I'm still not sure I can get behind it. I know this is really an argument that is particular to me (or at least, not to everyone) but one of the main sources of enjoyment I get from games is working towards specific targets - enough gold for that badass sword, or enough xp to be able to use it or whatever. As soon as it is randomised...well I suppose that hook is still there to an extent, in that you are trying to get enough for the pack that drops rare items, but it's been stretched filament thin and doesn't really catch me anymore.

If I'm spending real money on something I would like to know what I'm purchasing. Game companies should be more transparent on the probabilities of receiving a particular tier of item or they should not be random at all.

It depends on the situation, sure. In the case of TCGs, where it's possible to pick up card packs without paying, it's totally fine... you know what, I suppose anything that doesn't effect the balance of the game, "pay-to-win," I suppose I don't have a problem with it.

If I'm at the point where I'm throwing real life money in a game for a weapon or something, I better be getting exactly the weapon I want.