As of today, Blizzard has given everyone the opportunity to enter the HoTS beta by literally buying their way in.

For the low, low price of $39.99, you can permanently unlock 3 heroes, 1 skin for said hero, a special in game mount, 2,500 gold (the free currency of the game, I assume), and....oh yeah, you can actually play the game. The game that's being marketed as free-to-play.

I feel like this needs some spotlight on it, because yes, Blizzard is one of the "cool" developers that everyone likes, but then this comes along, and it's my opinion that this is extremely underhanded. They're capitalizing on people's want to get in by selling a....beta?

Am I overreacting? If the demand is there, should Blizzard allowed to sell whatever they want? It'll eventually go free-to-play, that much is for sure, and I assume they'll still be handing out beta codes every so often, but selling them? What say you?

Plenty of Free To Play games have done this. Warframe did it, Marvel Heroes did it. It's not a new thing. It is weird that they just started selling it close to a year after the beta started though.

They are allowed to sell whatever they want, but that doesn't mean you have to buy it.

I feel like they can sell whatever they want. Isn't H1Z1 doing exactly the same thing by selling early access and a bundle of premium items?

It doesn't seem that crazy to me. If you don't feel like spending the money, just wait until the game is actually out.

As has been said, it's not a new concept. A lot of these Free to Play games charge an early access, selling Founder Packs and whatnot. It only just went into Beta though (it was a 'Technical Alpha' before)

For my 2 cents I'm really enjoying it. As a palette cleanse brawler it succeeds. It has certainly got the highly polished Blizzard sheen to the edges. But it is certainly not $39.99 worth of entertainment yet. You unlock chracters at a pretty steady clip with the free currency, and the fact you might not actually like the unlocked characters, it's a bad value proposition.

I feel like the "If you don't like it, don't buy it" counterargument is weak, because it doesn't address my points, it merely downplays them.

The main beef I have with this is that they're selling an unfinished product and you're paying them to be a bug tester, basically (isn't that what betas are for?). Public free betas to stress test servers are one thing (and still kinda weird), but buying your way in? That seems really lame, no matter if it's Warframe, H1Z1, DayZ, or *insert Early Access title here*.

Well the argument is that you also get a bunch of stuff in the game that would (generally, not true in this case) cost more to buy separately than the "Founders Pack" did.

Early Access is a different thing because that game will cost money when it comes out, and you will get the finished product as well as the beta.

Yeah, I'd have actually considered it if they just gave you pick of a few heroes or more currency to buy whoever you wanted. The three on offer here seem like three of the least interesting. If Uther or Raynor or Jaina was in there I'd have probably bought into it since I've been on the outside looking in on this game for a while.

Raynor is in the pack.

Am I the only one that saw the game in they're games list and got super excited and thought they got beta access? But then saw the price tag and got sad.

I got access to the game a month or so ago and still have not played it. To much time on Hearthstone and finally getting around to playing The Witcher 2

Oh whoops, sorry, not that familiar with Starcraft, I meant the other dude with the armor, Tychus. That dude gets a fucking giant mech suit for an ultimate.

They gave out keys to random battlenet accounts during Hearthstone beta and those keys ended up getting sold for rediculous amounts of money, so i guess they're trying a different approach now. My preferred choice would be if you could opt in for the beta and blizzard would lock the game to eligible accounts immedialy for free.

Yeah this is definitely disgusting, but the bigger issue is that stupid people will actually pay for it.

As someone who is not a twitch streamer or a youtuber (who are usually the first priority to receive keys). there have been plenty of times where i've wished i had the option to pay something to get access to certain games. for me it depends on the game and how it will cost. its better than just missing out altogether. i wouldnt pay $40 for this game though as i'm not really a fan of it. if someone wants to pay some money to play a game they're really excited about, then good for them.

blizzard are either pretty good with giving out access or i've had a lot of luck. i remember getting beta access to diablo 3 and the heroes of the storm alpha very early in. i badly wanted to play hearthstone so i paid someone $15 for a key and got hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of it. which is much more than some AAA games I've paid full price for. Too each their own.

This is nothing new really, and it isn't anything make as if it is a scandal.

You are not entitled to free access to a game in beta, Blizzard is not required to provide you access for free. You in turn are not required to buy in to an unfinished product. However, Blizzard is entitled to sell access that comes with perks that will exist beyond the beta to whomever they wish, and consenting individuals may purchase it as they please. No one is getting robbed here, and no one is making it out to be anymore than it is.

I would love beta access myself, but I think it is too steep a price to pay for it. I don't however hold any sort of ill will who see it as a reasonable value and are willing to pay for it. For some reason despite opting in for every beta, owning every blizzard game they've sold and many of them being collectors editions, I've never once got a beta invite from Blizzard. Oh well, I'll wait for release.

Too many people think when they see "free to play" that it means the developer isn't allowed to charge for anything. You may disagree with the model, but that's how it works.

This topic made me go back and check to see if I had beta access after forgetting about it for what feels like months. Turns out I do. So, thanks, @likeassur! Now I need to re-summon the desire to actually play this game.

I'm fine with this practice for games that cost money, but charging money for early access to a free to play game just feels wrong to me. The whole point of your business model is that access to your game is free, but you're trying to get money from people to buy a bunch of small shit that will (over time) add up to an OK amount of revenue. Just charging $40 up front and they'll throw in a handful of unlocks is bullshit.

More accurately, the part where they're pretending you're paying for a "founder's pack" is the shitty part. Fuck off, if anyone buys this it's because they're impatient and just want to play the game. If they were honest and just said "pay $40 to play the game before release", I'd actually have more respect for them. I mean, it seems like a sad, desperate business move either way, but at least they'd be more honest.

Remember when you had to pay Blizzard $20 to get into the Hearthstone beta and they'd throw in 3 packs of cards? Oh wait, that never happened, because they weren't desperately trying to earn an extra bit of cash at the cost of player good will.

@bisonhero: How is this costing player goodwill exactly? Aside froma handful of people reacting irrationally, I don't see how this is a big deal?

LoL, DotA, Smite, etc, all sell skins for real money, the pack comes with 3. It comes with 3 champions, of which LoL and Smite, and the majority of MOBA's offer for purchase for real money. It also comes with currency, whether this is real money currency, or currency earned through play I don't know, but it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. The only thing that is odd is the mount, but then other MOBA's don't feature mounts. All of this stuff will carry over to launch, and people who have beta access could themselves buy the pack to gain the benefits.

And if someone is impatient and wants access to the beta now, what is wrong with that? Blizzard doesn't need the extra stress on the server, they have enough playtesters, but they open the door to those who are willing to put money down, so what? Is the crux of the issue that you want to play it now, but don't want to pay?

For several(?) years you could buy yourself into the Dota 2 beta. This is hardly neither a new nor evil concept.

See also all early access games on steam, that sell access. Sometimes for a smaller price than the eventual release price.

That being said - 40 bucks sounds steep for 3 heroes.

I will probably end up buying my way in to the game. I'm too curious to wait and, whatever, it's $39.99 for a game I will probably play a lot. I can't even get outraged about it. It will still be a free-to-play game for those who are willing to wait.

Hmmm pay for beta access. Let me think about it.... Fuck that

It's all about demand, and apparently demand is high.

I wouldn't do it, but as long as they're up front about what you're buying (which they seem to be) I have a hard time begrudging anyone involved.

That word is used so much on this site, and how are the people buying it stupid? If they want it why shouldn't they be able to pay for it exactly?

I got access to the alpha but if i didn't i would definitely buy this because i know the amount of content this $40 provides is insane.

Valve have done the same thing with Dota 2. Ironically, i have a free access to this 40$ beta and never tried it.

i got access during the alpha but i really couldn't get into the game out of all the mobas installed on my laptop this one gets the least playtime

I bought the beta for ArchAge and while the beta itself was great as it was closest to the Korean version, they changed a lot for the worse when it went live. Also did it for Elite Dangerous but more so to support them and have seen what they have on their roadmap.

I don't like buying betas for ftp games. It seems like a scam. That said I've played Hero's at a friends house a while ago and it seemed like the most pointless and simple version of either of the more complex MOBAs. I'm sure its changed since then but I'd be weary

this doesn't seem egregious.

aren't they essentially just selling in-game items? i mean- it's a little weird that access to these items is simultaneously being paid for (in other words, you're potentially buying digital goods sight-unseen)

but isn't that the case with star citizen as well?

frankly i'd be more disappointed with consumers for buying-in than blizzard selling-out. companies sell bullshit all the time- the choice is yours whether or not to buy it.

ps- pro tip: i requested beta access over the holidays, i got it 2 weeks ago. didn't pay a dime. request access and be patient- or pay for instant-gratification. GROUNDBREAKING STUFF.

I'd love to try it out but I'm not paying that much for a beta of a free to play game that I might not like.

The bigger news to me is that they are doing the LoL thing of paying for heroes instead of the DOTA thing of having them all free and playable up front. I didn't know that and I'm pretty disappointed now that I do.

@mrwakka said:

My issue is that F2P games already have a bunch of paywalls designed into their structure. You go into them knowing there is already going to be some bullshit where you either have to grind something out that is going to take months and months, or pay them money to get it immediately. That proposition is fine, because it balances out the part where they're offering access to the game client and a small number of characters for free. But the whole thing falls apart for me when they're also asking for money to access the game client.

If they don't need the extra stress on the server because they don't want to go into open beta yet, then that's fine, don't allow people to pay their way into the beta. On principle, I'm against the idea of selling people access to a game that the devs themselves think is still in a rough state and is a beta at best.

I bought it. dont regret it at all. $40 for a game im going to get this many hours out of is nothing. Ive spent over $60 in hearthstone even though I got in free.

My issue with this is that I have no way of knowing the value of the 2,500 gold. Is that enough for one character? Two? More? How much gold do you earn for a win? Or a loss?

Yup, this is essentially a pack you could buy in the game. So they are just making you buy it up front and also giving you access to the game. I don't really see a problem with it. I mean, it is by no means my favorite way of granting Beta access, but it does not seem particularly dirty.

It's hard to blame Blizzard in this case because A) Other companies, games have done the exact same thing and B) There's a viable audience, some people will totally pay for this

I just can't see it as exploitative when this is the basic nature of the free to play market

Honestly this is probably a part of price experimentation for their game more than anything else

I'm not a huge fan of betas, but I went ahead and purchased the founder pack. $40 seems reasonable based on the prices of things. I kind of regret it, because I get constant random performance hitches and it plays like there's really bad lag or packet dropping. Posting this because the founders pack doesn't mean that the game is perfectly stable. If you're thinking about paying $40, just be aware that it might not be a great experience for you. That beings said, it seems like an ok game so far. The lack items makes the game very snowbally and it's difficult to come back from a few bad plays... but that's probably a discussion for another thread.

You are overreacting.

Tons of Free to play games have done this while in alpha/beta(Including DOTA 2). A lot of people don't understand that no one is guaranteed access to games in these states. It sucks when you don't get a key, but it's not the end of the world. They throw this option in for people who want to put their money where their mouth is. If you don't like the price, don't pay it. The game will be out someday for free.

This is really for the people who area really into MOBAs and really into Blizzard games. You are pretty much paying exclusively for the early access. So if waiting two months is not really your sort of thing, and you know you're gonna be playing this, this might be a purchase. Otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.

The other in-game bundles for a similar price offer you 8 heroes, 4 skins and 2 mounts for 40 euro (which by the miracle of Blizzard calculation is probably like 40 bucks in the US). So my advice is: if you can, wait for the open beta and spend your money then, you'll get a much better deal.

2,500 gold is really little. Characters cost 2k, 4k, 7k or 10k. So you are getting enough money to buy a character that you might not even want to buy (not to say that gold price equals quality).

When it comes to earning gold it looks like the following:

-you earn 20 gold for a loss and 30 gold for a win in competitive mode (10 gold less for players vs bots)

-you earn a one time bonus of 1000 gold for reaching player levels 2 and 4, and 2000 gold for reaching levels 8 and 10 (reaching level 10 took me like two weeks of a few daily games)

-you earn a one time per hero bonus of 500 gold for reaching level 5 with a hero (this amounts to like 4-5 games which last 20-30 minutes)

-you can earn gold from daily quests (similar to Hearthstone): 200, 300 or 600

These numbers probably don't mean that much without context. In practice I felt that they were balanced properly. The one time player level bonuses are very nice since they let you buy a few good characters to keep you going. The character bonuses are also well thought since they give you an incentive to try new characters from the free rotation (5 to 7 are available, you earn more hero rotation slots for earning player level). Overall, When I was playing (I've been on like a monthly hiatus) I was earning maybe like 3000 gold a week and averaging 3-5 matches a day. The daily quests work similarly to Hearthstone and they stack up to three, so you can play like an evening every few days to catch up on your gold.

Overall I think the character pricing is satisfactory. I find it takes a similar amount of time to buy heroes to LoL, maybe slightly faster, also there are less characters so there is a good chance that even though you don'town a hero, you'll be able to play them pretty decently when they are on the free rotation.