As the contract with Blizzard to keep World of Warcraft going was not renewed in China, Tencent developed a cross-platform MMORPG for both PC and mobile, with the goal of recapturing MMO audiences. However, the game already broke promises during its closed beta.
Tarisland launched its Closed Beta on November 15, running for two weeks. It's fair to say the game is fun to play and gives off vibes reminiscent of a simplified version of World of Warcraft. For instance, players feel that the Ranger class is akin to WoW's Hunter.
Each class offers 6 skills and the opportunity to specialize in two distinct builds. Nevertheless, the MMO has its unique characteristics and visually it also looks pretty nice.
However, players encountered an unpleasant surprise during the beta, regarding the No-Pay-to-Win promise that was previously given by the developers... 🤡
Tencent's Tarisland Beta Breaks Promise: Pay2Win Mechanics Unveiled
Sure, one could cynically claim they saw it coming when mobile games and Tencent are mentioned together. However, due to the marketing for Tarisland, the Pay2Win mechanics already appearing in the beta caught us off-guard.
They emphasized their commitment to avoiding Pay2Win in developer interviews, YouTube trailers and across social channels.
While the initial announcement grabbed attention, the game is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons, with negative publicity outweighing the positive feelings people had for the game. It's a shame, because, as mentioned earlier, the game is actually really enjoyable.
When it comes tothe Pay2Win in Tarisland, it's important to know that you can't directly buy gold, but there are indirect methods to get stronger. Players can purchase crystals (an in-game currency) with real money, allowing them to gain distinct advantages such as stronger stats and gear. Additionally, there's a CBT Benefit Card that can be bought with real money and then sold for in-game gold.
Even on Discord, where the community raised concerns, the developers addressed the criticism, but it sounded more like an excuse. They claimed to have a different understanding of Pay2Win and even deleted the non-pay-to-win promise from their Twitter posts.
If you're interested in the exact wording of the Discord announcement, you can read it here:
Dear AdventurersThank you all for all feedback on the 2nd CBT. We have noticed an increasing number of discussions in the community regarding the topic of P2W, and we sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused. We have seen many games that offer a poor gaming experience to players due to the sale of equipment and items in their official stores that affect character stats or game balance. As a result, we aim to create a fair MMORPG and have decided not to sell such items in our official store, considering this model as non-P2W. Through this test, we have discovered that our understanding differs from the community's perspective, and we will be more cautious in our future descriptions of monetization. Our initial intention in designing this monetization model was to provide players with a smoother growth experience and establish a healthy in-game ecosystem. [..]At the same time, we have restricted player-to-player trading to minimize the proliferation of offline transactions and player losses caused by gold farming studios and bots. Our goal is to provide players with a fair gaming experience and a secure trading environment. [..]
So, the MMO was marketed as fair, but it offers leaderboards and first clears (indicating which raid group first completes a newly released raid), where those who spend money obviously will have an advantage. If Tarisland keeps these mechanics upon official release, it will certainly not provide a fair experience and probably anger a significant amount of its potential player base.