The Darkness Mystery Box

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

Is it some fetish some PoE players have that they want to look forward for new content? i mean ive played lots of games and never have ive seen "sorry you have to wait to enjoy our new content" I mean its obviously to milk money of the players.

I mean if they need money that badly why not just add wings to shop at a higher price then usualy when the league is on would still be cheaper then 200-400$ for sure. they would still make decent profit and supporters wont have to feel ripped of by this greed.

Coming up with clever ways to trick & manipulate players for the reason earn more money for development by take advantage of players gambling is just wrong.

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Iflon wrote:

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

Is it some fetish some PoE players have that they want to look forward for new content? i mean ive played lots of games and never have ive seen "sorry you have to wait to enjoy our new content" I mean its obviously to milk money of the players.

I mean if they need money that badly why not just add wings to shop at a higher price then usualy when the league is on would still be cheaper then 200-400$ for sure. they earn more and supporters wont have to feel ripped of by this greed.

Coming up with clever ways to trick & manipulate players for the reason earn more money for development by take advantage of players gambling is just wrong.

My wife left me.

$90 of boxes :

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Iflon wrote:

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

because they have made a free to play game that is amazing, they work tirelessly to keep it going and essentially they owe it to us, the players, who have invested time into this game and care about what we have in game to keep the game alive and the servers funded.

No one has to buy this stuff, its all coming for a set price later. Its fun, I think the weighting is too harsh too, but the idea of the boxes is fun and a lot of people enjoy them responsibly and irresponsibly, most people who buy them are all in all happy with the system.

You live in a world where every other product you buy is trying to manipulate you through hijacking your sex drive or your sense of self worth. Look in any magazine, news paper, turn on your tv, look at a bilboard, you are being manipulated endlessly. GGG are a far more ethical company than most, theyre not trying to trick anyone. We know the deal with the mystery boxes, they know we know, and they know we will indulge them a little because its fun and we love them, we want them to be able to pay their staff and keep the game running.

People need to take responsiblity for their actions and have some control, I dont know why anyone would try and blame their lack of self control on a free to play game offering cosmetic micro transactions. The smoke wings are horrible anyway, if youve seen them in town theyre stupidly big to the point where theyre just a graphical hazard to wear that blots out a massive chunk of the screen and looks ridiculous.



I do think there should be more weighting against duplicates, at least within theirs of rarity of the items inside.

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Aim_Deep wrote:

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cipher_nemo wrote:

The box mechanic is gambling, pure and simple. Gambling with real money, regardless of converting that money to "points", is outlawed in some parts of the world. But the real problem here is ethics, not law. GGG, show your customers some respect and either 1.) change the RNG of opening a box to add weight to items the player currently does not have, or 2.) just get rid of them and sell the items directly.

Many F2P games have tried this mechanic to prey on those who have gambling issues and thus do not, and can not "purchase them responsibly". Just look at the posters in this thread who spent $100s of USD on these boxes. GGG, you're abusing them for a profit.

I've only purchased two boxes for fun, because I do not have issues with gambling. So I don't have any vested interest in trying to change or do away with boxes. I'm just chiming in as another person who sees right through this gambling scam.

GGG, let's come clean and do something about these boxes. Please respect your paying customers.

You're not much into free will are you?

Free will, of course. But I also realize that some people are wired differently and have very real gambling and addiction problems. For those people, their freedom to make a choice isn't the same freedom you and I might enjoy. Of course we shouldn't punish those of us who have less restricted, internal free will for the sins of the those who suffer with gambling issues, which is why I proposed changing the RNG mechanic of the boxes to add weight to items that the player already has to avoid duplicates. Even those of us who do purchase these boxes responsibly should be able to agree in getting less duplicates, right?

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Snorkle_uk wrote:

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Iflon wrote:

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

because they have made a free to play game that is amazing, they work tirelessly to keep it going and essentially they owe it to us, the players, who have invested time into this game and care about what we have in game to keep the game alive and the servers funded.

No one has to buy this stuff, its all coming for a set price later. Its fun, I think the weighting is too harsh too, but the idea of the boxes is fun and a lot of people enjoy them responsibly and irresponsibly, most people who buy them are all in all happy with the system.

You live in a world where every other product you buy is trying to manipulate you through hijacking your sex drive or your sense of self worth. Look in any magazine, news paper, turn on your tv, look at a bilboard, you are being manipulated endlessly. GGG are a far more ethical company than most, theyre not trying to trick anyone. We know the deal with the mystery boxes, they know we know, and they know we will indulge them a little because its fun and we love them, we want them to be able to pay their staff and keep the game running.

People need to take responsiblity for their actions and have some control, I dont know why anyone would try and blame their lack of self control on a free to play game offering cosmetic micro transactions. The smoke wings are horrible anyway, if youve seen them in town theyre stupidly big to the point where theyre just a graphical hazard to wear that blots out a massive chunk of the screen and looks ridiculous.



I do think there should be more weighting against duplicates, at least within theirs of rarity of the items inside.

While I agree that Grinding Gear is one of the most ethical, fair and honest development studios I've ever encountered, there is nothing ethical about the mystery boxes.

It doesn't matter how you twist or turn it. Bottom line is that it's tricking you into spending more than you otherwise would, and the more you spend, the worse you end up, in both value for your money spent, and the sheer feeling of having "flushed hundreds of dollars down the toilet" which obviously isn't true, but it sure does feel this way when you realize what it's for.

You're supporting the game and the studio by doing it, yes, but you could have done that through other, much more ethical means. Like Supporter Packs, or just buying items from the shop. By buying boxes, and oh boy am I guilty of this, you also support the future boxes, which brings me back to my main point. There is nothing ethical about them.

I've sent my concerns in full detail to support, and they have passed it on, so I can only hope those who read it will understand where I'm coming from.

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Xavathos wrote:

While I agree that Grinding Gear is one of the most ethical, fair and honest development studios I've ever encountered, there is nothing ethical about the mystery boxes.

Agreed.

I'd add to that stash tabs, premium tabs (including the trading functionality), and currency tabs.

But for sure, micro-transaction boxes with RNGed content is far worse than the tab situation.

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Snorkle_uk wrote:

"

Iflon wrote:

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

because they have made a free to play game that is amazing, they work tirelessly to keep it going and essentially they owe it to us, the players, who have invested time into this game and care about what we have in game to keep the game alive and the servers funded.

No one has to buy this stuff, its all coming for a set price later. Its fun, I think the weighting is too harsh too, but the idea of the boxes is fun and a lot of people enjoy them responsibly and irresponsibly, most people who buy them are all in all happy with the system.

You live in a world where every other product you buy is trying to manipulate you through hijacking your sex drive or your sense of self worth. Look in any magazine, news paper, turn on your tv, look at a bilboard, you are being manipulated endlessly. GGG are a far more ethical company than most, theyre not trying to trick anyone. We know the deal with the mystery boxes, they know we know, and they know we will indulge them a little because its fun and we love them, we want them to be able to pay their staff and keep the game running.

People need to take responsiblity for their actions and have some control, I dont know why anyone would try and blame their lack of self control on a free to play game offering cosmetic micro transactions. The smoke wings are horrible anyway, if youve seen them in town theyre stupidly big to the point where theyre just a graphical hazard to wear that blots out a massive chunk of the screen and looks ridiculous.



I do think there should be more weighting against duplicates, at least within theirs of rarity of the items inside.

So because its free to play its okay to take advantage of players like this, is that what your saying?

How good or bad you like to think the game is does that really change the subject at all?

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Xavathos wrote:

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Snorkle_uk wrote:

"

Iflon wrote:

I mean why would anyone even try to defend GGG on this?.

because they have made a free to play game that is amazing, they work tirelessly to keep it going and essentially they owe it to us, the players, who have invested time into this game and care about what we have in game to keep the game alive and the servers funded.

No one has to buy this stuff, its all coming for a set price later. Its fun, I think the weighting is too harsh too, but the idea of the boxes is fun and a lot of people enjoy them responsibly and irresponsibly, most people who buy them are all in all happy with the system.

You live in a world where every other product you buy is trying to manipulate you through hijacking your sex drive or your sense of self worth. Look in any magazine, news paper, turn on your tv, look at a bilboard, you are being manipulated endlessly. GGG are a far more ethical company than most, theyre not trying to trick anyone. We know the deal with the mystery boxes, they know we know, and they know we will indulge them a little because its fun and we love them, we want them to be able to pay their staff and keep the game running.

People need to take responsiblity for their actions and have some control, I dont know why anyone would try and blame their lack of self control on a free to play game offering cosmetic micro transactions. The smoke wings are horrible anyway, if youve seen them in town theyre stupidly big to the point where theyre just a graphical hazard to wear that blots out a massive chunk of the screen and looks ridiculous.



I do think there should be more weighting against duplicates, at least within theirs of rarity of the items inside.

While I agree that Grinding Gear is one of the most ethical, fair and honest development studios I've ever encountered, there is nothing ethical about the mystery boxes.

It doesn't matter how you twist or turn it. Bottom line is that it's tricking you into spending more than you otherwise would, and the more you spend, the worse you end up, in both value for your money spent, and the sheer feeling of having "flushed hundreds of dollars down the toilet" which obviously isn't true, but it sure does feel this way when you realize what it's for.

You're supporting the game and the studio by doing it, yes, but you could have done that through other, much more ethical means. Like Supporter Packs, or just buying items from the shop. By buying boxes, and oh boy am I guilty of this, you also support the future boxes, which brings me back to my main point. There is nothing ethical about them.

I've sent my concerns in full detail to support, and they have passed it on, so I can only hope those who read it will understand where I'm coming from.

The bolded part is literally untrue.

There are no tricks involved. There may have been an extremely tenuous case to be made on this front back when the boxes first came out with the St. Patrick's Day (or whatever it was) version, but this is now iteration at least 4. The post literally says it's random results. Do you expect to find a Shavronne's Wrappings or an Exalted Orb every hour you play? Then why should you expect X item(s) every Y boxes? This is cognitive dissonance at its best.

As to value, since you cannot get an mtx worth less than what you paid for the box, it is an impossibility that "the more you spend the worse off you are". The worst that can happen is that the value of the mtx in your stash will keep pace with the money spent on the boxes. The odds of that are virtually nil, 99.99999999% of players that buy these boxes will end up with mtx that are worth more than the money they paid. GGG even puts the armor on sale in pieces at the set discount price so that folks that only got a couple pieces in the boxes don't have to pay more than the discount set price to finish the set. That's a nice thing to do, they could have just said "gotta buy pieces at full value, you already got your existing pieces at a silly discount."

For every horror story of "omg $5,000 and no wings!!!" there is someone that got the wings (or whatever mtx) in their first 4 boxes. I know cus quite a few of those lucky bastards were bragging about it in guild chat recently.

The only person that has any right to complain about this system is someone with a gambling addiction. That is a real affliction that can ruin lives. People affected by it need to cope with it though, by say contacting GGG and seeking help by not being able to buy the boxes (or something). The rest of us that enjoy this shouldn't have to miss out because of a minority of people though. If you feel that way, then I hope you write Congressmen, Senators, Governors and other elected officials to shut down the Lottery.

Really, fuck you and your fireworks bullshit. Nobody wants that shit, that shouldnt be in the boxes. O well you got my money.