With green color I've marked P2W levels that average anti-P2W person should like about Turtle WoW, with yellow criteria that are contested and require more discussion and with red problems that anti-P2W person would hate about Turtle WoW. The levels of P2W depth are following:
- Level 1 : Can't pay to Win at All, there is no way to give the Game Money beyond original Purchase.
- Level 2 : Cosmetic Purchases, where they are pay to win because content design changes to make the best looking things get behind a paywall as you dont "win" until you look the best possible way.
- Level 3 : Early Game Boost that is overclassed quickly, basically time saver type of pay to win.
- Level 4 : System based adventage that makes the game easier to play, basically quality of Life behind a paywall like inventory slots or an update with balances (DLC).
- Level 5 : Skip "un-fun" parts of the game like Level Boosts or Grinding requirements to reach the "fun" content immediately.
- Level 6 : Money CAN directly buy Power, but the power achievable this way has a ceiling or is capped, there's only so much you can pay and non-paying players can still reach it.
- Level 7 : Money directly buys power, and the power achievable this way has no ceiling nor is capped, you can buy as much power as you want but non-paying players can still THEORETICALLY reach it.
- Level 8 : Money can buy power AT A CHANCE, essentially gambling for Power where you may not see your money's worth or have it overflow, Psychological theory comes to play in the game design (addiction elements/sunk cost fallacy) to keep a Player on it even if they dont spend anymore.
- Level 9 : Money can buy power either at a Chance or Directly that non-paying players have NO WAY of achieving, essentially dividing the game in two completely different experiences and the hard wall is eventually hit by either side.
- Level 10 : Subjectivity, what you want from the game is the only important thing, if that is locked behind a paywall it is pay to win to you.
Note these levels aren't my own and are very general to fit every game made, I only compare them to this server. I don't find these criteria perfect for WoW because in my opinion they lack division into categories like pure gameplay, appearance etc. Below I justify why some levels aren't P2W-free.
- Level 1: It's obvious. You have a way of spending money in Turtle WoW via donation shop.
- Level 2: Some cosmetics are locked behind donation shop - that's a fact. There is even one Dev responsible for making elegant clothes in the shop.
- Level 3: I don't know anything in Turtle WoW that can be classified as Early Game Boost. Everyone experiences same start.
- Level 4: There are a few conveniences for donators: mobile bank, mobile AH, mobile vendor, 36-slot bags. Definetely QoL features.
- Level 5: The problem is with Goblin Brainwashing Device. It can be bought by 2 ways: via real money from donation shop or by purchasing it in the game for 350g. Surely, it's not a big thing but I can't mark it with green.
- Level 6: Here starts the problem. There is no way to buy gold, gear, levels etc. However, Power can be seen as appearance for some players. If so, there are some cosmetics and mounts in donation shop that can't be obtained in any other way than paying - thus non-paying players can't get them.
- Level 7: Same as above. Though donation shop has ceiling - there isn't infinite number of things you can buy.
- Level 8: I've marked it as yellow because about 2 weeks ago Turtle Team added eggs to the donation shop and guess what - there were random things from shop inside. At first drop chances weren't described so we can classify them as loot boxes. I even saw rumors in world chat that Thunderfury can drop from these eggs. Of course this wasn't true but some stupid people might have believed. In that case there is psychological element involved which some people may find immoral.
- Level 9: Yellow because as said earlier some people may perceive appearance, pets, mounts as Power. There is a chance involved in those eggs. Rest is bought directly and non-payers have no way of receiving items from donation shop.
Share your opinion.