Artifact community slams 'pay for everything' monetisation model [Update: Valve's responses to feedback]

[Deleted member 16657]

Artifact's open beta launches tomorrow, but many would-be players have lost their appetite for Valve's digital card game because of its monetisation model. A Reddit post from yesterday that encourages players to cancel their pre-orders is now the top post of all-time on the Artifact subreddit, while numerous other popular threads are slamming the payment model, described as "pay for everything you do".

Here's the deal: you have to pay $20 for the Artifact base game, which gets you some starter cards. The only way to get new cards on top of that is to spend money. You can buy booster packs packs for $2, you can buy and sell specific cards through the marketplace (for which Valve takes a small cut), or you can win cards by playing game modes that require paid-for tickets to enter. Currently, you cannot trade for cards.

The community is also upset at the contents of the 12-card booster packs: one of them is guaranteed to be a hero card, but many of the others could well be starter cards, which are likely to be close to worthless on the marketplace, because other players will have acquired them as part of the base game.

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https://www.pcgamer.com/artifact-community-slams-pay-for-everything-monetisation-model/

Reddit post explaining how everything is paygated:

Can you buy the game and not spend any money?

Well here's the thing. You can't gain packs from playing casual at all. Here are the ways to get cards, pay 2 dollars for a card pack, pay for cards on the market, or play expert. Everytime you play expert you have to spend a ticket which is a dollar (2 tickets plus 5 packs cost in keepers draft) to have a chance of getting packs. If you win 3 games you get a ticket back, if you win 4 you get 1 pack, win 5 you get 2 packs. But here's the catch, you can ONLY LOSE 2 TIMES. And you're sure to lose quite a bit, this is a complicated game, and every time you win you face a harder opponent. You have to do this 5 times without losing 2. How much money do you think you're going to have to spend after a good amount of time, it's not like players are going to just play one draft a day. Nor can you go play draft casual or in lobbies either. So to that i say, good luck playing the game without spending money.

So to play constructed, NO MATTER WHAT, you will have to spend money (to get cards), to play draft NO MATTER WHAT, you have to spend money (for tickets).

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Artifact/comments/9y2m7y/do_not_buy_this_game_if_you_dont_agree_with_this/

As a lapsed Hearthstone player I was interested to try a new card game, and I didn't even mind the $20 pricetag. But I was really surprised to learn that the only way to acquire new cards is to pay for cards/packs or win in draft by paying for a ticket. There is not even an in-game currency. Really surprising that they went for this kind of payment model imo.

UPDATE FROM VALVE

The Artifact public beta is starting later today. All attendees from this year's International and everyone who redeemed a beta key will find the game activated in their Steam account.

Since lifting the NDA on the private beta yesterday, there's been an overwhelming amount of feedback on all parts of the game. Much of that feedback has been a clear signal that we underestimated how much interest and excitement the community has around certain features that weren't available in the initial beta build.

We want to take a few minutes to talk about some of those missing features now:

• There was no way to do a draft event with friends. We didn't prioritize this play mode, and had planned to enable it sometime after release. We've heard your feedback: drafting with friends is a core part of what you want to spend your time doing in Artifact. In the next Artifact beta build, you can select Call To Arms Phantom Draft in any user-created tournament.
  
  
• There was no way to practice the draft modes without spending an event ticket.Drafting is incredibly fun, but can also be very intimidating. We agree that it's important to have a way to practice before venturing into a more competitive mode. In the next Artifact beta build, everyone who has claimed their starting content will find a Casual Phantom Draft gauntlet available in the Casual Play section.
  
  
• There was nothing to do with duplicate starter heroes. We're adding a system that allows extra, unwanted cards to be recycled into event tickets. This feature will ship before the end of the beta period.

The first two changes will be live for everyone when the public beta activates later today. We'll ship the recycling system, as well as other improvements to the beta, over the next week and a half.

Please enjoy the beta, and keep sending us your feedback.

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https://steamcommunity.com/games/583950/announcements/detail/2535985526495756390

Seems like good changes! Especially good is the ability to recycle the starter cards into event tickets I think.

 

[Aokiji]

Yuck. Hope players vote with their wallets.

 

[Cymbal Head]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

 

[Deleted member 29660]

Be nice if people stand up against such things. It seems rare to happen though.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

Yuck. Hope players vote with their wallets.

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They will.
And Valve will make millions

 

[Hektor]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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Yea but apparently some people didn't get the memo.

There's legitimate concerncs about how expensive playing the game will be in the long run, but the "why can't i play this for free" group is silly.

 

[Lumination]

Artifact commits two grave mistakes:

• Bad viewer experience
• 0 avenue for free cards

Unless the market is so saturated that the rarest cards top out at <$10, there is no way this game gets off the ground. Like it or not, the likes of Hearthstone and Shadowverse have shaped the landscape of digital CCGs. It doesn't have the 25+ year history that keeps digital MTG afloat. Remember how excited HS streamers were for Gwent and it still sort of flopped? I haven't seen a single one with positive things to say about Artifact, and when they do, it's riddled with caveats.

People already shy away from the pressures of playing ranked in any game. So much so that devs have been moving away from even showing W/L records for over a decade now. The typical casual player will not tolerate putting up their money as the only way to play a mode that gains them cards.

 

[Deleted member 7450]

You see, games right now are training us to be accountants. That is why all the monetization and different editions, prices and pay for this, pay for that.

It is all a plan to train us to be good with numbers and have good careers. :)

 

[Deleted member 16657]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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From what I understand the playerbase is blindsided over the starter cards appearing in card packs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Artifact/comments/9y1w2y/you_can_get_starter_heroes_from_the_packs_have/

Meaning that some of the cards you pull from your paid for pack are essentially worthless because no one will buy them if you try to resell them.

Someone with more knowledge do correct me if I am wrong.

 

[tropoFarmer]

It was not said before that drafting was pay-only. Valve was intentionally vague with communication, which is especially odd considering their premiere tournament was run as a user draft.

You are paying $1 each and every time you want to draft. That's a much different story.

I don't doubt that Artifact will be a much different and fuller-featured game in a year, but this monetization path is very troublesome for its future.

 

[Scuffed]

I'm pretty confident they will make adjustments because in it's current state it is extremely unappealing and games these days don't have the luxury screwing up a launch. There is way too much competition for your dollars.

 

[BlacJack]

Be nice if people stand up against such things. It seems rare to happen though.

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Looks like they are...

Bottom line it's a legit business model, they aren't robbing people. It just isn't a great one, and if enough people feel that way, the game won't be successful.

It's not like they are doing anything illegal. They just seem out of touch and will likely pay the price for it.

 

[Mezentine]

From what I understand the playerbase is blindsided over the starter cards appearing in card packs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Artifact/comments/9y1w2y/you_can_get_starter_heroes_from_the_packs_have/

Meaning that some of the cards you pull from your paid for pack are essentially worthless because no one will buy them if you try to resell them.

Someone with more knowledge do correct me if I am wrong.

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Yeah this is a pretty clear fuckup on Valve's part. MTG and other games can get away with this because there's so many cards that by the time you're likely to start seeing significant repeats you've already moved onto only caring about a handful of cards per pack, and they're super careful about how they curate their "intro packs". Trying to jumpstart that with what, 300 cards total, over 200 of which are in the initial purchase, seems like a bad move

 

[Hassel]

Bold move valve, let's see how this plays out. ;)

 

[Tagyhag]

Yeah it's such a shame. It sounds like a really cool game in theory but that monetization is so insanely greedy for an online TCG that it's not going to take off as much as it could.

It'll probably still make Valve millions from the whales alone. But I won't touch it unless they ever make it F2P, which they probably will a year or 2 down the road.

Artifact commits two grave mistakes:

• Bad viewer experience
• 0 avenue for free cards

Unless the market is so saturated that the rarest cards top out at <$10, there is no way this game gets off the ground. Like it or not, the likes of Hearthstone and Shadowverse have shaped the landscape of digital CCGs. It doesn't have the 25+ year history that keeps digital MTG afloat. Remember how excited HS streamers were for Gwent and it still sort of flopped? I haven't seen a single one with positive things to say about Artifact, and when they do, it's riddled with caveats.

People already shy away from the pressures of playing ranked in any game. So much so that devs have been moving away from even showing W/L records for over a decade now. The typical casual player will not tolerate putting up their money as the only way to play a mode that gains them cards.

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Really? I've heard the criticism for the payment model but I always hear praise for the actual game.

 

[fluffydelusions]

I was very interested in the game till I found out about this yesterday.

 

[kadotsu]

A marketplace system where Valve can easily control supply and utility of goods seems like the most abusive thing I have seen in gaming monetization in a while. This is in addition to their private taxation model for trades.

 

[Deleted member 21858]

I'm pretty confident they will make adjustments because in it's current state it is extremely unappealing and games these days don't have the luxury screwing up a launch. There is way too much competition for your dollars.

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I dont know, I love Dota and the art/animations in this game, but I think Valve is being arrogant and thinking that people will pay anything since Artifact has the name Valve attached to it... which is probably true. I hope they change some aspects of the game and let people get gold to buy packs... and I hope they add more content and cards too as soon as possible. Some people already say that constructed is boring since there aren´t many cards and the strongest decks are easy to spot at first, and some cards are already broken OP it seems, like Axe.

 

[Acidote]

So just like MTG booster packs.

 

[The Adder]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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Yea but apparently some people didn't get the memo.

There's legitimate concerncs about how expensive playing the game will be in the long run, but the "why can't i play this for free" group is silly.

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Last I checked $20 up front isn't free to play.

 

[tropoFarmer]

Bottom line it's a legit business model, they aren't robbing people. It just isn't a great one, and if enough people feel that way, the game won't be successful.

It's not like they are doing anything illegal.

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Imagine wanting to play an arcade game. But first you have to buy the machine. And then you have to put in quarters. And then you don't get the quarters back. And also you don't own the machine.

 

[Daitokuji]

How does MTG stay afloat when you need to pay for all the cards there too? I guess you can at least borrow your friends' cards or use proxies there.

And the flip side to everything being pay to own, is that you can trade or resell cards for real money. Does Valve take a cut on resales? I assume they do.

Even though I won't be playing the game, I do like that they are at least honest about it being pay for everything. Most F2P games use scummy tactics to get players to buy stuff and make them grind out content.

 

[Randdalf]

Artifact commits two grave mistakes:

• Bad viewer experience
• 0 avenue for free cards

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I don't think this is really that true. I felt the same way when I first watched Artifact as I do whenever I've seen American Football - only a vague idea of what's going on. It doesn't take that long to get to grips with it, especially if you think of it as playing three games of Hearthstone at once.

 

[Nzyme32]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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There is a limit to that though. Traditionally you expect that if you pay for a game, you have access to everything.
This game tries to incentivise high end competitive play by putting a $1 fee on the "expert" modes. This would be fine since these are possible to make as custom games except Draft.

The galling thing here is that there is no other way to play or practise that mode, and as of yesterday before the beta released, it was possible - now it isn't.

People are also angry about "starter cards" still being part of the paid for card packs, but I am not as angry on this one as the reasoning and value changes behind it will only be understood once the market is available and there is an understanding of what happens with the next decks of cards introduced. From what I can see, there is no such thing as "starter cards". There is simply 1 available deck called "A Call To Arms". Buying the game gives you 10x card packs - but they are not defined as a starter pack. You just get to open 10x packs and it takes you to the "A Call To Arms Deck". I'm wondering if subsequent decks will become the "starter deck" for new game purchases and the "A Call To Arms" deck is withdrawn at some point - which would eventually give it some value, as opposed to now, where everyone has those cards and wouldn't bother selling commons since no one will buy them

 

[Lumination]

Really? I've heard the criticism for the payment model but I always hear praise for the actual game.

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Everyone praises the draft mode, but not the balance in the constructed mode. Not surprisingly, draft mode is also pay per play. I'm also wary as to how they plan on balancing cards if the market has already assigned value to them.

Overall, the core gameplay looks fun and solid, but lack of streamability + entry fee = lack of reach. Stack the pay to play system on top, sprinkle in the fact that boosters can draw starter cards (I have to assume they'll fix this for day 1) makes for an experience that could never be unilaterally praised.

 

[antitrop]

How does MTG stay afloat when you need to pay for all the cards there too? I guess you can at least borrow your friends' cards or use proxies there.

And the flip side to everything being pay to own, is that you can trade or resell cards for real money. Does Valve take a cut on resales? I assume they do.

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To me, this feels like paying a $20 cover charge just to walk into the card store and even have the opportunity to buy booster packs in the first place.

 

[The Adder]

So just like MTG booster packs.

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Paper cards have a monetary value that you make 100% of and, in addition, cards you don't want or need can be traded for cards that you do. Neither of these facts are the case in this game. Valve is in control of a marketplace from which they take a cut and of which they have total control over the supply.

 

[Daitokuji]

To me, this feels like paying a $20 cover charge just to walk into the card store and have the opportunity to buy booster packs.

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I think you get $20 worth of card packs when you buy the starter set.

 

[Nzyme32]

UPDATE - Valve way of solving the issues

The Artifact public beta is starting later today. All attendees from this year's International and everyone who redeemed a beta key will find the game activated in their Steam account.

Since lifting the NDA on the private beta yesterday, there's been an overwhelming amount of feedback on all parts of the game. Much of that feedback has been a clear signal that we underestimated how much interest and excitement the community has around certain features that weren't available in the initial beta build.

We want to take a few minutes to talk about some of those missing features now:

• There was no way to do a draft event with friends. We didn't prioritize this play mode, and had planned to enable it sometime after release. We've heard your feedback: drafting with friends is a core part of what you want to spend your time doing in Artifact. In the next Artifact beta build, you can select Call To Arms Phantom Draft in any user-created tournament.
• There was no way to practice the draft modes without spending an event ticket.Drafting is incredibly fun, but can also be very intimidating. We agree that it's important to have a way to practice before venturing into a more competitive mode. In the next Artifact beta build, everyone who has claimed their starting content will find a Casual Phantom Draft gauntlet available in the Casual Play section.
• There was nothing to do with duplicate starter heroes. We're adding a system that allows extra, unwanted cards to be recycled into event tickets. This feature will ship before the end of the beta period.

The first two changes will be live for everyone when the public beta activates later today. We'll ship the recycling system, as well as other improvements to the beta, over the next week and a half.

Please enjoy the beta, and keep sending us your feedback.

 

[tropoFarmer]

To be clear, most people aren't appalled by buying packs. It's the repeat of starters, lack of ladder, and especially the pay-to-play game modes, that are rightfully riling up folks.

 

[Deleted member 41271]

Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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Yeah, it sounds more "fair" in that they are very open about their business model.

I don't like it, obviously, but you can't say they're not being honest. Anyone playing it knows EXACTLY what they are getting into.

 

[antitrop]

I think you get $20 worth of card packs when you buy the starter set.

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Ok, fair enough. I saw "some starter cards", but didn't know they were giving you the full purchase price back in cards.

 

[tropoFarmer]

Wow, didn't expect changes so soon. Good game, Valve. Don't fuck up again.

 

[Daitokuji]

There's no ladder mode? So what modes are there? Limited draft (like Hearthstone's arena), and unranked competitive?

 

[Shorty11857]

I think you get $20 worth of card packs when you buy the starter set.

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The $20 gets you

2 starter decks
$20 worth of cards
$5 worth of tickets

 

[Deleted member 4198]

This sounds exactly like the Magic the Gathering Online model... I'm surprised they didn't go with the Magic Arena/Hearthstone model instead!

 

[Skux]

Without even a grindy way to get cards for free the game is DoA.

 

[OMEGALUL]

What do you get for paying 20 bucks at launch for? content seems non-exist.

 

[Mezentine]

How does MTG stay afloat when you need to pay for all the cards there too? I guess you can at least borrow your friends' cards or use proxies there.

And the flip side to everything being pay to own, is that you can trade or resell cards for real money. Does Valve take a cut on resales? I assume they do.

Even though I won't be playing the game, I do like that they are at least honest about it being pay for everything. Most F2P games use scummy tactics to get players to buy stuff and make them grind out content.

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300 cards just isn't enough for this sort of product to open with in 2018. Magic works because Magic's big secret is that its actually about a dozen different games being played with the same cards and so everything has value to someone and the whole system is greased in a way that Artifact just isn't right now, and probably won't be because as a digital product its constrained in some fundamental ways.

 

[Deleted member 28523]

Seems like most of the complaints have been addressed then. that's good to see.

Although the whole point of having of having an entry fee into a draft mode is to prevent people from continually redrafting until they get a good deck. I don't know how that will work out.

 

[Mobyduck]

They should've just gone with a fixed price for each set of cards. Make the money by selling full sets and cosmetics. I mean, DOTA2 makes millions out of selling cosmetics and Battle Passes. They could've gone a similar path here and they would still make a shitton of money

 

[Zukuu]

Man the game looks rough already, but this is the nail in the coffin that I will stay far away from it.

 

[Jebusman]

I've seen the argument that the boosters containing starter cards is due to their use in the drafts, if they didn't contain starter cards, draft would be nigh unplayable.

In theory Valve "could" have tried to game the system a bit where packs wouldn't open starters unless they were being used for a draft, but I'm guessing no one would want to draft if it lessened the odds of you getting useful cards.

 

[WaffleTaco]

Isn't this how a card game works in real life?

 

[Euler]

I dont think I understand the anger here. Haven't they been saying from the very beginning that this isn't a F2P game?

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The monetization model is worse than anybody expected. You pay to play ranked games.

 

[Ebullientprism]

This sounds bad. But it is Valve. I expect them to react and make positive changes.

 

[Turin Turambar]

Well, of course all the ways to obtain cards is through money. That makes people assign a real monetary value to each card in their minds. That's important for Valve, because that way the cards price won't crash into the ground too much in the markeplace.

For Valve, the entire game has been built to promote using the Steam marketplace, in where they get a cut. That's why from all possible games, fps, rts, adventure, rpgs, etc, they have decided to do a CCG, because they knew fans see as 'acceptable' a p2w itemization model, thanks to the long tradition of that in the CCG industry.

 

[tropoFarmer]

A lot of you are massively missing the point.

 

[Deleted member 41271]

How does MTG stay afloat when you need to pay for all the cards there too? I guess you can at least borrow your friends' cards or use proxies there.

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more game modes. Take me: I only play commander, with relatively cheap decks, which are more interesting due to the format limiting a lot of the absurd (and expensive) combos.

 

[Bhonar]

Looks like they are...

Bottom line it's a legit business model, they aren't robbing people. It just isn't a great one, and if enough people feel that way, the game won't be successful.

It's not like they are doing anything illegal. They just seem out of touch and will likely pay the price for it.

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This is basically my stance.

I have no idea how gamers nowdays morphed into wanting everything for fucking free. Lot of cheapskates.

Why the fuck should this game be free? How is this any different than real-life TCGs or baseball cards, etc.

In baseball cards, you get tons of crappy players. That's just how it is.

Why should everything be "earnable" for free in Artifact.

In the end, the customer base will decide if what Artifact is charging becomes successful. I do not know the answer to that, and we'll see. But they're certainly not doing anything illegal, and I have no problems in general with video games being pay-only.