CoD WW2 updates its lootbox system - Makes them much harder to get for less rewards.

[Brink]

Yesterday, CoD WW2 released its latest content update. The update added a few small things - some balance changes, a reskinned HQ, two new weapons, and an (admittedly simplistic) free map. Pretty good support for a game, particularly one from Activision.

It also changed the lootbox system. Shockingly, this has not been communicated within the patch notes or, you know, anywhere.

Previously, CoD WW2's lootboxes worked like this: You can get rare boxes and normal boxes. Normal boxes come from things like levelling up, or winning a lootbox roulette at the end of a match. Rare boxes are rewards for daily challenges. You can also obtain rare boxes from Contracts, which are where you pay a small sum of in game credits for a very short timed challenge - for example, pay 150 credits for a challenge to kill 25 enemies with a rifle in 20 minutes. You also have the option of buying lootboxes with real money, but with the contracts system in place it wasn't needed as long as you were an adequate player. Lootboxes came fast and free well enough that you received a constant stream of gear.

The biggest change to the new system is that you cannot get rare lootboxes for free any more (EDIT: This is apparently not quite right. There are three weekly challenges and two high priced, very difficult daily contracts that offer rare boxes. Still a massive, massive drop.). They are now only available through purchase with real money. On top of that, contracts cost more than double the in game currency, and the requirements for them have likewise doubled. The previous example contract would now cost 375 credits, with a 40 minute window to get 50 kills with a rifle. And of course, because you can't get rare boxes for free any more, your reward for paying more than double the credits and spending twice the time is a regular old lootbox, not a rare one, as before.

It's incredibly disappointing for me, as I've previously been loving the game. The gameplay is unchanged - it's still very good - but the fundamental idea that they would remove this is frustrating and stokes a distaste for the game for me. It leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

EDIT:

You forgot to include that they reduced the duplicate rate and they won't be adding new pistol grips to the loot pool in addition to removing gold calling cards (Complete filler that was added to increase the loot pool). I'm guessing that this is the reason for the change, still sucks but put all the info in the OP next time.

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EDIT 2:
Here's my example for the difference it makes in terms of acquiring boxes:

I'll give you my real-world example:

When I got back from work, I'd take the SMG and Dom contracts. They'd cost about 125 together I think? 25 kills later (1-2 games, depending on performance), I have two boxes. I take the TDM and Rifle contracts. 1-2 games later, I have four rare boxes. In 15-40 minutes.

Compare that to today. The Dom contract is gone. The TDM contract is gone. The SMG contract gives XP. So I take the rifle contract, which costs 375 credits. 50 kills later (the same nunber of kills as all of my previous contracts combined), I have one, normal, not rare box.

So on the old version I spent around 300 credits on four rare boxes. On the new one I spend 375 credits on one normal box.

Box for box, the new system gives you more, but it isn't a fair comparison, because boxes are that much harder to come by, particularly rare ones.

Click to shrink...

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

I'm just going to continue to avoid AAA online games all together, that ask for the $60 asking price while incorporating this crap.

Stay classy publishers.

 

[Mr Clutch]

Wow. Honestly, just wow. One thing I actually liked about this game was that despite having a paid option to acquire lootboxes, the contracts and challenges afforded you an opportunity to get what you wanted without breaking the bank. It gave me the nostalgic feeling of earning stuff in game much like the early CODs. I was playing last night and received 4-5 lootboxes all of which were base level. I found it odd but I thought it had something to do with the event or the new items added to the crates. This is quite upsetting tbh....

 

[Jackpot]

Dat feeling of accomplishment just got stronger

 

[Alienous]

The only thing here that surprises me is that they took so long - Call of Duty has a pattern of introducing bullshit in the current game at the start of the new year. Maybe after the Destiny 2 controversies they decided to wait until they could provide sugar in the form of a free returning map before they asked people to swallow a bitter pill.

 

[SecondNature]

I don't understand how COD continues to get away with loot boxes (not cosmetic based only if I recall), AND paid map DLC, when nearly every other dev has at least given us loot boxes but kept maps free.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

"Online multiplayer is the future!" was always leading to this. Developers finding new and exciting ways to offer less content for more money.

It's like we've been frogs in a pot for the past decade and the publishers have just been turning up the heat so slowly we haven't noticed ourselves boiling to death.

 

[Damaniel]

I don't understand how COD continues to get away with loot boxes (not cosmetic based only if I recall), AND paid map DLC, when nearly every other dev has at least given us loot boxes but kept maps free.

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Because people continue to buy the game regardless of what the company does.

 

[ssnick37]

How long before the "We messed up, sorry. We are listening to player feedback and we will continue to work with the community to ensure a good experience for everyone." press release.

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

"Online multiplayer is the future!" was always leading to this. Developers finding new and exciting ways to offer less content for more money.

It's like we've been frogs in a pot for the past decade and the publishers have just been turning up the heat so slowly we haven't noticed ourselves boiling to death.

Click to shrink...

That analogy is exactly what is happening, and there have been many of us who said that since the day horse armor and Microsoft started charging for online play.

We were labeled crazy conspiracy theorists, but yet look at the state of gaming now.

 

[Bartend3r]

Pss. When will they learn this is not sustainable in the long term? Upsetting customers usually don't end up well.

 

[ShinobiBk]

I'm actually gonna give them credit for waiting this long. You would think something like this would happen a month or so after launch

 

[Jake2byFour]

I thought the update was supposed to lesse the bullshit

 

[Deleted member 37303]

They talked about the changes in their community update a few days ago. You actually have better odds now of not getting duplicate items. You can get Rare boxes by completing quartermaster and weekly challenges. You don't have to buy anything. The loot box shit is all cosmetics anyway. Gun variants only give 15% more XP at the most. They don't perform any differently.

 

[PROh1bited]

I love when games charge for additional content, like the maps, and also have a loot box system on top of that.

Activision seems to be the last of the publishers still doing this.

 

[Mido]

I don't understand how COD continues to get away with loot boxes (not cosmetic based only if I recall), AND paid map DLC, when nearly every other dev has at least given us loot boxes but kept maps free.

Click to shrink...

It is cosmetics only. The maps not being free made my friends and I all drop it eventually though considering the season pass is $70 which is insane. Hopefully that changes for BLOPS4.

 

[Joeyro]

You forgot to include that they reduced the duplicate rate and they won't be adding new pistol grips to the loot pool in addition to removing gold calling cards (Complete filler that was added to increase the loot pool). I'm guessing that this is the reason for the change, still sucks but put all the info in the OP next time.

 

[Loxley]

I don't understand how COD continues to get away with loot boxes (not cosmetic based only if I recall), AND paid map DLC, when nearly every other dev has at least given us loot boxes but kept maps free.

Click to shrink...

Too big to fail at this point.

 

[Deleted member 11093]

As usual with Activision's awful business practices with CoD, this will be swept under the rugs by gamers and journos. This franchise will never be set straight.

 

[Akronis]

Pss. When will they learn this is not sustainable in the long term? Upsetting customers usually don't end up well.

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately there really hasn't been a heel turn from normal customers regarding this stuff. COD is so mainstream that it will take quite a bit before people really start to riot. We're still the vocal minority here for practically every issue.

 

[JaggedSac]

Well that is bullshit.

 

[Greigor the FellHand]

just in time for their new st patties day limited crate system right?

smh

 

[Brink]

You forgot to include that they reduced the duplicate rate and they won't be adding new pistol grips to the loot pool in addition to removing gold calling cards (Complete filler to that was added to increase the loot pool). I'm guessing that this is the reason for the change, still sucks but put all the info in the OP next time.

Click to shrink...

Is this a thing? I definitely got two pistol grips from a drop earlier, and three dupes in the same box.

I'll add it to the OP either way.

 

[Deleted member 5604]

Really glad I didn't buy COD this time around.

I love when games charge for additional content, like the maps, and also have a loot box system on top of that.

Activision seems to be the last of the publishers still doing this.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, they do it because they can get away with it.

EA would've done the same with Battlefront 2 if Battlefront 1's online population didn't drop like a brick once new paid content started releasing. Less people playing = less people to sell this shit to. So it forced their hand to do it differently for the sequel.

 

[Velocity:Design:Comfort]

I feel bad for the rest of Activision's developers. As much as I think Destiny 2 gets a lot of bad rap, with Bungie and now IW doing this it's toxic for their entire portfolio.

 

[Potterson]

Wait, what? I just launched the game and I can still get rare boxes for contracts and special ops.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

That analogy is exactly what is happening, and there have been many of us who said that since the day horse armor and Microsoft started charging for online play.

We were labeled crazy conspiracy theorists, but yet look at the state of gaming now.

Click to shrink...

This is why I've always been a single-player hardliner. It's harder (not impossible, as we saw with Shadow of War, but harder) to monetize the shit out of SP games, whereas MP seems to be like the testing ground for all kinds of horrid, anti-consumer cruelty.

 

[VincentMatts]

OMG and the game is on sale too, let me buy that garbage right now lol

im so glad i didnt buy this. So done with COD

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

This is why I've always been a single-player hardliner. It's harder (not impossible, as we saw with Shadow of War, but harder) to monetize the shit out of SP games, whereas MP seems to be like the testing ground for all kinds of horrid, anti-consumer cruelty.

Click to shrink...

I am with with you 100% on that.

 

[Deleted member 21124]

I'm staying far away from this.

 

[Joeyro]

Is this a thing? I definitely got two pistol grips from a drop earlier, and three dupes in the same box.

I'll add it to the OP either way.

Click to shrink...

Here are the patch notes: https://community.sledgehammergames...ommunity-Update-Monday-March-12/ba-p/10679009
But i agree so far, still getting a decent amount of duplicates.

 

[Nirolak]

I'm kind of surprised they're going in the direction of making them less consumer friendly since most games go the other direction to make them more attractive.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

I'm kind of surprised they're going in the direction of making them less consumer friendly since most games go the other direction to make them more attractive.

Click to shrink...

I suspect they're at the point where they're mostly making money off transactions from the hardcore players. Less invested players probably dropped off already, and new players are less likely to spend money on microtransactions than the hardcore group.

 

[Sol_Bad]

Don't worry guys, this guarantees that you'll get free maps, items and continued support for your online game.

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

Thought they can sneak that by the enthusiast forums while the hot topic was focusing on the cross play talk.

Got'em!

 

[Ivellios]

Can someone explain to me if you can get actual advantage from these or its only cosmetics? Either way really shitty move from them.

 

[XDevil666]

Well I think they over did them at launch, it was just an easy system to manipulate and I got pretty much everything I would want without even worrying about trying to get loot boxes.

Guess this is the reason they have tightened it up, last month also saw reduced contract options for winning crates.

I don't chase loot boxes so it doesn't really effect me, but sucks that it effects people like you who want rare loot boxes.

Hopefully they do what they did with Black ops 3 and IW and offer you a chance save up in game currency to buy rare drops

 

[XDevil666]

Can someone explain to me if you can get actual advantage from these or its only cosmetics? Either way really shitty move from them.

Click to shrink...

Cosmetics only, you can still get rare and legendary etc drops from standard boxes, just obviously not guaranteed

 

[take_marsh]

That's pretty lame. So much for possibly giving WWII multiplayer another chance in the near future.

 

[Dance Inferno]

This is why I think the argument that loot boxes don't impact your enjoyment of a game is bogus. Loot boxes are inserted into the gameplay loop in such a way as to make it the focus of the game. Everything you do leads to loot boxes, which reward you with cosmetics. Changes like this are disappointing, and another example of why loot boxes just need to go away entirely.

 

[Deleted member 16609]

I rather have this new system than pistol grips, credits and exp cards. That shit was annoying. Never forgot when I open 20 loot boxes in one session and 80% of my haul was grips and credits. I got the Herioc version of the FG42 but still, that's not a good look. Especially when you get an epic card and when it flips is credits, not cool.

 

[Imitatio]

Yeah, I was already wondering about when the next controversy was going to come up. Has been too quiet the last few weeks, lol.

Can't say that it still makes me angry, really. I'm too tired of all this lootbox, microtransactions and online multiplayer stuff (not that the latter is inherently bad, mind you). I resigned from dealing with crap like this some months ago, particularly after having played Destiny 2 for some time. Can't be bothered anymore to get upset about it. Rambling online doesn't do much for the most part, especially with those big "AAA" companies. Guess voting with my wallet will be the most "effective" (least annoying for me, lol) way and as long as there are other devs doing it right, I'll enjoy playing those and ignoring stuff like CoD, Destiny, Battlefield, whatever else there is. That'll do it.

 

[JigglesBunny]

They talked about the changes in their community update a few days ago. You actually have better odds now of not getting duplicate items. You can get Rare boxes by completing quartermaster and weekly challenges. You don't have to buy anything. The loot box shit is all cosmetics anyway. Gun variants only give 15% more XP at the most. They don't perform any differently.

Click to shrink...

This post here has it right. They haven't completely ommitted the ability to obtain Rare Supply Drops, they just simply moved them to Weekly Challenges and Quartermaster Challenges in order to balance out the better odds for high level gear that they introduced.

I still wholeheartedly believe that all lootboxes are an absolutely disgusting scheme that should be banned outright from every last piece of software available but if you were able to live with the lootboxes prior to this patch, you shouldn't have much of an issue living with this one.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

I noticed this, thought it was due to the event.

It is still relatively easy to get them though, I play about 1hour a day to do the challenges and get around 6 crates in that time. If only Overwatch was that generous.
This game has given me a lot of cool cosmetic skins, and I haven't spent anything.

The UI overhaul is great, and the new cosmetic items for weapons are awesome.

 

[Deleted member 30681]

figured this was going to happen BO3 had a similar thing where right before the first DLC I believe they lowered the amount of cryptocurrency you can could by just playing the game.

It's bullshit and why I just avoid MP games all together these days.

 

[psilocybe]

Luckily I'm vaccined against COD lootboxes. I never opened mine. Not proud, it is just that the setting do not evoke any need of customization for me.

 

[IvanSlavkov]

SledgeHammer dropped the ball with the loot boxes. I am getting the same item every day no matter what type of chest I open. With the recent update the game feels more like a F2P game and I am thinking of dropping it and to wait for BLOPSIIII. Not to mention the freaking gun handles!!! Both IW and BLOPSIII did lootboxes better and actually felt like there is a reward system.

 

[Brink]

They talked about the changes in their community update a few days ago. You actually have better odds now of not getting duplicate items. You can get Rare boxes by completing quartermaster and weekly challenges. You don't have to buy anything. The loot box shit is all cosmetics anyway. Gun variants only give 15% more XP at the most. They don't perform any differently.

Click to shrink...

I've updated the OP, but even here, the contracts that give rare boxes are difficult and expensive, and there's only two. The weekly contracts can only be done once.

And the patch notes don't cover how they've borked the normal contracts. If they'd just dropped them from rare to normal that would be okay, but they've absolutely crushed the income rate. They cost a lot of money and they take a lot of time.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Guess I was good with avoiding this game. I thought, the last couple of days, about 'well, maybe I get another CoD since Black Ops 1'... but yeanooo... there it goes.

 

[thediamondage]

I have run the game every day since launch, earning thousands of the armory credits or whatever the fuck they are called and have rarely opened loot crates. At last count, with $0 spent, I have something like 175 regular, 80 rare, 30 resistance boxes, and a dozen or more boxes from weeklies, etc. I'm drowning in boxes and have zero incentive to open them since I like the guns I run and don't care about skins and it takes FOREVER to open those goddamn things.

Playing dress up barbie with my COD character has never held any interest for me, and it is nice that you can just outright buy guns with armory credits (skipping loot crates) although you'll need crates to get the 10/15% XP bonus elite weapons, which again have little interest to me. I flat out bought the new LMG for ~20k credits today, thats all I wanted from this months Irish event thing.

The changes probably suck if you are a completionist and want everything, but if you just play to shoot some shit and relax in an FPS I'm not sure its a huge deal. I completed two of the new daily challenges yesterday and today, get 50 kills in hardcore and 55 kills with LMG, it used to be easier for sure but the time increase makes it still pretty easy, and I am a shitty FPS player - my KDR hovers around 1.0 every game, frequently dipping below.

But yeah the quartermaster contract seems to be a bit more challenging and less rewarding, not sure about the daily challenges since they rotate every 24 hours, I'd rarely do most of them since they involved game modes I don't play or shit I don't want to do - get 10 pistol kills, kill someone after diving to the ground, etc. There also used to be a "forever" challenge that stuck until you completed it, and that seems gone from the daily challenges guy.

The game definitely pushes you towards paying real money for loot crates and its a real shame and is forgotten in all the Battlefront 2 stuff. It is entirely fine if you don't pay at all and you won't miss out on anything other than skins, but it is really icky how much the game pushes you to spend more money on crates.