• Light/Dark

Riot is about to release a 100 Dollar Valorant weapon skin bundle.

Ctrl Alt Del

Ctrl Alt Del

Banned
Jun 10, 2018
4,312
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
As someone who spent hundreds of dollars in Apex Legends, distributed among various season passes and event-exclusive items and heirlooms, I think I'm gonna stick to purely f2p on Valorant (except for the season pass, which is decently priced). I don't play Valorant as much as I do Apex and even if I did, it boils down to me not being very good at the game itself (I'm in Diamond elo-hell, probably forever). No point showing off items in a game your skill ceiling isn't that high, you'll just end up looking sad.
 
Snake__

Snake__

Member
Jan 8, 2020
2,450
Conkerkid11 said:
How can you place a monetary value on something you could potentially earn from just playing the game, or something that cannot be bought directly and only received through RNG?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Apex has a special tier of cosmetic (cosmetic only melee weapons you hold while you run) that are super rare, but you are guaranteed one after 500 loot boxes, so these items are basically equivalent to the price of 500 loot boxes, which is crazy
Loot boxes are trash
(They can NOT be earned just by playing the game)
 
Cels

Cels

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,814
valorant is a fun game and it's clear that the revenue model works. in every game you play you'll see at least a few people with these cosmetics. it also has all the hallmarks of a predatory system. in games like these the freeloaders like me are subsidized by the whales, but it's a symbiotic relationship, as the whales want there to be many freeloaders, otherwise there wouldn't be that many players -- queue times would rise and the quality of matches would decrease.

  • must unlock agents, meaning players who have played more or have spent more money have more options than new players, which is an inherent disadvantage
  • items in the shop must be purchased with valorant points instead of local currency, obfuscating the true cost of purchases
  • battle pass does not pay for the next battle pass with currency rewards, unlike other many battle passes in the shooter genre (e.g. fortnite, apex legends, modern warfare)
  • must average about 3 hours of gametime per day to complete the battlepass without paying additional money
  • radianite points -- these are a separate premium currency from valorant points and are used to upgrade skins. that's right, after paying $20 for a gun you have to pay more money to upgrade that skin, you don't just get the upgrade by using the skin
  • radianite points are a reward from the battlepass, but there is nothing in the battlepass you can spend the radianite points on. if you buy the battlepass but nothing else, then your radianite points are useless.
 
Snake__

Snake__

Member
Jan 8, 2020
2,450
That dragon sniper rifle is infinitely better designed than cosmetics in other games
 
Last edited:
packy17

packy17

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,901
Cels said:
  • radianite points -- these are a separate premium currency from valorant points and are used to upgrade skins. that's right, after paying $20 for a gun you have to pay more money to upgrade that skin, you don't just get the upgrade by using the skin
  • radianite points are a reward from the battlepass, but there is nothing in the battlepass you can spend the radianite points on. if you buy the battlepass but nothing else, then your radianite points are useless.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is true for now. They have plans to use radianite on many more things in the future.
 
elyetis

elyetis

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,573
It's hella expensive but at least people know what they get for that price. Like I love Dota 2, but random loot in chest is a much worst alternative imho.
 
Zips

Zips

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,920
This is the new norm and isn't at all surprising. It's actually better than some lootbox garbage because at least you know what you're getting and it's obviously being targeted towards whales.
 
Snake__

Snake__

Member
Jan 8, 2020
2,450
Conkerkid11 said:
I agree that loot boxes are trash, but can you not earn apex packs just by playing the game? Or do they hardcap you before you'd be able to earn 500 or whatever?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It was capped at 45 free loot boxes but apparently they raised it to 199 free loot boxes, but that requires reaching lvl 500 to get all 199
 
Smurf

Smurf

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,772
Psychoward said:
Are they planning on reselling it or... it's an ugly skin even without the IBP advertisements on it
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know, but they'll probably make a nice profit if they do. There's been a huge influx of Chinese collectors in the CSGO scene the past year, so these super rare skins just keep going up in price. Also, those IBP stickers are worth around 12-14k each lol.
 
Ciao

Ciao

Member
Jun 14, 2018
4,913
I can't even imagine how someone above 12 can think this shit is cool. Wouldn't use it for free.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Smurf said:
I don't know, but they'll probably make a nice profit if they do. There's been a huge influx of Chinese collectors in the CSGO scene the past year, so these super rare skins just keep going up in price. Also, those IBP stickers are worth around 12-14k each lol.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Slapping an advertisement on your gun makes it worth more? Lmao
 
Tbm24

Tbm24

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,828
I might considering buying one of the skins, but I definitely do not need/or want the bundle. Not surprised at the price however, Riot is really stretching themselves with this shit.

I want to hear about Agent skins at this point instead of wildly overpriced weapon skins.
 
Kthulhu

Kthulhu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,670
Love the game but everything outside of the battlepass is a huge rip off. Hopefully people are smart enough to not buy these.

It's still crazy to me that less than a decade ago people were pissed at Evolve for having $2.00 skins that make your gun blue yet now it seems like it's extremely normal and now you don't even get to know the real price thanks to in game currencies.
 
SchrodingerC

SchrodingerC

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,899
Paying more than $5-$10 for a video game skin.

tenor.gif
 
Favi

Favi

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,010
It's a cosmetic skin for a F2P game, so I see no problem with this. It's expensive as hell, but it's not like they are forcing anyone to pay for them. And better this than putting them in lootboxes.

Ciao said:
I can't even imagine how someone above 12 can think this shit is cool. Wouldn't use it for free.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
...... I think it's cool
 
Dreams-Visions

Dreams-Visions

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
41,368
Miami, FL
CountAntonius said:
You never get scared of having that value and losing it? I have some hundred dollar tires in rocket league and always feel a bit of anxiety thinking about the price dropping but since they are my faves and I use them on all my cars and I got them for much cheaper so I figure even if they do become worthless I should be fine with it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nah. I didn't buy the stuff to resell it. I used to just collect things for low prices and treat them as a collector would. If/when they lose value, I won't have lost anything because I didn't pay much to begin with and have enjoyed some of these items for 8+ years. I can fairly say I got my monies worth. If I end up selling my stuff, it'll be because I would want someone else to enjoy them as I have.
 
Mr_DyZ

Mr_DyZ

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Jun 12, 2019
776
And they're about to make a lot of money

Take my money riot
 
VaporSnake

VaporSnake

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,603
That's probably the coolest weapon skin I've ever seen in a game, and clearly vastly more effort went into it than the average texture swap, so if people want to buy it, go right ahead.
 
Theiea

Theiea

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,593
It looks pretty neat, but I think it feels very out of place with the aesthetic of the game.
 
Liquidsnake

Liquidsnake

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,002
Haha I remember having to be talked out of buying a Destiny 1 Blacksmith shader for $100. WTF was I thinking. This was on another forum that shall not be named, but multiple people came to my rescue
 
Timewarp

Timewarp

Member
Oct 27, 2017
888
woahitsshant said:
what are you taking about? Streamers buy these MTX themselves. They do it regularly, it's about having new content to showcase to your viewers.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yes they can/will purchase MTX for content. That's beside the point. Companies can, and will continue to give streamers complimentary skins, and premium currency (to buy said skins for content), because it is free/cheap advertisement for them. Does it happen 100% of the time with 100% of streamers? Of course not. But it does happen. Curious if streamers have to disclose company gifted skins and premium currency on their streams like they do paid sponsorships.
 
Temperance

Temperance

"This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,900
[NO 2FA]
Isn't it awesome when you don't have to gamble. You know what you're getting for the price they have set. Simple and clean like it should be.
 
CenaToon

CenaToon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,440
Kinthey said:
I can see why that dev didn't spell out the price in actual dollars. That would be a rather embarrassing announcement.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Why would he? Valorant has it's own currency system. This is an annoucement for active players, not new players. Active players knows very well the equivalence of the currency of the game.
 
eebster

eebster

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
1,596
I don't understand the uproar over the Valorant skin prices. It's completely optional, is purely visual and offers no advantages and the game is f2p.
CSGO can be several hundred to thousand dollars. For a single weapon, here you get multiple ones
 
Automagical

Automagical

Member
Jun 27, 2020
331
Don't get why some many people are angry about this.
It's a F2P game, it's a cosmetic with 0 impact to game balance, it's not locked behind a shady gambling mechanism.
These are the business practices that should be encouraged, the 100$ price point is arbitrary and the least important part of it all and they will be forced to lower it if they don't see the ROI they were hoping for.
 
packy17

packy17

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,901
eebster said:
I don't understand the uproar over the Valorant skin prices. It's completely optional, is purely visual and offers no advantages and the game is f2p.
CSGO can be several hundred to thousand dollars. For a single weapon, here you get multiple ones
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Most of the time, it's because people want the skins but don't want to pay for them. At least not at these kinds of prices.

I understand predatory loot box gambling concerns, but that isn't what's happening here.
 
Kentsui

Kentsui

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,542
I mean if it is purely cosmetic and you want to treat yourself, I don't see the problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.