Trion Responds To Player Pay-To-Win Concerns Regarding ArcheAge Progression Servers

Legends Return, the latest expansion for Trion Worlds' sandbox MMO ArcheAge launches today. Included in the update along with the new dragon-training feature are two new Fresh Start servers, Nui and Ezi, for North America and Europe.

While players are excited for the new content, there have been concerns raised regarding some of the items that have been added to the game's cash shop. As reported on MassivelyOP, players on Reddit and Twitter have been questioning Trion on the decision to include things like dungeon run consumables, leveling consumables, and combat consumables in the game's store.

While we obviously intended to cover the release of the new content, we wanted to address this as well and obtain more information about it from Trion who responded to us about the situation via email.

Trion started by saying that they've received input from players both in support as well as opposition to the shop, noting that they're "happy for a chance to step in and clear the air." Then they addressed the boosts in particular, noting that they're typically common in free-to-play games and adding that the boosts provided by items bought in the shop are limited and that players can make many of them in game. They also stated that after taking player feedback, this set of Fresh Start servers have been made more restrictive than those that existed previously.

The entire statement can be read in full below.

“There is a lot of excitement and anticipation in the ArcheAge community surrounding our upcoming 4.5 update, as well as some strong opinions both in support of and in question of the microtransaction shop. We're happy for a chance to step in and clear the air.

Some of the new items in the 4.5 microtransaction shop offer boosts, which are common in many free to play games. However, the boost provided is limited, and many of these items can be made in-game for no cost. Grinding Guardian scrolls, for example, can be made via printing proficiency. They only provide extra dungeon attempts, but not a disproportionate number of attempts to those acquired through the in-game method. Scrolls do not guarantee good item drops, and the ability to clear the dungeon is still limited by the player’s progression and ability to find a group.

We’ve implemented changes based on player feedback to make this Fresh Start implementation more restrictive compared ones we’ve done previously. While labor potions were sold with no purchase quantity limit in the past, we stopped that practice in 2016 with our previous fresh start and will not this time around either. Only minor labor regeneration items [are] available this time around, albeit highly restrictive ones. Also due to player feedback, there will be no 10 m/s mounts sold in the microtransaction shop.

Additionally, marketplace offerings are restricted based on the phases of the progression server, with many offerings not being added until the domestic rush has settled in the coming months.

We take player feedback very seriously, apply it whenever we can, and tirelessly advocate on behalf of our customers in our territories. As a free to play game, ArcheAge requires that all regions operate under roughly the same microtransaction model, and we work to deliver the best product we possibly can under those constraints. In fact, monetization in 4.5 was more lightly implemented than in previous updates in order to keep in line with regional expectations of fairness. While parity across regions is an important element for XLGAMES, each of us is committed to finding a happy medium that will benefit all ArcheAge fans worldwide.”