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About my MMO experience with in-game currency & DLC
I was both a top player and later a casual player in one of the most complex MMO game (EVE Online) with in-game currency for almost 10 years from 2003 beta to 2013. I believe I'm qualified enough to know how important it is to fix this mess with DLC and War spoils to improve COH2s longevity.
That is if Relic truly aspire to polish this franchise for competitive multiplayer and the potential of eSport such as its sister studio (CA/Relic owned by SEGA) with the free-to-play Total War: Arena.
ESL; Total War: ARENA Closed Alpha Live Event
I love the COH2 franchise with its “Band of Brothers/The Pacific” HBO TV-series appeal. I also love to play as a semi-casual gamer and watch competitive gamers play. No matter what happens, I'll continue to support it as will others I'm sure. But both COH and DoW franchise has so much more potential, even more so than EvE Online (which is still a niche genre within MMOs) and I'm not saying that lightly.
But with the current DLC policy for COH2 there is just no chance that this game will ever become eSport. Either fix it or forget about it.
Micro-Transactions & competitive multiplayer
The current DLC/Micro-Transactions with its premium commanders and factions is fine for the non-competitive single player, custom games and Co-ops/Theater of War contents. But it's definitely not fine for competitive multiplayer that need an even playing field to thrive. Either make more classic paid expansions + commanders that everyone has to pay-to-play on the same server or make a separate multiplayer only free-to-play version with in-game currency used to pay for premium content. SEGA can't have both.
As example with FTP or paid expansions;
1) Relic/SEGA could easily afford to make at least one free-to-play eastern front faction + all commanders and then make the rest of the western front factions/commanders all premium content paid with in-game currency.
OR
2) With classic paid expansions (no in-game currency) make one eastern front package + western front package and make all commanders within that package free for all to create an even playing field (and all future updates). DLC should then be limited to customization such as skins/faceplates or making separate ladder accounts such as COH1.
In EVE Online what the devs did to make their multiplayer game free-to-play was that they allow the in-game currency to pay for the monthly subscription. That is what they call "plex", paid with in-game currency. The DLC parts are mostly limited to non-competitive-role playing within EvE online and customization. Not using DLC trickery to mess with competitive multiplayer is very important for MMO players. Within EvE online the majority of the MMO players was in protest when the devs tried to get DLC into competitive multiplayer.
‘EVE Online’ Engulfed in Micro-Transaction Controversy
http://gamerant.com/eve-online-controversy-protest-micro-transactions-ryanb-94481/
SEGA DLC trickery will fail
DLC trickery and a failed grinding system are not gonna draw more players to COH2 as it potential could if this mess was actual fixed..
Hopefully, Relic will start to put more work into polishing all in-game content and maybe make a true game grinding system like it's sister studio with Total War: Arena.
War spoils are just "trolling" new players with a luck based system. I'm sure this was not intentional, but War spoils is a bad attempt to reward players for in-game activity and even the playing field point for those that don't want to pay for premium/DLC content.
Grinding war spoils (similar to in-game currency) should, in theory, give players a reason to keep playing for premium content rather than giving up and walking away.
But currently it doesn't work that way at all.
Go to 30:49 and listen to what AngryJoe as a COH reviewer had to say about this DLC trickery. Currently, AngryJoe COH review has 264.549 youtube viewers. So this is the type of bad reputation that COH are getting from new players because SEGA/Relic don't fix this mess. AngryJoe review was fair and balanced and he also gave fair credits as well to Relic.
That new players don't easily understand what War spoils is pretty much sum up why Relic should replace this failed system with a true in-game currency system (one or two in-game currency) that are transparent and more flexible. The Ingame currency could also more easily be used to reward tournament players etc. which some eSport games are already doing.
In-game currency can be saved to pay for future content which give another motivation to keep playing. That can't be done with War spoils either.
A true in-game currency system was also suggested years ago by well known Twitch streamers such as Cataclaw to pay for premium content.
To make the in-game currency work it's important to understand that time is money. Either the player grind by "investing time into the game" or "save in-game time" by investing RL money for extra convenience, customization or varied player experience.
Grinding may be tedious but it even the playing field so a competitive multiplayer game with premium content don't become pay-to-win but rather "free-to-play by grinding".
Cross-Platform Grinding within one universe
Star Wars Battlefront: INTRODUCING BASE COMMAND
http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/connect-with-friends-with-star-wars-battlefront-companion
Quotes:
“Base Command is a fun and accessible way to bring your Star Wars Battlefront Star Cards into another context and play with them there,” Game Designer Tommy Rydling explains. “It’s a snack-sized mobile game, perfect when you’re commuting and want to remain in the Star Wars Battlefront universe.”
Base Command has a strong connection to Star Wars Battlefront. Survive the Sieges and you’ll earn in-game credits, which in turn can be used to unlock Star Cards, weapons, and more in Star Wars Battlefront. Reversely, Star Cards earned in Star Wars Battlefront will automatically be available in Base Command.
“There’s this great symbiosis between the two experiences,” Rydling notes. “If you progress in Star Wars Battlefront it will help you in Base Command, and vice versa. And it doesn´t matter if you use earned credits for your Star Cards in the Companion or directly through Star Wars Battlefront, they’ll automatically and immediately be available in both experiences.”
Now please take a look on the future potential of the cross-platform grinding system within one universe. Several developers are already working to implement this new system, such as StarWars Battlefront with "Base Command" and EvE online (PC) with Dust 514 (EvE online mercenaries on console)/Project legion (PC). That something to strongly consider for a cross-platform franchise with Relic's future multiplayer games.
If you look at how popular casual RTS are on mobile phones/tablets, this has the potential to attract millions of casual players to the cross-platform franchise. True, Relic can't make RTS competitive on cross-platform but what Relic can do is inter-connecting the financial parts and in-game currency of the multiplayer franchise into one universe, one war.
As one example, let's say a DoW3 MMO-spinoff (free to play version) are released as the cross-platform franchise as one universe, one global war type of MMORTS game. So you create a simple MMORTS game a bit similar to "Game of War" or turn based game on tablets as Relic "on the go". Allow players to grind in-game currency on their tablets and use it on all platforms within that franchise.
Another idea is to let mobile RTS players or console players "hire DoW mercs" from competitive multiplayer on PC, to attack their MMO enemies on tablets/console. The competitive multiplayer on PC can then "grind in game currency" by working as mercs for MMO players from another platform. So that would instantly attract many viewers from both platforms to watch each other game as one universe, one war. Either on twitch or VODs.
MMORTS Getting Very Popular
For the naysayers that say MMORTS have no future. Dumbed down MMORTS are getting very popular on mobile phones/tablets for the casual RTS gamer. With the popularity of MOBA/MMO games, Starcraft is abandoning RTS to focus on the MOBA/FPS market with Hearthstone and Heroes of the storm and team based FPS with Overwatch. With Blizzard leaving RTS, CA + Relic (both SEGA owned), could potentially become the leading RTS/MMORTS studios left in the PC market (and console as well).
Current popular on-the-go MMORTS games are Game of War as the big money maker and Clash of Clans (more popular but makes less money).
Game of War - 2015 Super Bowl Commercial "Who I Am" ft. Kate Upt
currently 10+ million youtube views
Clash of Clans: Revenge (Official Super Bowl TV Commercial)
currently 70+ million youtube views
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/03/the-shocking-truth-about-mobile-gaming.html
![](http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/files/2015/08/02/apps3-01.png)
So to all the nay-sayers out there that are saying RTS are dying. No way. Classic C&C RTS on PCs might be dead, but strategy games are still evolving. Thx to the Blizzard's popular command & conquer clones/spin-off, innovative RTS developers has been living in the shadow for more than a decade. Partly due to the popularity of the Starcraft eSport hype in South Korea (which is dying now). Mobile casual RTS games are more popular than ever and casual gamers are the fastest growing community in the gaming industry.
Console RTS = Casual gamer, PC RTS = less casual than the console, Mobile RTS on-the-go = has the potential to attract all gamers if using the cross-platform grinding system.
So yes, interesting times ahead but only if Relic/CA use this RTS "power vacuum" opportunity to get ahead. Stop with nay-saying that COH or The Warhammer franchise can never become eSport.
COH2 MMORTS as a "Band of Brothers/The Pacific" TV Series similar narrative game story have huge market potential on console+mobile for the casual RTS gamer which currently with "Game of War" are a big money maker.
Not to mention Total War: Warhammer (Relic's initial IP Warhammer 40,000 IP that was used to make DoW) that currently have over 4 million views.
Bottom line, SEGA's DLC policy need a serious overhaul to say at least. Hopefully free-to-play Total War: Arena can help to change a few things, but Relic need to do their part also to help fix this mess..
But also a big "thank you" for all the other great things Relic have done to improve the COH franchise that I did not mention but deserve credit for.