Asmongold showcases Diablo Immortal’s ‘pay-to-win’ nature by comparing Elder Rift runs
Blizzard / Twitch: AsmongoldIn the midst of the discussion about Diablo Immortal’s ‘pay-to-win’ elements, Asmongold highlighted the issue by comparing a standard Elder Rift run free to all players with that of a $20 run.
Since its release, Diablo Immortal’s microtransaction system has been its biggest talking point. The trending narrative is that it’s a blatant ‘pay-to-win’ cash grab, and it’s being blasted by players left, right, and center.
The furor sparked even more after various players started calculating how much you need to spend in order to have the best end-game equipment, which could extend beyond $100,000 in some cases.
Of course, not everyone has an issue with it. Shroud and Asmongold are fully aware of the pay-to-win elements, but unlike others, it doesn’t faze them – presumably because they’ve got plenty of money at their disposal.
However, that didn’t stop Asmon from showcasing the problem to his viewers during his latest stream.
Blizzard EntertainmentAsmon played through an Elder Rift run modified with $20 worth of Legendary Crests, which increases the likelihood of finding good loot. He then compared it to a free run.
To no surprise, the ‘pay-to-win’ run ended with him finding an absurd amount of powerful loot, including a handful of legendaries.
Meanwhile, the free run was far more underwhelming with just a couple of rare items at best.
Asmon pointed out that the loot in the free run was so bad that it didn’t even give him any upgrades. It’s a stark contrast to the spoils of war that emerged in the premium run.
$20 may not seem like a ton in the grand scheme. Though with that cost applying to just a single run, it can very quickly add up. As a result, a large portion of the player-base has argued the game is ‘pay-to-win,’ and they’re also concerned about the need to invest these sums regularly to find better loot.
Despite that, though, developers downplayed claims that Diablo Immortal is indeed ‘pay-to-win’ ahead of its release. They argued a team of them thrived in the beta without spending a dime and implied others could do it.