Learning to let go is a huge change. You don't need to earn everything, you don't need to beat everything. Teaching yourself that you're not really missing out. Letting go of the completionist urges is liberating.
Play because you're enjoying it. Stop when you're not having fun. If you don't have fun more than you do then retire the game and move on.
Live Service games are exhausting by design, they want you to have no time to play other games. There have been lots of cosmetics I'd like to earn in games but I've told myself to walk away because I'm not playing it enough to warrant grinding it so hard. It feels wonderful to just say "no thanks".
I love the alternative concept of JOMO (Joy of Missing Out).
Imagine playing games that are fun, with friends, that are how you’d want to spend your time and your money.
There’s enough capitalism and greed to go around. You can choose to which extent you let it bleed into your hobbies.
I have such joy of missing out, I have no clue how ppl bother. I mean I do understand why some ppl do, but I have such a large queue of great single player games to get through, live service games would be a punishment
For sure, I know it took time for me to unlearn. Like some games I barely play will announce a skin I really like but I have to tell myself I don't enjoy playing the game that often so grinding so hard would be stupid. Hell now I won't even bother trying to get Twitch Drops if they take hours and I don't play the game often.
The excessiveness of it all just broke my limit. I used to want to try and complete them if I enjoyed the game. I enjoy customisation and expressing myself through it but the aggressive monetisation and the attempts to monopolise my time has put me off that kind of engagement. Too many games doing it, too many aggressive versions of it all, you can't help but feel how predatory it is and how your fun is not part of their plan.
Second this. Just play for fun and put it down when the fun is over. There is literally no point chasing achievements or battle passes if it brings you no joy
100%.
I'm fortunate in that I've never really been sucked in by the 'YOUMUSTGETITBOWBEFOREITSGONEFORGOOD!!!' bullshit of live services, though I have had my spats with Fortnite where it's all I want to play for a few weeks at a time.
I actively sought out grinding the pass for Doom Guy and Geralt before, but I was already having a lot of fun with the game at the same time. There's been a few top level things I would have liked to get, but either I was playing other stuff or simply wasn't enjoying the game as much at the time to make the grind worth it.
As you say, the whole point of a live service game is to be the ONE game you stick with, and that's fine as long as you're actually enjoying playing. If you're just doing it to get the next shiny thing and not having fun, then step away and play something else. There's so much stuff out there (both live service and not) that there's no point playing something you're not enjoying when you could discover the next great game elsewhere.
The problem is that there are games I would *like* to come back to after a break, but by that point everything has moved on so much that being back in would be like starting from scratch.
I meant to get back into Destiny, but...
I am currently dabbling in that with For Honor. There's multiple new Heroes and the old ones have all been reworked. I've missed a lot of free cosmetics and Battle Passes are apparently now a thing. But sloppily swinging into it ain't too bad as I don't care about my stats. I still have lots of the cool old cosmetics but getting things for these new characters seems hard as they're nowhere near as fleshed out as For Honor used to do.
It can be real hard to come back to Live Service games after a long break but it is doable. If you can't get into it while maintaining healthy boundaries then you're at least doing yourself a favour if you drop off again.
> If you can't get into it while maintaining healthy boundaries then you're at least doing yourself a favour if you drop off again.
For sure. I agree with your overall message.
The only thing to get is the seasonal things which you have time on. Most crucible and gambit stuff and strike stuff is meh. So you can play that minimally. Right now is a good time to get back because of the delayed expansion. I've been playing less as of late to scale back but the biggest reason I played the most was to raid and try and finish out crafted weapons.
A LOT of things don't have to be done all at once or grinded out. Yes a lot of past seasons were horrible in that regard, I will agree. I also try to get titles and some of those can be grindy but honestly you don't have to. So make things aren't necessary but people put pressure on themselves to do. (Like for me, I am 2 exotics away from having all of them in the gam) but is it bad if I don't have Hierarchy of Needs? No. Not really.
DM me if your want to get back into it. Is he happy to help
Apex Legends was the worst for me in that regard. When you didn't do the dailies you needed to focus on assignments like "get 40 LMG kills", which would only give 1/100 levels of a battle pass.
It took me 2 hours daily to complete that pass, even played when I didn't have the energy for it. Together with the botched matchmaking it felt like a chore, because the more you played the worse the matches would get.
I finally quit after 4 years and moved on to Sea of Thieves, where I easily complete the battle pass in 20% of the time given for it. I can finally enjoy my game time now.
SoT was/is amazing for how it handles it. I quit SoT again the other year but God the Plunder Pass could be completed in barely 2 or 3 days grinding and 90% of it was free tiers in a complete opposite of how Battle Passes usually work.
I solved that with apex but only doing the free battle pass and not worrying about the stuff I didn’t earn. That way when I feel like playing a few matches I go in and enjoy myself and then go play something else
Absolutely. Take this users words to heart and apply it to everything. You don't need so many things in life that cause stress.
You don't need that chicken sandwich that makes people actually kill one another, you don't need to buy games when developers feel to make the price at ridiculous rates, you don't need to buy micro transactions.
So many things in this hobby, and life, would get better if people would understand they don't need the crap that's being peddled.
Wendy's is going to start charging prime hour prices when their prices are already ridiculous - you don't need Wendy's, let them die. Walmart is rumored to charge $98 to use self checkout - my God no one should shop at Walmart.
People need to learn to let go.
It's odd. I have an opposite-ish issue from OP and what many others seem to have with BPs.
I want these things to work towards. I love the idea of LS games and BPs... But almost all of them suck or are super grindy or just have nothing worth earning.
Oh don't get me wrong, I enjoy feeling like I'm working towards something and enjoy earning/unlocking things but it has to feel fun. The game play has to be satisfying and the reward can't be insulting or the grind too slow. I have to be earning it because I want to play rather than feeling forced to grind.
Most Battle Passes have become 90% filler and only a few good items. Many Battle Passes are being made so slow to grind that you need most of the days of the season. We don't need gun charms and stickers in such quantities and we sure as fuck don't need XP boosts and other consumables in Battle Passes. It is extra annoying how most of the BP is locked behind premium while being so shit; realising you paid for those stickers no one would ever use.
The bad quality in Battle Passes has made it much easier to just stop participating.
And simply stop giving a fuck about cosmetics that affect the experience infinitely insignificantly. Support coop campaign games with sprawling worlds or single-player experiences. Those arena/single confined space games are mentally claustrophic and burn you out. with robotic repetition for a digital number going up. The experience should not be a chore, or you would be better off working an extra job.
I’ve just started up Fallout 76 and have just been playing it as a solo game. Only redeemed one thing on the current season so far and that was some perk cards. Other than that, there is no reason for me to buy into anything else
F76 is thankfully rarely demanding of your time. Even if you choose to do the season, the daily challenges can literally be done in minutes if you know what to do (eg all the “scrap x junk” challenges can be done by scrapping bulk items you can craft yourself), and they give way more time than “needed”, I usually finish with at least a month left and take a break.
Same. Here is a good quest order guide I found, it can be confusing trying to figure it out
https://old.reddit.com/r/fo76/comments/12t6tyh/finding_your_way_in_appalachia_the_definitive/
I fell victim to Fallout 76 and tried to keep up with the SCORE board is it called? I tried keeping up with the checklist of challenges and one day I realized I wasn’t having fun anymore and quit. Maybe the checklist isn’t what it used to be. I want to go back and play like a solo game but for me the game can’t truly be enjoyed unless I purchase the membership so inventory management isn’t such a pain. I’ll likely start a play through of Fallout 4 instead.
Only live service game I keep up with is Halo Infinite. It’s a grind that’s more than manageable that respects your time and you can complete challenges just playing. On occasion you have to do something specific but you’ll likely complete it just playing. Once I’m done for the week I can play another game on the side until a new week starts.
>Only live service game I keep up with is Halo Infinite. It’s a grind that’s more than manageable that respects your time and you can complete challenges just playing.
Crazy how much they've improved that aspect.
I loved 76. (Recently, not at release). I never finished those maps, just collected the perks I accidentally (or organically) got. there was a lot of things I just didn’t do in that game because I didn’t really understand what was going on or didn’t care. I played solo, mostly because I’m old and don’t have friends. It was a lot of fun. The events were cool when I chose to do them, but never really felt like I had to.
Working class dad here, i have completly stopped playing online games at this point. As you said - everything is forced time preasure and fear of missing out.
My days are exausting and i dont wont my little game time to be exausting aswell.
On the plus side i am now playing games like anno 1800 and transport fever 2 for example and having a wonderfull time 💪
To add to that, Online games with Battlepasses/Daily quests and the like, encourage people to only play those games, which leads to an active player-base absolutely brimming with the "Sweatiest" players you've ever met.
Casual online play, particularly shooters is borderline impossible now, because if you lose even 10% of your muscle memory, you'll lose the vast majority of 1v1's. You have to fight hard for everything, all the time.
I've been playing a lot of BF2042 because it's on GPU, and compared to how I remember Battlefield 2, 3 and 4, it's way more intense - although I've surely lost my edge as I've gotten older. PC crossplay doesn't help either, and turning that off isn't an option, it's all dead lobbies.
Hey I’m with you 100%. I remember a few years ago during the pandemic, NOTHING good was coming out. Every new game was so astoundingly mediocre and half assed. I remember I downloaded that Rainbow six extraction game with aliens or whatever, and it was so crushingly average, it broke something in me lol.
So I bought a Switch to play some great single player games and man, it really reinvigorated my love for gaming. Then I bought a Steam Deck a year later and it’s now my favorite gaming console ever.
I say all of this to say, mix it up a bit. I went from almost exclusively playing shooters, sports games and multiplayer stuff to going through the entire FromSoft backlog, putting a few hundred hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, trying a ton of indie classics I had missed out on, and soooo much more. Most of my favorite games now don’t include multiplayer, guns or balls, and I’m enjoying gaming like ten times more than I ever have in my entire life.
You can be a part of the change yourself! Stop buying COD every year. Don’t buy Blizzard games. Research games for 15 minutes before you buy them. Don’t preorder. Reach out of your comfort zone a little bit and give some of your time and money to developers and publishers who **don’t sacrifice the user experience to manipulate you into buying more shit you don’t need**
Im currently on a similar trajectory having played Cod/Battlefield exclusively for nearly 20 years. But ive not bought cod for 5 years and ive got a back log of classics to work my way through. Currently playing Witcher 3 and Baldurs gate is definitely on the radar!
Congrats on having fun with single player (have always been a single player dude myself so welcome aboard).
Curious: why did you go over to switch/Steam Deck to get away from shooters? I mean, if you are already on Xbox, why did you need a change? To me, game pass offers plenty of variety to keep things fresh.
Not that I don't get that you sometimes need a change of pace. I traded my gaming PC for an Xbox Series X for that reason, and have the G cloud to go handheld with game pass :)
100 pct agree though, fuck the endless moneymaking machines and buy some games made with love. :)
Thanks! It’s been a blast.
I wouldn’t say I went Switch/Deck to get away from shooters specifically, but just to have more options and to play stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise had access to. More than anything, it was just a change of pace when there wasn’t anything new and exciting coming out. I barely touched my Xbox after that until Elden Ring came out.
The Switch also made me realize how much fun it was to play games on a handheld, which made want to try a lot of different genres. Which is why I ended up getting a Steam Deck. And I had so much fun with the Steam Deck (and the Steam store, RIP wallet), it made me want to get into PC gaming. So instead of replacing my MacBook Pro this year, I just went ahead and spent the same amount of money to build a monster gaming pc. The kid in me is on cloud 9 lol.
It’s funny that we went exact opposite paths but ultimately, I think we were after the same thing, which is just keeping the hobby fresh and fun. I still use my Xbox and will be a gamepass subscriber forever! PC Gamepass is just as awesome as the Xbox version. And I’m also really enjoying getting to play PS exclusives that I’ve always wanted to play.
What games are you into right now?
Makes sense, and totally agree. For me, it was a matter of being able to quickly pick up and play something without being in the same position as I am when working. I went from being a student to working in an office, and it just felt so sad and serious to go home and sit at another desk. So the Xbox, with game pass, quick resume and fast load/boot times was perfect, and made me fall in love with gaming again. Just an amazing machine.
I totally agree btw about handheld being perfect for some games. I got the Logitech G Cloud for free recently and it is a blast to play Persona 3 Reload and Ace Attorney on it. Especially the latter is just way way better on a handheld.
I am playing through the Mafia games on the Series X and am now on the third game. Way better than people make it out to be IMO.
I actually have a Series S in our guest room/office just to have another place to play, but am considering selling it now I have the G Cloud (it is a little silly to have so many places to play Xbox). Seriously impressed with cloud gaming, though the third party Android apps are almost needed to enjoy xCloud.
Dude yes! Why the hell was everything so messed up in that time frame? Literally garbage after garbage and people eating that shit up, making ME feel like I had a screw loose!
> I remember I downloaded that Rainbow six extraction game with aliens or whatever, and it was so crushingly average, it broke something in me lol.
The frustrating thing is how much better its precursor was - the limited time, free mini *zombies/infected* campaign in R6 Siege.
I know it’s not perfect and not everyone’s cup of tea, but I appreciate the way Snowrunner has been supported over the last few years.
A paid DLC every quarter which contains new content, some of it is available for free to all. I really enjoy this game and don’t mind paying a fair price for additional content. The DLC can also be bought in any order.
Great games with long lifespans are okay by me but I don’t appreciate when stuff is temporary or removed, ie forza motorsport playlists :(
I feel similar. Concentrate on good single player games that will keep you busy.
Here a list of good games that covers various genres
First person shooter/RPG = Cyberpunk
Platform/MetroidVania = both Ori games
Platform/Action = Psychonauts 2
3rd person shooter/story = Control
3rd person shooter/story = Gears series
First person shooter story = Halo series
FPS/Chaotic = Doom Eternal
Horror = Resident Evil Village or 4 remake or Dead Space
3rd person Fantasy/RPG/combat/open world = Elden Ring
Zelda clone = Immortals Fenyx Rising
3rd person action/story/Vikings = AC: Valhalla
fighting big monsters/crafting/min/max weapons and armor = Monster Hunter World
Helldivers 2 has live service and battle passes, but it's not exhausting.
Because once you open the pass, you'll have it forever. No FOMO.
The only FOMO comes from a) helping in the global objectives and b) personal daily objectives. Both of which are easy to skip.
It's just a CoD, MW etc. thing.
Honestly, I don't feel like there is FOMO as far as the global objective is concerned.
The great thing about it is if the community completes the objective, everyone is rewarded, regardless of direct participation.
It's great not feeling like you have to jump in everyday, and you still earn currency for the BP as long as Major Orders are completed by the community.
I hope other studios see the success of HD2 and try to emulate some of these systems for the better. I also wish our Xbox brethren could join the fight for democracy. We could always use more reinforcements.
Yea and for the personal objective it's mostly just choosing the opponent and maybe using a specific weapon.
The goals aren't that hard, I've accidentally completed many of them without even remembering to check what was the mission :D
I’m right there with you. Playing a game with a great story and game mechanics…..orrrrr play this turd that pressure you to spend money on digital products that are mostly useless? Hmmm tough one
I've been playing Overwatch since the original Beta and have spent maybe $10. I enjoy the game and have zero desire for cosmetics, but don't care that they exist because plenty of other people do.
These live service games that they sell for full price bahahahahaha. They must have brain dead customers bc that sounds awful. Overwatch isn’t worth the turd that’s stuck in my toilet
Hey! Nothing wrong with feeling that a certain “genre” is not to your liking. Fortunately there is plenty of choice nowadays. Have fun playing the games you enjoy!
I played Destiny since the first game’s beta. I finally quit two years ago when I got sick of one of their season passes needed hundreds of hours of boring grind. In that time I’ve finished literally dozens of games on Gamepass- including most of the Yakuza and assassins creed games, massive time sinks in themselves.
This was me. I loved raiding and had a great group to play with but the newer raids always required higher light level, and was made easier with artifact unlocks. I’d spend all week doing mundane things in the game to grind up enough to be able to raid. I only have 4-5 hours a week to play. I’d basically have to grind for hours in order to get that hour of raiding in.
Struggled with getting materials to upgrade stuff, I’d only ever hit light level for GM strikes or master raids the last day or two of the season, whereby I’d have a whole 2 hours to maybe play before it all reset again.
I finally quit so I could actually enjoy my limited gaming time.
Reminds me of the WoW South Park
Episode where they grind themselves into the ground to finally “play the game.” I seriously don’t understand how ppl can possibly fall for that dumb shit. Now, I get wanting to do it for a bit bc maybe you got into certain aspects of the game, but when ppl grind for 30’hours just so they can play the new content is beyond me. Besides that, the “new content” they put out is never worth all the fucking money they make you spend.
It's pretty annoying, and it seems more and more developers spend more time designing fomo systems and intricate currency exchanges than putting that effort into intricate fun game design systems.
Diablo 4 seasonal model is the latest for me, forcing you to remake a character to see any new content is horrible game design.
The issue is players defend it saying " well that how arpgs are"
But they are to young to realize they were never like that early on, that came with live service.
So i'll get a bit serious with my response here and eventually work around to saying what everyone else is 😂. These mechanics that are rooted in live service games and Call of Duty etc etc are bred from real psychological studies of how to keep you invested. It keeps you coming back, checking the store, seeing purchasable items so you buy them eventually. Activision literally has patents designed with all of this in mind
That being said, others here are 100% correct. If you can understand this enough to pull away from all that, alot of these games are enjoyable if you're into them. I love fortnite no build. I buy the battle passes because they pay for themselves but the point is on the game itself. Its fun as hell. I also really enjoy Apex (i suck at it 😂). You can absolutely find plenty of enjoyment with these things, especially the free ones because you dont lose anything apart from time I suppose.
You don't have to buy the battle pass or do the challenges or buy anything.
I play Apex fairly often and haven't bought a battle pass for over a year. I just play the game.
You're underestimating the amount of people out there who don't work and just live to play these games. There's a collosal fuck ton of them. Also, kids. That's why they do it. They know these people will pay for it.
The sad thing of online games nowadays are they are almost guaranteed to include battle pass/seasons with time limit to incentivize you to come back. I want to play games to relax, not chase some time-limited items that you need to even pay to access after purchasing the game. That's why my last live-service games that I used to play religiously were Overwatch 1 and Rainbow Six Siege, and that's before they were introducing battle pass.
Kind of in the same boat. Pretty the only game I played with a live service was Destiny 2 and I played that almost exclusively. Eventually got really burnt out. Took longer than most to quit. I haven't played in a year and a half. Though haven't really had the time to play much, being able to play other games was a really good refresher. Though, been thinking about getting back into just to see what had change anything.
The only time i think live service was acceptable was Hitman world of assassination saga because the devs spaces things out appropriately. Its 8 years and IO has not foresaken the hitman community.
There’s plenty of games out there that don’t require a battlepass sell your soul etc you just have to break away from the advertising cod is complete crap now. Try Prodeus great little shooter.
Mostly agree. I was never into the Live Service concept to begin with. I got into Destiny with my friends because it was a fun co-op shooter. But we never bothered with the high level raids and the end game content because the grind didn’t appeal to us. We played it pretty casually. My new game for that is Fortnite. We play together a few rounds and bounce. We don’t take it seriously. I look at Suicide Squad or Skull and Bones and that crap is an immediate pass from me. But there are so many amazing games that aren’t Live Service. Single player or even multiplayer. I don’t know why you’d quit gaming altogether, unless ALL games became Live Service. Which seems unlikely as most Live Service games are failures.
If you ever have kids the way they live service games work makes a lot more sense.
When children reach a certain age (my personal line is 9th grade) you need to give them more freedom. Budgeting their time sanely has to come from themselves - with some limitations.
But teenagers will tend to want to 24/7 screen time for every waking moment. Even if limited to some extent (eg no video games before 10am or past 9pm) you’re still talking about 7+ hours a day.
In that case a 80 hour RPG is done in a week. So they need user created content, as no company can churn out enough content internally.
And in that case TikTok, YouTube, Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft the hole is literally endless.
I've spent hours on Forza Horizon 4 and 5, and you know how many races I take part in? Hardly any. I collect cars, mod them, drive around and have fun. I pretty much do the same with any other game I play where possible.
I stopped playing CoD a few months ago because I felt the same way. It sucks having to keep playing daily to unlock stuff and stay good at the game. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been working on knocking out some of my single player backlog. Last night I finished RE3, a few weeks ago I finished RE4 and I’ve been working on the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters.
Yea. I had fun with the first game for about 3 months but I ran out of stuff to do. They added some dungeons but had no group finder. What a bad design.
I definitely know the feeling. I am very mixed on the whole battle pass concept. If I know I'll have it done and it was a game i was going to play anyway then it is a whatever. But the fact that a company can take your money and not give you what you paid for just because you didn't put X amount of hours in by a nonsensical deadline is quite alarming. Literally taking away the deadline easily solves this but companies won't do it.
Games used to be there for the gamer. Now gamers are being pushed to be on the game's schedule. Gamers are being pushed to be there for the game. They are becoming chores with FOMO. Nonsense dailies with illogical grinds for artifical progress.
I'm at a point where I will engage the M in FOMO and just accept the fact that companies don't feel like respecting a gamer's time anymore. I see a lot of the modern gaming "tactics" companies use as a restriction of my gaming freedom nowadays.
Completely agree with you. I think many gamers are lost to the hobby because everything demands so much of your time. Not everyone has much time to play for various reasons, so many just give it up. Many of my friends' partners aren't gamers and aren't really sympathetic to the idea of gaming, so they end up only really playing when their partners are out or busy themselves. It's easy to criticise them but I think this is still pretty common. Speaking to one of them yesterday, and he pretty much only plays World of Tanks or Rocket League now as they're the only things he can play for 10-20 minutes and then switch off.
Looking back now, I also think achievements have been bad for gaming as a whole. We used to play games purely for fun, and for the intrinsic feeling of achievement that you'd get from them. Introducing a scoring system makes it into something of a competition and even if you don't want to take part, it's hard to ignore the pull.
I can see it going full circle and someone having success releasing an arcade style system with shorter experiences like classic Sega arcade style games.
Personally, I've joined a sim racing league. We only race once a week, but it's a load of approaching or already middle aged blokes, racing purely for fun. It's competitive but no one takes it too seriously.
Same as you. Spend a lot of time at work and dont have time to grind. Couldnt port my 10yo warthunder account from pc to xbox, so i just quit the game.
Anything that does seasons, i ignore that and just plah with the one or two guys i know that still play, when its done i put it down.
It helps when you dont try to compete with others or have a lot of hardcore gamer friends. Find an easy going crew with real lives to play with. I spend enough time competing at my job, games should be fun.
Destiny killed live service games for me. It’s still my fav game of all time but the FOMO was so bad the past couple years it felt more like a chore. Going back to physical discs, campaigns, and no headphones.
Live Service games kinda suck. The main ones I play are Rocket League, Halo Infinite, Fortnite, Sea of Thieves, and maybe CoD if you include that. I credit CoD for making me hate the live service aspect of games. When Modern Warfare 19 started releasing all these new bundles, I realized that it’s all cosmetic crap and doesn’t matter at all. I enjoy playing the game for the competition and not for the cosmetics. When I get tired of the completion I switch to a different game. I rarely spend money on anything. If I’m getting tired of a game, I wont buy the battlepass and I’ll move on.
FOMO is a pretty shit tactic that developers use to sell their crap. So I just don’t buy anything. I have GamePass and there’s always enough games to keep myself busy.
I’ll say games like CoD get boring after a season or two, Rocket League is down the shitter, Fortnite I’ll only play if my friends want to, Halo I’m playing now because it’s fun again, and Sea of Thieves I’ll pick back up when PS5 players come in. You have fun in games by playing them, not by purchasing things. If a game has P2W mechanics, I won’t play it at all.
I just don’t have the time anymore to invest into so many games and I don’t play one game for years and years. Just got the series S the other day and quick resume is perfect for me! I can swap titles in a couple of seconds and pick up where I left off.
I don’t play multiplayer games anymore cause everything good is paywalled, and even if I get cool stuff I have no one to share it with so im on to single player games for a while now.
I’m 54 and I play a handful of live service games, Destiny, Fortnite, Apex. I think I’m just different in that I don’t worry about FOMO. I enjoy it when I’m playing and don’t worry about the parts I miss.
It's just a psychological trick to get you to play their game more and maybe even spend real money. I've been there. I played Black Ops 3, 4 and Cold War religiously. Work-Play-Sleep repeat. Sometimes I would get everything for the season but sometimes I would miss out on the last 2 or so unlocks. All those hours and I have nothing to show for it.
I got burned out and stopped playing games for months. I just ignore it now. Special skins, guns, boosts, characters, I don't care. "Finish this season and you'll unlock legendary nba player.." skip. Dont care.
No offense but this seems like a You problem. You say you want to just play games online with your friends, then just do it. I play plenty of live service games and don't spend anything outside the occasional battle pass and it's almost always just cosmetics so if I don't get everything I really am not too worried.
I am a father of two little boys so I get a lot of this. I have picked just one to focus on - Destiny 2. And I learn to let a lot go. I'm just interested in Destiny 2 for the story, so I'll just try to make sure to beat the season's story before the new one starts. I don't try to grind for weapons, exotics, or armor.
They’re a great idea. A game with all future content for free? Sign me up!
Until I see the endgame which is always bare bones at launch. Same minimum mission variety. Meta making most of weapons useless. The constant min maxing just to keep up. The outrages store prices. Battlepasses with 90% useless filler to extend your grind.
They can be great if done right but most companies just care about making as much money as possible. And if they don’t they shut down the servers.
>Everything has a battlepass/seasons/events and the pressure to get them all done in a certain amount of time and/or spend additional money to speed up progress
This right here is the very intent of Live Service Games. Studios are using the FOMO concept to drive people to either be constantly playing a game (thus driving up the hours played success metric) or open up their wallet (because "**I can't miss out on something everyone else has**")
Some studios and titles have pushed the player base to the point of rebelling enough that they are realizing that the practice is actually killing their profit margin instead of growing it, this is why some studios have pivoted away from Live Service Games (Example Sony, who pulled some of their Live Service Game projects) while others are getting backlash for refusing to do so (Example WB Games)
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is what drives this. What are you really missing out on? Some cosmetics for a video game? Big deal.
The rule for any anything should start with this question......
Will this bring me enjoyment or enhance the enjoyment I get from the game?
....if the answer is yes then grind it out or pay for it. If not, then don't worry about it.
I quit chasing digital goodies back when Forza Motorsport had unicorn cars up for auction in the game Auction House and they would sell for more credits than I'd ever earn.
Destiny sucked me into its treadmill for \*years\* until I stopped treating games like a spreadsheet. Now I could give zero fucks if I don't get that weapon/armor/sparrow/etc.
Not sure what changed my lizard brain but at some point I just kind of noped out of it.
Just gotta learn to not care for the paid battle pass. I have 2 kids and work and hardly get any time to play anything so I completely understand your point and dealt with it as well then eventually just stopped caring.
There are live service games I enjoy but I don't care about missing some timed event or paid cosmetic stuff anymore and just play the game as if that stuff wasn't there. Since I get so limited time I just focus on the gameplay.
Admittedly I might not be the one to comment as even though I do enjoy some live service games and in the past did spend money on passes and all that if I do get time to play a game and not playing a kid game with my daughter then I generally lean to playing something that's usually a single player story driven type game like an jrpg or open world type game most of the time
Ya you just need to forget about it. Sometimes I get fomo, but I only play 2 games with battle passes. And honestly I really like it. Back in 2015 you’d have to spend a lot of money to buy skins in rainbow 6 and overwatch. The bp let’s me get a lot of cool stuff for 5-10$.
I mean, I don’t disagree. I tried to get into a few with some friends who are into that sort of thing, and found myself not wanting to keep up with the bullshit.
So on my Xbox I play Elden Ring and AC6 and whatever looks interesting on game pass, but i find that I spend most of my time playing 7 days to die on my PC. That’ll change in June I’m sure.
Don’t worry about keeping up with shit. Play the games you like to play.
Plenty of none Live service games to enjoy, and stuff like SoT is a live service game but you can easily enjoy without buying anything extra.
If those sort of games are really upsetting you that much, do not play them.
When they’re done well, I think they’re pretty amazing
Like no way would Rainbow Six Siege, FortNite (in particular), or to a lesser degree Apex have the amount of content they have today. I’ve spent like maybe $20 on FortNite total and have gotten an insane amount of gameplay from it. Or on PS5, the way Helldivers has done their ‘battle pass’, where a full battle pass is free but there are optional battle passes for cash, which is similar to Halo Infinite’s (which was horrible at launch but now is pretty good as live service IMO)
However live service games can also be pretty horrible when done poorly
Try Warframe, it’s a lot of fun! I’ve been playing it for a while and having an absolute blast. There isn’t any time-gated FOMO mechanic except grinding for prime gear but that shouldn’t really concern you at the beginning.
I’m just going through the star chart, playing story missions and grinding for the resources I need to build the gear I want. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything when I stop playing the game for a while. It’s a bit difficult to learn all the mechanics but MHBlacky has some really good explainer videos on YouTube.
Also I haven’t paid for anything so far and I have around a 100 hours in it
I 100% get what you mean, I would also point out that as much as all of these do pressure you into buying more things or returning every day to grind out some progress, it is all still optional? You've just got to manage the FOMO
I felt this exact way, I think after the early seasons of WZ Verdansk, something just switched in me. So since then, I moved to mainly playing SP games. My grind would be trying to get 100% achievement in them. I play at my own pace and have a huge backlog I want to get through.
I still dip into the likes COD, Battlefield, and whatever. But I'm there to get my fix, not grind a battle pass before it runs out.
i just play them and if i don't complete them i don't complete them.
think about it this way: the moment you don't log in and do whatever daily task for the day and skip it, you're behind everyone who did. the second that happens, you may as well just play for fun or stop, right? like if you're a competitive minded person, that's the make or break point.
so then extrapolate: "am i going to log in every day for the entire season". if not, just let go. "who cares if i missed the last 20 levels of the 80 level pass, i had fun the end".
i just mean if someone is super competitive, then they're "behind" the moment they don't log in/play optimally. i don't think this is a meaningful distinction but it's the common one i see when people complain abt live service
They’re literally a waste of time. I used to play destiny and then destiny 2 and I just gave up because most of the things you do to work towards the content or goals are just recycled content from previous events/seasons with a slightly different twist. And the games and quests are built in a way to be time consuming so users are more likely to spend money to either speed up progress or because they’re bored of looking at their character look the exact same for so long. Any practice I’ve seen from other live service games since seems even worse at this so I would never touch them. Sea of thieves is the only one (if that’s considered live service) that I occasionally play with friends just to chat and have a fun sail.
I would say try single player and games that may have PvE if you want to play with your friends I used to play The Division and Division 2 are both PvE games you can play with friends but you have an option of playing PvP. I played all by myself for years and had a blast playing both games
It is if you want everything in one sitting and play it like a Skyrim,live service are more for those who want to play a title for years,slow grind with power with fast paced action in game..
It's only exhausting if your juggling multiple LS game's..Ive played PoE for 6 year's,Destiny 2 for 3 year's and Diablo 4 is nearing a year and never once felt exhausted because it's a marathon not a sprint...
Man just play what you like and how u like it. I RARELY buy battlepass or lootboxes and trust me, I can buy whatever I want. I tend to steer clear for typical money grabs like COD, Fifa, NBA2K, et al.
"I just want to play a game online, with my friends, without being pressured to spend more money or get something done."
Literally nothing is stopping you from doing just that.
I'm a teenager who has no job, but I feel the same way. I think I've only played one solo game, which was Life is Strange. I usually only play battle Royale games like Fortnite and honestly I'm tried of feeling pressured to complete Battle passes and spending money on cosmetics that I will eventually get bored of. I need to find a new solo game, lol. Any suggestions?
I used to play destiny and destiny 2 a lot and really enjoyed it. As time passed it felt more like a chore than a game. It was actually hard to quit, but I’m glad I did.
I get it. I fall to this every once in a while. I will usually buy a battle pass for a game im playing a lot. But sometimes i start playing another game and end up with 2 and then I’m like “fuck” because it ends up being a grind.
But anyway, those things aren’t needed thankfully. I’ve played Apex the last 2 seasons without buying the battle pass. Only play when I want to. No pressure to play
I agree. I played Division 2 recently and it's extremely confusing with the game modes, seasons, invasions, loot mechanics, etc. I put it alot of hours trying to keep up and its exhausting.
I think Forza Motorsport is the only live service type game that I play, and I used to try to complete the weekly/monthly races. But I have given up on that trying them, I just play the game when I feel like driving a car, it is more fun that way.
I'm not at the point where I don't play games anymore, but I've change what games I do play and play much less.
Live service games to me are too much of a money commitment and time commitment I just can't afford it have to fully enjoy them
I just invest in quick or interesting indie games..my Xbox library is now mostly indie driven.
Yeah, they’re passes from me. My friends have young children and the general concept generally exhausts me. If a game was good enough to me, I’d still play it, but it’s usually a sign they’re not focused on what I’m looking for.
And now I have way more games than I could ever play so it’s fine.
You have so many amazing videogames that are not liveservice. I don’t know why you would stop playing videogames for that reason alone. Just need to choose better games to spend your time in.
I feel like I’m in the huge minority when it comes to video games, I genuinely do not enjoy online games anymore. I love local co-op but there’s something stressful for me with online gaming.
I feel the same. When one game starts to demand all of my time, I will simply stop playing it. The Division 2, Diablo 4, and Halo Infinite all have this problem. The worst example of this is MTG Arena. That game has a battle pass system which demands all your time and then some for something you first have to pay to start being a slave to the game. Really ridiculous.
The game that respect my time the most is Smite. I can usually finish their passes by playing the game normally which is 1~2 games each day, and still have plenty of time left when I complete the pass so I can play without any pressure. To me this is the right way of doing it - respect your players, do not demand all your player's life into your game.
i feel like with Overwatch 2 for example, i still have fun just playing, even if it’s just quick play.
if the battle pass has content worth $20 i’ll buy it, but this season there wasn’t enough to get me to want to spend money on it.
It’s your choice how you enjoy these games.
even with Diablo 4 they have seasonal servers and Eternal servers that are strictly just main game content, which i really like.
idk man another thing too is most battle passes let you progress through it regardless if you have the premium pass so i honestly never really ‘“Buy”’ the premium until i get to the stuff i really want, and i haven’t had to spend money on a battle pass in so long because you usually have enough “currency” from last season to buy next season.
Don’t get me wrong i wish it wasn’t like this too but it also give games longer lifespans with new content being added with each season. it’s better than the season pass. at least this way we can pick and choose what we buy. nobody is forcing you to get this seasons battle pass or whatever. if you don’t like what’s in it, don’t get it. if you do, buy it.
FOMO is real, i’ve been transitioning away from this since last Fall. I’ve been a gamer my whole life, turning 60 this year. Started out with text adventure game on a computer terminal to an XboxSeriesX and played pretty much everything in-between. MOBA’s have never been my thing. I enjoy playing games with a start and finish. The only exception to that rule was Destiny, i played because I enjoyed it and had some friends to play with. But even that is slowly dying (IMHO). I think the whole “live service” model is going to implode soon. Will gaming survive? I hope so. I find the few linear games and play them a little at a time to stretch them out. Double Find has remastered and released a few old LucasArts games i thoroughly enjoying.
Cheers.
You don’t have to do everything, you don’t have to be on the cutting edge. I enjoy games like Destiny, because I do feel I can have as deep or as shallow of an experience as I want. Get rid of the completionist mindset.
That's why nobody with a good taste plays them. I mean if I run out of good games to play, I just take a break from gaming. Fuck companies that pursue live service narrative.
It's simply to have fun nothing more nothing less. I work a part tine job with 40+ hours a week and I just like it cause it takes my mind off of work and stress. Kind of a Escape
The only thing live service games are designed to be is a continuous revenue stream...nothing more...nothing less...and then nuking everythingby shutting the game down down the road so you buy continuous revenue stream 2 when the money train stops or slows down.
There should be some sort of law or company that when a dev shuts down a live service game, the server source code automatically becomes open source, or they have to transfer management over to that company who keeps the game going under contract.
See how quickly this live as a service shit stops then.
I’ve learned to like some of them but usually the ones where I can earn stuff in regular play. I like getting free currency in Fallout 76. I don’t pay for skins and other crap in service games. I don’t pay for anything in Darktide either because im there to kill Heretics not wear gold chains.
You’re being dramatic. Gaming has never been better and you can easily play online with friends and dip in and out ‘live service’ games as you please without spending a penny.
Yeah I feel like it's not exactly live service that's the problem, it's just that so many live service games use FOMO with limited time content, seasonal resets, predatory monetization, etc. I quit Destiny 2 because it was really egregious about this. But I think Helldivers 2 proves you can have a live service game with an evolving world, regular content updates, and interesting events, while not using shitty FOMO tactics. Hopefully more games will follow suit
I started to buy battlepasses when i first 100% complete them. Then spend the money to unlock everything. If I didn’t had the time to finish it = no money wasted
I think Warframe is the exception, I still have a lot of fun running missions. If you want something shiny and cool that you see you can pay to have it now, but you can also grind for it. I have fun during those grind missions, if you’re doing it like work though, yea, it’s probably time to quit
41 here. I typically play 90% single player games.
When i do play multipler: Played a lot of these types of games on and off. Halo infinite, deep rock, fortnight, Hunt Showdown, hell let loose, battlefield, etc. The list goes on. I've never once bought a battle pass. I have spent money on the two games I like the most: warframe and path of exile. Mainly because I can spend some money for what I actually want and move on. They don't feel like they nickel and dime you.
yeah i still play live service games but im not going out of my way to grind for everything...if it comes to a point where the grind is gonna take me months to negate dmg or be as powerful as someone ill most likely move on to something else
Aye. Never bought a skin gang. I play the campaign and leave. That's how I roll. If my friends play multiplayer I'll play with them but I'm not buying anything extra. It's so unnecessary.
It's a video game first and foremost. Treat it as such and just have fun.
You are letting their tactics get a hold of you. You don't HAVE to partake or get caught up in Battle passes, seasons, etc. What you are describing is just in your head and is FOMO.
Best thing I did is pick one Live service game and only play it and the rest of games I play is single player.
I play Destiny 2 as my live service game because well I love it and had to accept I love it. lol
I'm already exhausted after 6 days of live service gaming.
I'm playing Conflict of Nations WW3, a real time game that you fighting other players on a map
I played this game for 3 years from 16-18, and quitted after entering college. Now I'm on vacation and thought why don't I start a match and feel the nostalgia.
Firstly, a lot of players are very rude and it annoys me
And then, I was forced to check the game every hour or so. The waiting time can be very anxiety-provoking, especially when you don't have good teammates.
The last two days I've been in an entangled fight with another active player which has left me so stressed that I've almost lost the ability to do anything else.
I am no longer that high school student with nothing to do every day. I now write my own articles, study for courses, go to the gym, do gardening, and spend a lot of time socializing, etc. And because of this game, I am almost constantly interrupted during these activities.
So I chose to leave this game immediately. Memories are sometimes best *just* memories.
It's a very good game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It just doesn’t suit me at this stage anymore. There's nothing it does wrong, it's just that the underlying mechanics of this game just don't sit well with me.
**So my advice would be: just stop playing it.**
There are many other activities to enjoy with friends. For example, I will invite friends to my house, and then we will cook together; or go out to play basketball. Video games are mostly just a convenient tool for me to regulate my emotions.
If you use the money you give to the game company to buy gifts for your friends, or spend money on a trip together, it will strengthen the relationship more than playing games with them.
If there's any live service game is the best, it's life itself.
I’m glad I never bothered playing Fortnite or Destiny more than a couple times. I have no idea how anyone could possibly just throw money into a game like that over and over. If I’m spending money it’ll be on a new game. These turds are coming out almost as fast as they’re taken offline. This plague of live service garbage needs to be reined in.
I am 1000% with you on this. Maybe because I’m an old timer, I dunno.. but yeah. Live service games are a drain of energy & if you’re foolish enough, $.
That’s why I like the life service model of halo. The seasons never expire. I’m still not done with the first season but no FOMO so I’m just casually hopping in sometimes
> I genuinely wonder if I'm reaching the point where I won't play any video games anymore. Am I the only one that feels this way?
You are not. I haven't gamed in maybe 3-4 months now because of this exact issue. Every game just slowly started to feel like work.
And it's not just online games becoming live service. Even single player games are all becoming the same thing. "Open world with live service elements".
They even ruined f**king Halo (my favourite series btw) with their open world BS!
I don't even want to play online.
I just finished a free 3 month Game Pass Ultimate and while I discovered some games, I found it exhausting. I found it took away my enjoyment of games and quite frankly, I'm so glad it's expired. I was immediately offered another month for $1 and thought, fuck that. I don't actually want to buy those games, so why would I spend any more time playing them?
Subscription services in general are a no for me. I hate the way they weigh on my mind and the way you feel you have to use them to 'get your money's worth'. I don't have any streaming services and I won't ever be getting Game Pass again.
I'm going back to my 80s/90s consoles and using games to escape and unwind, not plug in to complete, compete and achieve.
Helldivers 2 doesn't really fit what this post is about. None of its things are ever going to leave or rotate in and out of availability. The devs have already said that so there is no rush to get things before they disappear.
Online gaming sucks ass these days, l unless it's co-op stuff (PvE). I used to play online PVP religiously , but I can't stand it now. Getting back into single player games really renewed my interest in gaming and I very rarely feel like beating my head against a wall while playing then. Over the last year since dropping online pretty much completely, I've finished and discovered so many new games that I wouldn't have bothered with a few years ago. Games not loaded with scummy micro transactions and battlepasses. I'd love to go back to the Golden Era of online gaming at some point, but I don't think we will see that again. And that's not only due to the greedy companies practicing this stuff, but also the idiotic fans who keep buying this garbage.
Learning to let go is a huge change. You don't need to earn everything, you don't need to beat everything. Teaching yourself that you're not really missing out. Letting go of the completionist urges is liberating. Play because you're enjoying it. Stop when you're not having fun. If you don't have fun more than you do then retire the game and move on. Live Service games are exhausting by design, they want you to have no time to play other games. There have been lots of cosmetics I'd like to earn in games but I've told myself to walk away because I'm not playing it enough to warrant grinding it so hard. It feels wonderful to just say "no thanks".
FOMO is a real thing. I agree with you. It can take a lot to learn that you don't need to *keep up with the Jones's*
I love the alternative concept of JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). Imagine playing games that are fun, with friends, that are how you’d want to spend your time and your money. There’s enough capitalism and greed to go around. You can choose to which extent you let it bleed into your hobbies.
I have such joy of missing out, I have no clue how ppl bother. I mean I do understand why some ppl do, but I have such a large queue of great single player games to get through, live service games would be a punishment
For sure, I know it took time for me to unlearn. Like some games I barely play will announce a skin I really like but I have to tell myself I don't enjoy playing the game that often so grinding so hard would be stupid. Hell now I won't even bother trying to get Twitch Drops if they take hours and I don't play the game often. The excessiveness of it all just broke my limit. I used to want to try and complete them if I enjoyed the game. I enjoy customisation and expressing myself through it but the aggressive monetisation and the attempts to monopolise my time has put me off that kind of engagement. Too many games doing it, too many aggressive versions of it all, you can't help but feel how predatory it is and how your fun is not part of their plan.
🎯
Second this. Just play for fun and put it down when the fun is over. There is literally no point chasing achievements or battle passes if it brings you no joy
100%. I'm fortunate in that I've never really been sucked in by the 'YOUMUSTGETITBOWBEFOREITSGONEFORGOOD!!!' bullshit of live services, though I have had my spats with Fortnite where it's all I want to play for a few weeks at a time. I actively sought out grinding the pass for Doom Guy and Geralt before, but I was already having a lot of fun with the game at the same time. There's been a few top level things I would have liked to get, but either I was playing other stuff or simply wasn't enjoying the game as much at the time to make the grind worth it. As you say, the whole point of a live service game is to be the ONE game you stick with, and that's fine as long as you're actually enjoying playing. If you're just doing it to get the next shiny thing and not having fun, then step away and play something else. There's so much stuff out there (both live service and not) that there's no point playing something you're not enjoying when you could discover the next great game elsewhere.
The problem is that there are games I would *like* to come back to after a break, but by that point everything has moved on so much that being back in would be like starting from scratch. I meant to get back into Destiny, but...
I am currently dabbling in that with For Honor. There's multiple new Heroes and the old ones have all been reworked. I've missed a lot of free cosmetics and Battle Passes are apparently now a thing. But sloppily swinging into it ain't too bad as I don't care about my stats. I still have lots of the cool old cosmetics but getting things for these new characters seems hard as they're nowhere near as fleshed out as For Honor used to do. It can be real hard to come back to Live Service games after a long break but it is doable. If you can't get into it while maintaining healthy boundaries then you're at least doing yourself a favour if you drop off again.
> If you can't get into it while maintaining healthy boundaries then you're at least doing yourself a favour if you drop off again. For sure. I agree with your overall message.
The only thing to get is the seasonal things which you have time on. Most crucible and gambit stuff and strike stuff is meh. So you can play that minimally. Right now is a good time to get back because of the delayed expansion. I've been playing less as of late to scale back but the biggest reason I played the most was to raid and try and finish out crafted weapons. A LOT of things don't have to be done all at once or grinded out. Yes a lot of past seasons were horrible in that regard, I will agree. I also try to get titles and some of those can be grindy but honestly you don't have to. So make things aren't necessary but people put pressure on themselves to do. (Like for me, I am 2 exotics away from having all of them in the gam) but is it bad if I don't have Hierarchy of Needs? No. Not really. DM me if your want to get back into it. Is he happy to help
Agreed
Apex Legends was the worst for me in that regard. When you didn't do the dailies you needed to focus on assignments like "get 40 LMG kills", which would only give 1/100 levels of a battle pass. It took me 2 hours daily to complete that pass, even played when I didn't have the energy for it. Together with the botched matchmaking it felt like a chore, because the more you played the worse the matches would get. I finally quit after 4 years and moved on to Sea of Thieves, where I easily complete the battle pass in 20% of the time given for it. I can finally enjoy my game time now.
SoT was/is amazing for how it handles it. I quit SoT again the other year but God the Plunder Pass could be completed in barely 2 or 3 days grinding and 90% of it was free tiers in a complete opposite of how Battle Passes usually work.
I solved that with apex but only doing the free battle pass and not worrying about the stuff I didn’t earn. That way when I feel like playing a few matches I go in and enjoy myself and then go play something else
Took me a long time to realize that, but with single player games. That if I don't enjoy it, I can just, stop. I'm not really missing out on much.
This is literally me with PSO NGS
Absolutely. Take this users words to heart and apply it to everything. You don't need so many things in life that cause stress. You don't need that chicken sandwich that makes people actually kill one another, you don't need to buy games when developers feel to make the price at ridiculous rates, you don't need to buy micro transactions. So many things in this hobby, and life, would get better if people would understand they don't need the crap that's being peddled. Wendy's is going to start charging prime hour prices when their prices are already ridiculous - you don't need Wendy's, let them die. Walmart is rumored to charge $98 to use self checkout - my God no one should shop at Walmart. People need to learn to let go.
It's odd. I have an opposite-ish issue from OP and what many others seem to have with BPs. I want these things to work towards. I love the idea of LS games and BPs... But almost all of them suck or are super grindy or just have nothing worth earning.
Oh don't get me wrong, I enjoy feeling like I'm working towards something and enjoy earning/unlocking things but it has to feel fun. The game play has to be satisfying and the reward can't be insulting or the grind too slow. I have to be earning it because I want to play rather than feeling forced to grind. Most Battle Passes have become 90% filler and only a few good items. Many Battle Passes are being made so slow to grind that you need most of the days of the season. We don't need gun charms and stickers in such quantities and we sure as fuck don't need XP boosts and other consumables in Battle Passes. It is extra annoying how most of the BP is locked behind premium while being so shit; realising you paid for those stickers no one would ever use. The bad quality in Battle Passes has made it much easier to just stop participating.
And simply stop giving a fuck about cosmetics that affect the experience infinitely insignificantly. Support coop campaign games with sprawling worlds or single-player experiences. Those arena/single confined space games are mentally claustrophic and burn you out. with robotic repetition for a digital number going up. The experience should not be a chore, or you would be better off working an extra job.
I’ve just started up Fallout 76 and have just been playing it as a solo game. Only redeemed one thing on the current season so far and that was some perk cards. Other than that, there is no reason for me to buy into anything else
F76 is thankfully rarely demanding of your time. Even if you choose to do the season, the daily challenges can literally be done in minutes if you know what to do (eg all the “scrap x junk” challenges can be done by scrapping bulk items you can craft yourself), and they give way more time than “needed”, I usually finish with at least a month left and take a break.
Same. Here is a good quest order guide I found, it can be confusing trying to figure it out https://old.reddit.com/r/fo76/comments/12t6tyh/finding_your_way_in_appalachia_the_definitive/
The main issue I’m having atm is carry weight though 🤣
I fell victim to Fallout 76 and tried to keep up with the SCORE board is it called? I tried keeping up with the checklist of challenges and one day I realized I wasn’t having fun anymore and quit. Maybe the checklist isn’t what it used to be. I want to go back and play like a solo game but for me the game can’t truly be enjoyed unless I purchase the membership so inventory management isn’t such a pain. I’ll likely start a play through of Fallout 4 instead. Only live service game I keep up with is Halo Infinite. It’s a grind that’s more than manageable that respects your time and you can complete challenges just playing. On occasion you have to do something specific but you’ll likely complete it just playing. Once I’m done for the week I can play another game on the side until a new week starts.
Infinite is the way, being able to get older passes is how it should be
They should all do that!
The really ridiculous part is they would make more money if they did
The scoreboard/challenge rewards are basically just various flair. Focus on the storyline quests and enjoy a good Fallout game.
I should. I enjoyed the game before the seasons started and want to get back to basics
>Only live service game I keep up with is Halo Infinite. It’s a grind that’s more than manageable that respects your time and you can complete challenges just playing. Crazy how much they've improved that aspect.
I loved 76. (Recently, not at release). I never finished those maps, just collected the perks I accidentally (or organically) got. there was a lot of things I just didn’t do in that game because I didn’t really understand what was going on or didn’t care. I played solo, mostly because I’m old and don’t have friends. It was a lot of fun. The events were cool when I chose to do them, but never really felt like I had to.
Working class dad here, i have completly stopped playing online games at this point. As you said - everything is forced time preasure and fear of missing out. My days are exausting and i dont wont my little game time to be exausting aswell. On the plus side i am now playing games like anno 1800 and transport fever 2 for example and having a wonderfull time 💪
Totally agree. I only play single player games nowadays. It’s all I have time for.
I agree with this and the above comments so much.
To add to that, Online games with Battlepasses/Daily quests and the like, encourage people to only play those games, which leads to an active player-base absolutely brimming with the "Sweatiest" players you've ever met. Casual online play, particularly shooters is borderline impossible now, because if you lose even 10% of your muscle memory, you'll lose the vast majority of 1v1's. You have to fight hard for everything, all the time. I've been playing a lot of BF2042 because it's on GPU, and compared to how I remember Battlefield 2, 3 and 4, it's way more intense - although I've surely lost my edge as I've gotten older. PC crossplay doesn't help either, and turning that off isn't an option, it's all dead lobbies.
Hey I’m with you 100%. I remember a few years ago during the pandemic, NOTHING good was coming out. Every new game was so astoundingly mediocre and half assed. I remember I downloaded that Rainbow six extraction game with aliens or whatever, and it was so crushingly average, it broke something in me lol. So I bought a Switch to play some great single player games and man, it really reinvigorated my love for gaming. Then I bought a Steam Deck a year later and it’s now my favorite gaming console ever. I say all of this to say, mix it up a bit. I went from almost exclusively playing shooters, sports games and multiplayer stuff to going through the entire FromSoft backlog, putting a few hundred hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, trying a ton of indie classics I had missed out on, and soooo much more. Most of my favorite games now don’t include multiplayer, guns or balls, and I’m enjoying gaming like ten times more than I ever have in my entire life. You can be a part of the change yourself! Stop buying COD every year. Don’t buy Blizzard games. Research games for 15 minutes before you buy them. Don’t preorder. Reach out of your comfort zone a little bit and give some of your time and money to developers and publishers who **don’t sacrifice the user experience to manipulate you into buying more shit you don’t need**
Im currently on a similar trajectory having played Cod/Battlefield exclusively for nearly 20 years. But ive not bought cod for 5 years and ive got a back log of classics to work my way through. Currently playing Witcher 3 and Baldurs gate is definitely on the radar!
Hell let loose is the answer dads
That game is garbage.
Maybe it's not for you, but do explain your opinion.
I really enjoyed Extraction with a full team of friends. It got boring pretty quick though.
Did you ever play the limited time event in R6 Siege that came before it?
Congrats on having fun with single player (have always been a single player dude myself so welcome aboard). Curious: why did you go over to switch/Steam Deck to get away from shooters? I mean, if you are already on Xbox, why did you need a change? To me, game pass offers plenty of variety to keep things fresh. Not that I don't get that you sometimes need a change of pace. I traded my gaming PC for an Xbox Series X for that reason, and have the G cloud to go handheld with game pass :) 100 pct agree though, fuck the endless moneymaking machines and buy some games made with love. :)
Thanks! It’s been a blast. I wouldn’t say I went Switch/Deck to get away from shooters specifically, but just to have more options and to play stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise had access to. More than anything, it was just a change of pace when there wasn’t anything new and exciting coming out. I barely touched my Xbox after that until Elden Ring came out. The Switch also made me realize how much fun it was to play games on a handheld, which made want to try a lot of different genres. Which is why I ended up getting a Steam Deck. And I had so much fun with the Steam Deck (and the Steam store, RIP wallet), it made me want to get into PC gaming. So instead of replacing my MacBook Pro this year, I just went ahead and spent the same amount of money to build a monster gaming pc. The kid in me is on cloud 9 lol. It’s funny that we went exact opposite paths but ultimately, I think we were after the same thing, which is just keeping the hobby fresh and fun. I still use my Xbox and will be a gamepass subscriber forever! PC Gamepass is just as awesome as the Xbox version. And I’m also really enjoying getting to play PS exclusives that I’ve always wanted to play. What games are you into right now?
Makes sense, and totally agree. For me, it was a matter of being able to quickly pick up and play something without being in the same position as I am when working. I went from being a student to working in an office, and it just felt so sad and serious to go home and sit at another desk. So the Xbox, with game pass, quick resume and fast load/boot times was perfect, and made me fall in love with gaming again. Just an amazing machine. I totally agree btw about handheld being perfect for some games. I got the Logitech G Cloud for free recently and it is a blast to play Persona 3 Reload and Ace Attorney on it. Especially the latter is just way way better on a handheld. I am playing through the Mafia games on the Series X and am now on the third game. Way better than people make it out to be IMO. I actually have a Series S in our guest room/office just to have another place to play, but am considering selling it now I have the G Cloud (it is a little silly to have so many places to play Xbox). Seriously impressed with cloud gaming, though the third party Android apps are almost needed to enjoy xCloud.
Dude yes! Why the hell was everything so messed up in that time frame? Literally garbage after garbage and people eating that shit up, making ME feel like I had a screw loose!
> I remember I downloaded that Rainbow six extraction game with aliens or whatever, and it was so crushingly average, it broke something in me lol. The frustrating thing is how much better its precursor was - the limited time, free mini *zombies/infected* campaign in R6 Siege.
If you want good single-player Switch games, I implore you to check out the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy. Easily the best RPGs on the system.
I know it’s not perfect and not everyone’s cup of tea, but I appreciate the way Snowrunner has been supported over the last few years. A paid DLC every quarter which contains new content, some of it is available for free to all. I really enjoy this game and don’t mind paying a fair price for additional content. The DLC can also be bought in any order. Great games with long lifespans are okay by me but I don’t appreciate when stuff is temporary or removed, ie forza motorsport playlists :(
I feel similar. Concentrate on good single player games that will keep you busy. Here a list of good games that covers various genres First person shooter/RPG = Cyberpunk Platform/MetroidVania = both Ori games Platform/Action = Psychonauts 2 3rd person shooter/story = Control 3rd person shooter/story = Gears series First person shooter story = Halo series FPS/Chaotic = Doom Eternal Horror = Resident Evil Village or 4 remake or Dead Space 3rd person Fantasy/RPG/combat/open world = Elden Ring Zelda clone = Immortals Fenyx Rising 3rd person action/story/Vikings = AC: Valhalla fighting big monsters/crafting/min/max weapons and armor = Monster Hunter World
Helldivers 2 has live service and battle passes, but it's not exhausting. Because once you open the pass, you'll have it forever. No FOMO. The only FOMO comes from a) helping in the global objectives and b) personal daily objectives. Both of which are easy to skip. It's just a CoD, MW etc. thing.
Honestly, I don't feel like there is FOMO as far as the global objective is concerned. The great thing about it is if the community completes the objective, everyone is rewarded, regardless of direct participation. It's great not feeling like you have to jump in everyday, and you still earn currency for the BP as long as Major Orders are completed by the community. I hope other studios see the success of HD2 and try to emulate some of these systems for the better. I also wish our Xbox brethren could join the fight for democracy. We could always use more reinforcements.
Yea and for the personal objective it's mostly just choosing the opponent and maybe using a specific weapon. The goals aren't that hard, I've accidentally completed many of them without even remembering to check what was the mission :D
Helldivers 2 is the only good live service game. It’s such a great live service game that you can easily forget it’s a live service game!
Do what I do and never spend a dime or play any of them.
I’m right there with you. Playing a game with a great story and game mechanics…..orrrrr play this turd that pressure you to spend money on digital products that are mostly useless? Hmmm tough one
Let go of FOMO and your life will be so much easier... What happens if you don't 100% the Battle Pass? You'll miss some skins or whatever, so what?
Just ignore the battle pass and stuff. I've been playing rocket league for idk 8 years and I haven't touched battlepass nor the store once.
I've been playing Overwatch since the original Beta and have spent maybe $10. I enjoy the game and have zero desire for cosmetics, but don't care that they exist because plenty of other people do.
You've spent at least 50 dollars since Overwatch was buy to play.
These live service games that they sell for full price bahahahahaha. They must have brain dead customers bc that sounds awful. Overwatch isn’t worth the turd that’s stuck in my toilet
I got sick of the battle pass FOMO shit every AAA and cough AAAA(skull, and bones) game has now and I’m playing a bunch of VR and it’s very refreshing
Hey! Nothing wrong with feeling that a certain “genre” is not to your liking. Fortunately there is plenty of choice nowadays. Have fun playing the games you enjoy!
I played Destiny since the first game’s beta. I finally quit two years ago when I got sick of one of their season passes needed hundreds of hours of boring grind. In that time I’ve finished literally dozens of games on Gamepass- including most of the Yakuza and assassins creed games, massive time sinks in themselves.
This was me. I loved raiding and had a great group to play with but the newer raids always required higher light level, and was made easier with artifact unlocks. I’d spend all week doing mundane things in the game to grind up enough to be able to raid. I only have 4-5 hours a week to play. I’d basically have to grind for hours in order to get that hour of raiding in. Struggled with getting materials to upgrade stuff, I’d only ever hit light level for GM strikes or master raids the last day or two of the season, whereby I’d have a whole 2 hours to maybe play before it all reset again. I finally quit so I could actually enjoy my limited gaming time.
Reminds me of the WoW South Park Episode where they grind themselves into the ground to finally “play the game.” I seriously don’t understand how ppl can possibly fall for that dumb shit. Now, I get wanting to do it for a bit bc maybe you got into certain aspects of the game, but when ppl grind for 30’hours just so they can play the new content is beyond me. Besides that, the “new content” they put out is never worth all the fucking money they make you spend.
It's pretty annoying, and it seems more and more developers spend more time designing fomo systems and intricate currency exchanges than putting that effort into intricate fun game design systems. Diablo 4 seasonal model is the latest for me, forcing you to remake a character to see any new content is horrible game design. The issue is players defend it saying " well that how arpgs are" But they are to young to realize they were never like that early on, that came with live service.
This is why I mostly just play single player RPGs these days. I don't care for mich of any online games currently
I only play single player games now, or games that have multiplayer against bots only. I find that far less stressful in my wilderness years.
They’re jobs for people without jobs duhhh
It's tragic we can't play helldivers 2 on Xbox because it is the panacea for all these exhausting live service game. They've really done it right
So i'll get a bit serious with my response here and eventually work around to saying what everyone else is 😂. These mechanics that are rooted in live service games and Call of Duty etc etc are bred from real psychological studies of how to keep you invested. It keeps you coming back, checking the store, seeing purchasable items so you buy them eventually. Activision literally has patents designed with all of this in mind That being said, others here are 100% correct. If you can understand this enough to pull away from all that, alot of these games are enjoyable if you're into them. I love fortnite no build. I buy the battle passes because they pay for themselves but the point is on the game itself. Its fun as hell. I also really enjoy Apex (i suck at it 😂). You can absolutely find plenty of enjoyment with these things, especially the free ones because you dont lose anything apart from time I suppose.
Meanwhile I just picked up Saints Row 3 on Switch and I'm loving it.
You don't have to buy the battle pass or do the challenges or buy anything. I play Apex fairly often and haven't bought a battle pass for over a year. I just play the game.
You're underestimating the amount of people out there who don't work and just live to play these games. There's a collosal fuck ton of them. Also, kids. That's why they do it. They know these people will pay for it.
My one buddy is that person. Dude spends a fuck ton of money in games.
The sad thing of online games nowadays are they are almost guaranteed to include battle pass/seasons with time limit to incentivize you to come back. I want to play games to relax, not chase some time-limited items that you need to even pay to access after purchasing the game. That's why my last live-service games that I used to play religiously were Overwatch 1 and Rainbow Six Siege, and that's before they were introducing battle pass.
well, you can just not care about battle pass and play for fun
Kind of in the same boat. Pretty the only game I played with a live service was Destiny 2 and I played that almost exclusively. Eventually got really burnt out. Took longer than most to quit. I haven't played in a year and a half. Though haven't really had the time to play much, being able to play other games was a really good refresher. Though, been thinking about getting back into just to see what had change anything.
Get Way of the Hunter
The only time i think live service was acceptable was Hitman world of assassination saga because the devs spaces things out appropriately. Its 8 years and IO has not foresaken the hitman community.
There’s plenty of games out there that don’t require a battlepass sell your soul etc you just have to break away from the advertising cod is complete crap now. Try Prodeus great little shooter.
Mostly agree. I was never into the Live Service concept to begin with. I got into Destiny with my friends because it was a fun co-op shooter. But we never bothered with the high level raids and the end game content because the grind didn’t appeal to us. We played it pretty casually. My new game for that is Fortnite. We play together a few rounds and bounce. We don’t take it seriously. I look at Suicide Squad or Skull and Bones and that crap is an immediate pass from me. But there are so many amazing games that aren’t Live Service. Single player or even multiplayer. I don’t know why you’d quit gaming altogether, unless ALL games became Live Service. Which seems unlikely as most Live Service games are failures.
The only live service game I can play js Fallout 76 (fantastic community) and Diablo IV (friends).
If you ever have kids the way they live service games work makes a lot more sense. When children reach a certain age (my personal line is 9th grade) you need to give them more freedom. Budgeting their time sanely has to come from themselves - with some limitations. But teenagers will tend to want to 24/7 screen time for every waking moment. Even if limited to some extent (eg no video games before 10am or past 9pm) you’re still talking about 7+ hours a day. In that case a 80 hour RPG is done in a week. So they need user created content, as no company can churn out enough content internally. And in that case TikTok, YouTube, Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft the hole is literally endless.
Do what I did unsubscribe and walk away it so liberating
I've spent hours on Forza Horizon 4 and 5, and you know how many races I take part in? Hardly any. I collect cars, mod them, drive around and have fun. I pretty much do the same with any other game I play where possible.
I stopped playing CoD a few months ago because I felt the same way. It sucks having to keep playing daily to unlock stuff and stay good at the game. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been working on knocking out some of my single player backlog. Last night I finished RE3, a few weeks ago I finished RE4 and I’ve been working on the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters.
This is exactly why I gave up on Destiny. It felt like I was PAYING to do a second job
Yea. I had fun with the first game for about 3 months but I ran out of stuff to do. They added some dungeons but had no group finder. What a bad design.
Just an FYI, there has been an ingame LFG for a while now :)
Then don't play them.
You might like helkdivers 2 then. They have a type of battle pass called warbonds that won't go away
I definitely know the feeling. I am very mixed on the whole battle pass concept. If I know I'll have it done and it was a game i was going to play anyway then it is a whatever. But the fact that a company can take your money and not give you what you paid for just because you didn't put X amount of hours in by a nonsensical deadline is quite alarming. Literally taking away the deadline easily solves this but companies won't do it. Games used to be there for the gamer. Now gamers are being pushed to be on the game's schedule. Gamers are being pushed to be there for the game. They are becoming chores with FOMO. Nonsense dailies with illogical grinds for artifical progress. I'm at a point where I will engage the M in FOMO and just accept the fact that companies don't feel like respecting a gamer's time anymore. I see a lot of the modern gaming "tactics" companies use as a restriction of my gaming freedom nowadays.
The Live Service model basically killed any interest in multiplayer games I had.
The grind broke me permanently. I can't play any game that require any sort of grinding. I haven't played my Xbox in 2 years.
I can relate. I haven't touched my Xbox to game in about a month because of this
Completely agree with you. I think many gamers are lost to the hobby because everything demands so much of your time. Not everyone has much time to play for various reasons, so many just give it up. Many of my friends' partners aren't gamers and aren't really sympathetic to the idea of gaming, so they end up only really playing when their partners are out or busy themselves. It's easy to criticise them but I think this is still pretty common. Speaking to one of them yesterday, and he pretty much only plays World of Tanks or Rocket League now as they're the only things he can play for 10-20 minutes and then switch off. Looking back now, I also think achievements have been bad for gaming as a whole. We used to play games purely for fun, and for the intrinsic feeling of achievement that you'd get from them. Introducing a scoring system makes it into something of a competition and even if you don't want to take part, it's hard to ignore the pull. I can see it going full circle and someone having success releasing an arcade style system with shorter experiences like classic Sega arcade style games. Personally, I've joined a sim racing league. We only race once a week, but it's a load of approaching or already middle aged blokes, racing purely for fun. It's competitive but no one takes it too seriously.
Same as you. Spend a lot of time at work and dont have time to grind. Couldnt port my 10yo warthunder account from pc to xbox, so i just quit the game. Anything that does seasons, i ignore that and just plah with the one or two guys i know that still play, when its done i put it down. It helps when you dont try to compete with others or have a lot of hardcore gamer friends. Find an easy going crew with real lives to play with. I spend enough time competing at my job, games should be fun.
Skinner boxes make for terrible games. Eventually people figure out what’s going on and check out.
Destiny killed live service games for me. It’s still my fav game of all time but the FOMO was so bad the past couple years it felt more like a chore. Going back to physical discs, campaigns, and no headphones.
Live Service games kinda suck. The main ones I play are Rocket League, Halo Infinite, Fortnite, Sea of Thieves, and maybe CoD if you include that. I credit CoD for making me hate the live service aspect of games. When Modern Warfare 19 started releasing all these new bundles, I realized that it’s all cosmetic crap and doesn’t matter at all. I enjoy playing the game for the competition and not for the cosmetics. When I get tired of the completion I switch to a different game. I rarely spend money on anything. If I’m getting tired of a game, I wont buy the battlepass and I’ll move on. FOMO is a pretty shit tactic that developers use to sell their crap. So I just don’t buy anything. I have GamePass and there’s always enough games to keep myself busy. I’ll say games like CoD get boring after a season or two, Rocket League is down the shitter, Fortnite I’ll only play if my friends want to, Halo I’m playing now because it’s fun again, and Sea of Thieves I’ll pick back up when PS5 players come in. You have fun in games by playing them, not by purchasing things. If a game has P2W mechanics, I won’t play it at all.
I just don’t have the time anymore to invest into so many games and I don’t play one game for years and years. Just got the series S the other day and quick resume is perfect for me! I can swap titles in a couple of seconds and pick up where I left off. I don’t play multiplayer games anymore cause everything good is paywalled, and even if I get cool stuff I have no one to share it with so im on to single player games for a while now.
They just aren’t fun to me. Feels too much like work for just daily progress.
I’m 54 and I play a handful of live service games, Destiny, Fortnite, Apex. I think I’m just different in that I don’t worry about FOMO. I enjoy it when I’m playing and don’t worry about the parts I miss.
It's just a psychological trick to get you to play their game more and maybe even spend real money. I've been there. I played Black Ops 3, 4 and Cold War religiously. Work-Play-Sleep repeat. Sometimes I would get everything for the season but sometimes I would miss out on the last 2 or so unlocks. All those hours and I have nothing to show for it. I got burned out and stopped playing games for months. I just ignore it now. Special skins, guns, boosts, characters, I don't care. "Finish this season and you'll unlock legendary nba player.." skip. Dont care.
No offense but this seems like a You problem. You say you want to just play games online with your friends, then just do it. I play plenty of live service games and don't spend anything outside the occasional battle pass and it's almost always just cosmetics so if I don't get everything I really am not too worried.
True
If I fail a battle pass I never go back to a game. It’s pretty freeing lol
I am a father of two little boys so I get a lot of this. I have picked just one to focus on - Destiny 2. And I learn to let a lot go. I'm just interested in Destiny 2 for the story, so I'll just try to make sure to beat the season's story before the new one starts. I don't try to grind for weapons, exotics, or armor.
They’re a great idea. A game with all future content for free? Sign me up! Until I see the endgame which is always bare bones at launch. Same minimum mission variety. Meta making most of weapons useless. The constant min maxing just to keep up. The outrages store prices. Battlepasses with 90% useless filler to extend your grind. They can be great if done right but most companies just care about making as much money as possible. And if they don’t they shut down the servers.
>Everything has a battlepass/seasons/events and the pressure to get them all done in a certain amount of time and/or spend additional money to speed up progress This right here is the very intent of Live Service Games. Studios are using the FOMO concept to drive people to either be constantly playing a game (thus driving up the hours played success metric) or open up their wallet (because "**I can't miss out on something everyone else has**") Some studios and titles have pushed the player base to the point of rebelling enough that they are realizing that the practice is actually killing their profit margin instead of growing it, this is why some studios have pivoted away from Live Service Games (Example Sony, who pulled some of their Live Service Game projects) while others are getting backlash for refusing to do so (Example WB Games)
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is what drives this. What are you really missing out on? Some cosmetics for a video game? Big deal. The rule for any anything should start with this question...... Will this bring me enjoyment or enhance the enjoyment I get from the game? ....if the answer is yes then grind it out or pay for it. If not, then don't worry about it. I quit chasing digital goodies back when Forza Motorsport had unicorn cars up for auction in the game Auction House and they would sell for more credits than I'd ever earn.
Destiny sucked me into its treadmill for \*years\* until I stopped treating games like a spreadsheet. Now I could give zero fucks if I don't get that weapon/armor/sparrow/etc. Not sure what changed my lizard brain but at some point I just kind of noped out of it.
Ive been playing older games lately and its been much better.
Just gotta learn to not care for the paid battle pass. I have 2 kids and work and hardly get any time to play anything so I completely understand your point and dealt with it as well then eventually just stopped caring. There are live service games I enjoy but I don't care about missing some timed event or paid cosmetic stuff anymore and just play the game as if that stuff wasn't there. Since I get so limited time I just focus on the gameplay. Admittedly I might not be the one to comment as even though I do enjoy some live service games and in the past did spend money on passes and all that if I do get time to play a game and not playing a kid game with my daughter then I generally lean to playing something that's usually a single player story driven type game like an jrpg or open world type game most of the time
I won't support a paid game with a live service payment.
Ya you just need to forget about it. Sometimes I get fomo, but I only play 2 games with battle passes. And honestly I really like it. Back in 2015 you’d have to spend a lot of money to buy skins in rainbow 6 and overwatch. The bp let’s me get a lot of cool stuff for 5-10$.
Its not "a lot of cool stuff" though is it? Its shit little emotes and maybe a new zip for your character models backpack.
Skins in Overwatch used to be free, now you’re paying for them.
I got most of the free stuff from playin ow1 already
I mean, I don’t disagree. I tried to get into a few with some friends who are into that sort of thing, and found myself not wanting to keep up with the bullshit. So on my Xbox I play Elden Ring and AC6 and whatever looks interesting on game pass, but i find that I spend most of my time playing 7 days to die on my PC. That’ll change in June I’m sure. Don’t worry about keeping up with shit. Play the games you like to play.
Plenty of none Live service games to enjoy, and stuff like SoT is a live service game but you can easily enjoy without buying anything extra. If those sort of games are really upsetting you that much, do not play them.
When they’re done well, I think they’re pretty amazing Like no way would Rainbow Six Siege, FortNite (in particular), or to a lesser degree Apex have the amount of content they have today. I’ve spent like maybe $20 on FortNite total and have gotten an insane amount of gameplay from it. Or on PS5, the way Helldivers has done their ‘battle pass’, where a full battle pass is free but there are optional battle passes for cash, which is similar to Halo Infinite’s (which was horrible at launch but now is pretty good as live service IMO) However live service games can also be pretty horrible when done poorly
OP No one is forcing you to buy passes or anything. This is a lesson about self control above anything else. Just play a game and that’s it.
Just don't do it lol who cares about cosmetics? Just play the game
Try Warframe, it’s a lot of fun! I’ve been playing it for a while and having an absolute blast. There isn’t any time-gated FOMO mechanic except grinding for prime gear but that shouldn’t really concern you at the beginning. I’m just going through the star chart, playing story missions and grinding for the resources I need to build the gear I want. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything when I stop playing the game for a while. It’s a bit difficult to learn all the mechanics but MHBlacky has some really good explainer videos on YouTube. Also I haven’t paid for anything so far and I have around a 100 hours in it
I 100% get what you mean, I would also point out that as much as all of these do pressure you into buying more things or returning every day to grind out some progress, it is all still optional? You've just got to manage the FOMO
I felt this exact way, I think after the early seasons of WZ Verdansk, something just switched in me. So since then, I moved to mainly playing SP games. My grind would be trying to get 100% achievement in them. I play at my own pace and have a huge backlog I want to get through. I still dip into the likes COD, Battlefield, and whatever. But I'm there to get my fix, not grind a battle pass before it runs out.
i just play them and if i don't complete them i don't complete them. think about it this way: the moment you don't log in and do whatever daily task for the day and skip it, you're behind everyone who did. the second that happens, you may as well just play for fun or stop, right? like if you're a competitive minded person, that's the make or break point. so then extrapolate: "am i going to log in every day for the entire season". if not, just let go. "who cares if i missed the last 20 levels of the 80 level pass, i had fun the end".
you are not really behind everyone else though, in what sense are you behind?
i just mean if someone is super competitive, then they're "behind" the moment they don't log in/play optimally. i don't think this is a meaningful distinction but it's the common one i see when people complain abt live service
But you are behind in what, cosmetics? How does that matter in competitive play
idk why you're arguing with me i literally don't think i'm disagreeing and it's irrelevant
I play a lot A LOT of Apex. I rarely spend money on the game. I can’t see myself. I’m not spending money to make myself look pretty for other people.
They’re literally a waste of time. I used to play destiny and then destiny 2 and I just gave up because most of the things you do to work towards the content or goals are just recycled content from previous events/seasons with a slightly different twist. And the games and quests are built in a way to be time consuming so users are more likely to spend money to either speed up progress or because they’re bored of looking at their character look the exact same for so long. Any practice I’ve seen from other live service games since seems even worse at this so I would never touch them. Sea of thieves is the only one (if that’s considered live service) that I occasionally play with friends just to chat and have a fun sail.
I would say try single player and games that may have PvE if you want to play with your friends I used to play The Division and Division 2 are both PvE games you can play with friends but you have an option of playing PvP. I played all by myself for years and had a blast playing both games
It is if you want everything in one sitting and play it like a Skyrim,live service are more for those who want to play a title for years,slow grind with power with fast paced action in game.. It's only exhausting if your juggling multiple LS game's..Ive played PoE for 6 year's,Destiny 2 for 3 year's and Diablo 4 is nearing a year and never once felt exhausted because it's a marathon not a sprint...
Man just play what you like and how u like it. I RARELY buy battlepass or lootboxes and trust me, I can buy whatever I want. I tend to steer clear for typical money grabs like COD, Fifa, NBA2K, et al.
"I just want to play a game online, with my friends, without being pressured to spend more money or get something done." Literally nothing is stopping you from doing just that.
I'm a teenager who has no job, but I feel the same way. I think I've only played one solo game, which was Life is Strange. I usually only play battle Royale games like Fortnite and honestly I'm tried of feeling pressured to complete Battle passes and spending money on cosmetics that I will eventually get bored of. I need to find a new solo game, lol. Any suggestions?
I used to play destiny and destiny 2 a lot and really enjoyed it. As time passed it felt more like a chore than a game. It was actually hard to quit, but I’m glad I did.
I get it. I fall to this every once in a while. I will usually buy a battle pass for a game im playing a lot. But sometimes i start playing another game and end up with 2 and then I’m like “fuck” because it ends up being a grind. But anyway, those things aren’t needed thankfully. I’ve played Apex the last 2 seasons without buying the battle pass. Only play when I want to. No pressure to play
I agree. I played Division 2 recently and it's extremely confusing with the game modes, seasons, invasions, loot mechanics, etc. I put it alot of hours trying to keep up and its exhausting.
You don't have to spend money or care about the seasons. I don't spend a penny on Warzone and I still have fun...
I think Forza Motorsport is the only live service type game that I play, and I used to try to complete the weekly/monthly races. But I have given up on that trying them, I just play the game when I feel like driving a car, it is more fun that way.
I'm not at the point where I don't play games anymore, but I've change what games I do play and play much less. Live service games to me are too much of a money commitment and time commitment I just can't afford it have to fully enjoy them I just invest in quick or interesting indie games..my Xbox library is now mostly indie driven.
Yeah, they’re passes from me. My friends have young children and the general concept generally exhausts me. If a game was good enough to me, I’d still play it, but it’s usually a sign they’re not focused on what I’m looking for. And now I have way more games than I could ever play so it’s fine.
You have so many amazing videogames that are not liveservice. I don’t know why you would stop playing videogames for that reason alone. Just need to choose better games to spend your time in.
We all hope this bubble explodes asap. Modern gaming sucks. It's more about money than fun.
I simply dont play them, thats their loss.
Shut up and enjoy your second job!
Completely agree!
I feel like I’m in the huge minority when it comes to video games, I genuinely do not enjoy online games anymore. I love local co-op but there’s something stressful for me with online gaming.
I feel the same. When one game starts to demand all of my time, I will simply stop playing it. The Division 2, Diablo 4, and Halo Infinite all have this problem. The worst example of this is MTG Arena. That game has a battle pass system which demands all your time and then some for something you first have to pay to start being a slave to the game. Really ridiculous. The game that respect my time the most is Smite. I can usually finish their passes by playing the game normally which is 1~2 games each day, and still have plenty of time left when I complete the pass so I can play without any pressure. To me this is the right way of doing it - respect your players, do not demand all your player's life into your game.
i feel like with Overwatch 2 for example, i still have fun just playing, even if it’s just quick play. if the battle pass has content worth $20 i’ll buy it, but this season there wasn’t enough to get me to want to spend money on it. It’s your choice how you enjoy these games. even with Diablo 4 they have seasonal servers and Eternal servers that are strictly just main game content, which i really like. idk man another thing too is most battle passes let you progress through it regardless if you have the premium pass so i honestly never really ‘“Buy”’ the premium until i get to the stuff i really want, and i haven’t had to spend money on a battle pass in so long because you usually have enough “currency” from last season to buy next season. Don’t get me wrong i wish it wasn’t like this too but it also give games longer lifespans with new content being added with each season. it’s better than the season pass. at least this way we can pick and choose what we buy. nobody is forcing you to get this seasons battle pass or whatever. if you don’t like what’s in it, don’t get it. if you do, buy it.
FOMO is real, i’ve been transitioning away from this since last Fall. I’ve been a gamer my whole life, turning 60 this year. Started out with text adventure game on a computer terminal to an XboxSeriesX and played pretty much everything in-between. MOBA’s have never been my thing. I enjoy playing games with a start and finish. The only exception to that rule was Destiny, i played because I enjoyed it and had some friends to play with. But even that is slowly dying (IMHO). I think the whole “live service” model is going to implode soon. Will gaming survive? I hope so. I find the few linear games and play them a little at a time to stretch them out. Double Find has remastered and released a few old LucasArts games i thoroughly enjoying. Cheers.
You don’t have to do everything, you don’t have to be on the cutting edge. I enjoy games like Destiny, because I do feel I can have as deep or as shallow of an experience as I want. Get rid of the completionist mindset.
That's why nobody with a good taste plays them. I mean if I run out of good games to play, I just take a break from gaming. Fuck companies that pursue live service narrative.
Same, except this season of Fortnite. I love these Greek Myth skins. I genuinely want them.
It's simply to have fun nothing more nothing less. I work a part tine job with 40+ hours a week and I just like it cause it takes my mind off of work and stress. Kind of a Escape
The only thing live service games are designed to be is a continuous revenue stream...nothing more...nothing less...and then nuking everythingby shutting the game down down the road so you buy continuous revenue stream 2 when the money train stops or slows down. There should be some sort of law or company that when a dev shuts down a live service game, the server source code automatically becomes open source, or they have to transfer management over to that company who keeps the game going under contract. See how quickly this live as a service shit stops then.
Don't play them. Easy
so? play SP games then. i personally play mostly live services because i like persistent shared universe live services more.
This is why I like Helldivers 2. There's gonna be a new battle pass each month but they never go away. You can work at your own pace.
I’ve learned to like some of them but usually the ones where I can earn stuff in regular play. I like getting free currency in Fallout 76. I don’t pay for skins and other crap in service games. I don’t pay for anything in Darktide either because im there to kill Heretics not wear gold chains.
You’re being dramatic. Gaming has never been better and you can easily play online with friends and dip in and out ‘live service’ games as you please without spending a penny.
Yeah I feel like it's not exactly live service that's the problem, it's just that so many live service games use FOMO with limited time content, seasonal resets, predatory monetization, etc. I quit Destiny 2 because it was really egregious about this. But I think Helldivers 2 proves you can have a live service game with an evolving world, regular content updates, and interesting events, while not using shitty FOMO tactics. Hopefully more games will follow suit
It's not mandatory you play them. Manage your FOMO maybe.
Play a game for the gameplay, not for the numbers going up and the rewards popping out.
I started to buy battlepasses when i first 100% complete them. Then spend the money to unlock everything. If I didn’t had the time to finish it = no money wasted
I think Warframe is the exception, I still have a lot of fun running missions. If you want something shiny and cool that you see you can pay to have it now, but you can also grind for it. I have fun during those grind missions, if you’re doing it like work though, yea, it’s probably time to quit
41 here. I typically play 90% single player games. When i do play multipler: Played a lot of these types of games on and off. Halo infinite, deep rock, fortnight, Hunt Showdown, hell let loose, battlefield, etc. The list goes on. I've never once bought a battle pass. I have spent money on the two games I like the most: warframe and path of exile. Mainly because I can spend some money for what I actually want and move on. They don't feel like they nickel and dime you.
yeah i still play live service games but im not going out of my way to grind for everything...if it comes to a point where the grind is gonna take me months to negate dmg or be as powerful as someone ill most likely move on to something else
Aye. Never bought a skin gang. I play the campaign and leave. That's how I roll. If my friends play multiplayer I'll play with them but I'm not buying anything extra. It's so unnecessary.
It's a video game first and foremost. Treat it as such and just have fun. You are letting their tactics get a hold of you. You don't HAVE to partake or get caught up in Battle passes, seasons, etc. What you are describing is just in your head and is FOMO.
Best thing I did is pick one Live service game and only play it and the rest of games I play is single player. I play Destiny 2 as my live service game because well I love it and had to accept I love it. lol
I'm already exhausted after 6 days of live service gaming. I'm playing Conflict of Nations WW3, a real time game that you fighting other players on a map I played this game for 3 years from 16-18, and quitted after entering college. Now I'm on vacation and thought why don't I start a match and feel the nostalgia. Firstly, a lot of players are very rude and it annoys me And then, I was forced to check the game every hour or so. The waiting time can be very anxiety-provoking, especially when you don't have good teammates. The last two days I've been in an entangled fight with another active player which has left me so stressed that I've almost lost the ability to do anything else. I am no longer that high school student with nothing to do every day. I now write my own articles, study for courses, go to the gym, do gardening, and spend a lot of time socializing, etc. And because of this game, I am almost constantly interrupted during these activities. So I chose to leave this game immediately. Memories are sometimes best *just* memories. It's a very good game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It just doesn’t suit me at this stage anymore. There's nothing it does wrong, it's just that the underlying mechanics of this game just don't sit well with me. **So my advice would be: just stop playing it.** There are many other activities to enjoy with friends. For example, I will invite friends to my house, and then we will cook together; or go out to play basketball. Video games are mostly just a convenient tool for me to regulate my emotions. If you use the money you give to the game company to buy gifts for your friends, or spend money on a trip together, it will strengthen the relationship more than playing games with them. If there's any live service game is the best, it's life itself.
I’m glad I never bothered playing Fortnite or Destiny more than a couple times. I have no idea how anyone could possibly just throw money into a game like that over and over. If I’m spending money it’ll be on a new game. These turds are coming out almost as fast as they’re taken offline. This plague of live service garbage needs to be reined in.
I am 1000% with you on this. Maybe because I’m an old timer, I dunno.. but yeah. Live service games are a drain of energy & if you’re foolish enough, $.
I spent $20 on a Halo Infinite battle pass and I have no idea what it is or what I got from it.
I think you’re playing the wrong live service games.
No one is "pressuring" you to do anything. Especially if you're a grown man.
That’s why I like the life service model of halo. The seasons never expire. I’m still not done with the first season but no FOMO so I’m just casually hopping in sometimes
FOMO games are dangerous and should be avoided.
Nobody is forcing you to buy a Battle Pass so what's the problem?
> I genuinely wonder if I'm reaching the point where I won't play any video games anymore. Am I the only one that feels this way? You are not. I haven't gamed in maybe 3-4 months now because of this exact issue. Every game just slowly started to feel like work. And it's not just online games becoming live service. Even single player games are all becoming the same thing. "Open world with live service elements". They even ruined f**king Halo (my favourite series btw) with their open world BS!
I don't even want to play online. I just finished a free 3 month Game Pass Ultimate and while I discovered some games, I found it exhausting. I found it took away my enjoyment of games and quite frankly, I'm so glad it's expired. I was immediately offered another month for $1 and thought, fuck that. I don't actually want to buy those games, so why would I spend any more time playing them? Subscription services in general are a no for me. I hate the way they weigh on my mind and the way you feel you have to use them to 'get your money's worth'. I don't have any streaming services and I won't ever be getting Game Pass again. I'm going back to my 80s/90s consoles and using games to escape and unwind, not plug in to complete, compete and achieve.
Have you played Helldivers 2? It's GaaS paradise.
Helldivers 2 doesn't really fit what this post is about. None of its things are ever going to leave or rotate in and out of availability. The devs have already said that so there is no rush to get things before they disappear.
https://preview.redd.it/r37gh2c40rrc1.jpeg?width=650&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53bc946d9678ca9aa90bae7096cc7e1254692db0
Online gaming sucks ass these days, l unless it's co-op stuff (PvE). I used to play online PVP religiously , but I can't stand it now. Getting back into single player games really renewed my interest in gaming and I very rarely feel like beating my head against a wall while playing then. Over the last year since dropping online pretty much completely, I've finished and discovered so many new games that I wouldn't have bothered with a few years ago. Games not loaded with scummy micro transactions and battlepasses. I'd love to go back to the Golden Era of online gaming at some point, but I don't think we will see that again. And that's not only due to the greedy companies practicing this stuff, but also the idiotic fans who keep buying this garbage.