Conquer Online Captures Players, and Their Money
Conquer Online, a Chinese mythology themed game by TQ Digital, is a strong example of a game that has gone too far to make money. Integrating sales of "DragonBalls" into their game has given clear and immediate advantages to players with money.
Creating a character in Conquer Online is completely free, and you can play as long as you want for free as well. Without paying money, players can fight monsters, fight each other, do a couple of quests, or explore the somewhat limited world (these options are in comparison many times less than most online games, such as Maple Story or Everquest). The Conquer world also has around 20 different servers, each probably allowing only several hundred players at a time, and characters can not be moved between servers. In many other online games, such as RuneScape, thousands of players play per server, and can switch servers at will.
The game, even though it has more bugs than most, has many interesting features, however, that keep players interested. Clan wars are a large focus of the game, and the goal of any high level player is for their clan to dominate all others. Conquer Online also has a "powerleveling" system in place that allows high level characters to help out new players, benefitting both players.
After that, however, the games crosses the line with items called "DragonBalls" that, essentially, have to be purchased with real money (2 for $8, 5 for $16). In the beginning, DragonBalls were first only used to increase the power of weapons/armor. This was not too fair to other players, but with just a little hard work players could buy their own DragonBalls with in-game gold.
With new updates, DragonBalls can do much more. A new mysterious old man will level up a character in exchange for DragonBalls, meaning all the hard work and time put in by non-paying players can be matched by anyone with some disposable cash. Even though TQ Digital does not allow players under level 50 to buy DragonBalls with real money, level 50 can be earned in less than 3 hours in the game.
In the game, DragonBalls have been getting even harder to get, making it much harder to compete with those who pour money into the game. Recently Dragon Ball prices have skyrocketed in the game to six times the original price, leaping from 4,000,000 to 60,000,000 gold each. This has been happening due to even more recent and planned updates that put even more use to these DragonBalls. For example, players can use the DragonBalls in the lottery to win tons of gold, rare equipment, or other things, all giving a ridiculous advantage to the people who put real money into the game.
Giving people with money so many advantages in a game is ridiculous. Although its the most profitable business model, players are hurt in this type of system. Players who put hundreds of hours of effort into their characters are swiftly ousted by someone with more money. Plus, its a game! Rewards should come from hard work, not everything should be buyable. Personally, if I logged into this type of game and could beat some of the best in less than a day by using my money, I'd feel a little cheated.
Published by Ryan Kopf
Ryan is a technologist and geek who organizes anime conventions through the magic of technology and an awesome team of evil super-villains. He graduated with an AA in 2008, is studied for a BA in computer sc... View profile
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- The Dragonball price in game has drastically increased.
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10 Comments
Post a CommentI play and i'm thinking of just buying enought dbs for 2 weapons I can duel wield. Where as i know people who have spent over 20,000 into this game. It's almsot sickening, you'll eventually quit and then what? All that cash you invested that you could've put into buying a house paying off your education has gone to waste.
the story up there they wrote is true but buying it help get its advantages. a companie can start hiring better game designers and sooner, we could have a better use with dragonballs
I have to totally agree with this critique, dont get me wrong, paying players should get extra benenifits, for example, people say that there are many ways to earn cash, such as powerleveling water taos, however this takes many hours and only ppl with no life can do this. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU SPEND YEARS ON A GAME, YOU CAN'T BEAT SOME ONE WHO BULKS AND PLAYS FOR A WEEK?
how do u get a dragon ball code
I have to disagree with this article. Yes the Dragonball (DB) drop rate has decreased, and the only income of DB's now is the people who pay. It is the people who pay that helps run the market considerably. There is nothing wrong with helping out a company by buying a exclusive item to help improve the game.
Secondly, if you help them by buying DB's, then they help you. There is no need for them to waste their time on your case that you screwed up for yourself. They have better things to do such as the next BIG update. Be smart when you play, and you wont get hacked.
FlamesOfAsia, ArrowsOfAsia, TidesOfAsia, EmpressOfAsia (Crystal Server)
5 year vet.
Conquer Online,, If you let it can quickly become a money pit. And there are advantages to having disposable cash, but if you know the game long term you will find out that no matter how many DB's you purchase there is NO and I mean NO replacement for time spent in the game. To become truly strong in the game you have to play and play and yes sometimes pay. ScabWound from Unicorn Server
Ehhh.. you sound like you have a good critique. Why would I want to pay loads of money for a short-lived advantage? It'd be like paying to use a cheat code, and that's just not something I'm into.
have to disagree. Conquer Online is a far more in depth game than many people give it credit for. First of all, there are over 20 different servers. Within each server thare are around 10 shards. Each shard holds nearly 200-300 people at a time. You do the math. Second of all, the people thate are truely know how to play the game do not buy dragonballs at all. There are many many ways to get around spending real life money on this game. The trick is actually knowing how to play the game instead of making a predetermined judgement when you are still a pathetic n00b.
I think that pretty much sums it up.
all i got to say is TQ Digital sucks!
Yea TQ Digital sucks, they only give service to those who have bought over 20 dragonball codes and apparently even if u have bought DBs the won't help you and if they do, they will take weeks or months to resolve your case. Their service sucks.