Two weeks ago I specified a few reasons why I was going to walk away from Champions Online when my subscription expired. Normally, I try to look at the positives of a situation, but my experiences with the game, Cryptic’s handling of it and the future plans didn‘t sit well with me. Or the rest of the playerbase, as a few readers explained their issues with the game in the comments section.
Last week, Cryptic backpedaled on its decision to offer paid for high-level content. Champions Online – Revelation, what the company claims is a “full-fledged expansion,” didn‘t go over well. The decision was reversed after people like us spoke our minds about paying for content in a game that is lacking just that. Commentator Snorlax returned to the post to pose a very good question:
“Do you see yourself coming back now that Cryptic has backpedaled on their paid content pack/expansion and put out some olive branches to the community?”
Initially, no. The company lost a good amount of my trust, the damage had been done. But Cryptic followed up last week’s olive branch with another State of the Game address that focuses on the free “expansion.” Costumes, perks, and additional lairs are always welcome additions. Two bullet points really caught my attention – Adventures Packs and Monthly In-Game Events.
Adventure Packs are story driven packages that are playable at “nearly any level.” That will make them perfect for all of the altaholics out there (and casual players). Personally, I am excited to see the story part take shape. Who wouldn‘t want to battle with “villains both new and established.” The more Foxbat the better.
If there’s something that small companies and small MMOGs excel at it’s usually community. Cryptic Studios is looking to be a large part of that by joining us side-by-side. We’ll be seeing a lot more of the developers in the virtual space they created thanks to the monthly in-game events. Dates, times and details will be announced as they happen.
Cryptic, you’ve got about a month to win me back. It’s been a good start.
Champions Online – Revelation will go live in mid-March. More information will be revealed when the official mini-site launches this week.