Halloween 2014: ArcheAge Hallowtide is… Hollow
Maybe I shouldn’t complain since ArcheAge being launched so soon, I didn’t expect a Halloween event of any kind at all. I was surprised and curious when they announce Hallowtide, since this was the first in-game event I’ll experience in ArcheAge.
Sadly, my first impression is not a good one. Especially given the game has been out longer over seas. This is hardly an event at all… it’s more of a cash grab disguised as an “event.” I tried to wait and see if Hallowtide would progress after the initial announcement, but so far, I’ve seen no change in the event’s presentation.
Hallowtide makes GW2’s events (which I feel revolve too much around the gem store) look generous. Let me tell you why I’m disappointed in this so far.
Free In-Game Content:
- Two cities on each continent decorated for the event (more of an advertisement for the items you can buy in the store, if you ask me).
- One daily event. Trade 10 pumpkins to the AH NPC to earn a goodie bag. The goodie bag has a random candy inside that gives a buff.
- That’s… it…?
In-Store Paid Content:
- ALL decorations and costumes. ALL OF THEM!
- RNG chests that have a chance to drop crappy candy and maybe, maybe, maybe costume items.
This… this… is awful. Especially for a game where folks might actually want to decorate their house. I can see that some of the items are in the store, you know, because someone needs to make money on this game. But I can’t even get a tiny little quest for a free jack-o-lantern to put on my doorstep.
Now, you can also choose to purchase the items from the auction house, after someone’s paid gems for them and put them for sale. Last week, some of the prices for a single jack-o-lantern were crazy expensive. They’ve regulated a little bit now, but it’s still a shame that all event items require either gold or in-game currency to obtain.
I managed to play the AH and pick up some decor for my home. But if this is what I can look forward to from this game’s “events,” I’m finding it harder and harder to want to support this game in any monetary way.
With FFXIV ramping up for a new release tomorrow and what sounds like an awesome expansion on the horizon, I’m going to start making cuts on my sub games pretty soon. So far, I haven’t invested in APEX, but it might be time to start pricing them.
