08-27-2025, 09:45 AM
"no game in existence should be pulling in 56 million dollars a month, that's ludicrous."
Yeah, but I would say the same about a lot of sports (which are a whole another can of worms in terms of the problems they can bring to someone's life and everyone around them when they become an obsession), and at that point it's a matter of double standard where we would be policing video games because they're believed to be somehow more damaging to a person than all the other items on the list titled "Things that can ruin a person financially and psychologically"
Where I still see a worrying discrepancy is that gacha games are not necessarily 18+ and IMO they absolutely should be. And this isn't LADS' fault, it IS 18+ in China. But on the western side of the world they've decided it isn't spicy enough to warrant that rating, even with the gacha in it. If it was finally locked at 18+ then I would have way fewer problems with it, or at least my issues with it would equal those that I have with every other gambling-exploiting activity. There are many, and at a certain point you have to be considered an adult that can make those informed decisions, no matter how questionable. If you want to lose 5k in a casino in a night go do that, if you want to spend 5k on LADS in a night go do that, too. At least from the latter you'll get some sweet words in return.
So my personal take on LADS is that the extensive monetization is to be expected, and so long as there IS a way to exist in the game without paying (I have an Aurum pass, but I wouldn't like it that much if they forced all players to pay for a more expensive subscription or you're locked out) then every other choice can be pinned on the player themselves. And so long as there will be players uploading content on youtube (and LADS allows this, because there's literally no one getting copyright strikes for it, they know it does insane work with promoting the game and raising FOMO in everyone else), then as a player I can always choose not to open my wallet.
I dislike how end-game parts of LADS are effectively locked for whoever is not a whale (later orbit stages for example), because that means that a f2p can't simply wait it out while grinding the free resources, they are forced to pay and have myth companions at rank3 to even attempt at clearing those stages), but it's definitely not something I would quit over because there IS technically an alternative. I can choose not to fight those orbits, and the main story is free, and all the cards are online.
What would have me leave the game in general is the writing. If (when) the writing stops making sense because all they're thinking about is finding a new event banner to make people pay, then at that point they'll lose me. It's been the same for all other fandoms I've been in, my involvement is first and foremost tied to the story. Fumble that and I'll hop to something else that is better written.
Yeah, but I would say the same about a lot of sports (which are a whole another can of worms in terms of the problems they can bring to someone's life and everyone around them when they become an obsession), and at that point it's a matter of double standard where we would be policing video games because they're believed to be somehow more damaging to a person than all the other items on the list titled "Things that can ruin a person financially and psychologically"
Where I still see a worrying discrepancy is that gacha games are not necessarily 18+ and IMO they absolutely should be. And this isn't LADS' fault, it IS 18+ in China. But on the western side of the world they've decided it isn't spicy enough to warrant that rating, even with the gacha in it. If it was finally locked at 18+ then I would have way fewer problems with it, or at least my issues with it would equal those that I have with every other gambling-exploiting activity. There are many, and at a certain point you have to be considered an adult that can make those informed decisions, no matter how questionable. If you want to lose 5k in a casino in a night go do that, if you want to spend 5k on LADS in a night go do that, too. At least from the latter you'll get some sweet words in return.
So my personal take on LADS is that the extensive monetization is to be expected, and so long as there IS a way to exist in the game without paying (I have an Aurum pass, but I wouldn't like it that much if they forced all players to pay for a more expensive subscription or you're locked out) then every other choice can be pinned on the player themselves. And so long as there will be players uploading content on youtube (and LADS allows this, because there's literally no one getting copyright strikes for it, they know it does insane work with promoting the game and raising FOMO in everyone else), then as a player I can always choose not to open my wallet.
I dislike how end-game parts of LADS are effectively locked for whoever is not a whale (later orbit stages for example), because that means that a f2p can't simply wait it out while grinding the free resources, they are forced to pay and have myth companions at rank3 to even attempt at clearing those stages), but it's definitely not something I would quit over because there IS technically an alternative. I can choose not to fight those orbits, and the main story is free, and all the cards are online.
What would have me leave the game in general is the writing. If (when) the writing stops making sense because all they're thinking about is finding a new event banner to make people pay, then at that point they'll lose me. It's been the same for all other fandoms I've been in, my involvement is first and foremost tied to the story. Fumble that and I'll hop to something else that is better written.
![[Image: abyssw-alker-v0-wx0feo9sd3yod500x100.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/LXBKwXgL/abyssw-alker-v0-wx0feo9sd3yod500x100.jpg)
Time goes by but memories rewind
