It’s been a while since Kakao’s shady business practices went into full view. I’ve said my goodbyes to the community and I’ve had my fun watching the entire event go down. I do miss some parts of BDO, but sadly there’s no chance I’d be going back with the same publishers.
I thought I’d update this blog for the last (second to last?) time by filling in on what’s happened since and asking you guys for some opinions at the end. Don’t be shy lurkers, the site stats say you’re still here.
Kakao still receiving heavy criticism from the gaming community
BDO reddit appears to mostly speak in favor of Kakao now. Forums from what I’ve heard is still the same braindead spam, whiteknighting, misinformation and thread locks. That is to be expected since most people who care already left those places anyway.
Perception elsewhere though, Kakao’s reputation is irreparably poor as expected. Official BDO Youtube channel is still 50-90% downvote on every video. Reddit communities like /r/MMORPG unanimously agree Kakao is down there with the most awful publishers. MMO sites and forums speak strongly against BDO. Revelations Online forums list BDO as a failure case they wish won’t be repeated in the Western release of their game.
Hope you guys had luck with your refunds
I copy pasted the generic message here initially in all my refund requests thinking it would be OK. Paypal ruled half for me and half against me, which I found a bit odd. Obviously I disputed the rulings with a personalized message including:
- Outlining the EU laws in regards to misleading advertisement
- Explaining Kakao’s marketing and breach of advertisement laws with proof, such as this video here (2min to 3min30sec)
- Outline the legality and consequences of these actions
- My good track record with Paypal spanning multiple years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions, with no history of exploitation
And of course Paypal being reasonable people now knowing the full situation ruled the cases in my favor a couple of days later. I could have just sold my 450+ stat account for a couple of thousands like some of my other friends instead of spend 20-30minutes writing a few paragraphs explaining the situation in depth. But honestly, I like being on the legal side and I’m more interested in punishing shady companies than a small personal monetary gain. Between exposing their lack of transparency, disregard for customers and now hurting their own wallets, I’m more than satisfied with how these events turned out.
Hope the rest of you who also chose to refund managed to get your money back. If not, dispute the decision and give an honest and logical explanation. Paypal does in fact protect their customers from unlawful merchants.
What now?
I do miss the BDO eyecandy, and the flashy Dynasty Warrior combat that made grinding fun when done infrequently and sporadically. However, ultimately life without BDO isn’t that different at all. I wasn’t someone who had time to grind 24/7 so it wasn’t difficult finding other things to pass the time. Social events, reading books, a bit of exercise and a few friendly matches of LoL with friends fit quite comfortably in these slits.
Despite previously saying I probably won’t take on MMO gaming again, friends have been nonstop persuading me to try games they’re playing now that I don’t have a main game. The top suggestions so far are WoW: Legion and Overwatch.
What do you guys think about those games? Do you have other good personal suggestions? Or do you think there’s very little value in MMOs these days?
If I do decide to play another game or do something related, I’ll update with a post here. Otherwise this will be the last post on this blog. Being possibly the last post I have to end with something I have to say before I go:
Thank you all for being excellent and well-mannered readers which made reading and responding to comments quite the pleasant experience (most of you anyway).
Min-Max your Black Desert Experience 
Overwatch is very similar to Team Fortress 2, or (sorry) CS:GO casual/deathmatch (with quick games). You jump in, spend few nice moments with i.e. friends, then you turn if off. “Daily pack of fun recived”. Sow if you want game that let you jump in for 15, 30 45 minutes and have fun with it, go ahead. WoW:Legion is another “incarnation” of WoW. I would even say that it is another incarnation of slovly dying WoW. I do liked BDO combat system. It’s a shame that we don’t have game that would at least try to deliver something like that. You can say that in few months we could look at For Honor, but not on relase (sorry Ubisoft, but your last games shows 0 interest after game was relased. Grinding 400h just to have your gear become useless? nah, thanks).
LikeLike
Opinion of OW seems to be the same for everyone, but not for WoW. People tell me everything from “WoW is ded” to “Legion is the most amazing thing ever” and it’s honestly hard to tell who’s right.
I’ll check out For Honor, although that’s not really a MMO right?
LikeLike
Hey, I just want to thank you for the amount of information you gave me. Unlike you I’ve decided to stay with the game but I will NOT buy anymore pearls since I have completely lost my trust.
Maybe give warframe a try, its free to play so wont hurt if you don’t like it.
LikeLike
NP. I’ve played WF before. It’s a very fun game but I’ve played too much of it already. The endgame seems lacking and consist of only an infinite horde… or at least that’s what I remember.
LikeLike
You should come back. The P2W was vastly overblown, yes even by you. I’m not posting this to insult you or anything.. I have a lot of respect for your writing.
It is a good game. I feel like you know that. Come back and keep generating great content.
WoW is garbage. I think you know that, too.
LikeLike
You’re entitled to your own views on the extent of P2W, but I do not believe it is overblown. Not to mention even if it was overblown, the publisher’s attitude towards me and constructive criticism left such a sour taste in my mouth that I would not even consider returning.
LikeLike
Elder Scrolls Online is still my favorite MMO right now (still should have spent those 30$ for BDO in that game).
If you haven’t tried it, give it a spin, especially considering you can play it solo or in groups (and if you like experiencing storylines). There are also numbers to crunch, but there’s no pointless RNG game to waste your time and ingame money.
There’s a cash shop, but in contrast to BDO it’s purely cosmetic for real (and they’ve already proven that they value happy players over quick bucks). Plus pricing is really reasonable (pets and costumes start at 4 bucks each).
Graphics aren’t on BDO’s level, but even the tutorial quests beat any of the (Perl) Abyssmal storytelling by far. Quests are meaningful and always have some reason, not just “beating up weasels is fun, yo!”.
Combat is similar to BDO, although you don’t have all the flow/combos (which isn’t a bad tradeoff IMO), especially once you start working in teams, using synergies, etc.
LikeLike
What’s the ESO endgame like? I look for longevity in my MMOs.
It’s a game that’s been recommended a lot recently. I remember it was heavily criticized on release though, what changed?
LikeLike
ESO’s endgame content offers a bit of everything: Large scale PvP fighting over a city and several keeps/areas (these aren’t as enclosed or instanced and not scheduled as the BDO fights; 1-100+ players), group dungeons (4 players; 10-30 minutes), trials (i.e. raids; 12 players, 30-90 minutes), repeatable quests, collecting/harvesting/crafting (very similar to GW2 but less complex recipes), roleplaying (the game has a very active roleplaying community, especially in and a round taverns), etc. It’s no eternal equipment hunt though. There’s always room for improvements and that one item you always wanted, but there’s no real excessive grind in this game. If you want something, you can obtain it in reasonable time (unless you’re really out to min/max your stats to the last bit). Also player economy is centered around many small guild run stores rather than some global auction house, so “sniping” essentially doesn’t exist. Instead you can save money (or even make money), just by doing your own little research. Also there aren’t any ridiculous transaction fees and most items are tradeable. Some costumes are obtainable for free through loot or questing, others can be purchased for real money. Colors can only be obtained by completing achievements, but they’re free to change and permanent. Optional premade color sets can be purchased from the shop to tint costumes (costume coloring is otherwise limited to subscription players). Optional subscription is around 11-13 bucks a month. You’ll get crowns equal to the subscription fee’s amount, plus small bonuses (mainly 10% to gold/xp gains) as well as an unlimited space crafting inventory.
Of course the game has its own flaws and downsides, e.g. PvP areas can significantly lag from time to time, especially in large scale battles at prime time (200vs200), but that’s usually avoidable, if you don’t insist on fighting there. Some abilities are over-/underpowered (well, isn’t it always the case?). Right now there’s no player housing, but this will be added early next year (probably similar to BDO).
As for launch criticism: The game definitely wasn’t perfect and in aspects definitely lacking (e.g. only two of the series’ four iconic guilds were in the original game, i.e. Mages Guild and Warrior Guild; Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild both got their own DLC, which is now included in the new “Gold Edition” base game), but so far the devs worked really hard on making people happy, which even resulted in them delaying the first DLCs by more than half a year, while they focused on new progression possibilities people wished for their characters.
Also worth mentioning they added XP boosts to their item shop. People complained about them and wished for some way to obtain them with ingame currency. They listened and even before releasing the finished buffs, they added crafting recipes, so experienced provisioners can craft and sell them.
Overall, some people love the game, some people hate it, if you can, try to make up your own mind, maybe have a look at live streams or uploaded videos.
You just have to accept that ESO is no classic MMORPG like WoW, but it isn’t a “Skyrim 2.0” either. It’s a healthy mix, going its own unique way. But as always there are people being disappointed or wanting the game to be different, and they’ll be the loudest to complain.
LikeLike
I’ll check it out! From what I can understand from what you wrote, it has standard MMO features but changes the formula a bit.
LikeLike
Yes, it’s essentially trying to find it’s own balance between other games, MMO and singleplayer.
One more thing I forgot to mention: Right now zones are theme park typically gated by level/difficulty – another common complaint by TES fans. This will be changed next month, opening up the world and making it quite a bit more “sandboxy”, i.e. go wherever you want, just be a bit more careful.
LikeLike
Oh so they’re adding the zone scaling system? What will keep the lower level zones relevant though? If there’s no new content there, then there’s still no reason to go.
LikeLike
They remove the “you have to be this tall to enter” label on the entrance to zones (right now you can go there but you’ll be beaten up quite badly). 🙂 It works similar to the scaling in Guild Wars 2. You can go back and play with some friend just starting out or your friend can join you doing the high level stuff immediately (after completing the tutorial). Of course they’ll be lacking higher level skills and some additional stat points, but they’re not useless in higher content and your high level character doesn’t eliminate all challenges for them either.
All zones are kept relevant by having specific loot only drop there and you’ll still need crafting materials. Also there are some daily quests sending you back to steal, kill someone, or do something else.
Some of these things already apply to the game and to be honest, I guess my least visited zones so far are indeed the highest level ones of my alliance. 😉
LikeLike
I see. I’ll check it out. Sadly none of my friends play it so it’s hard to get information on that game.
LikeLike
All I can say is , I enjoy your posts/threads and overall information. If you ever go to a new game or mmo.. I hope you will keep sharing info.
As for games , the only thing I can recommend is Overwatch if you are out to play with others.
LikeLike
I’ve actually been playing OW recently. The game design is actually very nice. The short games, focus on playmaking, balance between skill/strategy, and fun features. I can see why it’s so successful. Having a blast with some friends.
LikeLike
At first I disagreed with your opinion that the game was going p2w but the most recent update added artisan memory to the cash shop so its 100% accurate now.
also with all the money they’re raking in, you think they could hire a bloody intern to proofread their front page…
LikeLike
Pls, I’m sure we all saw this coming. It would have pissed me off if I was still playing, but seeing the news on reddit, I only felt schadenfreude.
LikeLike
I’m persisting with bdo because the MMORPG market is the same that it has been for the past 10 years with the exception of BDO. Giving the old wagons a new paint job doesn’t make them any more exciting to ride for the 1800th time. BDO provided innovations to the market and that was something I cherished. It was really disheartening when p2w was introduced and I was the first to quit and start suggesting chargebacks. Everyone followed suit especially when you made your blog post about Daum censoring you/anyone.
And now I’m one of the 3 people I know left playing BDO after having returned. I don’t claim that it deserves a playerbase. I like to scapegoat the failures as the publishers choice and maintain that the devs would want better for their brain child, but my justifications are just excuses. The MMO market is so stagnant and exploited there’s just no other option worth while to me.
The worst part? There isn’t even an up and coming title that realistically offers relief. There’s a single game that barely applies to this genre, and that’s Star Citizen. Cya in the next *good* MMORPG in 10years featherine ;_; I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up with a vr metaverse that functioned as a better MMORPG before a real MMORPG that provided any true worthwhile innovations came along.
LikeLike
I understand what you’re coming from, but I don’t agree with your assessment tbh. Outside of visuals, BDO honestly does not offer much innovation in the MMO market.
The complex systems of BDO are actually very shallow when you deconstruct them. They’re so easy to min-max because they are truly just linear with a bunch of obfuscated false choices. The endgame to me has its merits, but involves spending 99% of the time playing “Farmville”.
I can understand playing it casually like Dynasty Warriors, but veterans will find that it honestly offers nothing special.
LikeLike
i was linking your previous thread to a friend who just started bdo a week ago casually when i saw this new one, so i’m going to be late on this one.
On one hand as you mentioned previously it’s probably a bad idea to pick up more mmorpgs for the expected disappointment that would only come later (a favorite pasttime of /r/mmorpg users as you’ve noticed), it is a truth that mmos are something that you can only play for the present, and not for the future (case in point here…)
I don’t really mind what you play what you play at this point, but since I’ve switched from tera to legion, I might as well provide some explanatory detail.
People that disparately dislike legion ALREADY stink of salty ex-wow players or people that have never played the game (lol). No big surprise that for a 10+ year old mmo, both expansion overhype and begrudging hate are loud.
I purchased wow again recently, after accepting a few truths:
1) WoW combat does not compare to tera. No mmorpg is going to, and the majority aren’t designed to work with the system. Nonetheless, tera trades off its combat for almost everything else outside of the system, which WoW undoubtedly has and attends to. WoW objectively holds more content (raiding+worldfirst kills, pvp, auction house war, levelling, achievement/mount/pet/transmog collection, etc.) than any other peer.
>1.2) I know tera is getting a fuckin 30 man raid soon, but really, the game’s dungeon mechanics have been woefully inadequate in complexity in terms of comparison to even just ff14.
2) WoW as far as anyone can be reasonably concerned has a greater population than any other mmorpg. Player variety is good or bad thing depending on how you take it, but with how legion’s launch patch has been, it actually lives up to the title of “massively multiplayer online” that our friends at /r/mmorpg (maybe their sentiments are louder than i think, but they seem valid enough) so desperately mourn for. This is the context for point 1.
3) 14.99 a month is not fun when you’re paying it, but it is the core of mmorpg security. It ensures that the fucking game will actually undergo change in response to player sentiment. As a matter of fact, it turns out that dealing with millions of whiny baby shitlords (who rate with money and cry salt) for 12 years DOES give you experience in understanding how to provide a service . This is the context for point 2.
These are the only expectations you need to enjoy the game. “Judging anything else is merely subjective” sounds stupid, but it is politely correct in setting those expectations. Since it is obviously difficult to judge an mmorpg (and conflicting opinions on one don’t help) before playing it for far too long, it’s better to come in with a mindset than syllabus.
LikeLike
Feel free to try ESO. The game story/quest and graphics are tops but keep in mind endgame is PvP and they allow cheats/exploits in PvP. That is why I left for BDO. If you dont put to much hope into that side of it, you will get alot out of the solo story questing side.
LikeLike