Pay to Win in MMORPGs

Cash shops in free to play MMORPGs are extremely controversial. Everyone knows they're a necessary evil in free to play games, but the direction they take can easily make or break a game. Generally speaking, Western audiences expect cash shops in MMOs to sell cosmetic items – things like virtual clothes, capes, hats, and glow effects. Things that have no impact on actual gameplay, but enhance a character's appearence. Pay for convenience items like experience boosts, teleporter stones, and extra inventory space are a bit more controversial, but most players view them as acceptable. The last category of items is where most players have serious concerns, pay for power items that directly impact gameplay.

League of Legends - Only has cosmetic cash shop items

The biggest taboo in Western games is for publishers to sell things like armor sets and weapons for cash. Archlord 2 and Elsword Online for example sell equipment for cash. The items aren't gamebreaking in Archlord and Elsword is largely a PvE game, so it isn't that big of a deal, but its still viewed as “unfair” by players. Pay to win isn't limited to equipment though. Some games offer items in their shops that increase the success rate of upgrading their gear. Forsaken World has a stat called resistance which can be trained for in-game gold or cash. The cost of training it increases exponentially, so non-paying members can only realistically train their resistances up to a certain point, while those willing to open up their wallets can train it much, much higher.

Elsword Online - Has some pay to win elements

Browser based strategy games like Forge of Empires, SiegeLord, and Wartune for example regularly sell power for cash. There's no mystery in this department though, everyone seems to know going into these kinds of games, that pay for power is normal. Allods Online used to have a crippling debuff called “Fear of Death” that players would suffer through when they died. Players could wait up to 50 minutes for the debuff to go away on its own or pay for a removal with cash. This wasn't seen as a pay for convenience, but rather “if I don't pay, I can't even play the game” sort of ordeal, since the debuff reduced offensive stats by a staggering 25%. After a bitter and long battle on the game's forums, Fear of Death was removed from the game, because Western audiences have their limits when it comes to cash shops in games.

Allods Online - Fear of Death Removed

Pay to Win is still unfortunately alive and well in numerous MMORPGs. What's the worst example of pay to win you've seen in an MMORPG? What's the alternative? Should games stick purely to cosmetics in their cash shops? Discuss below!