Pokémon Unite is the Pokémon Company’s foray into the MOBA genre. Because of how popular the IP is, you can expect a lot of people to play it. Unfortunately, it seems the company tries to get as much money as they can from players by implementing some sort of pay-to-win (P2W) scheme, and fans are not happy with it.
There are a lot of different currencies in Pokémon Unite. There are the Aeos Coins and Aeos Tickets that you can farm just by playing the game and there are also the Aeos Gems, which you can get by paying real money.
The Issue
It is a tradition in Pokémon games where you can equip your Pokémon with “Held Items.” These items provide stat bonuses like increased HP, defense, attack, and movement speed. They can be upgraded to level 30 and you will need Item Enhancers to do that.
Item Enhancers can be acquired in three ways. You can get them from the battle pass and limited-time events. You can also acquire them by using your Aeos Tickets. Or, if you do not like to grind, you can purchase them using Aeos Gems.
It is relatively easy to upgrade Held Items to Level 10 and you can do that with Aeos Tickets. However, if you want to go beyond that, you need to spend a ton of Aeos Tickets or Gems. This may force some people to use real money and those who do will gain unfair advantages over those who play for free.
Redditor @Speedracing1 has made a huge post detailing how problematic this pay-to-win scheme is. They said that upgrading Held Items, such as Leftovers, Rocky Helmet, and the Buddy Barrier, for example, would grant you 1,080 HP at Level 30. Take note that this doesn’t include the passive effects that these items have, so the advantage could be greater.
The Redditor claims that some people defend developer TiMi Studios about this mechanic, which is not a big deal. But the reality is if you do not want to spend money, you are likely to be at a disadvantage.
Redditor @BebeFanMaster3 chimed in and said that while games like Fortnite and Apex Legends do provide microtransactions, they are purely cosmetic in nature. They do not give players multiple advantages, unlike what is happening in Pokémon Unite.
Microtransactions in games are nothing new. However, if it comes to a point where those who have the money to spend will enjoy it far better than others, that is just unacceptable.
Where do you stand on this issue? Are you okay with the pay-to-win mechanics? Or do you think that it is problematic as some players have put it?
