NBA 2K has just revealed the brand new features of its Pro Pass Season 2 and the reactions are definitely mixed. A post on the game’s official Twitter account confirmed that with the new pass, players will be able to “grab 4 automatic rewards + enjoy 40 other premium rewards”. Yet, if you take a look at the replies? It’s a total pandemonium with different feelings of the community.
What exactly is the Pro Pass situation? To put it briefly, it is the battle pass system in which you have to play through levels to get all the items and even Juanita’s skin. In Season 2, not only do you pay and get four rewards, but then you can also get forty more items as you advance in level. Does it seem fine from afar? But players’ reactions are totally opposite to what the case is.
What players mostly agreed on, when they replied, was about the cap breakers. Some gamers straightforwardly expressed: “No cap breaker?” and one user Moisture Rizer succinctly putting it “40 Levels, 40+ Rewards…only the +1 Cap Breaker matters to most of us tbh.” In case there are some not so advanced users in the 2K community, cap breakers allow you to bump up your MyPlayer attributes beyond the limit. So it can be inferred that in a way players are actually saying that the rewards are of no use if they cannot be applied to enhance their player builds’ foundations.
Moreover, the issue of money is very significant here. User TropicNight95 was outrightly critical on this matter saying “@NBA2K All u want is money money money” and yes, a bit later, this very same thought was echoed by several other users. Another user KindredSwerv called it “Pay to get your max 1 and 2s before others” which sounds a lot like Pro Pass giving those who pay the best opportunity for attribute upgrade leading to unfair advantage.
However, not everything is dark and gloomy! Quite a few players are actually positive about the new season. User datboisteezy_ was ecstatic when he shared “Just hit Starter 5!! Best 6’4 pg build in da game!” with a screenshot of his player. So there is no doubt that there are gamers who are working hard to get through and having fun with the new content.
Nevertheless, the complaints keep coming – gamers are inquiring about the return of game modes like domination, reporting lag issues that are peculiar to 2K, and continually pressing developers to do something about the cheaters. One frustrated user JABridgeforth even went to the extent of writing in all caps “HOW ABOUT YOU BAN CHEATERS CAN YOU DO THAT FOR US?” and it is quite evident that he was indeed very irritated.
It is safe to say that Pro Pass is not what the community wants at all. User ASTRONAUT_KJ summed up a shared emotion with “We dont care, the rewards are ass every year…… we just wanna hoop bro. Nobody asked for this fortnite shit” which is pretty much a rejection of the battle pass model.
But there were also some responses that while critiquing, were also quite ingenious. User theking_kd sarcastically suggested: “How about pick up a job + access to grass?” which, well, is pretty humorous but also a bit too much. Moreover, others were asking for new haircuts for their players or complaining about such gameplay aspects as bump steals being too strong.
It is indeed intriguing to observe that this entire saga reflects the division within the gaming community today. On the one hand, the not-so-enthusiastic ones who are ready to undergo the tough grind for the sake of enjoying the new content have fenced themselves off from the other community which is demanding undistorted basketball with no monetizing and additional systems in place. And of course, all the others who are in between have just to figure out whether Pro Pass is worth their time and money or not.
What’s more, one thing is clear: the NBA 2K players community is very strong in its demands as to the game’s development. They don’t hesistate to point out theissues they have, whether these are technical problems like lag or the progression system design. The Season 2 Pro Pass seems to be packed with great rewards but what if it is not ready to deal with the core issues that matter the most to players? In that case, the Twitter replies are very open and clear about the situation being very unfavourable.
On the whole, it is yet another instance that shows how game developers have to consider the cons and pros of a new content release in terms of community satisfaction. Pro Pass itself is not an evil thing – there are many games that have successfully adopted similar seasonal models. Nevertheless, when your players are more concerned about cap breakers and gameplay improvements than the forty-plus rewards you are offering?
That’s a pretty solid sign that you need to be more attentive to what the community really wants. Or perhaps that is just what the Twitter drama indicates. PS5 and Xbox players continue to voice their opinions on these matters.
