Be still my beating heart, I never thought I’d see the day that a developer manages to put two and two together, and actually make four. Snide comment, yet the number of developers that seem to double-down on segmenting their player base with bizarre transaction models that readily divide the have’s from the have-not’s seems to exponentially increase, year after year. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 actually noticed that their player base was continuing to dwindle as they released DLC after DLC, to worse and worse reviews.
So they changed everything up; an in-game microtransaction shop that only offers unique appearances, while everyone gets new maps to explore that encourages the natural growth of the community that bands together to explore the new content. It’s worth taking note of; while the only thing many gamers hate more than microtransactions are game-breaking bugs, microtransactions that only deal with appearances (without offering advantages) are warmly received, and typically players will willingly toss a bone to the developers.
It’s how Path of Exile continues to be a massive success; the title is absolutely free to play, and you can purchase skins for yourself and your abilities. Somehow, to the astonishment of many, they’ve just passed their seven-year anniversary, and are doing unfathomably well.
Who would have thought this would work out, consumer friendliness?
Development studio FatShark took to Steam Announcements to offer heroes a sneak peek at the upcoming second chapter of the new Curse of Drachenfels update. The first chapter saw the Ubersreik Five (or four) battle their way to the entrance of Castle Drachenfels, and the next chapter is obviously focusing on the motley crew’s effort within the castle.
While hordes of vermin of course anxiously await any foolish enough to cross the threshold, there may be four (or five) champions foolhardy enough to step through.
Titled Blood in the Darkness, there seems to be a new mechanic at play that has yet to be seen; the rescue of the tremendously unlucky villagers trapped within the confines of the imposingly monumental structure. There is also a mention that the Pactsworn may be attempting to resurrect the ungodly Drachenfels himself.
It’s striking how much of a difference there seems to already be within the community with the newest model, and with 2020 being the Year of the Rat, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 may come through this with an impressive turn of events. Hopefully, this marks a new era for the Vermintide player base, rather than an errant step in the right direction.
