Apex Legends Player Spent $700 To Unlock A Rare Item, Says 'It Wasn't Worth It'

If you’re lucky, opening a loot box in Apex Legends might get you a set of “heirloom” items. These are ultra rare cosmetic items with a less than one per cent chance of dropping, though you’re guaranteed to get one after 500 boxes. One player ended up paying $US500 ($704) to go through 500 boxes in the hopes of getting the illusive items. Now that he has them, he doesn’t feel as though it was worth it.

[Tetsujin]

A fool and his money.....

[ClayRules2012]

Indeed. The things some people do nowadays just shocks me. And when I don’t think it can get anymore ridiculous, it always does.

[S2Killinit]

While he is an idiot, we should be focusing on why this developer is allowed to make a game like this. This should be illegal. There are people out there who cant control their behavior.

[Nitrowolf2]

@S2Killinit

I wont argue with you there. I hate microtransaction as much as anyone does since it encourages gambling behavior but at the end of the day the person responsible is the user.

I do think developers can offer a fullout buyout option for gear people want, but that would defeat the whole gacha mechanism.

I'll say, the games free to play and you can earn items just based on the chance of luck with money being the clear option.

And i'll add to my whole hate on microtransaction. The games great and its free, people don't bat an eye when it comes to other F2P games like Warframe and such because again, its free and as a package they aren't bad. Of course they'll need some sort of source of revenue, and as long as its not Pay-to-win most don't have an issue with MT on f2p games because its understandable that they need to make money somehow.

Its when it comes to paying full price for a $60 game only for them to be incomplete or extremely difficult to earn items that people get upset when they are brimmed to the t with MT. I shouldn't have to spend $60 and worry about playing the game 10 plus hours to unlock a single item.

Lootboxes are such a touchy subject. Are they illegal? Obviously not, they don't payout cash values and have no real world value since you can't sell them (selling game accounts is against TOS).
Do they encourage gambling behavior? yes they do but so do a lot of things in this world that aren't illegal.
Should something be done? Yes, as I said the easiest solution is to offer buyout options

One thing is for sure, this guy is a moron

[anonymousfan]

S2Killinit Lmao yeah well in a perfect world stupidity would be illegal

[Zenbaby369]

This is chump change compared to what people spend on a lot of mobile games. It's gross.

[PowerOfTheCloud]

S2Killinit
"There are people out there who cant control their behavior."
Yeah there are people like this, but in my honest opinion i rather those people should work on or be treated on controlling their behavior.

Ofcourse I wish for the sane people to not support these business pratices and not buy worthless digital cosmetic crap for hundreds or thousands of dollars. That way these things wouldn't be around like they are these days.
But what do i know. I can't even come around the fact that we live in a time where for example people give streamers money for reacting to youtube videos, playing games or even they just watch them eat and talk about crap.

[remixx116]

And shit like this is why gaas is so profitable. Why take the time and effort to create a full fledged game full of content, a great story, amazing characters, good gameplay etc etc when you can just shit out a basic foundation of a game patch in content later and pack it full of MTs and loot boxes and idiots like this guy will start foaming at the mouth and throw bucket loads of dough at it.

This guy paid enough money to buy almost 12 copies of god of war at launch, or botw or bloodborne or smash. This is why devs aren't trying to make high quality games as much because it takes too much effort, man power and funds to be bothered with especially when these gaas games require less effort and are more profitable due "monetizing player engagement"

Ugh at least this game is ftp unlike sea of thieves, overwatch or siege that ask for 60 beans to then play their slot machines/pay for mts and be told hey we'll patch in more content at a later date, it'll be a full game in a few months.

[antz1104]

$700 toward TF3 development, WOOHOO!

[rainslacker]

So, I've been thinking lately if these kinds of reports are really newsworthy. I see no real value in the opinion of what someone who spent money on MT thinks about what they got from it....particularly an individual. I can read that on general forums if I cared. If the going on's of journalists doing crappy things during GamerGate isn't newsworthy, I don't see how a random person's spending habits on a game is relevant, nor their opinion of it, because realistically, $700 for a digital in game item which holds no value whatsoever beyond personal satisfaction, makes a person seem like they have no impulse or self control. If they could resell that MT for the same or more, then that might be something, but regardless, that's going beyond the scope of this article.

These kinds or articles are really just a staging ground for people to gripe about micro-transactions, which is fine, because I hate them, but given the way some publishers in the industry are going nowadays, I think we get plenty of opportunities to do that regardless.

[trooper_]

I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn’t seeing $70.00.

Like...why? That’s a lot of freaking money for meaningless crap.

[TheGamez100]

Well duh lol

[tar_tar07]

His money... his problems.

[2pacalypsenow]

Lol

[XiNatsuDragnel]

This is why you need control my dude

[Rachel_Alucard]

There is simply things people should not be buying regardless if its there money or not

[Artemidorus]

You the gamer are to blame.

[S2Killinit]

But mostly the laws that allow for exploitation of idiots.

[JackBNimble]

We are policed to death ,I do not want my spending or bank account policed as well.

People need to start taking responsibility for their own actions and stop blaming everyone or everything else. Are you an adult or not ? Then start acting like one !

[S2Killinit]

@LiznA: i wont dignify you w an answer.

@Jack
Im not suggesting that you be penalized for using your funds, im suggesting that the developer should be prevented from making microtransactions that are predatory. These lootboxes are unfair to consumers and use your human tendency of being curious to extract money from you. Despite the black & white world that a lot of people live in these days, not ALL government regulations are bad for your society. Sometimes gov’t regulations are needed to protect you and promote the health of society. Without these protections the corporations will run rampant and do whatever they want.

[Artemidorus]

You can always walk away.

[rainslacker]

Under the law, this isn't exploitation. Legal monetary exploitation is something that is done against a group or person, and done through deception or intimidation with the intent to defraud, or deprive said group or person of their funds, assets, property, with the intent to permanently deprive them of the use of the funds, assets, or property, without fair trade in return.

There is no deception or intimidation in most of these cases. And there is a fair trade of products. Even if we feel the product being brought isn't equitable, it doesn't mean the person doesn't know what they're getting ahead of time. Loot boxes are a bit of a caveat, because it enforces a sense of chance, so because of the randomness of it, it can be exploitative, but since the exchange itself is supposedly under the confines of acceptable trade practices(current legal interpretations aside), it's also not considered exploitation.

These are people that have no self control, and this is unlikely to be the only thing they waste their money on. I know we've all had stupid moments in our life, but some people have no priorities or sense of value, or value the wrong things, so they spend this kind of money. Some, may not feel hurt by spending this much money.

At best, you can say these publishers are taking advantage of the consumer, but that's not really exclusive to these kinds of things, and many retailers rely on the impulsiveness of the consumer to make money. You used the word predatory in a followup comment, which is more accurate, but it's not really predatory, because the sale of such things is in an open market where it is clearly stated. No information is really hidden from the consumer, just some people feel an unhealthy need to have these things. Publishers do make bank on it, but they aren't exclusively trying to target those customers.

[S2Killinit]

@rainslacker
Your argument is sound, no arguments there. And I realize that people have a right to contract. What Im saying is that it seems unconscionable, and there is no checks and balance because the developer holds all the cards. But I dont disagree with what you said. I simply dont think that it should be legal, unless some sort of checks and balance is introduced.

To illustrate my point, imagine a particular game shows you a number of possible items that you have a chance of obtaining. Now imagine that unbeknownst to you, the possibility of getting the desirable top tier items is 1 out of 10 million, or its only possible after spending 50 bucks or more. The consumer does not know this fact before they buy, but they are lured in because they think they are going to get that item. This, to me, is unfair.

Of course I think every game should be taken on a case by case basis. But I think regulation is needed here to make sure people arent being swindled. Just my opinion.

[Father__Merrin]

Does anyone feel this plays a little off with mouse keyboard?

[StrengthInNumbers]

I prefer playing it on console.

[sinspirit]

The only issue I have is V is a terrible place for a melee button. And, get a mouse with buttons on the side to map your microphone toggle to. It's a great place so you still have near full control of what you're doing when talking.

[Father__Merrin]

Il have another few goes at it with kb/m but I'm finding it much more comfortable with a controller. I felt the keys had too many mappings.

[CrimsonWing69]

Good

[Patricko]

Not worth it? I could have told him that before he started wasting his money.