Is your Open Tibia Server Pay to Win?

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Asking this question sometimes might be tricky. For example, how would you describe the pay-to-win feature? Items in the item shop? Premium account? Exp boost? Enhancement stones? Unlockable island? Loot boxes? Additional dungeon keys?

What is the pay to win (or P2W)?

User "lext" on reddit proposed the following definition of P2W:

"Pay2Win is any game that sells players useful items or services which lets them progress significantly faster or gives them a significant advantage over non-paying customers. This is pretty much everything that is not cosmetic, and it applies to PvP and PvE alike."

Let's take this definition and apply to specific games and an open tibia server.

Game Item Shop Purchasable resources for faster progress? Purchasable new territories/features?
Tibia (Cipsoft, Global) Yes Yes Yes, Pacc
New World (Amazon) Yes No No
Lost Ark (Tripod Studio) Yes Yes Yes
Metin2 (Gameforge) Yes Yes Yes
League Of Legends (Riot Games) Yes No No
OTS - Dura Online Yes No Yes

As you can see, even the biggest and wealthiest studios worldwide are milking players with P2W systems. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as Riot Games.

Ot Server List pay to win levels

Due to Tibia's characteristics, we had to create specific categories for the game and our list.

We distinguish 4 categories:

  • Free
  • Premium
  • Pay to win
  • Milker
Category Definition
Free The server is free to play. The server can have an item shop, but purchasable items are only cosmetic or do not affect gameplay and progress. Mounts are counted as cosmetics if their added movement speed is not modified.
Premium The server is free to play. The server has an item shop with a premium account. The premium account does not give you an additional experience, skill, or magic level boost. The premium account gives you access to new areas, spells, and quests.
Pay to win The server is free to play. The server has an item shop with a premium account or items that are possible to obtain in the game. The premium might give you a boost to your experience, skill, or magic level gain rate.
Milker The server might not be free to play. The server has an item shop with gold, not obtainable items, experience boosts or other products that give a significant advantage over non-paying customers.