Is the Gameloft MLP game Pay To Win?

[Azure Acrylic 24]

I used to play the Gameloft MLP game years ago, but I quit because of a simple reason: almost everything in the game couldn’t be done without paying money. I tried to save up for weeks for ponies that were essential for the main quest, but after finding out they costed more than 20 gems, I almost raged. There was also random pop up ads for Dragon Mania, Disney Magic Kingdom, and that old game Mobile Strike that kept on disrupting my tasks in the game. Now, seeing that the limited time events are now almost impossible to complete without paying money, and that now almost all gem characters in the store now cost $30 in real money, Im sorta thinking about whether other people have this problem too. So lemme ask: Is it even worth it to jump back into that game, or to not play it entirely?

[Jesse Terrence 2,963]

Hrm, I stopped playing it like 2 years ago. Kind of the same reason, it would cost me too many gems to continue the mane quest at the moment, though on the other hoof I had almost all the ponies I liked.

It's fun if you don't mind about collecting all the ponies. Also, that you could get gems at times by watching adds or double the prizes from completing certain event tasks when the prizes were gems helped a bit, but indeed, it'd take forever to get the expensive things that way. Something I liked was that you could get free ponies if you topped during score attack events. I got many playing at the mines that way.

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

Every game that exists is pay to win to some extent so yeah

[fare67t 242]

I wouldn't say its "pay to win" per say

More along the lines of Pay to Continue~

"Oh, you want to have this task that's only 1/5 not take 10 hours to complete? MORE MONEY PLEASE!"

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

I would say not really. If you have the shops that produces gems, then you don't need to pay much money to continue with the quest and storylines however the competition rewards are pay 2 win. I can see how tough it see to get these rewards. The limited-time story is pretty much optional, but you'll still get gems if the rewards are already obtained from the past limited-time story events when they were re-released.

[Azure Acrylic 24]

10 hours ago, KirbyFluttershy said:

I would say not really. If you have the shops that produces gems, then you don't need to pay much money to continue with the quest and storylines however the competition rewards are pay 2 win. I can see how tough it see to get these rewards. The limited-time story is pretty much optional, but you'll still get gems if the rewards are already obtained from the past limited-time story events when they were re-released.

But do the shops that produce gems cost gems themselves? And, I heard that to complete the game, you need to have the whole Mane 6 gang, which is awful, because some ponies like Dash, cost like 40 gems. Adding that with the fact that the game does not save your progress each time you quit, I would say it would be almost impossible to win without paying. But you say the limited time events are pay to win?

[RaraLover 10,410]

I wouldn't totally say the game is F2P, but I know from experience that it will be a lot more difficult to make progress. I still currently play the game daily. I'm level 120+ F2P and able to rack up a quite a few gems a day, but getting to this stage took a long time. Overtime, a F2P player can easily obtain gems though:

• Watching ads
• Completing quests
• Defeating parasprites, fruit bats, changlings, etc
• Free codes that Gameloft releases every now and then (the current active one is RETRO which will give you 30 gems)
• Limited-time events
• Group quests
• And more.

It takes a while, but all these above methods of obtaining gems help move F2P players along nicely. Limited-time stories are possible to complete without spending a ton of gems and money, while others are just impossible or ridiculously difficult. It just takes a lot of dedication to fully complete them without a single gem. I'm able to obtain around 10+ gems a day. I was able to earn over 2000 gems just by playing daily.

Some gem-producing shops can be earned from Limited-time stories as well (I've got 4 at the moment through events).

As for progress not saving, I've had the same issue in the past, but learnt it's got something to do when playing the game with WIFI on or off. It ocasionally happens when you play without WIFI, then leaving the game and playing again with WIFI (something like that).

And I'll say this, you should be grateful of the current prices of the characters. Rainbow Dash, for example, was initially 500 gems!

Edited December 6, 2019 by RaraLover

[Sherem 4,807]

is a mobile game that involves internet and tons of users...but most importantly, is a mobile game, of course is pay to win 

[Azure Acrylic 24]

3 hours ago, RaraLover said:

I wouldn't totally say the game is F2P, but I know from experience that it will be a lot more difficult to make progress. I still currently play the game daily. I'm level 120+ F2P and able to rack up a quite a few gems a day, but getting to this stage took a long time. Overtime, a F2P player can easily obtain gems though:

• Watching ads
• Completing quests
• Defeating parasprites, fruit bats, changlings, etc
• Free codes that Gameloft releases every now and then (the current active one is RETRO which will give you 30 gems)
• Limited-time events
• Group quests
• And more.

It takes a while, but all these above methods of obtaining gems help move F2P players along nicely. Limited-time stories are possible to complete without spending a ton of gems and money, while others are just impossible or ridiculously difficult. It just takes a lot of dedication to fully complete them without a single gem. I'm able to obtain around 10+ gems a day. I was able to earn over 2000 gems just by playing daily.

Some gem-producing shops can be earned from Limited-time stories as well (I've got 4 at the moment through events).

As for progress not saving, I've had the same issue in the past, but learnt it's got something to do when playing the game with WIFI on or off. It ocasionally happens when you play without WIFI, then leaving the game and playing again with WIFI (something like that).

And I'll say this, you should be grateful of the current prices of the characters. Rainbow Dash, for example, was initially 500 gems!

Well, I don’t think the game saves your progress if you delete it, which means that if you delete it, all your progress is erased, which gives me rages. And by the way, I don’t know if I should start again this late, because Gameloft would delete the game, because MLP is over. And by the way, the code doesn’t work for me. And just as I told you, the game completely reset, forcing me to do everything again.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Rainbows2424

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

23 minutes ago, Rainbows2424 said:

Well, I don’t think the game saves your progress if you delete it, which means that if you delete it, all your progress is erased, which gives me rages. And by the way, I don’t know if I should start again this late, because Gameloft would delete the game, because MLP is over. And by the way, the code doesn’t work for me.

I don't think that's true at all. I had to re-install the app and my data was still intact so probably if you backed up your data to your cloud storage, you shouldn't have a problem getting it back. The game automatically saves, but the data doesn't carry over in different systems and devices like if you're playing the game on a computer via windows 10 or android devices, the data(s) you have from OS devices you're playing on and gem(s) you bought can't be carried over to them.

Now as for the free codes, those codes are limited time so you have to grab those codes before they expire.

Group Quests, you need a lot of ponies (or creatures) to do the group quests however the time for the next quest will take longer depending on which group quest you'll be doing. the one with large number of ponies (or creatures) have better rewards.

[Azure Acrylic 24]

6 minutes ago, KirbyFluttershy said:

I don't think that's true at all. I had to re-install the app and my data was still intact so probably if you backed up your data to your cloud storage, you shouldn't have a problem getting it back. The game automatically saves, but the data doesn't carry over in different systems and devices like if you're playing the game on a computer via windows 10 or android devices, the data(s) you have from OS devices you're playing on and gem(s) you bought can't be carried over to them.

Now as for the free codes, those codes are limited time so you have to grab those codes before they expire.

Group Quests, you need a lot of ponies (or creatures) to do the group quests however the time for the next quest will take longer depending on which group quest you'll be doing. the one with large number of ponies (or creatures) have better rewards.

Well, it seems that the code expired just as I installed the game. And, I had a previous game, but it seems that there’s no way to get back the game now.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Rainbows2424

[SparkleSan79 91]

I just wish the MLP game I have now would update for my Kindle.

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

2 hours ago, Rainbows2424 said:

Well, it seems that the code expired just as I installed the game. And, I had a previous game, but it seems that there’s no way to get back the game now.

well there was a option of datas to choose from after you re-install and start the app. As I said if you're playing on different devices, the gems and data will not carry over so if your data is on iOS device, then the data and gems can't be carried over to different devices like android other than iOS devices. I did it before when I re-installed the device after I backed up my data to the cloud storage.

when you start the game after the intro, you'll see that there's an option of data(s). the one that has 0days, hrs, mins, and secs, that's the current one. if your data is on the cloud storage, then you'll see the number of days, hrs, mins, and secs and that's how long you've been playing the game so to find out which one is your data, compare the play times from your device and cloud storage.

As for the gift codes go, you wanna take action immediately in using them. Don't just wait too long to use the code.

[Latecomer 438]

Wasn't there a cheaper version available for a while?

[Azure Acrylic 24]

6 hours ago, KirbyFluttershy said:

well there was a option of datas to choose from after you re-install and start the app. As I said if you're playing on different devices, the gems and data will not carry over so if your data is on iOS device, then the data and gems can't be carried over to different devices like android other than iOS devices. I did it before when I re-installed the device after I backed up my data to the cloud storage.

when you start the game after the intro, you'll see that there's an option of data(s). the one that has 0days, hrs, mins, and secs, that's the current one. if your data is on the cloud storage, then you'll see the number of days, hrs, mins, and secs and that's how long you've been playing the game so to find out which one is your data, compare the play times from your device and cloud storage.

As for the gift codes go, you wanna take action immediately in using them. Don't just wait too long to use the code.

Well, that doesn’t show up each time I reinstall the game. It just shows me the age requirement and then that’s it. And also, I tried typing in “RETRO” into the gift code but nothing happened. And besides; even if I’m not playing on multiple devices, if I uninstall the game and reinstall it, it restarts everything. Unlike EA, where they were kind enough to have a option to save data.

1 hour ago, Latecomer said:

Wasn't there a cheaper version available for a while?

Never heard of it.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Rainbows2424

[RaraLover 10,410]

11 hours ago, Rainbows2424 said:

And also, I tried typing in “RETRO” into the gift code but nothing happened.

Sorry, the code must have expired. Though, the MLP Gameloft Wiki page says it's still active, but not 100% sure to be honest.

 

https://mlp-gameloft.fandom.com/wiki/Gift_Code

Use this link to keep track of the new gift codes that Gameloft will occasionally release.

[Splashee 28,537]

Does it have a built in casino game? (like NBA 2K20) Then yes.

[Azure Acrylic 24]

5 hours ago, Splashee said:

Does it have a built in casino game? (like NBA 2K20) Then yes.

Umm, what minigame in it is slot machine-like? The balloon pop game?

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

1 hour ago, Rainbows2424 said:

Umm, what minigame in it is slot machine-like? The balloon pop game?

Yeah the balloon pop is one of them. Not only bits, gems, and hearts you get to spend on, but also lucky and crystal coins and of course to get these coins, you need to assign specific creature to get these coins and do group quests.

Anyway on to the topic, not only you can get for gems with real money, but you also get VIP benefits and the benefits are shown available on which VIP level so this is pretty much optional.

The only things that are pay 2 win are participating for rewards from limited time quests, social, and community events which is pretty much I know about. The EG dance mini-game doesn't require pay 2 win although it's just that your highest score will be posted on the leaderboards and you only need the mane6 to do EG.

[Azure Acrylic 24]

1 hour ago, KirbyFluttershy said:

Yeah the balloon pop is one of them. Not only bits, gems, and hearts you get to spend on, but also lucky and crystal coins and of course to get these coins, you need to assign specific creature to get these coins and do group quests.

Anyway on to the topic, not only you can get for gems with real money, but you also get VIP benefits and the benefits are shown available on which VIP level so this is pretty much optional.

The only things that are pay 2 win are participating for rewards from limited time quests, social, and community events which is pretty much I know about. The EG dance mini-game doesn't require pay 2 win although it's just that your highest score will be posted on the leaderboards and you only need the mane6 to do EG.

So, is the limited time quests P2W? Well that sucks. But is the main quest line P2W? Also, can you get the ponies that were in then limited time quests from the community events? And, for some reason, the people that are at the top of the chart seem to get points ridiculously fast. I don’t know what they didn’t to make it go so fast.

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

8 hours ago, Rainbows2424 said:

So, is the limited time quests P2W? Well that sucks. But is the main quest line P2W? Also, can you get the ponies that were in then limited time quests from the community events? And, for some reason, the people that are at the top of the chart seem to get points ridiculously fast. I don’t know what they didn’t to make it go so fast.

Limited time quests is pay 2 win in terms of community rewards, but the story rewards isn't that much unless you're in a hurry to get all the rewards. the main quest line isn't that much of a pay 2 win. Some creatures are needed for limited time quests in order to proceed with the limited time quests and some creatures that you get from community and social events aren't needed for limited time quest however they can be used for group quests and part of completing the collection.

[Rikifive 23,486]

This game definitely is P2W.

For the story, if you don't care about other players - you're playing only for yourself and you're fine with drastically slow progress, it's possible to go through it without paying, though it will take years and you still won't be able to unlock everything, as some items are locked behind payments, where even gems are not enough. This, compared to being able to beat the game and unlock everything within about a day if you're a millionaire as everything - - - everything can be bought, it's like purchasing cheat codes or something. For a mobile game like this it is fine to progress slowly, but the impact real money has is ridiculous. Every single screen begs you to pay for something.

The game also features leaderboards for which you can get rewards. People who pay for boosts will get higher on the leaderboards and it doesn't matter how good you are at the game, as some challenges have a maximum amount of points possible to get multiplied by limited amount of tries (Equestria Girls, for example: You can get up to x points for scoring only perfects and you can play y amount of times per day). So if you'll perform perfectly and play as much as you're allowed, you will end up faaaar behind a player, who performed worse and cared less, due to score multipliers he had. There, it is p2w, as the game is designed to make you feel worse if you won't pay. Your effort and all the time you've put can literally be wrecked by people who paid.

This is a typical mobile cancer, sadly. I stopped playing it after they cared about adding more paid content and adding the ridiculous vip system more than fixing game breaking bugs, that players were constantly reporting. This game was designed mainly to beg for money, like majority of Gameloft's games and mobile games in general. 

Perhaps I'd understand that if the prices were reasonable, but $500 spent (for the record, the game legit considers a possibility of paying more than $1000 and rewards you for reaching that mark lmao) in that game isn't as much as one would expect. For that you could buy a legit console or many really worthy games, rather than just few silly unlockables in a bugged mobile game. I'd prefer to pay once, let's say even $50 to purchase the game, but be able to fully experience the game properly afterwards. MTX cause balancing issues and this game is a madness in that regard.

The game itself was fun though, so if you really don't care about other players, nor making progress in the story, but just consider that game as a little thing to take care of once in a while out of boredom (like, "yay let's visit ponyville and boop twilight uwu"), it's okay. 

[Totally Nyx 35,497]

Hi @Rainbows2424. Since this topic isn't about content you created yourself, I'm moving it to Sugarcube Corner.

[EpicEnergy 22,074]

I'm not sure as I haven't progressed throughout the entire game and it's made several changes since last time I've played, but I don't think it is pay-to-win.

[Gale Wind 79]

I played for a bit, then stopped and now idk if I want to restart or not. I lost my progress which is annoying and I am not sure how long they’ll keep the game running since g4 ended.