Before moving on to the main part of the article, there is one important thing to note. I feel great about the idea of releasing SMITE 2 and do not consider the new part a stupid attempt to make money for the same game, as is often written in the comments. On the contrary, I really believe that the project needed a full-fledged sequel, just like the shooter Paladins, since both games were so outdated. However, despite this, I think the Founder’s Sets for SMITE 2 are terrible, and I’ll explain why now.
Let’s go through each item of the founder’s kits.
God Pack
Perhaps the most valuable thing in all the sets is the set with all the current and future characters. There was a similar DLC for the first part and it worked well, so it’s not surprising that the developers have prepared the same offer for the sequel.
God Pack allows you to forget about farming currency and just play for fun. Thus, you are not forced into the framework of daily tasks, and by entering the game after a while, you essentially will not lose anything.
The cheapest Founder’s Pack is worth purchasing just for the God Pack. This is not at all necessary, especially since there will be few characters available at launch, and you can easily farm currency on them. But for me personally, this is the most necessary thing of all that is available in packs.
Skins
The most expensive set for 9199 rubles offers only 3 skins. Moreover, 1 of them is given only for pre-order, so if you do not purchase it before July 30, you will only receive 2. This is extremely small for such an expensive set, because competitors gave much more for a similar price. Yes, in fact, skins are also present in the ascension es, which are also included in the bundles, but we will talk about them a little later.
Ymir’s Cacodemon skin looks pretty cool. Previously, it was given for reaching level 30 in the beta test of the first part, and since then it has been impossible to obtain. In the second part, this skin will also be quite rare, because it can only be unlocked by pre-ordering the set. This is where the main problem lies – this skin is not actually part of the sets. This is just a gift for those who pay a little money early. Therefore, in the future their value will fall even more, but the price itself will remain the same.
The standard edition for 2,759 rubles does not itself include skins, except for the pre-order bonus. For purchasing the Deluxe Edition for 5,519 rubles, you will receive the “Night Predator” skin for Neith. I can’t say anything bad about it, but again, are you ready to pay that much money for it? Finally, the Edition for RUB 9,199 includes a gorgeous Tier 5 Zeus skin that comes with different variations that change as the match progresses. Well, with it you can show everyone that you spent a lot of money on the game.
Again, the problem is not the skins themselves – they are really cool. The problem is that they are not worth what they are asking for. The developers should have added a few more to at least justify the asking price.
Ascension es
Ascension is a kind of battle , but for an individual character. By increasing their skill level, players will be able to unlock both free and paid rewards. The latter are included in the sets.
Unfortunately, there are no omissions in the standard edition. But Lux and give 11 and 23 pieces, respectively. It would seem that this is the reason for such high prices, but not everything is so happy. First of all, we don’t yet know the rewards that are given for them. But that’s okay, the developers will probably talk about them soon. My gripe lies elsewhere – these es are intended for certain characters available at launch. That is, even if you do not play a hero, you will still have an unnecessary for him. In my opinion, the developers should have added something like tokens that allow players to unlock es at their discretion. For example, do not spend current ones in order to leave them for the next added characters. That would be much more honest.
Heirloom Gems
As you know, not all the skins that players bought in the first part will be transferred to SMITE 2. Therefore, in order not to upset old players too much, the developers introduced so-called inherited gems. They depend on the number of gems received in SMITE 1 (both earned in the game and purchased with real money) and allow you to buy cosmetics with a 50% discount. So, owners of sets will receive twice as many of them.
It would seem, what is the problem? An excellent offer for the “oldies”, because now for them all microtransactions are half the price. But the fact of the matter is that this bonus is essentially beneficial only to them. If you are a beginner, you will not receive anything, which means you can safely cross out this item from the founder’s kits. Of course, it is very important to bring old players back into the game, but it is much more important to lure new players into it.
Why don’t developers add not only inherited gems to the sets, but also regular ones? After all, this is a completely normal practice when currency is included in packs. You could spend it on skins or battle es, which would make buying packs a more attractive proposition.
Avatar and title
To complete the picture, I will also mention small things in the form of avatars and titles. This is just a small bonus for purchasing the sets. Many games have this, so it’s not surprising that it will appear in SMITE 2.
Conclusion
Despite all of the above, I’m looking forward to the release of SMITE 2 and, most likely, will prepare a full review with my impressions. I have already participated in alpha testing and overall I was pleased. However, I can’t say the same about the Founder’s Packs – they mostly offer dubious bonuses for a high price that does not correspond to the content. And the point here is not even that the developers did not create regional prices for Russia. The packs have too few skins, there is no currency, and the bonus to inherited gems is completely unnecessary for those who have not played or played little of the first part. Ascension es also seem questionable since they are only for early heroes. However, whether to buy them or not is up to you. I just shared my own impressions, and you can write your opinion in the comments.
