FAQ: Do You Pre Order Expansions? .

Every week we try to sit down and discuss hotly debated topics, ask silly questions, and answer questions we hear a lot while gaming in FAQ. This weeks question is inspired by the recent brouhahas with ArenaNet and Bungie on their expansions.

This weeks frequently asked question is this..

Do you Pre-purchase/pre-order MMO Expansions?

Murf: Sometimes, yes. Unlike other games, MMOs come with a built in incentive to be there early. Early starts or bonus DLC that will last the life of your account (which, for some MMOs, are effectively immortal) are excellent reasons to get on board early and fast. It isn’t necessary, however. Launch – either release or expansion – is simultaneously the best and worst time to play. The best because servers are bursting at the seams with new people to play with, and the worst because there is no room left on the bus to get in-game. Playing pre-release can help assuage that somewhat by at least giving you access to a game while the numbers are often palatable, but it can be just as good to wait it out a month and come back in when things are normalized and a few bug fixes are handled!

Karl: A very clear no. I never have pre-purchased and never will pre-purchase any MMO expansion. I have also never pre-ordered any MMO at all before and it is highly unlikely that I will do so in the future. I have never seen the point of being able to play an MMO at its launch seeing how no MMO have had a great first week yet. So why would I spend my at least first week of my free month queuing or getting random crashes? When I can easily wait a couple of weeks, have better patched game if it doesn’t need more waiting like many MMOs sadly do, and enjoy it without any big hiccups.

Dan: Not anymore is the short answer. Gaming is now littered with warning not to (See: Batman Arkham Knight for PC). For the longest time It’s seemed like every new IP or expansion has had a launch littered with broken servers or broken games. From expansions like Heavensward and Warlords of Draenor server problems to the cluster to end all clusters that was Archeage. Preorder seems to be telling bigger games companies that we will pay for what they deliver regardless of its quality. Its what lead to The Dark Below being such a pitiful blog of nothing and seems to be helping Bungie’s more recent breakdown. So no, I no longer Pre Order. I now wait and see at least what the review code is like. Its so far saved me money on the Elder Scrolls PS4 port at least.

Hannah: It depends on the game, but yes, I do. Back when I played World of Warcraft I always pre-ordered new expansions, aside from that one year my expansion didn’t arrive and in a panic we ran out to get a spare copy. Yes that happened. I also pre-ordered the Final Fantasy XIV expansion, although I haven’t gotten around to applying the code yet as I’m not playing currently though I know I will get back to it after a break. However, for other games, it really depends on how much I’m enjoying myself. If it’s a game I only play sporadically then I like to wait to know enough about the expansion as to whether or not I feel it will be decent value for the time I will spend playing. With some games, that might mean waiting several months after launch to hear the overall verdict from the game’s players or not bothering at all. For the most part, however, I play a fair few different MMOs and most of them these days release the content for free. It all depends on what they offer for a pre-order.

Belghast: This one is difficult because my opinion on pre-ordering has changed drastically over the years.  There was a time when I pre-ordered nothing, and lived for the thrill of the hunt of trying to find the game I want on release day.  However as I have gotten older, I simply want to make sure I can play the game I want to play on the day the expansion opens.  As such I not only pre-order but tend to favor digital download pre-orders so that I can generally preload the expansion and be ready to play the moment the servers come online.  There is a bit of a qualifier here however because I generally only pre-order the title I am actively playing…  unless the pre-order bonuses are truly phenomenal or I am getting some sort of a price break for purchasing early.

Jonathan: Historically yes I would. When City of Villains came out, I was on board and felt rewarded for it. When Storm Legion was on the way, I jumped on the chance to get my hands on it. Admittedly most of the games I play or have played haven’t really gotten expansions so Storm Legion was my first disappointment for various reasons. Let’s be polite and blame it on the unmoving cardboard capes. After a certain point though pre-purchase of expansions began to look like pre-ordering unreleased games. Various digital items tacked on top of things of either no utility or limited extremely. What’s worse? To get a cool item that does nothing or to get a cool item that you dare not ever use because it quickly becomes useless? (I’m looking at you Guild Wars 2 Banker Golem). Hoarding is bad enough for me in games without giving me the sense that those wonderful extras that I might buy are ultimately a false economy and not something I need or want. The extra $25 for $50 worth of gems for Heart of Thorns sounds fantastic and like a real saving. After all that’s half off! That’s practically them giving me money, except I still have gems sitting on my account because I’m not a huge spender of them. If pre-purchases could give me something worth the extra money I would be back into them. Otherwise I can pick up the expansion in my own time while everyone else deals with that first day/week frustration and patching in my stead.

Those are just our opinions. What about you? Do you pre-purchase expansions? Do you feel like they’re a good deal or bad?