Microtransactions and stat-boosters are often a point of contention on this industry. The latest game to come into the spotlight is Destiny 2, which has review copies and early pre-orders out in the wild. One such early adopter leaked out information about Bright Engrams, a form of modification you can purchase with Silver, a currency only available with real money.
Destiny 2‘s in-game store Eververse is where all microtransaction based purchases take place. Originally based solely around cosmetics, in Destiny 2 these purchases now include items that can raise your stats. There are mods that lower ability cooldown time, character movement speed boosters, armor stat changers, and weapon stat assistants. Many people are worried that these mods could be brought into PvE events to assist in grinding out loot, or worse, into PvP to give players who spent money an unfair advantage. It’s currently unknown if this will actually be how these items are applied to the game, but for now players are uneasy with how this is rolling out.
Bright Engrams can drop in other instances for free, however. After your character hits level 20, an Engram will drop after each level you earn. You also cannot use Bright Engrams until after you hit 20, so it’s not like inexperienced players can just pay money to leverage their skills, you have to play the game quite a bit first.
Other items included in the Bright Engrams list include cosmetics or weak items that need dropped boosters to become usable. Many players have no qualms with these, as they’re not essential and can easily be ignored. Combine that with the random drops after level 20, and you’ll still end up with a few of these items without spending extra money. Bungie’s main issue is in transparency; They never mentioned these stat mods previously, and many players feel blindsided by a push to pay to become strong enough to compete. Bungie has not yet commented on the criticism, but we’ll soon find out how these mods effect the game when Destiny 2 launches.