In progression-based games, a huge part of getting stronger is acquiring new gear such as weapons and armor. These are of course physical items that give an indication of how far you are in the game and how strong your character is.
I’ve decided to not include any kind of pay-to-win in any of my future games. That means that monetization would be limited to cosmetics and maybe some sort of VIP gamepass.
So now my question is, do cosmetics really have no impact on gameplay? It is always preferable to avoid a fight with a higher-leveled player due to it being unwinnable. The decision is more often than not based on the opponent’s equipment, especially if levels aren’t shown. If the game revolves around PvP and death itself is also punished by a loss of progress, what would be a way to handle having equipped gear replaced with purchased cosmetics?
I remember when the popular MMORPG Runescape started implementing cosmetics, they ran into the same issue. Their solution was to replace the cosmetics once they entered a PVP area. If PVP is enabled everywhere, then you’d replace it as soon as they enter combat with another player. Additionally, if it’s not intrusive, then adding the ability to inspect another player’s worn equipment would work as well.
I happen to have played RuneScape as well. The reason I didn’t go with their implementation is, like you said, that PvP could be enabled in far more places than disabled. Only removing the cosmetics once in combat doesn’t really help in choosing a fight, but the ability to inspect one’s equipment seems to be an interesting solution.
I have played many games, and the issue begins when the “power creep” starts rolling in. You could always make the power level ceiling smaller to reduce the likelihood of higher level players from attacking.
Player 1 has a power level of 1.6 vs Player 2 with 6.5.
as opposed to -
Player 1 has a power level of 25 vs Player 2 with 124,000.
You could also put a level cap difference that is like “if player 1 is 5 levels lower than player 2, and vice-versa, he/she will deal no damage” type thing.
At the end of the day, the gear should not dictate 100% of the fight, maybe 50%, but skill should still play as a factor in this type of environment.