Planetside 2 Paid-For Buffs Rebuffed
The news that Planetside 2 was about to introduce Implants slid past me, like a stealthy and handsome Vanu sniper. The time-limited buffs would have slipped into a new loadout slot, enabling non-class based powers for a brief time. They could be bought with both Station Cash and certs, which is where the problem lies. Lets take a look at one of the powers that SOE had planned to implement, that anyone could buy: "Enhanced Targeting - Enables an enhanced targeting HUD that displays the health of any spotted enemy that you target; it also increases the range of the IFF system from 8 meters to 25 meters". Other buffs included auto-spotting enemies that damage you, and being hidden from enemy sensors. WHAT? People can buy that? Luckily, that was the same reaction that a lot of the community had, and Sony heard their outcries. The Implants have been yoinked from the next update.
I'm surprised that it went so far as to be announced for inclusion in the game. It goes pretty much against the not pay-to-win ethos that Planetside 2 claims to have. Game-changing addons that could be bought with real money is the definition of that, but at least they saw sense. The benefits of having a public test server flows in both directions: the developers can tweak the game before making things live, and the gamers can point out massive, hare-brained flaws that make no sense to anyone.
Here's some rare footage of the implants in their natural habitat, pre-yoinkage.
Via Eurogamer.