Crucible’s Microtransactions Are Cosmetic
Crucible will feature some form of microtransactions, largely in the form of a battle pass-like system, but the developers said they do not intend for more substantial future content — such as new maps, modes, and heroes — to be locked behind a paywall.
However, items like character skins, new drop pods, sprays, and even extra pieces of lore will need to be unlocked with in-game currency. It seems that there may be multiple ways to purchase said currency (or the aforementioned battle pass), but the details don’t appear to be set in stone just yet.
Overall Impressions: Crucible Is a Fun Game in Search of a Niche
Crucible really does have quite a lot going for it. It’s fun, it’s filled with interesting characters, and it features distinct modes of play. Most importantly, matches play out as down-to-the-wire affairs that won’t leave you feeling left out due to lack of skill.
Having said that, we’ve seen attempts at this kind of game before. The most notable example being Epic Games’ failed MOBA-like shooter experiment Paragon. Much like Crucible, Paragon was a solid shooter, fun to play, and occasionally inventive. You can’t trace the ultimate failure of Paragon down to any one aspect, but one of its most notable shortcomings was its failure to appeal to hardcore MOBA players or to draw in a sustainable amount of competitive shooter fans. It stretched itself thin trying to reach both markets but never really made the connection with either. With its fairly accessible playstyle which dilutes some of the more competitive, skill-based elements of MOBAs and other competitive shooters, there’s a worry that Crucible could end up suffering from a similar fate.
I played two games of Crucible during my demo session (I was unable to participate in the third due to technical issues on my end). In one, I got no kills and played fairly poorly statistically speaking. In the other, I led my team in kills by quite a lot. The problem was that I can’t really say I felt a substantial difference between the first two games in terms of satisfaction.