Until it’s free to play this is a rip-off. In effect we paid to be beta testers for the devs. So we should not be charged anymore. Thanks for putting out a reasoned video (clearly far more reasonable than me!) with such well thought out and constructive ideas. :)
I agree prices are crazy but charging for moonstones is ok by me, why cuz when it goes totally free to play to the public they have to make some money off it. Otherwise it would be shut down real fast. I am not going to let the premium shop ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I so agree! The paid items are an insult to us as beta testers who paid for the experience. I play a Disney game on iPhone. It’s got a number of annoying money grab features BUT it has always been free to play.
What’s mad not even free to play yet pay up to max price to have early access…. Now they do this not focus on Scrooge shop instead it’s a punch in the gut
I've been saying (in reddit and discord) that we should get moonstones when picking up already unlocked memories instead of coins. Memories are related to the time spent playing and it would be a great way to reward players.
I felt icky when I first saw the store but wasn’t really sure why. This summed it up perfectly. It went from feeling like wholesome game to a cash grab in an instant
I'm still suprised people feel this way because even when the game was first released the developers told everyone that eventually it'll be free to play with in game purchases. Of course I wish some items were for free but it's to be expected. They have to make money somehow
This is the part where people will say “if you can’t afford it then just don’t spend” which i always found a bit silly. It’s like they get you hooked on free drugs then start charging you and blame you for not being able to stop buying
Why my sister did a lock on my switch spending money on coins in the game she was shocked so she added her as admin to help me not spend money I don’t have 😅not proud but mega greatful to my sister
Yeah some people seem to think, in a sense, that if you can’t afford it that you just flip a switch and suddenly make you not want the items anymore. Also I think that it’s always better when more people can be included on enjoying fun things rather than be excluded.
This wasn't a realisation I had myself so I can't take credit... But I've seen the very valid criticism that the term micro transactions shouldn't be used in cases like this. There's nothing micro about a $15 purchase. I know myself and so many others stress out about spending $15 on daily life purchases, so the fact that this game is calling these premium things "micro transactions ' on top of the fact that it's not even a free game yet, feels life a fart in the face
Greed seems to be the way of the world now. Especially with Disney. They try and disguise it and act like it’s normal- wrap it up in a Minnie bow. Like $20 churros at the park. Or $300 + to go to Disneyland. And it’s not just Disney. In game purchases are the name of the game now.
@@RedK5 No, I meant all game companies are doing in-app or in-game purchases. Whatever makes them the most $$$. Not just Disney. There are few that don’t.
Thing is though, even for micro transactions this is incredibly unstable and unreasonable. A lot of games built on micro transactions at least make the money you spend worth your buck. This just isn't it on so many levels.
I really hope they lower prices because I was going to introduce this to my nephews but not now with those predatory prices. It’s not just cosmetic when the whole game is decorating tbh.
@@EeownaUgh yes! I refused to get the castle on principle lol. I did cave and get the cottage but only on my ps5 and only because I have my house in the forest there. Pixel’s should not cost as much as real furniture!
you made a very good point; main thing that gave me the icky feeling when i saw microtransactions being introduced is that the game is super buggy, unfinished and not free yet.
Yeah, my game still randomly glitches when opening the map and trying to fast travel anywhere. Sorry, but I'm not giving you more money so I can be your beta tester
Why would they when people keep shoving money at them? We have to vote with our wallets. That’s the only message companies understand. People need to stop excusing this predatory game.
There needs to be more distinction between items in the premium shop and items in Scrooge's store. Everything (aside from the house skins) so far looks like it could go into scrooge's shop. I want to see items that have extra animation or interactive features in the premium shop if I'm going to be spending that many moonstones. The premium store has been a bit of a buzz kill, I hope they consider fan feedback.
I don't have much hope of them listening. Blind and players with limited vision have been asking for the most basic of accommodations - the ability to enlarge text, and also to be able to see in darker areas, like the forgotten lands This is absolutely embarrassing, or should be
@@hfreyschildren1265 it's really sad people forget what has been done already because they focus on what they want.. Devs have been listening a lot. they are not perfect, but I think the marketing team has been doing a great job in trying to keep players on quality of life fixes etc.
I always have the lowest expectations for AAA games and any Disney IP. They even tried to pretend it was a “mistake” they put store clothes in the shop. I personally don’t want to see any items types from the store put in the premium shop.
Also, it's a known tactic to put something for sale at a ridiculous price, then go 'oops' or 'we listened to your feedback!' That way the community feels listened to and like the company values their feedback, when the company planned to list it at their new price. But hey, might as well see if the people are willing to pay more first, right?
I totally agree with you - We knew it was coming - that’s not the problem - but it’s not welcome at the moment when the game is not even free to play yet and unfinished . FOMO is huge in this game and kids will be wanting all the premium extras .
@@Eeowna definitely, I love the game I really do - but I think the shop should have been the last thing to be added once it’s finished polished and ready for free play . It’s a bit of a slap in the face to everyone playing right now who paid for the game and are now expected to pay for extras before everything else is up to scratch.
You’ve taken the words out of my mouth. I finished the new star path within a few days, and now I’m just logging in to find the daily moonstone chest. And honestly, I don’t feel compelled to buy any moonstones because I don’t want them to get the idea that I’m okay with them penny pinching every way they can. I’ve seen the greed bring even some of the best games to the ground. They need to find a balance, otherwise it’s going to ruin the perception of the game before they even fully release it.
My husband warned me about how Disney does this. There was some game he played before this and they made it near impossible to progress without paying. I’m limiting myself as much as possible from using moonstones. I’ll just have to see if the Premium shop cycles through the same things eventually. Then when I can get my moonstone balance back where it was then maybe I’ll buy the cute purple cottage. If not, oh well. I won’t get it.
i definitely agree. it looks really fun but this is why i’ve been hesitant on buying the game i understand DLC’s but it’s such a cash grab disney has enough money lol
@@NY_State_Of_Mind_BK As far as I’m aware Disney can set the price of their own contracts and I bet those licenses don’t come cheap. To me, it still boils down to Disney.
When I realized how buggy the early access was, my gut was telling me that they needed more funding and that’s the whole reason why they early accessed a very unfinished game, and this premium shop gives me the same feeling.
But I mean it’s Disney… they have all the money to make this game good and there definitely is the potential. I just wish they would care about the players more :/
Honestly I think they need to scrap the premium store until they update scrooges shop. Im has nothing in it any more, even though I have never seen half the items some people have.
I should have every item from Scrooge’s shop by now but it constantly has so many repeats. And a lot of the community has complained about this issue early on but they seem to be ignoring it and not caring to fix it.
I just got my first repeat that I've noticed at least. I've bought maybe 10-15 items from the store since I just started playing 3 weeks ago. There's really no reason for me to have any items repeat at this point in the game.
They should give a warning or signal "You already own this item. You still want to buy it?" So you have to break off the sales talk with Scrooge every time, look in the menu under Collection to see if you already have the thing.
I did too, got the ultimate or whatever it was called (the $70 edition). I was so excited for the castle and first few upgrades, but just didn’t realize how expensive they were, and the 20k or so moonstones I’d had left that I had saved for months and months, disappeared in 2 mins. It’s really crazy how prohibitively expensive they’ve made them for 90% of the population. I thought “we’ll I’ll just buy another large bundle” and had my hand hovering over the $50 pack and thought “wait stop do you really wanna spend $120 on a game that’s not even complete???”
This is such a lovely, refreshing take on the Premium Shop and it’s impact on the game and the community! Thanks for such an insightful video! I love this game so much and want to see it continue to be successful 💚
I felt like the star path rewards this time was so heavy on motifs. I wish we got more objects or clothings. Heck even hair like you mentioned would be great!
And you have to get the motifs if you want to reach the part where you can get the extra moonstones. But I couldn't care less about the motifs, I'd rather spend the coins elsewhere
I think it’s ridiculous that they’re asking for more money but refusing to give a release date for the free to play version of the game (it was previously cited as February 2023…). It’s come across as cold and money hungry which puts a really bad taste in my mouth about a game that for a short moment I found really healing and fun.
They are killing the game and it’s so sad to see. For me, it’s been downhill since the Scar update. That was then they first started removing well loved features of the game that actually made the game unique and enjoyable, like the ability to buy crafted items from Scrooge’s shop, then Kristoff’s stall, etc. Those were features that had zero effect on how much real money they could squeeze out of people, but they were features that made the game more accessible to players with busy schedules and players with different play styles. Some people have the time and/or enjoy grinding for every little material every day, others just want to decorate with minimal grinding. This game gave people that ability, and it gave people the ability to CHOOSE for themslevs how they wanted to play the game. And that was one of its best features. As someone who mainly spent my time decorating, that freedom was something I loved most about the game. Then they took it away without warning, and in the same update the game started crashing 20+ times a day. That was the beginning of the end for me. And then this update comes around, and they got people all hyped up about “better storage” and “the best star path yet.” And boy oh boy was that all the biggest let down. First thing I noticed when I logged on were my vintage chests missing from every biome, and my heart sank. Trying to talk myself down that maybe I just needed to replace them, I went to the furniture tab only to find out that they were changed to “indoor only.” I almost cried, and I feel stupid for saying that. I had a whole storage system worked out that I have been using since launch, and it all revolves around the vintage chests in every biome. WHY in the world did they think that was a good decision? And then to kick you while your down, the new “better and bigger” storage costs you TONS of dreamlight, and they made the chests look ugly. Again, WHY? I just don’t even understand. Then I go to the “most exciting and best star path yet” and see that the star path has now also been majorly downgraded, but hey, now there’s a new premium store with items that should have been in the star path that are so OUTRAGEOUSLY priced that it’s not even funny. AND we are still in early access, with everyone playing already spending real money to beta test for them and are still dealing with countless bugs and issues. Just no. Just no. I don’t even have a problem with making reasonable digital purchases to support free games I enjoy. But this, this is a whole different level of exploitation and price gouging. I just can’t even comprehend the decision they are making. This game was so amazing at launch, and had so much potential, and I’ve gotten to a point where it feels like a chore to open the game up and it just makes me sad. Prior to the Scar update, it was all I played. It doesn’t even feel like the same game to me anymore. I dread every new update now, because I’m terrified of what else they are going to change, take away or make worse. That’s not how your players should be feeling, and I’ve never experienced that with a game before. I literally counted down the minutes when it came to any animal crossing update, and even though there’s not been any updates to AC for over a year now, I still have warm and happy feelings toward that game. It’s just all so sad and dissappointing to see a once great game get destroyed little by little, and it doesn’t seem like the Devs care at all. I’d be shocked if any of them even played the game, as there is no way a player of this game would make so many of the continued poor choices and cuts to well loved gameplay that have been made. None of it makes any sense, not even from a business standpoint. Thank you for being real and honest. I’ve seen so many people making excuses for the devs, or groveling to get on the devs good side, and that doesn’t help this game at all. We need more people making videos like yours if this game has any chance of being great again. 😔
My biggest issues with the game are: 1) Scrooge’s Shop constantly selling the same boring items over and over. You even get these boring items as furniture rewards in chests, which is ridiculous. Chests should always give either rare furniture items or large amount of coins. 2) They need to reduce the moonstone prices in the Premium Shop. Period. 3) Increase the 600/3000 item limit. There are 8 biomes. You can basically only fully decorate 3-4 biomes with those caps. They really didn’t consider 8 biomes is way too much with the current item limits. I want to decorate and have my biomes fully fleshed out. I don’t want sparse areas with a sprinkling of trees or bushes. It’s just boring. Animal Crossing New Horizons was amazing with the variety and creativity in decorating and landscaping. I never felt stifled or limited.
people are speculating that they purposely made the prices high so when they lower the prices people will just accept the new price because at least its lowered and the devs "listened to the community". It's apparently a sales tactic.
Honestly DDV has rubbed me the wrong way since release. I know it was early access but the performance on switch at launch was still unacceptable. Honestly I’m not even surprised that the cosmetics are stupidly overpriced as that seems to be common for a lot of ftp games lately. I am a bit surprised they’ve introduced micro transactions already as I got the impression that wouldn’t be happening until it was ftp…. Just screams greedy studio to me and unfortunately it’s not surprising. Disney is a very well loved IP and they plan on using that to milk fans for all their worth 😕
I'm glad you're making this video. They had one chance to catch my interest for moonstones, but seeing those prices I assume it will only get worse, not better. I haven't logged into the game anymore whereas before I did so almost daily. I don't want to be tempted to spend that kind of cash, so I'm moving on to other games. Too bad for Disney.
@@Ariesmonique Let’s be real, the temptation is going to be there. If you have OCD or even just addictive tendencies, it’ll be even worse of a temptation.
Thank you for this. A lot of people were complaining about the shop and didn't really explain why especially when we knew it was coming. It still felt wrong and you've definitely pinpointed why for me. I expected it to be tested a few months before free to play release, but doing this so early is like penalizing us for helping them troubleshoot. I hope they take your advice and reward people more for playing.
I wish we had a separate boutique where you can buy hairstyles, jewelry, make up and smaller accessories like gloves and hats. Add sashes, bows, belts and hair accessories. As far as clothing I think we should be able to select the item then open a small catalog where we can choose which color we want. It took me months to get the teal fishscale leggings I wanted. I'm tired of having to keep buying clothing I don't want just in hopes of finding something I like. I also wish when we looked at furniture options, since they repeat that a number would pop up telling us how many of that item we own. Also be able to sell furniture back. More villain option as far as clothing, accessories and well just everything. Full cutscenes when events happen. Like Olaf's play. We don't have a jungle or desert area. Harvesting from Wall-e's garden counts toward leveling friendships. More motiefs for designing clothing and more choices for clothes to design
TBH, this is why I never bought the game, so I would neither be hooked or angry. As much as it seemed intriguing and I would probably have liked it, I'm completely against exorbitant microtransactions from a large greedy company. Disney already gets my money from movies/shows and I used to visit the parks until it became outrageously expensive. Playing games is a luxury which I highly enjoy and I'm willing to pay a finite amount per game. But please, I need to spend money on REAL things, not pixels. Seeing the cost of things takes me out of the immersive experience and reminds me, hmm, I should actually be buying clothes I can actually wear and furnishings I and my family can enjoy. And one more thing, what is the point? This isn't a multiplayer game where we can show off our purchases with others. There are so so so many other games where you can use in-game currency to buy tons of stuff, and absolutely no extra purchases are required. They will be getting my love, loyalty, and money.
i truly believe micro transactions will be the downfall for gaming. it already has ruined the mobile gaming genre with very few actual paid games that dont have them. however those games get overshadowed by bigger "free" games. id much rather pay a bigger price for a game once than keep making small payments to keep enjoying a game. companies thrive off of those small payments though since they add up to a big amount :(
Agree with everything you've said, especially having them add ways to get moonstones for major achievements and through other means! I would be WAY more likely to play more often. P.S. off topic but your sparkly eyeshadow is so lovely where did you get it from? :) Thanks for another great video
I like the length of the current star paths. I don't want a longer one. It gives me enough that I feel there is value in it, and it keeps me entertained for a couple weeks, but it's not so long that I feel like DLV is the only game I can play. I can take a break to play other things, then come back for the next update. I like to have variety in my games. I hate feeling like I have to play a single game every day for weeks and weeks on end just to avoid missing out on a portion of the content I _paid extra_ to have access to in the first place. It starts to feel like a job instead of a hobby/pastime. I like knowing I have ample time to complete the star path, at my leisure. I don't want to feel pressured to play just so I don't miss out.
Thanks so much for this video. I've been following someone on Twitch who has played this game quite a bit, as has a lot of his followers, and it had me tempted. When I bought a switch last week I was looking for a game to sink into a nice world I could build up and I was doubting between DLV and Animal Crossing. I went with the latter, and I'm glad of it. I like how pretty DLV is but I'm not a huge Disney fan so a lot of the characters mean very little to me. Also, learning from you about the issues with DLV on Switch helped with the decision. This microtransaction thing validates my choice. I'm very much enjoying my time on AC NH.
Animal Crossing is the best choice for sure. I’ve been playing Animal crossing for a year now, paused it to try Dreamlight valley but now I’m back playing Animal crossing again. Why? Besides the premium store greed, Dreamlight Valley does get boring, sooo many bugs, characters that you bring to your valley have very little dialog and feels shallow. You don’t get attached to them like you can in Animal Crossing, and in AC you can get all the items and unlock all things just by playing. While you don’t have to use the premium store like some would argue, not using it will mean you’ll run out of things to do eventually since playing the game wont reward you with as many new items as say, AC. I appreciate AC even more after trying DV.
All my money is going to indie titles who actually care about the gameplay and the story and the player. Thank you so much for sharing all this info on your channel!
To your point about Scrooge’s shop, I still haven’t gotten all of his items yet. The store shows the same items over and over, even if I’ve already bought them. I see other players with items I’ve never seen in the shop. I wish they programmed a better randomizer so different items would spawn.
We literally paid to playtest their work for them... They should not be attempting to extract more money from us. They should be thanking us for our work, time, and faith.
We paid 80 bucks for it as betas should we still pay? It's almost like we should've waited till it went free to play.. Oh well.. It was fun while it lasted!
I’ve found a lot of games that are really advertised to kids or really popular in general are starting to add legit micro-transactions in order to feel like you’re getting the full game experience. Or the in-game rewards are so insignificant that you’re best chance of progressing and enjoying the game thoroughly is by using actual currency, especially in current times where inflation is attacking everyone all over the world. I understand companies have to make money, but I spent so much money already just purchasing the game. The least I can have is a better time getting items in the game.
I mean... It's Disney. Did we not expect them to make a cash grab? I think we need to be realistic about expectations when it comes to the name "Disney"
The premium items are simply far too expensive to be worth it at all. I “bought” the castle because I i am hoping that this massive overcharging issue will be corrected. But honestly- I think if nothing is done about the exorbitant pay wall- most might end up abandoning the game all together.
Not gonna lie, I have a toxic history of spending too much money on mobile games so part of the reason I got a switch is to avoid that in the long run. I am super disappointed
I gotta say, while I thoroughly enjoyed DV when it came out, this latest release (Olaf and Mirabel) was very m'eh. I'm not even sure I can be bothered to finish this one (The OCD in me ensures I will of course) but I finally feel like I've hit that grinding point. I have mined, cooked, gardened etc so many times with all these characters that when Olaf & Mirabel came, it was deja vu ... and not in a good way. Add to it what they've done with the premium pay for grind shop and I wonder if I'm done now. Great game but time to let it go (cue Elsa!)
Another way to get moonstones should be through in-game currency. The problem is, getting coins in the game is pretty easy so people could buy massive amounts of moonstones very quickly, but I don't know what a solution to that might be.
Disney has gotten to greedy... I've played this game for hours, and already gotten board. Ive totally agree with you... I updated my game, logged in... and found I couldn't afford anything on the new event or premium shop. So I cant see the point in keep logging in. They are to stingy on moonstones... and I hate micro transactions...
I agree… I’m kinda annoyed tbh.. it’s not like the game is cheap to buy either atm…. Being charged for moonstones is a slap in the face. I’m in Australia and won’t buy them. I’d rather buy new games then adding money to a game already bought
as someone who's boycotting the game since its "early access" launch, what did you expect? the game is free but they are making y'all pay for early access... they are of course going to keep coming out with more and more elaborate items that are monetized lmao next will be disney characters and certain access to different areas like this is 100% certain so leave now before it gets worse
I agree with you 100%. Honestly, I got bored with the fetch quests months ago and I never touch this game. It’s a greedy money grab and I’m not here for it
This game is exhausting. I'm level 13 or something and I'm tired of scrounging for money to do quests for AI or grinding to unlock a new area to face more walls and a further grind. Dout I'll keep playing which is such a disappointment. The game is also very buggy. Disney are parasites
Unfortunally that was somewhat expected to happen since the game gonna be fully released as a f2p game…so they try the shop now make everything work that possibly produces cash in the long run once the game gets officially released..and the prices r hilarious…
I've had a hard time logging in since the winter update. I completed that star path but felt like I grinded through it to get the items and then I stopped playing. I felt a little bit like you mentioned in this video - once you complete the star path and the few new quest items, you don't really have a reason to log in. I would LOVE to be able to decorate more but I feel like the items are lacking in the game and there's just not enough customization and therefore I just don't really decorate at all. It feels frustrating to have things half decorated so I put it off for later.
I totally agree with everything you just said, especially the rewarding of moonstones. I play almost non-stop, but am financially unable to pay real money. I love this game. Also hate when I go to Scrooge's store and either nothing is there or what is there, I already have. Have you given your ideas to the devs? They are amazing. Thanks!
I have played Elder Scrolls Online for years and have spent a horrifying (seriously, horrifying) amount of money on that, and everyone talks about how expensive that game is. I also own all Sims 4 packs (yes, even kits, I am ashamed of even myself for that lol) and let me tell you, the prices in Dreamlight Valley are somehow SO MUCH WORSE, even I refuse to buy anything in the premium shop. These are maybe the worst prices I’ve seen in any of the games that I’ve personally played. If you have no moonstones, you have to buy the 20$ pack for a house skin. Doesn’t even change the house, it’s just a skin! Absolutely outrageous. I haven’t complained about anything in this game, I understand it’s in early access and I’m usually easily pleased, but this is enough for me to not want to play until they change it. :( It’s also making me nervous for the future and whether or not they’re going to charge for some of the DLC and characters, and how EXPENSIVE that will add up to be.
If the new star paths are released on a day that I have off work I've consistently been able to finish everything in just a day or so without even really trying aside from the challenges that require waiting time like daily conversation or favorite gifts with specificl villagers. So yeah the starpath could definitely use an uplift.
I agree with you, I see people complaining about certain tasks being a grind but then there's people like us who would love it to last a little longer 😭
@@louise5493 I've suggested in the DDLV discord to make the starpaths bigger/longer. I've gotten complaints about the idea because busy mom's don't have the time to finish them. I'm surprised Gameloft didn't make them longer because you can trade moonstones in for star path progress.... Not that I really want to give them ideas till the premium shop is better handled.
Honestly. Mining and digging are the most annoying parts. Getting money is kinda easy but the store prices are still ridiculous and really random for some items.
My biggest complaint has been that obtaining items to decorate your home is just tooooo slow. Logging in every day, buying from Scrooge and logging out is frustrating and annoying and I've spent no time decorating because I'm missing so much. Idk why they limit Scrooge's shop so much.
Right now, the upcoming "Fantasy Life i" has got all of the attention I would otherwise spend on Disney Dreamlight Valley. Any time I see footage of DDV, the first thing that comes to mind is, "I should finish Fantasy Life Origin Island first."
What upset me the most, was that before this update, you could grind and grind through the moonstone quests to be able to unlock the full star path for free. You would be rewarded for putting in the time. But now you cant even unlock extra moonstones from the star path, no matter how much time you invest in it. It completely killed the fun of the "grind" for me. I don't feel like there is any goal I can work toward.
Great video! It's nice to see helpful advice vs a rant, which I'm sure there's probably lots of videos ranting already. Currently the star path is not long enough or frequent enough to keep me playing for how long they plan on having this game around. If they continue on this route, once my original/accumulated moonstones are up, so will be my time playing this game. I'll also never understand why some game companies don't realize that the more affordable you make the paid add-ons, the more money you will actually get out of people.
Definitely I agree! I play love live school idol festival and we always get login bonuses and they have regularly events where you can play to earn gems to buy more cards. My bf plays overwatch and while the store sucks, the battle pass is really cool and he gets character skins, emotes, etc. I think they’re still figuring stuff out for Ddlv, it’ll definitely take time
So many people have failed to realize that this game is ACTUALLY the "Console Version" To the "Disney Magic Kingdoms" game hense WHY for 1- It's not finished, 2- It's very expensive n cost money for every little thing, 3- the constant updates & I can name so many other things that are similar but I'd be here for years lol 😂 I have both games n ya I've noticed the similarities instantly!
I’m not spending my real money on a game I already spent money on that was suppose to be free .. I’m not giving them my money for a game I already spent money on point blank so looks like I’m not playing for a long time.. I knew not to buy it but I did anyway. With how hard it is to live your going to ask more people for more money. I’m good.
I like the increase to moonstones in chests, but it's not enough to get up that steep hill to the premium shop. Not by a long shot. I found myself nodding along with all of what you've said though - for me, I feel as though the premium shop should be, yes, offering crazy cosmetic things - the house skins are fine for instance, ornate furniture is fine as well. I'd even be all right with fancy outfits and hairstyles, but ONLY if these were also available on the Star Paths. I was really disappointed with the Star Path this go round. It's OKAY, but it's missing that flashy outfit or hat or hair or whatever. Meanwhile the premium shop has all of that in spades. It's just disappointing.
Damn it, I was really looking forward to playing this in the future, but if they continue like this I'll probably just skip it altogether. I stopped playing other games in the past because when they started releasing paid cosmetics they neglected the free ones. The paid ones are usually much better looking, and you can say it doesn't affect gameplay but it does actually when you see all the beautiful items you will never be able to afford, especially when customization is such a big part of the game. It doesn't feel good. I would rather just pay for the game upfront and not have all the best items locked behind paywalls. And they're always so ridiculously expensive too, what happened to microtransactions actually being micro?
Spot on insights. I popped onto the game last week after a month or two hiatus. After meeting Olaf and doing his quests, I didn't have any active quests, and absolutely no reason to play. I felt immediately sad and bored. Sad at the missed potential. You're right about rewarding the player, not the payer. Players turn into payers eventually (when they're happy with the game), so devs need to address that. Your mention of mobile games made me think of Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. I played daily for years because they have those incentives to visit everyday. However, I expect to spend more than 30 minutes on DDV when I tuck into it. Quests need to be spiced up. I'm bored of collecting the same 5-10 types of materials.
I’d honestly rather they just make this game one you have to pay for and not include in game purchases; however, realistically we know they aren’t making it free to benefit people. In game transactions make them way more money, and as someone who isn’t rich but has an addictive personality/poor impulse control, it’s dangerous for me. I wish they’d at least waited until the game was actually free to play though? Like I thought it was just understood we wouldn’t have to worry about paying for extra stuff until the game was officially released?
The side effect of making us pay dearly to play this game is that everytime I ask one of the char in the valley to 'hang out' with me, I felt like I am engaging a social escort to keep me company because I know their company is gonna cost me a bomb eventually. It just make the magical feel in the valley a TRANSACTION now. No money no honey. Friendship? Yea, you gonna pay for friendship. If you are not gonna pay, you will not step into future new biome to interact with the shiny flashy new char in future update. Those are off-limit to you. Their friendship price is beyond you to afford. They don't have time for you. Probably they don't want to befriend you because you cannot afford to pay to interact with them. Dreamlight valley is just another Hollywood infested with snobbish rich char who sell friendship for a fee.
I feel like I would be paying for them to finish the game and it’s so expensive. Founders should get those items for FREE My Scrooge shop has empty windows and REPEATS! Like wth
just a reminder, the premium shop will have a rotating stock, which means items will come in and out and then back in again. If you can't afford something today, keep saving for when it comes back.
The pieces are outrageous. In this economy when hydro food and living costs are ridiculously high they think I'll be spending $20 bucks on 3-4 items that you can't use for anything but decor. Ridiculous.
The shop prices are insane. I don’t expect them to work for free but we need to find a balance that is positive and healthy for the community and the devs. NGL every time I finish my star path I don’t pay till the next one drops, so I legitimately haven’t touched the game in over 2 months.
I was waiting to play when the game became free, but tbh it doesn’t seem like i want to spend my time now. Ah well! So many indie games to play anyway!
I do not play Dreamlight Valley (though it is in my list of games to play) and based on what you described about the achievement/reward system, it is very similar to how Genshin Impact does it. Most of the players are F2P so the only way for them to get primogems (like the moonstones you mentioned) is to try complete achievements, daily commissions, and even through a daily log-in system. Of course the whales (the ones paying) have access to those rewards, but what sets them apart is in the premium shop where only the whales (if they are willing) can purchase the exclusive skins for their characters.
I was playing the game before the Premium Shop and I will continue. I don’t see why the shop should prevent me from enjoying the game the way I have been the entire time it has been out. I don’t plan to purchase anything with real money. I am still getting the same amount of random items from chests and I am fine with getting clothing from Scrooge. My focus is on completing quests and unlocking characters. As long as that’s still available I will play.
So I have a question for the star pass stuff If you ended up missing it because you don't log into the game much so you never know whenever that stuff's going to like be available Is there any way to get it again or did you just miss out and you have no chance of getting it again like do they recycle through the star pass after a certain point or do the items go into Scrooge's store after a certain point... I'm not trying to be one of those people to get mad whenever we miss out on stuff but I just hate it whenever games don't let players at least try to have the option of getting something they missed because not everyone can be on the game 24/7
As someone who's been playing for about 2 months now, I only have 400 items out of more than a thousand. That's logging in everyday just to check Scrooges shop. I haven't had any items in the front windows since the update either. I didn't know new items appear so randomly.
It's so bizarre that this has come out before the game is released as free to play? I totally thought we really wouldn't see any microtransactions during this early access, I wonder if they just saw how popular it got and got greedy?
I was shocked they opened the premium shop before the game went free to play. I still wanna play it and I'm thinking of buying it this weekend while it's still on sale for Switch. Especially being a new player, I probably won't even look in the premium shop. If I don't look at it, I won't want all the things so much. I like your ideas, particularly the daily log in bonuses. Almost every free mobile game I play has them. If they're gonna treat the game like it's already free, they should at least do that.
I bought it on switch yesterday and i plan not to look at that store at all. There is so much to do anyways that i think i have enough to do and buy anyways. I did start the starpath though
@@gracefulannie-grcflannie- have you made any progress yet? I'm taking my time, like always. Im pretty slow, so i just hope im not too slow to finish it in time
@@MirandaPurpleClouds My husband gets paid once a month, so I was waiting for his check to hit the bank. I'm downloading it now. Knowing me, I'll be playing it all day. I'll definitely be trying to make as much progress as I can.
@@gracefulannie-grcflannie- lol, i read too fast and thought you just bought it on the sale like me. Yay! It will be my new routine (im autistic and unemployed because of burnout) so i look forward to playing lots as soon as my daily tasks are done
Pretty much what u described was the game that I play which is Disney Magic Kingdoms and this game has existed for almost 7 years now. We use gems to buy premium characters, parade floats, and premium buildings.
The updates really hurt our families motivation to play. The new content was flimsy and short. Once we saw the premium shop strategy and pricing we knew this was your typical Disney Co. greed moment. We have taken a step back from the game and looking at others to fill the void.
I 100% agree with all the facts stated. This game is a paid unfinished game. They are charging way too much for moonstones especially when u have to buy the game first. Coins mean so little on the game now. With pumpkins I’m killing the game. So there is not much to do. Play the game for a week,every update. then wait two more months
They are putting a new update that is active next week and they’re fixing the fact that Scrooge items were in the moonstone store. And they will be refunding everyone who bought those items from that store.
agree, yes to so much of this- also though the item prices really need to (& probably will?) come down. They were so high it made me expect an oops sorry we added a digit to the prices by accident announcement. Just feels out of touch. Though I guess it's a way to make sure you know this is no longer a completionist game unless you have tons to spend. The super fast refresh and lack of multiple ways to earn moonstones in game is a really big piece of why this feels so off. The chests going to 50 felt balanced well for if the star path is the only thing moonstones are used for, but with the addition of a shop there need to be more ways to earn them without it getting overly complex- love the idea of moonstones with level ups and completing dreamlight tasks (also those chests can be a challenge to find! haha). Minor wishlist- give me a 3d spin around view in the premium shop & star path. I had no idea what the hairstyle looked like until I saw someone with it. Also, agree that it feels like the shop and starpath have suffered as a result. I'm not even bothering with the premium star path this time - but had there been a hair style or a house skin? sure.
I think skins (skins for your house, designated skins for neighbor's houses, skins for shops, etc ) should be in the premium store. Other than that, maybe new pets could go into the premium shops. I really dislike furniture and accessories being in the premium shop.
Ima be honest, havent played since leveling Scar and this just makes me not want to pick it back up even more than before. I really hope this is just a trial run and they decide to listen to the feedback. Everything is so sparse in the game that asking for more is so offputting. I would hate for this to end up as a cash grab game
Until it’s free to play this is a rip-off. In effect we paid to be beta testers for the devs. So we should not be charged anymore. Thanks for putting out a reasoned video (clearly far more reasonable than me!) with such well thought out and constructive ideas. :)
it took me 4 goes to film this with calm energy hahah
I agree prices are crazy but charging for moonstones is ok by me, why cuz when it goes totally free to play to the public they have to make some money off it. Otherwise it would be shut down real fast. I am not going to let the premium shop ruin my enjoyment of the game.
I so agree! The paid items are an insult to us as beta testers who paid for the experience. I play a Disney game on iPhone. It’s got a number of annoying money grab features BUT it has always been free to play.
@@Eeowna This made me lol. I was impressed you were so collected!
What’s mad not even free to play yet pay up to max price to have early access…. Now they do this not focus on Scrooge shop instead it’s a punch in the gut
I've been saying (in reddit and discord) that we should get moonstones when picking up already unlocked memories instead of coins. Memories are related to the time spent playing and it would be a great way to reward players.
omg this is such a good ideaaa
Yessss Great idea
Great idea... just a couple but it would be great
Yes absolutely great idea
I like this idea, and also I think they should add daily and weekly challenges for moonstones.
I felt icky when I first saw the store but wasn’t really sure why. This summed it up perfectly. It went from feeling like wholesome game to a cash grab in an instant
I just did the update and saw this and was like guess I'm done with this game. I thought it was just the millennial in me 😅
I'm still suprised people feel this way because even when the game was first released the developers told everyone that eventually it'll be free to play with in game purchases. Of course I wish some items were for free but it's to be expected. They have to make money somehow
This is the part where people will say “if you can’t afford it then just don’t spend” which i always found a bit silly. It’s like they get you hooked on free drugs then start charging you and blame you for not being able to stop buying
yeah people often forget that micro transactions are literally designed to make you feel like you NEED them!
Why my sister did a lock on my switch spending money on coins in the game she was shocked so she added her as admin to help me not spend money I don’t have 😅not proud but mega greatful to my sister
Yeah some people seem to think, in a sense, that if you can’t afford it that you just flip a switch and suddenly make you not want the items anymore. Also I think that it’s always better when more people can be included on enjoying fun things rather than be excluded.
Except this wasn’t even free! We all had to pay for early access.
@@Eeowna I never got that feeling. I only bought the castle last time. The posters and villainous vibe this time.
This wasn't a realisation I had myself so I can't take credit... But I've seen the very valid criticism that the term micro transactions shouldn't be used in cases like this. There's nothing micro about a $15 purchase.
I know myself and so many others stress out about spending $15 on daily life purchases, so the fact that this game is calling these premium things "micro transactions ' on top of the fact that it's not even a free game yet, feels life a fart in the face
Greed seems to be the way of the world now. Especially with Disney. They try and disguise it and act like it’s normal- wrap it up in a Minnie bow. Like $20 churros at the park. Or $300 + to go to Disneyland. And it’s not just Disney. In game purchases are the name of the game now.
Disney owns Gameloft?
@@RedK5 No, I meant all game companies are doing in-app or in-game purchases. Whatever makes them the most $$$. Not just Disney. There are few that don’t.
@@lzal9204 I was joking because many confuse Gameloft with Disney because it's a game with Disney characters
Unfortunately greed isn’t a new thing. It’s a since the beginning of time thing.
Thing is though, even for micro transactions this is incredibly unstable and unreasonable. A lot of games built on micro transactions at least make the money you spend worth your buck. This just isn't it on so many levels.
I really hope they lower prices because I was going to introduce this to my nephews but not now with those predatory prices. It’s not just cosmetic when the whole game is decorating tbh.
the castle was close to being the price of the founders pack it's literally wild
@@EeownaUgh yes! I refused to get the castle on principle lol. I did cave and get the cottage but only on my ps5 and only because I have my house in the forest there. Pixel’s should not cost as much as real furniture!
you made a very good point; main thing that gave me the icky feeling when i saw microtransactions being introduced is that the game is super buggy, unfinished and not free yet.
I told my husband they need to focus on fixing the crashing and bugs and stop adding updates with more storyline!! Fix the OG game first!!!
Yeah, my game still randomly glitches when opening the map and trying to fast travel anywhere. Sorry, but I'm not giving you more money so I can be your beta tester
Why would they when people keep shoving money at them?
We have to vote with our wallets. That’s the only message companies understand. People need to stop excusing this predatory game.
There needs to be more distinction between items in the premium shop and items in Scrooge's store. Everything (aside from the house skins) so far looks like it could go into scrooge's shop. I want to see items that have extra animation or interactive features in the premium shop if I'm going to be spending that many moonstones. The premium store has been a bit of a buzz kill, I hope they consider fan feedback.
You go girl! I love it when people balance criticism with real life solutions. Love your ideas! Hello DDV Devs? Are you listening?
thank you :D
I don't have much hope of them listening. Blind and players with limited vision have been asking for the most basic of accommodations - the ability to enlarge text, and also to be able to see in darker areas, like the forgotten lands
This is absolutely embarrassing, or should be
@@hfreyschildren1265 it's really sad people forget what has been done already because they focus on what they want.. Devs have been listening a lot. they are not perfect, but I think the marketing team has been doing a great job in trying to keep players on quality of life fixes etc.
I always have the lowest expectations for AAA games and any Disney IP. They even tried to pretend it was a “mistake” they put store clothes in the shop. I personally don’t want to see any items types from the store put in the premium shop.
Also, it's a known tactic to put something for sale at a ridiculous price, then go 'oops' or 'we listened to your feedback!'
That way the community feels listened to and like the company values their feedback, when the company planned to list it at their new price. But hey, might as well see if the people are willing to pay more first, right?
I totally agree with you - We knew it was coming - that’s not the problem - but it’s not welcome at the moment when the game is not even free to play yet and unfinished . FOMO is huge in this game and kids will be wanting all the premium extras .
yeah I think what surprised me was how this was seen as a priority over like, finishing the game ???
@@Eeowna definitely, I love the game I really do - but I think the shop should have been the last thing to be added once it’s finished polished and ready for free play . It’s a bit of a slap in the face to everyone playing right now who paid for the game and are now expected to pay for extras before everything else is up to scratch.
@@louisnk9914 the slap to my face didn't hurt
@@RedK5 Botox?
@@louisnk9914 no? Lol
You’ve taken the words out of my mouth. I finished the new star path within a few days, and now I’m just logging in to find the daily moonstone chest. And honestly, I don’t feel compelled to buy any moonstones because I don’t want them to get the idea that I’m okay with them penny pinching every way they can. I’ve seen the greed bring even some of the best games to the ground. They need to find a balance, otherwise it’s going to ruin the perception of the game before they even fully release it.
This is the only way to make them change, not buying them.
My husband warned me about how Disney does this. There was some game he played before this and they made it near impossible to progress without paying. I’m limiting myself as much as possible from using moonstones. I’ll just have to see if the Premium shop cycles through the same things eventually. Then when I can get my moonstone balance back where it was then maybe I’ll buy the cute purple cottage. If not, oh well. I won’t get it.
I think they'll be cycling back, yes. It wouldn't make sense if they didn't, since it's *so* much content they'll have to add.
i definitely agree. it looks really fun but this is why i’ve been hesitant on buying the game i understand DLC’s but it’s such a cash grab disney has enough money lol
It's not really Disney it's Gameloft they are a mobile game dev team who are known to have P2W in their games with multiplayer.
@@NY_State_Of_Mind_BK As far as I’m aware Disney can set the price of their own contracts and I bet those licenses don’t come cheap. To me, it still boils down to Disney.
Probably not a great combination Disney AND Gameloft... two companies with reputations for price gouging their customer base.
When I realized how buggy the early access was, my gut was telling me that they needed more funding and that’s the whole reason why they early accessed a very unfinished game, and this premium shop gives me the same feeling.
This is Disney. They are rolling in the money like Scrooge McDuck. Funding is not their problem.
But I mean it’s Disney… they have all the money to make this game good and there definitely is the potential. I just wish they would care about the players more :/
Honestly I think they need to scrap the premium store until they update scrooges shop. Im has nothing in it any more, even though I have never seen half the items some people have.
I should have every item from Scrooge’s shop by now but it constantly has so many repeats. And a lot of the community has complained about this issue early on but they seem to be ignoring it and not caring to fix it.
I just got my first repeat that I've noticed at least. I've bought maybe 10-15 items from the store since I just started playing 3 weeks ago. There's really no reason for me to have any items repeat at this point in the game.
They should give a warning or signal "You already own this item. You still want to buy it?"
So you have to break off the sales talk with Scrooge every time, look in the menu under Collection to see if you already have the thing.
I’m so glad I got one of the founders packs early on, since moonstones were cheaper and we got an extra 2,500 moonstones at some point
yeah it suddenly made the most expensive version not seem like such a bad decision hahaha
I did too, got the ultimate or whatever it was called (the $70 edition). I was so excited for the castle and first few upgrades, but just didn’t realize how expensive they were, and the 20k or so moonstones I’d had left that I had saved for months and months, disappeared in 2 mins. It’s really crazy how prohibitively expensive they’ve made them for 90% of the population.
I thought “we’ll I’ll just buy another large bundle” and had my hand hovering over the $50 pack and thought “wait stop do you really wanna spend $120 on a game that’s not even complete???”
This is such a lovely, refreshing take on the Premium Shop and it’s impact on the game and the community! Thanks for such an insightful video! I love this game so much and want to see it continue to be successful 💚
I tried very hard to make it clear that this is (hopefully) constructive critique, as I just want the game to find a good balance, and thrive
@@Eeowna I think you did a great job of that!!
I still think they're gonna lower the price and act like they heard us and made a change. Like they listen too the fans and try to generate good will
that's kinda why I wanted to make this video, so that there's a voice out there on the internet telling them this price is not ok
I felt like the star path rewards this time was so heavy on motifs. I wish we got more objects or clothings. Heck even hair like you mentioned would be great!
And you have to get the motifs if you want to reach the part where you can get the extra moonstones. But I couldn't care less about the motifs, I'd rather spend the coins elsewhere
I think it’s ridiculous that they’re asking for more money but refusing to give a release date for the free to play version of the game (it was previously cited as February 2023…). It’s come across as cold and money hungry which puts a really bad taste in my mouth about a game that for a short moment I found really healing and fun.
I've always heard summer 2023. February isn't in summer
It’s like, they took 2 step forward, but 4 step backward for the purchase of the moonstones. Which, I do come back to the game, every once in awhile.
the worst thing that could have happened in DDV would have been that they remove kristoff pecs.... but yeah microtransactions are bad too
HAHAHAHAHAH
They are killing the game and it’s so sad to see. For me, it’s been downhill since the Scar update. That was then they first started removing well loved features of the game that actually made the game unique and enjoyable, like the ability to buy crafted items from Scrooge’s shop, then Kristoff’s stall, etc. Those were features that had zero effect on how much real money they could squeeze out of people, but they were features that made the game more accessible to players with busy schedules and players with different play styles. Some people have the time and/or enjoy grinding for every little material every day, others just want to decorate with minimal grinding. This game gave people that ability, and it gave people the ability to CHOOSE for themslevs how they wanted to play the game. And that was one of its best features. As someone who mainly spent my time decorating, that freedom was something I loved most about the game. Then they took it away without warning, and in the same update the game started crashing 20+ times a day. That was the beginning of the end for me.
And then this update comes around, and they got people all hyped up about “better storage” and “the best star path yet.” And boy oh boy was that all the biggest let down. First thing I noticed when I logged on were my vintage chests missing from every biome, and my heart sank. Trying to talk myself down that maybe I just needed to replace them, I went to the furniture tab only to find out that they were changed to “indoor only.” I almost cried, and I feel stupid for saying that. I had a whole storage system worked out that I have been using since launch, and it all revolves around the vintage chests in every biome. WHY in the world did they think that was a good decision? And then to kick you while your down, the new “better and bigger” storage costs you TONS of dreamlight, and they made the chests look ugly. Again, WHY? I just don’t even understand.
Then I go to the “most exciting and best star path yet” and see that the star path has now also been majorly downgraded, but hey, now there’s a new premium store with items that should have been in the star path that are so OUTRAGEOUSLY priced that it’s not even funny. AND we are still in early access, with everyone playing already spending real money to beta test for them and are still dealing with countless bugs and issues. Just no. Just no.
I don’t even have a problem with making reasonable digital purchases to support free games I enjoy. But this, this is a whole different level of exploitation and price gouging.
I just can’t even comprehend the decision they are making. This game was so amazing at launch, and had so much potential, and I’ve gotten to a point where it feels like a chore to open the game up and it just makes me sad. Prior to the Scar update, it was all I played. It doesn’t even feel like the same game to me anymore.
I dread every new update now, because I’m terrified of what else they are going to change, take away or make worse. That’s not how your players should be feeling, and I’ve never experienced that with a game before. I literally counted down the minutes when it came to any animal crossing update, and even though there’s not been any updates to AC for over a year now, I still have warm and happy feelings toward that game.
It’s just all so sad and dissappointing to see a once great game get destroyed little by little, and it doesn’t seem like the Devs care at all. I’d be shocked if any of them even played the game, as there is no way a player of this game would make so many of the continued poor choices and cuts to well loved gameplay that have been made. None of it makes any sense, not even from a business standpoint.
Thank you for being real and honest. I’ve seen so many people making excuses for the devs, or groveling to get on the devs good side, and that doesn’t help this game at all. We need more people making videos like yours if this game has any chance of being great again. 😔
My biggest issues with the game are:
1) Scrooge’s Shop constantly selling the same boring items over and over. You even get these boring items as furniture rewards in chests, which is ridiculous. Chests should always give either rare furniture items or large amount of coins.
2) They need to reduce the moonstone prices in the Premium Shop. Period.
3) Increase the 600/3000 item limit. There are 8 biomes. You can basically only fully decorate 3-4 biomes with those caps. They really didn’t consider 8 biomes is way too much with the current item limits. I want to decorate and have my biomes fully fleshed out. I don’t want sparse areas with a sprinkling of trees or bushes. It’s just boring. Animal Crossing New Horizons was amazing with the variety and creativity in decorating and landscaping. I never felt stifled or limited.
people are speculating that they purposely made the prices high so when they lower the prices people will just accept the new price because at least its lowered and the devs "listened to the community". It's apparently a sales tactic.
Honestly DDV has rubbed me the wrong way since release. I know it was early access but the performance on switch at launch was still unacceptable. Honestly I’m not even surprised that the cosmetics are stupidly overpriced as that seems to be common for a lot of ftp games lately. I am a bit surprised they’ve introduced micro transactions already as I got the impression that wouldn’t be happening until it was ftp…. Just screams greedy studio to me and unfortunately it’s not surprising. Disney is a very well loved IP and they plan on using that to milk fans for all their worth 😕
I'm glad you're making this video. They had one chance to catch my interest for moonstones, but seeing those prices I assume it will only get worse, not better. I haven't logged into the game anymore whereas before I did so almost daily. I don't want to be tempted to spend that kind of cash, so I'm moving on to other games. Too bad for Disney.
You don't have to look in the premium shop tab?
@@Ariesmonique Let’s be real, the temptation is going to be there. If you have OCD or even just addictive tendencies, it’ll be even worse of a temptation.
Thank you for this. A lot of people were complaining about the shop and didn't really explain why especially when we knew it was coming. It still felt wrong and you've definitely pinpointed why for me. I expected it to be tested a few months before free to play release, but doing this so early is like penalizing us for helping them troubleshoot. I hope they take your advice and reward people more for playing.
I wish we had a separate boutique where you can buy hairstyles, jewelry, make up and smaller accessories like gloves and hats. Add sashes, bows, belts and hair accessories. As far as clothing I think we should be able to select the item then open a small catalog where we can choose which color we want. It took me months to get the teal fishscale leggings I wanted. I'm tired of having to keep buying clothing I don't want just in hopes of finding something I like. I also wish when we looked at furniture options, since they repeat that a number would pop up telling us how many of that item we own. Also be able to sell furniture back. More villain option as far as clothing, accessories and well just everything. Full cutscenes when events happen. Like Olaf's play. We don't have a jungle or desert area. Harvesting from Wall-e's garden counts toward leveling friendships. More motiefs for designing clothing and more choices for clothes to design
It's bad when you get more in a KIT in The Sims 4, an EA game, than you get in this premium shop!
TBH, this is why I never bought the game, so I would neither be hooked or angry. As much as it seemed intriguing and I would probably have liked it, I'm completely against exorbitant microtransactions from a large greedy company. Disney already gets my money from movies/shows and I used to visit the parks until it became outrageously expensive. Playing games is a luxury which I highly enjoy and I'm willing to pay a finite amount per game. But please, I need to spend money on REAL things, not pixels. Seeing the cost of things takes me out of the immersive experience and reminds me, hmm, I should actually be buying clothes I can actually wear and furnishings I and my family can enjoy. And one more thing, what is the point? This isn't a multiplayer game where we can show off our purchases with others. There are so so so many other games where you can use in-game currency to buy tons of stuff, and absolutely no extra purchases are required. They will be getting my love, loyalty, and money.
i truly believe micro transactions will be the downfall for gaming. it already has ruined the mobile gaming genre with very few actual paid games that dont have them. however those games get overshadowed by bigger "free" games. id much rather pay a bigger price for a game once than keep making small payments to keep enjoying a game. companies thrive off of those small payments though since they add up to a big amount :(
Agree with everything you've said, especially having them add ways to get moonstones for major achievements and through other means! I would be WAY more likely to play more often. P.S. off topic but your sparkly eyeshadow is so lovely where did you get it from? :) Thanks for another great video
I like the length of the current star paths. I don't want a longer one. It gives me enough that I feel there is value in it, and it keeps me entertained for a couple weeks, but it's not so long that I feel like DLV is the only game I can play. I can take a break to play other things, then come back for the next update. I like to have variety in my games. I hate feeling like I have to play a single game every day for weeks and weeks on end just to avoid missing out on a portion of the content I _paid extra_ to have access to in the first place. It starts to feel like a job instead of a hobby/pastime. I like knowing I have ample time to complete the star path, at my leisure. I don't want to feel pressured to play just so I don't miss out.
Thanks so much for this video. I've been following someone on Twitch who has played this game quite a bit, as has a lot of his followers, and it had me tempted. When I bought a switch last week I was looking for a game to sink into a nice world I could build up and I was doubting between DLV and Animal Crossing. I went with the latter, and I'm glad of it. I like how pretty DLV is but I'm not a huge Disney fan so a lot of the characters mean very little to me. Also, learning from you about the issues with DLV on Switch helped with the decision. This microtransaction thing validates my choice. I'm very much enjoying my time on AC NH.
Animal Crossing is the best choice for sure. I’ve been playing Animal crossing for a year now, paused it to try Dreamlight valley but now I’m back playing Animal crossing again. Why? Besides the premium store greed, Dreamlight Valley does get boring, sooo many bugs, characters that you bring to your valley have very little dialog and feels shallow. You don’t get attached to them like you can in Animal Crossing, and in AC you can get all the items and unlock all things just by playing. While you don’t have to use the premium store like some would argue, not using it will mean you’ll run out of things to do eventually since playing the game wont reward you with as many new items as say, AC. I appreciate AC even more after trying DV.
All my money is going to indie titles who actually care about the gameplay and the story and the player. Thank you so much for sharing all this info on your channel!
To your point about Scrooge’s shop, I still haven’t gotten all of his items yet. The store shows the same items over and over, even if I’ve already bought them. I see other players with items I’ve never seen in the shop. I wish they programmed a better randomizer so different items would spawn.
Nooooo!!!! Not micro transactions!! This is really crappy, especially when it’s still not free to play.
it feels so odd it having a premium store when we all paid to even play it, like give us the full game and then extort us
We literally paid to playtest their work for them... They should not be attempting to extract more money from us. They should be thanking us for our work, time, and faith.
I haven't even been able to play this game in months since it's still crashing randomly on the Switch.
We paid 80 bucks for it as betas should we still pay? It's almost like we should've waited till it went free to play.. Oh well.. It was fun while it lasted!
I’ve found a lot of games that are really advertised to kids or really popular in general are starting to add legit micro-transactions in order to feel like you’re getting the full game experience. Or the in-game rewards are so insignificant that you’re best chance of progressing and enjoying the game thoroughly is by using actual currency, especially in current times where inflation is attacking everyone all over the world.
I understand companies have to make money, but I spent so much money already just purchasing the game. The least I can have is a better time getting items in the game.
I mean... It's Disney. Did we not expect them to make a cash grab? I think we need to be realistic about expectations when it comes to the name "Disney"
Honestly. All the disney mobile games have been cash grabs and they even warned us that this was gonna go free to play later this year.
The premium items are simply far too expensive to be worth it at all. I “bought” the castle because I i am hoping that this massive overcharging issue will be corrected. But honestly- I think if nothing is done about the exorbitant pay wall- most might end up abandoning the game all together.
Not gonna lie, I have a toxic history of spending too much money on mobile games so part of the reason I got a switch is to avoid that in the long run. I am super disappointed
Especially also because I’m a collector and it’s so hard to resist getting everything I can
I gotta say, while I thoroughly enjoyed DV when it came out, this latest release (Olaf and Mirabel) was very m'eh. I'm not even sure I can be bothered to finish this one (The OCD in me ensures I will of course) but I finally feel like I've hit that grinding point. I have mined, cooked, gardened etc so many times with all these characters that when Olaf & Mirabel came, it was deja vu ... and not in a good way. Add to it what they've done with the premium pay for grind shop and I wonder if I'm done now. Great game but time to let it go (cue Elsa!)
Another way to get moonstones should be through in-game currency. The problem is, getting coins in the game is pretty easy so people could buy massive amounts of moonstones very quickly, but I don't know what a solution to that might be.
Disney has gotten to greedy... I've played this game for hours, and already gotten board. Ive totally agree with you... I updated my game, logged in... and found I couldn't afford anything on the new event or premium shop. So I cant see the point in keep logging in. They are to stingy on moonstones... and I hate micro transactions...
I agree… I’m kinda annoyed tbh.. it’s not like the game is cheap to buy either atm…. Being charged for moonstones is a slap in the face. I’m in Australia and won’t buy them. I’d rather buy new games then adding money to a game already bought
as someone who's boycotting the game since its "early access" launch, what did you expect? the game is free but they are making y'all pay for early access... they are of course going to keep coming out with more and more elaborate items that are monetized lmao next will be disney characters and certain access to different areas like this is 100% certain so leave now before it gets worse
It will get worse before it gets better being Disney. I prefer Coral Island personally. Thanks for the video Eeowna cheers.
Welp, back to Animal Crossing.
I agree with you 100%. Honestly, I got bored with the fetch quests months ago and I never touch this game. It’s a greedy money grab and I’m not here for it
This game is exhausting. I'm level 13 or something and I'm tired of scrounging for money to do quests for AI or grinding to unlock a new area to face more walls and a further grind. Dout I'll keep playing which is such a disappointment. The game is also very buggy. Disney are parasites
Unfortunally that was somewhat expected to happen since the game gonna be fully released as a f2p game…so they try the shop now make everything work that possibly produces cash in the long run once the game gets officially released..and the prices r hilarious…
I feel this. The premium shop is not the worst thing that ever happened, but it definitely feels like they added it way too early.
I've had a hard time logging in since the winter update. I completed that star path but felt like I grinded through it to get the items and then I stopped playing. I felt a little bit like you mentioned in this video - once you complete the star path and the few new quest items, you don't really have a reason to log in. I would LOVE to be able to decorate more but I feel like the items are lacking in the game and there's just not enough customization and therefore I just don't really decorate at all. It feels frustrating to have things half decorated so I put it off for later.
I totally agree with everything you just said, especially the rewarding of moonstones. I play almost non-stop, but am financially unable to pay real money. I love this game. Also hate when I go to Scrooge's store and either nothing is there or what is there, I already have. Have you given your ideas to the devs? They are amazing. Thanks!
I have played Elder Scrolls Online for years and have spent a horrifying (seriously, horrifying) amount of money on that, and everyone talks about how expensive that game is. I also own all Sims 4 packs (yes, even kits, I am ashamed of even myself for that lol) and let me tell you, the prices in Dreamlight Valley are somehow SO MUCH WORSE, even I refuse to buy anything in the premium shop. These are maybe the worst prices I’ve seen in any of the games that I’ve personally played. If you have no moonstones, you have to buy the 20$ pack for a house skin. Doesn’t even change the house, it’s just a skin! Absolutely outrageous. I haven’t complained about anything in this game, I understand it’s in early access and I’m usually easily pleased, but this is enough for me to not want to play until they change it. :( It’s also making me nervous for the future and whether or not they’re going to charge for some of the DLC and characters, and how EXPENSIVE that will add up to be.
If the new star paths are released on a day that I have off work I've consistently been able to finish everything in just a day or so without even really trying aside from the challenges that require waiting time like daily conversation or favorite gifts with specificl villagers. So yeah the starpath could definitely use an uplift.
I agree with you, I see people complaining about certain tasks being a grind but then there's people like us who would love it to last a little longer 😭
@@louise5493 I've suggested in the DDLV discord to make the starpaths bigger/longer. I've gotten complaints about the idea because busy mom's don't have the time to finish them. I'm surprised Gameloft didn't make them longer because you can trade moonstones in for star path progress.... Not that I really want to give them ideas till the premium shop is better handled.
Not the "busy moms" ☠️
I got so burnt out on the first battle pass they offered, i havent picked the game up since. its grind harder than a full time job or pay and im sad.
Honestly. Mining and digging are the most annoying parts. Getting money is kinda easy but the store prices are still ridiculous and really random for some items.
My biggest complaint has been that obtaining items to decorate your home is just tooooo slow.
Logging in every day, buying from Scrooge and logging out is frustrating and annoying and I've spent no time decorating because I'm missing so much. Idk why they limit Scrooge's shop so much.
Right now, the upcoming "Fantasy Life i" has got all of the attention I would otherwise spend on Disney Dreamlight Valley. Any time I see footage of DDV, the first thing that comes to mind is, "I should finish Fantasy Life Origin Island first."
Typical Disney nowadays , greed over joy. Fell foul to this visiting Disney World this year :( sad times
What upset me the most, was that before this update, you could grind and grind through the moonstone quests to be able to unlock the full star path for free. You would be rewarded for putting in the time. But now you cant even unlock extra moonstones from the star path, no matter how much time you invest in it. It completely killed the fun of the "grind" for me. I don't feel like there is any goal I can work toward.
Great video! It's nice to see helpful advice vs a rant, which I'm sure there's probably lots of videos ranting already. Currently the star path is not long enough or frequent enough to keep me playing for how long they plan on having this game around. If they continue on this route, once my original/accumulated moonstones are up, so will be my time playing this game. I'll also never understand why some game companies don't realize that the more affordable you make the paid add-ons, the more money you will actually get out of people.
Definitely I agree! I play love live school idol festival and we always get login bonuses and they have regularly events where you can play to earn gems to buy more cards. My bf plays overwatch and while the store sucks, the battle pass is really cool and he gets character skins, emotes, etc. I think they’re still figuring stuff out for Ddlv, it’ll definitely take time
So many people have failed to realize that this game is ACTUALLY the "Console Version"
To the "Disney Magic Kingdoms" game hense WHY for 1- It's not finished, 2- It's very expensive n cost money for every little thing, 3- the constant updates & I can name so many other things that are similar but I'd be here for years lol 😂 I have both games n ya I've noticed the similarities instantly!
I don't think microtransactions should've even been added until the game is finished. Too many beta games that are treated like finished products.
Maybe similar to Dreamlight Duties we could have “Daily Task” that expire after 24 hours that reward you with moonstones
I’m not spending my real money on a game I already spent money on that was suppose to be free .. I’m not giving them my money for a game I already spent money on point blank so looks like I’m not playing for a long time.. I knew not to buy it but I did anyway. With how hard it is to live your going to ask more people for more money. I’m good.
I like the increase to moonstones in chests, but it's not enough to get up that steep hill to the premium shop. Not by a long shot. I found myself nodding along with all of what you've said though - for me, I feel as though the premium shop should be, yes, offering crazy cosmetic things - the house skins are fine for instance, ornate furniture is fine as well. I'd even be all right with fancy outfits and hairstyles, but ONLY if these were also available on the Star Paths. I was really disappointed with the Star Path this go round. It's OKAY, but it's missing that flashy outfit or hat or hair or whatever. Meanwhile the premium shop has all of that in spades. It's just disappointing.
Damn it, I was really looking forward to playing this in the future, but if they continue like this I'll probably just skip it altogether. I stopped playing other games in the past because when they started releasing paid cosmetics they neglected the free ones. The paid ones are usually much better looking, and you can say it doesn't affect gameplay but it does actually when you see all the beautiful items you will never be able to afford, especially when customization is such a big part of the game. It doesn't feel good. I would rather just pay for the game upfront and not have all the best items locked behind paywalls. And they're always so ridiculously expensive too, what happened to microtransactions actually being micro?
Spot on insights. I popped onto the game last week after a month or two hiatus. After meeting Olaf and doing his quests, I didn't have any active quests, and absolutely no reason to play. I felt immediately sad and bored. Sad at the missed potential. You're right about rewarding the player, not the payer. Players turn into payers eventually (when they're happy with the game), so devs need to address that. Your mention of mobile games made me think of Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. I played daily for years because they have those incentives to visit everyday. However, I expect to spend more than 30 minutes on DDV when I tuck into it. Quests need to be spiced up. I'm bored of collecting the same 5-10 types of materials.
Oh nooooo, I really wanted to grab this but packs like those (get a castle for x amount of money) really put me off.
Sad times we live in 😢
I’d honestly rather they just make this game one you have to pay for and not include in game purchases; however, realistically we know they aren’t making it free to benefit people. In game transactions make them way more money, and as someone who isn’t rich but has an addictive personality/poor impulse control, it’s dangerous for me. I wish they’d at least waited until the game was actually free to play though? Like I thought it was just understood we wouldn’t have to worry about paying for extra stuff until the game was officially released?
The side effect of making us pay dearly to play this game is that everytime I ask one of the char in the valley to 'hang out' with me, I felt like I am engaging a social escort to keep me company because I know their company is gonna cost me a bomb eventually. It just make the magical feel in the valley a TRANSACTION now. No money no honey. Friendship? Yea, you gonna pay for friendship. If you are not gonna pay, you will not step into future new biome to interact with the shiny flashy new char in future update. Those are off-limit to you. Their friendship price is beyond you to afford. They don't have time for you. Probably they don't want to befriend you because you cannot afford to pay to interact with them. Dreamlight valley is just another Hollywood infested with snobbish rich char who sell friendship for a fee.
I feel like I would be paying for them to finish the game and it’s so expensive. Founders should get those items for FREE My Scrooge shop has empty windows and REPEATS! Like wth
just a reminder, the premium shop will have a rotating stock, which means items will come in and out and then back in again. If you can't afford something today, keep saving for when it comes back.
The pieces are outrageous. In this economy when hydro food and living costs are ridiculously high they think I'll be spending $20 bucks on 3-4 items that you can't use for anything but decor. Ridiculous.
Micro transactions take advantage of gullible people who are terrible at budgeting and should be illegal.
The shop prices are insane. I don’t expect them to work for free but we need to find a balance that is positive and healthy for the community and the devs. NGL every time I finish my star path I don’t pay till the next one drops, so I legitimately haven’t touched the game in over 2 months.
I was waiting to play when the game became free, but tbh it doesn’t seem like i want to spend my time now. Ah well! So many indie games to play anyway!
I do not play Dreamlight Valley (though it is in my list of games to play) and based on what you described about the achievement/reward system, it is very similar to how Genshin Impact does it. Most of the players are F2P so the only way for them to get primogems (like the moonstones you mentioned) is to try complete achievements, daily commissions, and even through a daily log-in system. Of course the whales (the ones paying) have access to those rewards, but what sets them apart is in the premium shop where only the whales (if they are willing) can purchase the exclusive skins for their characters.
I was playing the game before the Premium Shop and I will continue. I don’t see why the shop should prevent me from enjoying the game the way I have been the entire time it has been out. I don’t plan to purchase anything with real money. I am still getting the same amount of random items from chests and I am fine with getting clothing from Scrooge. My focus is on completing quests and unlocking characters. As long as that’s still available I will play.
So I have a question for the star pass stuff If you ended up missing it because you don't log into the game much so you never know whenever that stuff's going to like be available Is there any way to get it again or did you just miss out and you have no chance of getting it again like do they recycle through the star pass after a certain point or do the items go into Scrooge's store after a certain point... I'm not trying to be one of those people to get mad whenever we miss out on stuff but I just hate it whenever games don't let players at least try to have the option of getting something they missed because not everyone can be on the game 24/7
As someone who's been playing for about 2 months now, I only have 400 items out of more than a thousand. That's logging in everyday just to check Scrooges shop. I haven't had any items in the front windows since the update either. I didn't know new items appear so randomly.
It's so bizarre that this has come out before the game is released as free to play? I totally thought we really wouldn't see any microtransactions during this early access, I wonder if they just saw how popular it got and got greedy?
I was shocked they opened the premium shop before the game went free to play. I still wanna play it and I'm thinking of buying it this weekend while it's still on sale for Switch. Especially being a new player, I probably won't even look in the premium shop. If I don't look at it, I won't want all the things so much. I like your ideas, particularly the daily log in bonuses. Almost every free mobile game I play has them. If they're gonna treat the game like it's already free, they should at least do that.
I bought it on switch yesterday and i plan not to look at that store at all. There is so much to do anyways that i think i have enough to do and buy anyways. I did start the starpath though
@@MirandaPurpleClouds Gotta do the star path!
@@gracefulannie-grcflannie- have you made any progress yet? I'm taking my time, like always. Im pretty slow, so i just hope im not too slow to finish it in time
@@MirandaPurpleClouds My husband gets paid once a month, so I was waiting for his check to hit the bank. I'm downloading it now. Knowing me, I'll be playing it all day. I'll definitely be trying to make as much progress as I can.
@@gracefulannie-grcflannie- lol, i read too fast and thought you just bought it on the sale like me.
Yay! It will be my new routine (im autistic and unemployed because of burnout) so i look forward to playing lots as soon as my daily tasks are done
Wow, thank you for this! I completely agree, it's absolutely ridiculous what they are doing. You are so on point!
Pretty much what u described was the game that I play which is Disney Magic Kingdoms and this game has existed for almost 7 years now. We use gems to buy premium characters, parade floats, and premium buildings.
The updates really hurt our families motivation to play. The new content was flimsy and short. Once we saw the premium shop strategy and pricing we knew this was your typical Disney Co. greed moment. We have taken a step back from the game and looking at others to fill the void.
I 100% agree with all the facts stated. This game is a paid unfinished game. They are charging way too much for moonstones especially when u have to buy the game first. Coins mean so little on the game now. With pumpkins I’m killing the game. So there is not much to do. Play the game for a week,every update. then wait two more months
They are putting a new update that is active next week and they’re fixing the fact that Scrooge items were in the moonstone store. And they will be refunding everyone who bought those items from that store.
agree, yes to so much of this- also though the item prices really need to (& probably will?) come down. They were so high it made me expect an oops sorry we added a digit to the prices by accident announcement. Just feels out of touch. Though I guess it's a way to make sure you know this is no longer a completionist game unless you have tons to spend. The super fast refresh and lack of multiple ways to earn moonstones in game is a really big piece of why this feels so off. The chests going to 50 felt balanced well for if the star path is the only thing moonstones are used for, but with the addition of a shop there need to be more ways to earn them without it getting overly complex- love the idea of moonstones with level ups and completing dreamlight tasks (also those chests can be a challenge to find! haha). Minor wishlist- give me a 3d spin around view in the premium shop & star path. I had no idea what the hairstyle looked like until I saw someone with it. Also, agree that it feels like the shop and starpath have suffered as a result. I'm not even bothering with the premium star path this time - but had there been a hair style or a house skin? sure.
I think skins (skins for your house, designated skins for neighbor's houses, skins for shops, etc ) should be in the premium store. Other than that, maybe new pets could go into the premium shops. I really dislike furniture and accessories being in the premium shop.
i got bored becasue the star path is not as good anymore so missions are pointless
Ima be honest, havent played since leveling Scar and this just makes me not want to pick it back up even more than before. I really hope this is just a trial run and they decide to listen to the feedback. Everything is so sparse in the game that asking for more is so offputting. I would hate for this to end up as a cash grab game