7. Cash Shops
Carrying on with the MMO trend, the main thing that will make or break a free MMO are the cash-shops. Some games rely on gamers wanting to buy pretty clothes and skins to rake in the cash whilst others put at your disposal a vast arsenal of weapons and clothing to the point that anyone who spends cash has a vastly superior character to normal users. Granted, the companies need to make money but are they really willing to divide the community merely to make some more cash? I've played two free MMOs that have shown how a cash-shop can ruin the entire gaming experience. Firstly, the on-line 3rd person shooter S4 League. It's a fun game I'll give it that, but all you need to do is hop onto the forums or even the in-game chat to see the hate that is sent towards people who pay cash for weapons. It's not just this that ruins the experience though, the weapons themselves are vastly superior to the point that it takes more than one normal user to take down a paying customer. The second game I played was Vindictus - now there's a lot wrong with this game, like really a lot but what makes it worse is the in-game cash shop. You can buy items which make you invulnerable for a period time as well as repairing your gear, you can buy items which ensure you have a higher percentage of rare loot, you can buy an item that makes your weapons a lot more powerful than everyone else's. The point is, putting a cash-shop into a free-to-play game turns it into pay-to-play game ruining the experience for other players. I know not everyone can afford a monthly subscription or has access to a credit-card, but surely they'd prefer to see a fair and balanced game for a small fee a month than play a free game that is downright terrible.