The community of Astellia Online is barely a few days into the game’s official launch, and it already looks to be stirring itself up into a froth. The issue is with the game’s newly released launch packages, which Barunson recently changed from the original buy-to-play packages to some slightly cheaper versions, a move that caused some players to raise hell, believing that the cheaper packs had more value than the founder’s packs.
According to the thread on the official forums, the new packs should be considered a huge upgrade over those offered to early adopters, mostly owing to several items like a Ring of Exploration, additional storage space, and a 30-day buff to XP, Astel, and other character earnings. Bear in mind these are things in the $80 launch pack and were not in the $100 founder’s pack.
Other players argue that exclusives unique to the founder’s packs like sub time, mounts, and (of course) head start access have been removed to balance out the new packs for post-launch players. And some gamers have pointed out that the Ring of Exploration was never meant to be an exclusive item. Yet according to the thread starter, they would have to spend about $50 to “break even.” It ultimately reads like the idea of intrinsic value is being debated, with a few different arguments to gauge.
Barunson reps have noted that the devs are keeping an eye on the thread’s discussion regarding the matter and ask that the discussion remain “civil and constructive.”
