Microtransactions are a divisive topic among gamers that can be awkward to talk about. Some people think it's absurd that players are expected to pay hundreds of dollars (over time) to unlock video game content they have already paid for, while others think microtransactions are a valid way to continue supporting a game they love.


Whether you like Microtransactions or not, one thing is a fact-- the Star Wars Battlefront II community is absolutely fed up with EA's aggressive microtransactions. The dam finally broke when a Redditor created an incredulous thread upon realizing, after paying 80$, Darth Vader was still locked. The bad news spread, as then another Reddit thread popped up, explaining how it takes upwards of 40 of grinding in order to unlock Darth Vader without buying any additional in-game currency.


Clearly, locking iconic Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker behind such incredibly long grinds was EA's attempt to make these characters feel exclusive and encourage microtransactions sales. They attempted to explain this in the first thread and, with no idea they were about to make Reddit history, posted the most downvoted comment of all time:


"The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.

As for cost, we selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch. Among other things, we're looking at average per-player credit earn rates on a daily basis, and we'll be making constant adjustments to ensure that players have challenges that are compelling, rewarding, and of course attainable via gameplay.

We appreciate the candid feedback, and the passion the community has put forth around the current topics here on Reddit, our forums and across numerous social media outlets.

Our team will continue to make changes and monitor community feedback and update everyone as soon and as often as we can."


Were you expecting something more sensational? Perhaps it was the comments scripted nature or how it sounded like a textbook corporate response. Perhaps it was the absurdity of labeling complaints about being nickeled and dimed labeled as "passion". Perhaps it was explaining mile high DLC costs as a way of bringing gamers a "sense of pride and accomplishment". Whatever it is, fans chose this comment as the single source of rebellion against EA's rising DLC costs.

While the astronomically low score of this Reddit comment is a sight to behold, it's hard to say how many of these downvotes are organic and how many are from bots aimed at the thread. Nevertheless, the thread has now become immortalized and the tale of the 516k downvoted comment will be told around the campfire to frightened community managers around the world.


A surprise ending

A short while after EA become a living meme for the tyranny microtransactions, something amazing happened. Turns out when the community yells loud enough, it becomes in the best interest of developers to make big changes and fast.


In this official blog post, John Wasilczyk, the Executive Producer at DICE, unveiled that the cost for top heroes (all of the fans favorites) will be reduced by 75%. He also announced a Reddit AMA with "key leads on the team) this Wednesday to give fans a chance to voice other complaints. People speculated EA would ease up on the prices, but 75% is a much larger number than anticipated.