Bandai Namco is facing questions of apparent Gundam Evolution pay-to-win schemes, which are always a concern for popular multiplayer free-to-play games. Given Gundam Evolution’s positive comparisons to Overwatch, any accusation of players being able to have an advantage by paying for characters or in-game boosts is worth investigating for the sake of the game’s balance.
Is Gundam Evolution pay-to-win then?
Well, technically no, but it can feel that way. At the time of this writing, Gundam Evolution currently has sixteen mechs available, with five of them costing 1,980 Capital or 990 premium EVO Coins to unlock: Zaku II (Melee), Marasai, Mahiroo, Exia, and Unicorn. Considering the amount of Capital you can earn through the current season pass, along with the starter series of Beginner’s Challenges, you’ll earn enough to purchase a few of these mechs without having to pay for anything. However, the fact that players don’t get any currency for playing matches, like in other free-to-play games, can discourage the F2P audience.
The reason why these five mechs can feel overpowered is that they’re still relatively new and also rare since the majority of players are staying completely free-to-play. One of the problems is that locked Gundams are not available in practice mode, which can lead to an experience gap where free-to-play players can’t learn their strengths and weaknesses without likely dying more than a few times in actual matches. So while all of the mechs behind the paywall can be countered, it will take some time before the playerbase as a whole becomes experienced enough to understand how they operate.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Bandai Namco stated that it does “not intend to include any pay-to-win elements from either Season Passes of Supply Pods.” It will be up to the community to ensure that they are held to that promise.
For more guides, here’s how to stop getting Gundam Evolution leaver penalties and battle bans, as well as the game’s release date on PS5, PS4, and Xbox.
