Age of Wushu Upcoming Cash Shop Options Revealed

Whenever any Free to Play MMORPG comes along with some sort of anticipation behind it, people tend to forget about the cash shop (An aspect of the MMO that is very crucial but often overlooked by the masses). Overlooked in the sense that, a player does not have the cash shop as a high priority on their list of important features that matter most to them in an MMO. Obviously, the player will usually have the actual play experience as the main priority, when considering whether they should invest any time into the game. Still, the cash shop is an important thing to consider, especially if certain items within the cash shop could fundamentally swing unfair advantages in favor of players that have the money to spend.

With this in mind, we take a look at some new details concerning the upcoming Martial Arts MMORPG, Age of Wushu.

What's for sale?

Age of Wushu offers players a few different choices of items to purchase. These options include Membership opportunities, a virtual item shop where players can purchase vanity items and mounts and curiously, in-game currency. It does worry me a bit that Age of Wushu will offer anything currency-related to players; since being able to purchase currency diminishes the value of the currency in the game's economy. Snail Games, the developer of Age of Wushu, has indicated though that "the best weapons, skill books, and equipment do not come from spending real world money, but from the effort players put forth in their professions and the world." Still, wouldn't you just be able to purchase currency and then purchase a weapon made by someone who actually put in the time with their professions?

Beyond the typical items available, within the cash shop is a unique set of martial art skills. According to Snail Games, these skills cannot create an amazingly powerful character on their own, and are carefully balanced to not interfere with gameplay. Apparently, they merely serve as low-level skills with interesting animations. Age of Wushu intends to be an MMO that relies on a player's skill (presumably in both PvE and PvP) as the only determining factor in deciding a victor.

The beta is just three days away (first beta starts November 15th), but cash shop options presumably won't be implemented for a while. If you want to check out Age of Wushu for yourself, you can head on over to the official site and sign up for a chance at scoring a beta key. You can also "pre-order" the game for $9.99 and get instant beta access along with other goodies at launch. Woooo goodies.