Going back to the time when patch 10.8 was released about 2 weeks ago, in the overview images of this new patch, the focus skin set of the update will be the trio of Dark Sorceress including Morgana – Leblanc – Zyra. Among them, we will have 2 Epic skins for Leblanc and Zyra, a Legendary skin for Morgana, and the Zyra Dark Sorceress Premium skin at the Divine level.
Of course, these skins will not be immediately available at the time of launch; however, at the latest in the Riot Games servers, you can completely own the Premium Zyra skin by exchanging Premium points in the store. But we are on the Vietnam server, and under Garena’s management, this situation will definitely not happen as simply as that.
First of all, Garena has “hidden” the Zyra Dark Sorceress Premium skin from the store, and even at this moment, you still cannot use the Premium points accumulated previously to exchange for this skin.
So the question gamers will ask is how to obtain the premium skin when they cannot use the points for exchange? And then, surprise surprise, Garena appears like a savior to solve gamers’ dilemma, their solution is to launch the Dark Sorceress Challenge event as the only opportunity to own this skin.
So from a skin that players cannot buy with money but must grind event points and exchange for Premium points, Garena has magically transformed it into a skin sold for cash. The difference is perhaps that instead of selling it in the shop as usual, they created a mini-game for players to “test their luck” and create a feeling that they have achieved something great. Meanwhile, this event is simply about buying RP and clicking to deal enough 100 damage.
Many may argue that “if you don’t want to play, then don’t, who forces you to participate?” That’s true, but what stands out here is the blatant bloodsucking that Garena is engaging in. The Premium skin itself is already a bloodsucking product, but at least Riot Games still gives you the option to choose whether to be bloodsucked or not: either buy event points to exchange, or grind for event points to exchange.
Here, you can’t exchange with Premium points at all; the only way is to play Garena’s event. Even after the event has ended, the Zyra Dark Sorceress Premium skin is still nowhere to be found in the store, while in other regions, gamers have been able to exchange points normally for over a week now.
This shows that the giants of the gaming industry need to learn from Garena in how to hold “bloodsucking” events for gamers. Just forcing players to open their wallets is not enough; making them voluntarily do so and feel that they deserve it, like Garena, is the true pinnacle.