Please no paid cosmetic DLC

Actually this does bring the pay to win idea to the table. They are suggesting not only 5 cosmetic items, but shards as well per DLC pack. Shards change how you play the game. If they have a DLC pack with a shard that is good, or even buggy it could interfere with speed runners. Imagine another Summon Chair like shard, that allows zips. You might have new tech where you beat the WR by 2 minutes because one of these DLC shards.

This should be taken seriously, DLC could become Pay-To-Win on a global scale.

Well if they're stuck on that stance, it's both unfortunate and illogical. Why would you introduce cosmetic items without a cosmetic slot? I'm not going to wear the sparkly pink outfit with fairy wings if it means I have to settle for level 10 stats when I'm at 60. This seems like a no-brainer, and I can't imagine how the coding would be that complicated. I mean that literally. I can't imagine it, because I have absolutely no experience at all programming games, but it doesn't SEEM like it should be hard at all. If X slot is equipped, disable the graphic for Y slot. Unless there's something I'm missing, I don't see why this would present such an issue.

To be honest, I am a little disappointed that this isn't already a feature of the base game. I can't go back over hundreds of threads, but I'm nearly certain I saw a response somewhere during the development cycle where it was implied there would be the equivalent of cosmetic slots, in some form.

Iunno, I kinda want to point out Iga's Backpack DLC as a prime example of how these things should go. Granted it was intentionally overpriced, but still.

For example, let's just assume there will be a Succubus Outfit Pack DLC (there will be). So, instead of just dropping the stuff into my inventory, maybe add a small wing onto the Hall of Termination. Not even a new area, just a couple hallways and rooms, reusing assets, for a total of like twenty new map squares at most. Throw a Succubus miniboss (or full boss) at the end of the path. Bam, there's the new equipment and shard after you kill her. I'd happily pay five dollars for something like that.

Or if there's a Demon Outfit Pack DLC, just add a new cave going down below the Inferno Caverns. Same thing. Make the Inferno Caverns a bit bigger and put a demon boss down there.

The bare minimum I would expect is for the new stuff to be added in weird out of the way places like the Valkyrie/Pure Miriam set.

According to Question 505 on reddit, the stuff in the survey is a long ways off.
Proof

Please, people, don't fight! If we keep it civil and voice our opinion with arguments, it might just be taken into consideration.

Lots of fair opinions have been written. Why not combine them and try to find a middle ground solution, to please everybody? For instance, if they decide to add paid for, vanity content, at least to convince them charge it at the minimum possible price and stuff. Or, simply don't buy it, for those who feel fleeced/ripped off. It's not like it affects gameplay. I am a 60 tier backer and i won't demand it for free (even though i would like to get it for free)... The ultimate priority (ours), is/should be for them to deliver all the promised features first, the "13 DLC", first and foremost, after all!

The game is actually really good, pretty good, almost a masterpiece. Other games of such caliber, such as Grim Dawn, have these "loyalist packs". Which are actually pretty good, especially the new one with skins! It keeps developers going, with that extra pocket money and fans keeping it smug (in-game).

The only real question is: Where did all that money from the kickstarter go? It was a huge sum, far exceeding the required sum to make this game. Why did they suddenly run out and are in need of some "refreshments"? Well, if they iron out the bugs FIRST and add in the ALREADY PROMISED content to the game, making it complete, then sure, why not? Extras would be welcome. Although, as others said, content extras would be far more welcome, really...

On the subject of microtransactions, I define it like this; A DLC is something that you pay for once, and it's yours permanently. A microtransaction is something that you are expected to buy multiple times, usually because it only offers a temporary benefit, but can also include things with a gatcha mechanic, where the permanent item is random and may require multiple purchases to get the desired one. I'm okay with DLC as long as they offer a reasonable value, but microtransactions have no place in a game that is being sold. The only place microtransactions are acceptable is in a free game, where that is the sole method of paying for the game. As soon as there's a purchase price, I expect that price to be able to cover the cost of the game.

As far as the poll there is not (at time of posting this) an option that covers my feelings on this. I covered this already on Discord, but what it boils down to is that cosmetic items will have to be done one of three ways to not unbalance the game and ruin the progression and collection aspects.

1. The items are balanced around the early game, and becomes useless later on.
   
2. The items are balanced for endgame, and must be bought or crafted.
   
3. The items start out weak, and can be upgraded as the game goes on.
   

None of these is a satisfying option. If they're just starting items, then you get them right away, but can't really use them. So you're basically paying for something that they don't get any benefit out of having - you're paying for the ability to take vanity screenshots, more or less. If they're not available until end game, then people who haven't beaten the game have to work to get them. Not terrible, but not ideal. However, this creates the problem that while you can actually use them, they end up invalidating the build you put time and effort into creating. Making them like the 8-Bit Weapons? Well, that's honestly the worst of all worlds. It makes getting other stuff in the early game pointless, eliminates a middle where you'd use something else, and invalidates endgame builds.

...and those are the best possible ways to implement the vanity sets.

The only way I could see these working is if the suggestion to add cosmetic slots was implemented, and the vanity sets had absolutely no stats associated with them. This would mitigate the issues I have, though not totally eliminate them, because I frankly see a single outfit as a poor value at any price. Also, the plan is for vanity sets to include a shard, which wouldn't work with cosmetic slots and has its own associated problems. For one thing, the only way to 9/9 them would be if you can craft the shards or buy them from the shop. So now that has to be balanced for. Again, though, if they're too powerful they remove the reward for putting effort into farming shards, and if they're too weak you have no reason to use the thing you paid money for...and this time there's no option to make them a mechanics-free item. To keep them from unbalancing the game, you'd pretty much have to make them functionally identical to existing shards, and probably crafted from the shards they mirror...and there's not many guaranteed shards that it would be okay to make variants of.

So, you'd probably think I'm completely against the vanity sets, but honestly no. There's several on the poll that I'd love to have. Nor do I begrudge the devs making a little extra through DLC, as long as its done well. If the devs implement cosmetic slots and find a way to keep the shards viable without overpowering other options, then that's great. As I said, though, I feel like getting a single set of cosmetics just isn't a good value at any price. It doesn't add anything significant to gameplay (or at least, can't without ruining the collection aspect of the game) and you're basically obligated to use just that one outfit all the time, or you're not getting what you paid for...which also slightly devalues the collection aspect, as some people pick gear based on looks. I'd honestly rather buy a collection of three to five thematically related outfits for a bulk rate than buy outfits piecemeal, if outfits is all I'm getting. That would encourage mixing and matching more, at least. Better still, though, add a bonus area to earn the items. It just needs to be a single room (maybe with fixed equipment) where the player must complete a challenge. It could be killing difficult enemies, completing a race, some sort of puzzle, or an obstacle course. The specifics don't matter. Just a themed room from the extras menu that takes a couple minutes to complete, and earns you your cosmetics out of a chest at the end. Do that - and avoid all the balance pitfalls I mentioned - and it's actually extending the gameplay, and not taking aspects away, or offering nothing but the same game in different clothes.

TL;DR - My answer is "Yes, but only if it's done right."

Special Edit Section: Regarding the "Free for backers only, the rest should pay." sentiment...no. Just no. I was a backer, and no. Don't be an elitist.

That money has been gone for a long time now, I believe possibly even before 505 got involved. Making a pretty big game like this over 4 years' time costs a lot of money. We're not a 2-person indie here, there's quite a few companies and artists involved and they all have to be paid *during* development. 5 million sounds like a lot, but it really isn't for this sort of thing. I think the game probably needed something more like 20 to get where it is now.

Anyway, I do agree that we need to know more about the stats of the items and what the "shard" part is because at a certain point it ceases to be "cosmetic" if the gameplay is affected so, with the boosts that these items will provide since all equippables have stats. Where they will be and at what time they can be acquired are important considerations, but my stance is just that I trust the team will figure that out and do the right thing with it. That does seem like a minority opinion in this thread but oh well lol, I think they have made excellent gameplay and content decisions so far and this isn't enough reason for me to think it's a turning point of some kind.

That’s why I ended up not filling in the survey.  Plenty of options to say, “No, I am never buying Bloodstained,” but none to say, “I own Bloodstained and won’t buy cosmetic DLC.”  Kind of stacks the deck that way.

I don’t care one way or another if they make little DLC packs, but it would be nice to let them know in that survey how uninterested I am in them.

Not even sure they’d be cosmetic either...if they come with shards, that can affect gameplay quite a bit.

It's convenient, sure, but why shouldn't they use that? It's just the truth and what they're doing, and people will like to know that. An alternative would be to keep silent about it, which is a disservice to all the work that has to be done to get it out. Not mentioning it also raises questions of where that stuff is at/does it still exist. I don't think it's good to wish on the game doing less sales-wise and not marketing the obviously good things about it. It's for everybody, and I want everybody to want it. I got on the boat early, but I want to help paddle the boat around the world while I'm on it. People of all walks of life need this and all it offers.

It's only deceitful and backwards if you look at it from a space of thinking the DLC (all of it, the 13 etc) should just be for backers - if not the entire game to itself. That's a fundamental separation at the beginning of it all from "help us make this (for the world)" vs "help us make this (only for the backers)". We get perks and bonuses, and that's all I wanted. It doesn't do me any good if I play the best game I've ever played but it doesn't do well enough to keep going, and well enough for younger generations to get it and carry it on.