Free to Play IS Pay to Win

There's been quite a lot of discussion on which is better: Pay to Play (P2P) or Free to Play (F2P). The P2P side is saying that it's nothing but Pay to Win just renamed as Free to Play. I tend to agree with them as for one needs to buy necessary requirements from the Item Mall (IM) to get the best equipment/fastest mount/strongest pet/exp modifier/best hp or mp pots/highest stats modifier.

Me and the Cave Troll go on a staring contest: Allods Intl CBT

The F2P side can say all they want, but unless thousands have reached the end game without paying one cent (without cheating that is) then we can safely say that F2P can be truly played from beginning to end game content.

There's nothing wrong with paying for IM items but what's wrong maybe what the devs or publishers place in there. For example, if one of the IM items for sale is an uber weapon in the game, then it's considered as a gamebreaking item. Balance between what's gamebreaking and not is like crossing a tightrope--if you give too much or too little the game will fail. Another thing to consider is the price: example would be the first time that Allods Online opened their IM--the prices were waaay too much! Imagine a bag costing $20! Obviously gPotato got a lot of flak over this and adjusted accordingly.

Paying does not only mean paying with money but also with time. For those who don't want to pay with money, they tend to grind more in-game to get equipment or items equivalent to those in the IM. In the end they will also pay more--either thru electrical bills or internet cafe time pay. This is where P2P players lose--they pay money AND time. Yes the game has better quality, but you still pay double for it somehow, at least with F2P you can play whenever you want and pay for IM items anytime as well.

Me in Lineage 2 SEA reaching 50

The payment goes to the devs and publishers. Money is the lifeblood of the any MMO game! So don't be afraid of getting marked as a PHPboy (a derogatory name for those who usually buy IM) as long as you enjoy the game. Pay to Win isn't so bad, most will hardly get to the end anyway.