@bigsocrates: I know it was a hot button issue pretty recently because of that one former executive who said he wished he had a post purchase tip-button for some major games...
But I've worked in bars and restaurants my entire adult life, as well as half my adolescent one, so "tipping" is just part of my parlance. I'm also the odd consumer that buys maybe ten new games a year yet listens to five gaming podcasts every week, yet also doesn't find $70 an incredible ask for an entertainment product I'll possibly get just as many hours out of. In this case, I initially, honestly hesitantly, just got the base $40 game. After a wonderful first week with the game, I bought the upgrade. Then, despite not playing much the past few weeks, I reaped all the rewards as though I had, so throwing another $10 at the game to goof off with some new toys balanced me out at about $1 per hour of fun. Whether it's right to call that a "tip" or not, I feel I've got incredible value out of the game.
(Here's what feels like the right spot to double back and say TOO LONG;DR - I agree too many games are forced by their dads to become door-to-door vacuum salesmen, but at worst Helldivers is just a kid with a lemonade stand.)
All that being said, and also thinking it's worth emphasizing that unlike any other game I can think of with a battle pass progression model these passes do not expire...I fundamentally agree with the issue you're raising. Whether it's MLB The Show, Apex Legends, Street Fighter VI, NBA 2K, Mortal Kombat 1, Diablo III/Immortal or Marvel Snap, too many games I've played over the past year and change tuck shiny things behind significant time investments that can be mitigated by cash.
Personally, the last time I "tipped" for a good time with a game it was a pair of free ones; one battle pass shortly after the launch of Apex in 2019 and just the same for Genshin Impact in 2020. I'm happy to say that was that for both. But then...I guess I should admit I do sometimes, probably foolishly, make a "thank you" purchase from time to time. I played the Yakuza series, from 0 to 7, for a grand total of about $40 over the years following Beast in the East, so I got the $80 Infinite Wealth package. Ask me anything about what that extra $10 got me. Even worse, I was damn certain I hadn't spent a dime on Mortal Kombats 9 through 11 so I talked myself into the $110 early access, full first season of new characters package Being the Giant Bomb forum, I don't think I need to detail how silly that was.
To loop back to the game at hand, though, I don't think it's designed to corral and slaughter like most of those other games are. The few upgrades that require materials from the highest difficulty levels are undoubtedly enticing, but for someone like me who prefers (preferred? I really should get back to this fun ass game) the middle tier I/we aren't even seeing some of the game's most threatening enemies. What we are getting is dealt with by what we've got. That's no reason to dismiss out of hand anyone who might struggle harder to rationalize that, but even then, if a fractional credit is owed Helldivers, you absolutely cannot buy those upgrades. Which to me further emphasizes that they're meant to reward high level play rather than sucker whales. Alongside battle passes that, again, definitely signify all the shiny and new bells and whistles the model fundamentally stands for...yet, for once, are perpetual.
So when I bought the credits to unlock the latest Warbond (if I may indulge their marketing just once) no part of me felt like I was doing so to avoid missing out on it. In fact and again, all I did was log in to the game, receive roughly 250 medals from various major orders, buy the bond, unlock some random stuff, then go back to the single player games I was invested in...while constantly cocking my head 45 degrees to refresh the Helldivers subreddit and indulge in the ever expanding community role play that catapulted this game into the catbird seat it holds in the first place.
Second Edit: For what it's worth, after doubling back to check if I didn't address everything I wanted to, I do agree that the game is "content poor", in that it's the same activity ad nauseam, but I also disagree that the Pass content has a "pay to win" feel. The only way to "win" is to participate, and none of the new guns or grenades trivialize that. From what I remember of my 60-70 hours, everything essentially does the same damage, just at different rates. New kit is just new kit, and until you navigate its nuances likely a reminder how easy it is to kill your teammates when you meant to spread democracy. If anything, all of the new weapons have been more notable for how little they've changed the game, which one could easily argue isn't great.
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