Most of PSO2's many systems are explained well if you're paying attention, like appraising gear, leveling up your Mag (a flying personal robot company which grants passive stat boosts and a specific attack) as well as various other nuances, but it requires a great deal of reading up Phantasy Star Online 2 Meseta front and lots of awkward menus and it's easy to miss them. At its very best menu navigation is dull, and in its worst, headache-inducing. Bringing up your stock demands multiple button presses on an Xbox controller and also something as unique as, let's say, looking up a friend to find out if they're online or checking how long is left on your XP bonus is all about three to four menus deep into one of the sub-panels and may as well be a lost cause. Luckily, it's not unusable, and the longer you spend with it the more second-nature flipping through what becomes but that is a textbook case of enjoying a game in spite of its clunkiness and not because of it.

Each time you log into, Phantasy Star Online 2 tries to shove its litany of convoluted microtransactions down your throat. That stinks, but you can dismiss it all. Between the cosmetic reward items, convenience products, Salon passes, Casino moves, FUN tickets, Scratch tickets, etc, it is almost impossible to keep everything in order. That said however, prices are fair and nothing feels necessary appreciate or to progress yourself. It's all cosmetics or convenience items which don't affect gameplay.

One of the better items is that the Gold Tier of the Mission Pass that functions a lot like the Battle Pass from Fortnite, where you unlock tiers of decorative and convenience rewards predicated on finishing specific types of quests that all reset every couple of weeks for new seasons. You unlock the Gold Tier by using a Gold plateau, which you may make through in-game currency grinding or by dropping real money on the ticket especially (approximately $8 in actual money), or simply by upgrading to a Premium Subscription by buying a hefty Founder's Pack for $60 or just the Premium subscription itself for around $13. In a nice and thoughtful touch, should you decide at the end of the year to upgrade to the Gold Tier version then you'll retroactively unlock whatever you'd have unlocked already otherwise.

A number of these seasonal outfits are really cool and hard to resist, like winged cybernetic android armor bits and tons of cute dresses and formal attire to mix up things, so I totally get it. Phantasy Star Online 2 is the kind of game you probably already know if you're interested in before you even play with it. Between the ludicrous variety in courses, sheer number of things to do and see, and the slick, elegant combat, there is a lot of meat left on these eight-year-old bones. It certainly shows its age in some convoluted approaches and lacks an engaging story that can hold your interest, but complete it makes up for those shortcomings with some of the most exciting combat that cheap PSO2 Meseta stands out when compared to any action RPG released in the past couple of decades.