Micro-transactions are an interesting thing, but one thing about them that is NOT interesting are micro-transactions in a paid game, especially those of the gambling variety. Let me go a little off-topic for a moment.
League of Legends is a free to play game. As is the norm with F2P games, it has two currencies; Influence Points (IP) and Riot Points (RP). IP is the in-game currency that is gained through just playing the game. It allows you to purchase everything that you need, such as Champions, Runes, and Rune Pages. It cannot be spent on any cosmetics in any way, whereas RP can. Not only can RP buy cosmetics, but it can also be used to purchase Champions (to make the grind easier) and Rune Pages (but not Runes themselves; irrelevant anyway as Riot is revamping the system and making it free instead). Through this system, it allows Riot Games to make their money by giving the option for players to skip the grind without making the game P2W (your skill with a champion and Runes, which are purchasable with IP only, are the only things that matter in the end), or to deck out their favourite heroes with cool skins. These said skins are able to be purchased individually, or F2P players may roll one of them in 'Hextech Chests' (loot boxes) they gain by performing exceptionally well with a Champion in a match. Now since I've brought up loot boxes, let's bring out another game.
Overwatch. Whether you love or hate shooters, you have to admit that Overwatch is a pretty cool game. Every hero in this game is unique and brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the table. Work to your strengths to exploit the enemies' weaknesses, and you'll be able to capture those points with little effort. However, this sweet game comes at a price, one that matches other AAA titles on the market. But that's fair, right? After all, the game is very polished, it's constantly updated, and it's certainly not P2W. Money only gets you cosmetics... And that's where the game falls in my eyes. The 'currencies' available in Overwatch are your level (considered currency for the sake of this argument), and Credits. The former is kind of like IP; it shows how much you've played the game, and every level gives you a free Loot Box. The latter can be related to RP; it is the currency that gets you the cool stuff. However, spending money doesn't give you Credits. Instead, it gives you Loot Boxes. These said Loot Boxes are always guaranteed 1 'Rare' cosmetic each, but this could be anything from a nice recolour to a...profile picture? Um, alright, that's cool I guess... If you were looking for a Legendary skin, you better be prepared to open at least ten boxes, as the 'official ' chance of unlocking one is 1 out of 13.5 (what kind of number is that?). Assuming that you were indeed looking for a Legendary skin, you might go ahead and buy that 11 boxes for 10 USD package, as you're (kinda) guaranteed a Legendary, right? This isn't even the worst part; the real kicker is that not only is it very possible to roll duplicates of cosmetic items, but the Credits you get to 'make up' for rolling a duplicate is only 20% of the original value of the item. So let's say that you rolled all duplicates in the 11 boxes you bought; you basically paid $10 to receive $2 worth of Credits. The only way to be guaranteed the cosmetic you actually want is to buy it directly with Credits, which is only obtained from rolling duplicates, which is only obtained from Loot Boxes. This isn't even taking into account everything wrong with their seasonal events, but I think I've made my point. For a full-price AAA game, this GAMBLING aspect to cosmetics is absolutely disgusting. It almost makes Gachas look like a good use of money.
TL;DR - I don't mind MT so long as they're done right. If it's to support the game development team for making a great game, then they in all respect deserve some cash. But if it's used by money-hungry corporations just to make more money, then it really, really detracts from the experience of the game, for me it does at least.
