The new Skyblock update has brought many features, including cookies, bits, gems, and upgrades, that are bought with real life money. Despite this, they call people who use real life money to trade items in that game "illegal" in the same update thread. They even refer to the header image of the update thread as "monetization_header" in the website code. This hypocrisy, combined with an earlier promise to never make their game P2W (Pay to Win), has outraged the Hypixel Skyblock community. You can even use the gems to speed up processes in game Clash-Of-Clans style. I want, and many other people want, to change that, not just to save Skyblock, but to prevent Hypixel from making their other games P2W.

 

EDIT: Paraphrasing from this forum thread by rqed (https://hypixel.net/threads/skyblock-update-0-9-how-it-is-p2w-gems-and-cookie-system.3321012/

 

"Skyblock has gone under an update (0.9 - Gems, Cookies, Election, etc.)
This update has caused the gamemode to become P2W (Pay to Win, you can pay real life currency to progress further, or provide yourself with advantages)
The new update includes many pay to win features, the main one being gems. You can buy gems from https://store.hypixel.net and use them to get an advantage in skyblock.
Spoiler: Webpage Screenshot

This simple screenshot shows the game is now pay to win in a few different ways by the description of the items.​
"Purchase profile and account upgrades from the Community Center"​
Notice how that is directly under "SkyBlock Gems can be used to purchase a variety of items in Hypixel SkyBlock." showing already it is pay to win, but gives a finer detail of just one of the things that you can use with gems.​
For those that don't know, the Community Center is an in-game detail. So that is the second time pay to win has come into play here, showing paying real life currency brings benefits to yourself in the gamemode.​

"Purchase Booster Cookies"​
The key word here is booster meaning that by skyblock's definition, it provides an advantage towards paying players.​
The way this is worse that normal pay to win is by using the word booster, it shows the feature that is being provided to players, can be boosted by using the gems you buy with currency, and exchange in game.​

"Exclusive SkyBlock Cosmetics through the in-game FIRE sales"​
Now this is not immediately pay to win, this is much like the runecrafting and carpentry skills in skyblock, that playing players can level up, but do not give an immediate advantage, if any. This detail may in fact change if Hypixel requires a certain cosmetic to be equipped or used to access other areas of the game, or get any item.​

Here are some screenshots:

https://hypixel.net/attachments/p2w-2-png.1977193/

 

Now notice here how one of the players here (not named) is infact a payed player. This shows the community even payed players recognize the fact that skyblock is now pay to win, much like other players do as well.

Also notice here how I did not discuss any in-game features (minion slots, cookies, etc.) simply because I didn't need to. Hypixel just made Skyblock pay to win in so many ways I didn't even need to include the in-game features that the gems could get you.

This thread was made for one purpose, to bring light to the fact that Hypixel SkyBlock (Persistent Game) is infact, Pay to Win.
There is no other way of looking at this other than that. If you still believe Skyblock is not pay to win, you clearly have not thought through everything said here."

 

Again, totally agree with everything he said.