Who wants to be a Whale? Poll

OneLastGambit

This post is one of curiosity really, some of my friends play video games on consoles (as do I) some buy all new DLC when it comes out some don't. Some people like to cheat and beat the game without restriction.

I was curious, with all the talk recently of how much simpler and straight forward the game is if you're a top end player and/or whale would people honestly prefer it? Or do they (like me) prefer it to be a game where all the best rewards are hard to come by (however that difficulty manifests itself).

NOTE: This is not a poll about RNG vs Non-RNG there is a few threads for that elsewhere. It is simply a poll to determine how many would prefer to have a game without restrictions.

So for the poll - Imagine you have infinite money and so can buy any and all covers that you want instantly, would you find this more fun or less fun? Explain your answer

Wooodd

Its a No from me.

If I could have and level all characters straight away, then why play?

The whole point of the game (for me at least) is to push to get the characters built and leveled, once this is done why keep playing?

uberhamster

I clicked Yes. A lot of the joy of the game for me is being able to try out new combinations of characters. I find it a serious bummer to know that when there's a new character, they won't be viable in my roster for a ridiculously long time, or would be impractical to roster.

Like for instance, I have a maxed HB and JG, and a couple of X-23 covers. I love X-23. She's my favourite Marvel character! But I'm not whaling her because even if I drop the $100, I'd need to wait 2 months before I had to ISO to level her, and I'm not bothering because she doesn't slot in particularly nicely next to either of my current maxed 4*s.

By contrast when there's a new hero in games like Heroes of the Storm, I'm happy to just plonk down some game currency or Earthcoin and enjoy the new content at 100% power without a slog.

I'd like MPQ a lot more without the RNG and the covers and the grinding. Would happy pay MMO subscription rates to just get content to PLAY with, not run forever on this treadmill of infinite artificial carrot scarcity.

Unknown

I know each of us have differing opinions of what "fun" is.

I don't think "fun" is getting stomped over and over in PVP, or not having the requireds for PVE.

I would much prefer to have a solid roster from the get go and level up/build it over time, than to start from scratch and deal with the frustrations associated with that.

Lastly, part of "fun" is not wasting my time. I know we can go back and forth on this, but if I can save some time and frustration by "whaling" some characters, of course I will do it. Entertainment should not be ultra frustrating.

Unknown

I'm a whale and I put NO.

I'm selling Surfer because my 5* pull rate isn't very good (2.85%) and it has made Growth Industry unplayable for a roster that has two characters at 202, followed by a 188, a 172, and 3 166s.

Spending money seems to hurt me more than it actually helps and that hurts to drop a stark and the game be worse off.

Handoftheking26

If I have to choose between getting chars too easily or waiting for years to even have a chance to play with the best chars...I'll take too easy. Since many players already have maxxed 4*s right after they are released, at least this way I could compete, and use the chars that are the most fun.

Punisher5784

TxMoose

there are definitely different levels of whaling. I never considered myself a whale but apparently anyone who spends on average $10+ a month is considered one (according to a recent post). my average is about $20 but I tend to by a stark every 5 months or so. I've never gotten anything as soon as it came out. things I've bought with hp - 3 covers for thor, 3 covers for loki, 1 cover for cap, 1 cover for hb (last red), 2 covers for jean (last purple and last green). rest has gone to roster slots and shields. thor/loki was my pvp team that kicked off my 3* transition (this was pre-fist, just barely) and hb and jean are serving the same purpose for my 4* transition. for me, the spending I've done I think has helped me go through the transitions faster and faster progression is more fun than slower progression. I've climbed into top 2%-5% in performance and have yet to make my 1 year anniversary. I'm having a blast, but by no means do I 'have everything'.

edit: didn't read op before I voted. I voted yes because I'm technically a whale and I'm having fun. infinite money - not sure that would be 'fun' for long. I like the pace I have and while I can afford more than I spend here, I don't like spending more than I do on a mobile game. for the infinite money/hp/iso question - I don't think that would be 'fun' for very long. unless everyone else got the same - then we're all on the same playing field. I justify spending a little here and there because I'm striving to compete with many who've played the game for 6 months to a year longer than I have (and that comes with advantages). I'd be interested to see how much fun some of the superwhales are having with gameplay (those with maxed 5*s and x23 already). there's also a social aspect to many alliances that would be there whether or not your gameplay is fun.

OneLastGambit

I used to be a strictly F2P player until OML popped out of a token. I then grudgingly dropped a few dollars to get a roster slot for him when he was about to expire. That's the only purchase I've ever made. Would I spend more? not at the prices quoted. I can't justify spending $100 for a stark when I only paid six times that for my car and $140 for a console. I might be more inclined to spend if there were more benefit to buying a stark, but to spend that much just for the chance to get something good is not a good risk/reward ratio for me.

I earn a fairly decent living (though I certainly don't qualify as rich) and I still wouldn't because value wise I don't feel as though it is worth it. Obviously some do (or have so much money they never have to consider value) but not I.

It's interesting that you say there a many different levels of whaling - I'll take that into consideration if I run a follow up poll.

Blahahah

To whale or not to whale...

For me, as it is, I would love nothing more than to finish my **** Ant-Man (Gimme like 11 more Growth Industries and I've got it).
Would I like to whale it? Yeah sure, I wouldn't mind whaling a LOT of things. There are combinations I've been dying to try...

That being said, would I enjoy being a whale? Probably not.

There is that small pokemon-pack joy when you pull the holo hitmonchan.
There's that yu-gi-oh pack fresh feeling of getting just the right card you need for your new deck.
There's that Magic the Gathering moment where you spent $3.99 and pulled that super strong planeswalker that lets you take things in a whole new direction.

I wouldn't want to lose out on that, even if the going is slow... Every new cover makes me feel stronger! Its not just a notch in the belt, it becomes a step in a journey.

One more Black Panther cover? One step closer to a Black Panther/Kingpin combo I've been meaning to try!
One more SWitch cover? Awesome, I've been meaning to try her on more than one team.
One more Electra cover? One step closer to bringing the pain in a way not everyone expects.

PeterGibbons316

OneLastGambit wrote:

So for the poll - Imagine you have infinite money and so can buy any and all covers that you want instantly, would you find this more fun or less fun? Explain your answer

I said "Yes", but I don't like the "infinite money" assumption. I have the ability to buy covers for new 4* characters if I think they are worth it, and I find this makes the game more fun for me. During the second run of Galactus I managed to pick up 2 extra Rulk covers from tokens, and as soon as he was added to LTs I somehow got 2 covers in a row for him, so I whaled him the rest of the way to 1/5/5 and maxed him out at lvl 233. I've been using him A LOT in PvE, and also some in PvP since he has been boosted ever since. Without picking up those extra 2 or 3 covers he really wouldn't be usable for quite a while.

The fun part though is being able to use a new character....to acquire other new characters. With infinite money you could just purchase a maxed out roster, and then there is nothing left to play for.

People give whales a hard time with this assumption. "What's the fun in progressing in the game if you can just buy all the progression?" But only a handful of whales are actually buying EVERYTHING. Most "whales" are like myself - they spend a bit to speed up their progress, which makes the game more fun now, rather than later. A lot of people seem to have fun playing maxed JeanBusters in PvP, so why not spend a bit of money to get there sooner rather than later?

simonsez

I think there's a broad range of opinions as to what a whale is. Are we talking about someone who buys the last 2-3 covers they need for a particular character they want to use, or are we talking about someone who spends a fortune to max out their 5*s so they can beat any team without having to think about it, and can float at insanely high scores without getting harassed much?

Malcrof

simonsez wrote:

I think there's a broad range of opinions as to what a whale is. Are we talking about someone who buys the last 2-3 covers they need for a particular character they want to use, or are we talking about someone who spends a fortune to max out their 5*s so they can beat any team without having to think about it, and can float at insanely high scores without getting harassed much?

In his OP, he says this is to see who would rather be able to instantly get all new chars, and max them immediately, versus earning them through grinds/pvp/tokens etc..

Which is why some of the answers confuse me.. This is not a discussion on whales..or what you think it is, or what you are or could do.. this is a simple .. you want it all right now, or do you want to earn it... poll.

Me personally, i have bought a couple covers.. but like in any RPG, i would rather earn it.. i like the sense of accomplishment.

simonsez

Malcrof wrote:

In his OP, he says this is to see who would rather be able to instantly get all new chars, and max them immediately, versus earning them through grinds/pvp/tokens etc..

Yes, but the subsequent discussion has evolved in a lot of different directions.

In terms of the original question being asked, the fact that we're still playing the game, rather than exclusively farting around with a sandboxed account, answers that question.

XandorXerxes

simonsez wrote:

I think there's a broad range of opinions as to what a whale is. Are we talking about someone who buys the last 2-3 covers they need for a particular character they want to use, or are we talking about someone who spends a fortune to max out their 5*s so they can beat any team without having to think about it, and can float at insanely high scores without getting harassed much?

Any definition of whaling probably needs to take into account what the money is used for. If this game had cosmetics and someone threw $10,000 into buying all of them, I wouldn't consider that whaling. If a new player buys 5 40-packs then buys covers for the 4*s (s)he pulls, that's definitely a whale. Normally I'd define it as "if you've spent money to buy covers," except the game is pretty much designed to "encourage" you to buy covers thanks to a slow trickle of rewards. If levels counted more for power I'd say them too, but you can get respectable power with max-covers at a sufficiently-cheap level.

If whaling is spending money to get ahead but the game is designed for its players to do that, then is it whaling or are you just falling behind if you don't spend money?

Unknown

One simple whale emoji added to the forums could solve all of this whale debate.

One whale? You spend $20/mo.

Two whales? You buy a 10-pack when good events happen.

Three whales? You fill in 4* cover gaps and will drop loot for that 40-pack just for the leg token.

Four whales? Whales combine to form MEGA WHALE! You buy everything in sight. Money's no object to you, and only serves to further your quest to maintain the box of sand you live in.

It's like the California Tortilla chili-pepper ratings on their hot sauce, only the stakes are lower.

Malcrof

deiXide wrote:

One simple whale emoji added to the forums could solve all of this whale debate.

One whale? You spend $20/mo.

Two whales? You buy a 10-pack when good events happen.

Three whales? You fill in 4* cover gaps and will drop loot for that 40-pack just for the leg token.

Four whales? Whales combine to form MEGA WHALE! You buy everything in sight. Money's no object to you, and only serves to further your quest to maintain the box of sand you live in.

It's like the California Tortilla chili-pepper ratings on their hot sauce, only the stakes are lower.

found it!

OneLastGambit

I suppose an addendum to the original post, given the confusion it's caused would be this.

You have infinite money and can buy everything is it more fun to buy everything or not?

People keep saying that they hate the slow progress and random drops so I wondered if you completely removed that barrier would people still find it fun?

I don't think they would, all the things you truly value in life are the things that are a massive struggle to obtain or keep. The struggle makes the reward feel much better. Hence why people like having kids, insane struggle to raise them but people consider it the most rewarding thing in life

Unknown

I'd say I WANT to be a whale, because this game's been a ton of fun and has done me a lot of good.

But there's nothing that's worth spending on. It's like, 20 bucks to upgrade a 4 star one cover, ten bucks for 3 roster slots, and so on. That's nothing that I'd call fun.

Now, if I had to pay a dollar (Not 200 HP, $1.00 USD) or something to enter Growth Industries? I'd be interested. If there was some other buy-in PVE event with some new gameplay content in it? I'd be a'ight for it.

But I don't want to pay for progress. That just feels super unsatisfying.

XandorXerxes

OneLastGambit wrote:

I don't think they would, all the things you truly value in life are the things that are a massive struggle to obtain or keep. The struggle makes the reward feel much better. Hence why people like having kids, insane struggle to raise them but people consider it the most rewarding thing in life

This isn't a struggle for a reward. Rewards are locked behind a pay-wall and a lottery wheel. The Gauntlet is a rewarding struggle (and a real frustration when you hit that last node and don't have a required character) for many. Things that require immense technical skill are rewarding for someone to develop that skill (if he or she is lucky). This is a match-3 game. It doesn't require struggle, it requires an incredibly large time commitment. That's what the economic model is based on.

Do you want to spend a few thousand hours getting those shiny 4 and 5*s? Or do you just want to throw down $300 and coast there?

OneLastGambit

XandorXerxes wrote:

OneLastGambit wrote:

I don't think they would, all the things you truly value in life are the things that are a massive struggle to obtain or keep. The struggle makes the reward feel much better. Hence why people like having kids, insane struggle to raise them but people consider it the most rewarding thing in life

This isn't a struggle for a reward. Rewards are locked behind a pay-wall and a lottery wheel. The Gauntlet is a rewarding struggle (and a real frustration when you hit that last node and don't have a required character) for many. Things that require immense technical skill are rewarding for someone to develop that skill (if he or she is lucky). This is a match-3 game. It doesn't require struggle, it requires an incredibly large time commitment. That's what the economic model is based on.

Do you want to spend a few thousand hours getting those shiny 4 and 5*s? Or do you just want to throw down $300 and coast there?

I definitely don't want to throw down 300 of my hard earned dollars for it. Give me the time commitment any day