The psychological problem of elite packs

bumstuff

Full disclosure: I recently had a pull on the gambling machine lever that is the Elite Pack. Unsurprisingly, I got the worst card in the pack: Aetherworks Marvel.

This revealed to me a significant problem with elite packs: you know when you have been screwed.

There will always be a worst card in the elite packs, necessarily. Even if all the cards are relatively even in terms of their power (and that has resoundingly not been the case with the first two rotations), there will always be a card that somebody wants the least.

And, some amount of your players will end up enormously disappointed as a result.

I see three solutions. D3 needs to:

1) Make the contents of the pack an unknown, thus removing the possibility of getting the card you least want;
2) Allow at least one "re-spin", or
3) Increase the distribution of elite pack "events" such that disappointment isn't so crushing (i.e. make them cheaper, or increase the number of jewels handed out).

I get that elite packs are hard to get and that you have to save up for them. I get that there are better and worse cards in each pack. I get that "elite packs" are supposed to be the end game reward for the game's best (or biggest-spending) players. But I do not understand why D3 would set up a certain percentage of the people going all-in on their supposed end-game for crushing disappointment. They are shooting themselves in the foot.

Phase

Spending 400 of those things sets up an awful lot of feelbads. Combustible Gearhulk isn't making me too excited to spend another 400. I mean it's an OK card and all but it just doesn't feel like 400 jewels' worth. Couldn't imagine if I got a dupe or something. Then again that was always the problem with elite packs. The rate at which we accrue jewels is WAY too slow to make them something to get excited over. I may get to pull again in what, 6-8 weeks? Woo.

Things to reduce the bad feelings associated with the Elite Pack pull:

1) Disclose masterpiece chance from the pull. Right now it seems to be 10% or less. 4000 jewels later maybe I'll see one.
2) Give the jewels out at a better clip if you're going to be stingy with the masterpiece payout from these packs. It's pretty obvious it's not an equally weighted chance to get one.

Doubt the former will ever happen but the latter could happen with enough persistence from us and enough common sense from them.

shteev

bumstuff wrote:

But I do not understand why D3 would set up a certain percentage of the people going all-in on their supposed end-game for crushing disappointment. They are shooting themselves in the foot.

It's because people remember the excitement of that one post they read on social media where someone opened a Sword of Fire and Ice, and all the ones with people complaining about their bad pulls just blur into the background. In fact most people who get screwed don't even bother to post at all.

The psychology of what D3 are doing is solid, it's just that theyve chosen to screw much too high a percentage of their user base, and the result is this torrent of angry feedback.

speakupaskanswer

bumstuff wrote:

Full disclosure: I recently had a pull on the gambling machine lever that is the Elite Pack. Unsurprisingly, I got the worst card in the pack: Aetherworks Marvel.

This revealed to me a significant problem with elite packs: you know when you have been screwed.

There will always be a worst card in the elite packs, necessarily. Even if all the cards are relatively even in terms of their power (and that has resoundingly not been the case with the first two rotations), there will always be a card that somebody wants the least.

And, some amount of your players will end up enormously disappointed as a result.

I see three solutions. D3 needs to:

1) Make the contents of the pack an unknown, thus removing the possibility of getting the card you least want;
2) Allow at least one "re-spin", or
3) Increase the distribution of elite pack "events" such that disappointment isn't so crushing (i.e. make them cheaper, or increase the number of jewels handed out).

I get that elite packs are hard to get and that you have to save up for them. I get that there are better and worse cards in each pack. I get that "elite packs" are supposed to be the end game reward for the game's best (or biggest-spending) players. But I do not understand why D3 would set up a certain percentage of the people going all-in on their supposed end-game for crushing disappointment. They are shooting themselves in the foot.

I find all three solutions pretty intriguing and as I get close to opening my first elite pack, I'm afraid of this kind of disappointment.

shteev

speakupaskanswer wrote:

I find all three solutions pretty intriguing and as I get close to opening my first elite pack, I'm afraid of this kind of disappointment.

Have you thought about waiting for Amonkhet? I've got 538 jewels and I'm not blowing them on an Elite pack where I've got a high chance of getting a dupe KLD/AER mythic.

Of course, it's possible that the Amonkhet masterpieces won't be released at launch, and I'll be left with all my jewel for months on end.

madwren

Agreed. Waiting until you're sure to get a non-dupe--and maybe a masterpiece--is the best way to avoid disappointment.

voodoo_gremlin

At this point I'm waiting/hoping to have enough for an elite pack when Amonkhet comes out. New mythics and I don't own any masterpieces. I beat the system!

Furks

I decided to hit the lottery on the current rotation since I only own one of the possible cards (marionette master). I'll let you guess which card I got. After complaining to tech support, at first they told me they would only refund duplicate masterpieces. I Uninstalled the game and thought I was done with it. It was just so soul crushingly disappointing to see all that time/money spent being converted into runes.

About a week later I got a new email telling me they would actually refund it. I suppose I'll sit on this pack until a rotation comes around where I don't have any of the cards.

Fiddler

I too have been 'saving' my jewels. Not really sure why, because I do not play any where near as hard core as three months ago. So far I have collected 342 including the 100 bonus.

I can't spend any more cash because there is nothing for me to buy (unless I want to spend $50+ on single cards).

But for those who are spending cash, note that the more you spend the less you get. For example, your chances of getting a new mythic go down exponentially with each one your actually gather. Putting mythic cards into the packs just makes it worse.

Currently a legendary will cost about twice what you would pay directly for a mythic. But that's just for your first legendary. If you have spent money to get 3 legendaries, your fourth will likely end up costing 10 times as much as a mythic.

So I will sit on the $1,500+ I have spent over the past fifteen months and count myself lucky that I learned something about how games are monetized.

Azerack

I just had another great feelbad.. I opened a Kaladesh basic pack and got the same Mythic that I spent my jewels on for the first go-around.

I like the idea, too, for the "re-spin" as long as it doesn't re-roll the same card you're re-rolling on!

I don't keep up with the paper card game, though, so I'm glad others like you fine people do so I can know to hold onto my current jewels and wait for the next set to come out. I realize this doesn't mean I'll once again get a mythical dupe from a pack to an elite pack or vice-versa, but honestly, it would be nice to see new mythicals and be able to get one right off the bat (provided I don't actually get blessed with a masterpiece, instead).

BLKDarkness7

Furks said:

I decided to hit the lottery on the current rotation since I only own one of the possible cards (marionette master). I'll let you guess which card I got. After complaining to tech support, at first they told me they would only refund duplicate masterpieces. I Uninstalled the game and thought I was done with it. It was just so soul crushingly disappointing to see all that time/money spent being converted into runes.

About a week later I got a new email telling me they would actually refund it. I suppose I'll sit on this pack until a rotation comes around where I don't have any of the cards.

I don't know if it's been posted yet, but your one-time only "re-spin" is locked to the specific elite pack that produced the original duplicate. I found this out the hard way (pulled another duplicate). Terrible policy. 

majincob

It wouldn't be so bad if they kept the former system where you could potentially earn 2 mythic pulls a week from coalition events. Someone loves to say they "must" reduce the mythic payouts, but I'm still of the opinion they should just increase it for the lower tiers since that's the only way new players can play "catch up".

Onus

I wonder how long it will take them to realize this is what they need to change?

Mana Jewels are worthless because Elite Packs are worthless. You could probably give me 4x the amount of mana jewels and the elite packs would still be worthless. Whether it takes 1 week or 4 weeks to pull on the elite pack, it's still a dupe machine. But at 4 weeks the progression is agonizing slow, I'm not even sure it's still progression at this snails pace.

Let alone I doubt there's a masterpiece that is more powerful than starfield, startled awake, gaea's revenge, behold the beyond, etc. If you're going to take month's on end to get something you may as well chase those cards in other sets, which are more powerful than anything this stupid dupe machine will give you. 

Azerack

Actually, another thought is to treat the Elite packs like the Mythic packs (I know, it's been said before, but I feel it does bear repeating) where you ONLY have Elites in the pack and not Mythicals, and then a different Mythical pack for maybe 300 jewels?

Basically, if you want this to be something people enjoy achieving, then don't give them a reason to immediately sigh, roll their eyes, laugh sardonically or get upset (or all of the "above") by adding cards most of those players may already have.

I do believe you wanted to reduce the number of duplicates, yes? How about starting with that?