Rant from an original player

2

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Copps wrote:
    If you play this game regularly you should have all the new characters anyway.

    How? I can't pull thor 3, bp or SR and recently without them how do you finish high enough to earn them? Believe me I've tried. Paid my share lately in failed efforts to pull them.
  • _RiO_
    _RiO_ Posts: 1,047 Chairperson of the Boards
    CoolB76 wrote:
    _RiO_ wrote:
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Is it even a game anymore if we are being herded and prodded in specific directions by the developers? That's not a game, they might as well be my boss's at work telling me what to do. Talk about taking the joy out of something fun.
    Welcome to "free-to-play & monetization"; we hope you'll enjoy your stay. [/snark]

    Welcome?? I'm quite familier. Maybe I'm guilty of believing this game was being built a bit differently. .

    That bit of snark was aimed at the game; not you.
    Behind all the cracks in the plaster, the game's beginning to show its true colors. Namely: "Monetize all the things!"

    Look at that statement and then look back over time, observing the big picture a bit:

    Shields were introduced as a means to curb broken MMR, which would've allegedly required too much work to make sustainable. It's probably more to do with the fact that shields cost HP and can thus be monitized. We've heard there would be ongoing effort to fix broken MMR, but sofar; nope. Still screwed up. And it's been what? A quarter year now?

    European players have complained again and again about unfavorable event closing times in the dead of night. We get tossed the occasional bone with closing times on sub-events, but almost never on any main event with rewards that really matter. You want to have even a ghost of a chance at claiming the top rewards? You have to shield, or sacrifice your sleep. Will this ever get fixed by splitting the ladders into US and EU? No, likely not. Why bother when just leaving it alone means you've got a built-in market with a more or less guaranteed trickle of HP-sales stemming from HP drained by shielding. And if someone ever complains? Just point them at the dumbed down sub-events or claim that "the playerbase is mainly American" and let a few of the suck-up regulars do the job of stomping out the fire.

    Boosts were nerfed by making the good ones cost HP, because too many people were using them to win matches they shouldn't, upsetting the MMR and upsetting PvE scaling. But really; that little excuse just got another monitization hook put in place. And later, when the boost system got re-engineered to allow stacking? Do the math and figure out what a stack of equal power to the old boost power costs you vs. what the old boost power really did cost. You'll find that things have actually become more expensive...

    And then alliances. Woo boy, where do I start with this one. Ok. First off; this was introduced as a 'for fun' addition. It was not. Under the excuse of 'awarding them to more players', many rewards were shifted into the alliance ladder, mandating that you join an alliance to obtain them. So people joined alliances or founded their own. A bit steep at 2500 ISO, you'd think. But nothing compared to the cost of expanding your alliance. And that's something all alliances are forced into while making their way to the top. Why? Because the naive but oh so cleverly engineered ranking system relies on the most simple implementation possible: basic unweighed point aggregation from all members, which is heavily biased in favor of large alliances. Does this get fixed? No ofcourse not! Instead the population cap is raised with 5 even more expensive member slots to buy. And everyone pays for it again!


    It's sickening, yet we all continue to play.
  • Copps
    Copps Posts: 333 Mover and Shaker
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Copps wrote:
    If you play this game regularly you should have all the new characters anyway.

    How? I can't pull thor 3, bp or SR and recently without them how do you finish high enough to earn them? Believe me I've tried. Paid my share lately in failed efforts to pull them.

    The hulk tourney awarded a full set of torch covers. The torch tourney when most people were 111 awarded cap sr covers and I competed with the freebie torch on that one so I didn't have to keep reviving my level 20 torch. Those two are just off the top of my head and don't you only need to finish in the top 100 to get a 3 star cover which allows you to compete in the required nodes.

    If you want to do well in this game you are going to need to keep at least acquiring the new characters. I ran into this problem after I gave up on thick as thieves because it wasn't fun. I didn't get a daredevil which kept me locked from some nodes to get psylocke but keeping my eyes open for them allowed me to pick them up and eventually make up for it.

    You also should be expanding your roster. Nothing in the game will help you as much as having enough space to keep all the characters even if they aren't levelled. For instance in the last simulator event doom was buffed for one of the rounds he wasn't new but he was almost necessary to compete in that round as he was incredibly buffed and scaling had made opponents hard to kill otherwise at that point.

    Tldr get roster slots make sure you get at least one cover of new heroes.
  • AdamMagus
    AdamMagus Posts: 363 Mover and Shaker
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Is it even a game anymore if we are being herded and prodded in specific directions by the developers? That's not a game, they might as well be my boss's at work telling me what to do. Talk about taking the joy out of something fun.

    I do agree with this comment. They keep saying they are making the game "challenging" but lately it seems to be more of a chore to play the game, what with constantly limiting the characters we can use, or only boosting the characters less than 3 weeks old.

    At times it doesn't feel like what a game should be: fun

    They keep throwing the word "challenge" around, but I don't think it means what they think it means, what they call challenge to me it feels like a grind, a chore.

    This is a mobile game after all, yes it's available on Steam as well, but first and foremost it's a Mobile game, these types of games are not supposed to be so frustrating

    I play Dark Souls 2, that's where I get my challenge and From Software has managed to keep it fun, this game is not challenging, especially when so many aspects of it are based on luck (cascades) or getting a good board

    Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the game quite a bit but am concerned with the direction the game is headed
  • PorkBelly
    PorkBelly Posts: 535 Critical Contributor
    The game does urge you to "keep current" by buffing & featuring new characters for events.

    That being said, those players who have maxed spidey & c mags are those who have the least amount of trouble dominating pvp & pve regardless of buffed/featured characters.

    I would definitely trade my 7 cover buffed lazy cap in this event for either of those two.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    CoolB76 wrote:
    allorin wrote:
    I agree with the point about only boosting newer chars to the detriment of those that built solid older chars. However, if you're a regular player you should have the newer chars too - I know I do. So you shouldn't really be missing out compared to other players.

    You've been playing longer than I have (I'm on day 159), but I have a solid two star roster, the likes of OBW and C Storm nicely boosted for the current PvE.

    I'm confused as to how / why you're feeling phased out. Where exactly are you suffering?

    I can only agree with this because I can dot not spend a lot of money on the game. Still having 22 slots with 16 being 3* star isn't shabby. And to be honest recently I have spent quite a bit in hopes of pulling a Steve Rogers, BP, Thor 3* or psylock. However the only one I have pulled is Psylock and that is out of my hands, I can't control what I pull and without having those specific cards I am unable to compete in events recently to get high enough to win one as a reward.

    I could have built 10 armies of 2 star cards but prior to the final release that wasn't necessary. Why would I have built 2* cards in the early days anyways? With the ratio of 3* cards so low for so long I pulled tons of 3's. I had a small army of well buffed 3's probably a month or 2 into the game. 2 star cards were fodder then.

    I have to be honest, all I'm hearing is "I haven't played the game optimally till now, and I'm frustrated."

    You've mentioned spending, but you only have 22 roster slots. I've always prioritised roster slots with my HP, so I have 37. I'm on day 159 - I've had my 1st 141 (Hulk) for about a week or two - it took me that long to get all the covers I need. (Needless to say I've pulled several Hulks since.) So honestly, I think having 22 roster slots regardless of make-up IS shabby - you need more.

    You're saying you can't compete in the recent events to win the newest covers - well, you need to change your strategy. With a solid 2* roster I was able to compete enough to get my first 3* covers. Now I can compete to get more. You say you could have built an army of 2*s but "it wasn't necessary." I, an army of other players, and your own inability to compete would disagree with you. A solid 2* roster sets you up for further success in the game. There are 3 2* covers buffed in the current event.

    You say you have 9 3* covers around level 70. Several people have already told you that's a poor strategy, and those chars currently won't serve you well. If you have 3 3* covers with max covers you need to be putting all your ISO into those chars, to the detriment of others. You need to be building towards a lvl 141 roster, as you seem to have put all your eggs in the 3* basket.

    I don't get your point about the transition from a 'beta' release to a 'full' release fundamentally changing the game. I don't think it has. I think (based on what you've said) it's more likely that your low level 3*s served you well when your PvE / PvP MMR was low enough that you could have success with them. Now you've reached that plateau that most people who have got to the solid 2* roster reach, where the game becomes more difficult due to your MMR and you need to transition to 3*. Only, you never built the solid roster you need to do that effectively.

    Tl;dr - you've not made the best of the game so far, but it's not too late. Build a core two or three 3*s to 141, and prioritise roster slots so you can have a diverse and useful roster for upcoming events.

    Edit: I have neither Spidey nor C Mags in useable form.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Since the final release the boosted cards and special node (the ones where you need a specific char to complete) have been predomenately BP, Thor 3*, Psylock, and Steve Rogers. Over and over and over again.

    LT is really hard to come by but the others were offered in abundance. How come your wife have them and you don't?

    (Btw in recent PVE featureds are LT, Cap and HT, BP and P slips to the past...)

    In the last months it is clear tendency to offer prizes and make them featured in next weeks.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Copps wrote:
    Thor has been given out 4 times

    4 times? when?
  • Talahamut
    Talahamut Posts: 231 Tile Toppler
    CoolB76 wrote:
    KaioShinDE wrote:
    You say that boosted chars make only the newest chars viable for the tournaments, but only one or two out of half a dozen or more boosted chars are new. I'd say that boosted characters are one of the prime motivators to build a large roster even and to go back and use different heroes each event and not just your three highest level chars and no one else.

    Since the final release the boosted cards and special node (the ones where you need a specific char to complete) have been predomenately BP, Thor 3*, Psylock, and Steve Rogers. Over and over and over again.

    It's been that way since they started requiring certain chars for events. Months ago it was IM40 & IW, then Punisher & Hulk, then DD, BP, & Psy, now LThor, LCap, & HT. They always require the latest set of new chars.
    It would be cool if they'd require an older char for one of the event missions once in awhile...
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Thor was offered 3 times: last Simultaor Basic, and twice in Heroic Jugg.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Is it even a game anymore if we are being herded and prodded in specific directions by the developers? That's not a game, they might as well be my boss's at work telling me what to do. Talk about taking the joy out of something fun.
    I don't completely agree, but I do see what you're saying. It seems that in trying to promote fairness and increase challenge, they've done so by limiting options.

    Boosts were originally meant to promote usage of lesser used characters iirc from past dev posts. Now it seems closer to a compulsory than an incentive.
  • HailMary
    HailMary Posts: 2,179
    CoolB76 wrote:
    I only mentioned my 7 level 70+ 3 stars and my 9 other 3 stars that I have been unable to boost yet. I have not specified what level my remaining 2 star cards are. Furthermore I don't know what kind of struggles you have gone through but I rarely lose to 2* cards even if they are level 85. This is an assumption but I woudl guess I even defend 30% of attacks which I feel is pretty good. I win at at least 95% of attacks but we're gettign off track here because this has nothign to do with my complaint.
    You said that you consistently have fewer event-boosted characters than your low/mid-tier friends do. That means their rosters contain a notable set of characters that yours is missing. Events in the past month or so have featured/boosted everything from new 3*s to legacy 3*s (Doom, GSBW, Loki, Daredevil), from solid 2*s (see current PVE) to 1*s (Heroic Juggernaut).

    To be blunt, 22 slots is too few. I'm at Day 95ish, with 34 slots, a core team of L115 3*s (LThor, BP, CMags, Hulk), 4 maxed 2*s, and a smattering of unleveled/low-leveled 3*s. I am F2P, so your comparatively limited roster is not simply a consequence of a "shift towards monetization." The best thing you can do right now is to invest in more roster slots (Falcon and UberDaken are coming), and if you've thrown away most of your 2* chars, I suggest you start reacquiring the stronger ones.
    CoolB76 wrote:
    How? I can't pull thor 3, bp or SR and recently without them how do you finish high enough to earn them? Believe me I've tried. Paid my share lately in failed efforts to pull them.
    I got 3/3/3 LThor solely from event placement rewards, starting with the recent Hulk PVE. I've gotten two LThor yellows since via token pulls. I believe 4/4/4 of BP were given out, in total, across all events (I got something slightly north of 2/2/2 from event placement, I think). Psylocke 1/1/1 has been the top-tier cover reward in more than one event. I cover-maxed Mr. Rogers (with covers to spare) after Round 1 of Heroic Venom. Even without an alliance, you could've gotten 5/5/1 in Mr. Rogers purely from individual event placement.

    Depending solely on lucky token pulls is a highly inefficient way to gain covers for new 3*s.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I have to agree with Allorin on this. I think your problems arise from being a long term player with a mid level roster. I agree that the game leans towards new players, as it should, but in no way do I feel they have any advantage over a developed 3* roster. Mid tier has the toughest time with the game because they are getting sniped by lower tier rosters and eaten up for 'base points' by high tier rosters.

    If you play the LRs and events next week and focus on ISO collection rather than placement, you should earn enough to bring a few of your 3*s to 100. You should see a drastic improvement after that. Focus on leveling an a-team, and you'll be stomping faces in no time. ISO is handed out like candy now, if you work at it, you can easily have 3 of those guys maxed in a week or two.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    allorin wrote:
    CoolB76 wrote:
    allorin wrote:
    I agree with the point about only boosting newer chars to the detriment of those that built solid older chars. However, if you're a regular player you should have the newer chars too - I know I do. So you shouldn't really be missing out compared to other players.

    You've been playing longer than I have (I'm on day 159), but I have a solid two star roster, the likes of OBW and C Storm nicely boosted for the current PvE.

    I'm confused as to how / why you're feeling phased out. Where exactly are you suffering?

    I can only agree with this because I can dot not spend a lot of money on the game. Still having 22 slots with 16 being 3* star isn't shabby. And to be honest recently I have spent quite a bit in hopes of pulling a Steve Rogers, BP, Thor 3* or psylock. However the only one I have pulled is Psylock and that is out of my hands, I can't control what I pull and without having those specific cards I am unable to compete in events recently to get high enough to win one as a reward.

    I could have built 10 armies of 2 star cards but prior to the final release that wasn't necessary. Why would I have built 2* cards in the early days anyways? With the ratio of 3* cards so low for so long I pulled tons of 3's. I had a small army of well buffed 3's probably a month or 2 into the game. 2 star cards were fodder then.

    I have to be honest, all I'm hearing is "I haven't played the game optimally till now, and I'm frustrated."

    You've mentioned spending, but you only have 22 roster slots. I've always prioritised roster slots with my HP, so I have 37. I'm on day 159 - I've had my 1st 141 (Hulk) for about a week or two - it took me that long to get all the covers I need. (Needless to say I've pulled several Hulks since.) So honestly, I think having 22 roster slots regardless of make-up IS shabby - you need more.

    You're saying you can't compete in the recent events to win the newest covers - well, you need to change your strategy. With a solid 2* roster I was able to compete enough to get my first 3* covers. Now I can compete to get more. You say you could have built an army of 2*s but "it wasn't necessary." I, an army of other players, and your own inability to compete would disagree with you. A solid 2* roster sets you up for further success in the game. There are 3 2* covers buffed in the current event.

    You say you have 9 3* covers around level 70. Several people have already told you that's a poor strategy, and those chars currently won't serve you well. If you have 3 3* covers with max covers you need to be putting all your ISO into those chars, to the detriment of others. You need to be building towards a lvl 141 roster, as you seem to have put all your eggs in the 3* basket.

    I don't get your point about the transition from a 'beta' release to a 'full' release fundamentally changing the game. I don't think it has. I think (based on what you've said) it's more likely that your low level 3*s served you well when your PvE / PvP MMR was low enough that you could have success with them. Now you've reached that plateau that most people who have got to the solid 2* roster reach, where the game becomes more difficult due to your MMR and you need to transition to 3*. Only, you never built the solid roster you need to do that effectively.

    Tl;dr - you've not made the best of the game so far, but it's not too late. Build a core two or three 3*s to 141, and prioritise roster slots so you can have a diverse and useful roster for upcoming events.

    Edit: I have neither Spidey nor C Mags in useable form.

    Lol nice but this rant is a boat after the final release. Go back and read thoroughly not selectively.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    CoolB76 wrote:
    _RiO_ wrote:
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Is it even a game anymore if we are being herded and prodded in specific directions by the developers? That's not a game, they might as well be my boss's at work telling me what to do. Talk about taking the joy out of something fun.
    Welcome to "free-to-play & monetization"; we hope you'll enjoy your stay. [/snark]

    Welcome?? I'm quite familier. Maybe I'm guilty of believing this game was being built a bit differently. .

    Nah. You just got caught up in the courting and romance stage of the relationship. Now you are on marriage year 4 where you argue on whether or nit you should be having kids and why he hasn't proposed yet hule the devs wonder why you don't put out like you used to.
  • HailMary
    HailMary Posts: 2,179
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Lol nice but this rant is a boat after the final release. Go back and read thoroughly not selectively.

    Lol nice but obvious troll is obvious.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    As a fellow original player I don't agree with your comments. The game has changed a lot and much of it was for the better. For instance if we still needed 50 covers to max level a character, do you think there'd be more than a few people with more than one maxed character? What about if tournaments didn't have brackets as was originally the case.

    You are correct that the changes in the game are geared toward generating money as is explained in that ongoing article where the ceo discusses their changes to increase ARPDU. I don't have the link on me but it's worth a read. I think newer players have the hardest time because they don't have featured characters. As an original player like myself, the only thin that would have prevented you from having every character would be that you didn't play optimally in every tournament. They were all awarded. Would you like them freely handed out to everyone? No, you have to earn something in a game or it isn't fun (thats why cheating has always baffled me).

    Anyways as others have mentioned, you can certainly optimize your play style in order to improve your roster.
    1 get into an alliance that will finish top 100.
    2 join events as late as possible and boost so that you get a weak bracket.
    Follow these two steps and you shouldn't miss out on any more characters.
    3 ignore pve for the most part, pvp gives as much iso and is less annoying.
    4 do lightning rounds. They are worth 5-10k iso each if you play the whole way.

    So those are my steps for you to improve your roster and your chances of getting new characters.
    Use them if you like.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I'm not going to point fingers because I didn't come here to fight with a bunch of so-called know it all’s that answer without reading (and comprehending) first but hot damn some of you people are daft!!!

    The complaint is about game play changes after the final release!! Plain and simple. Some of you may have accepted the changes and are willing to pay hand over foot to compete but that quite simply wasn't the case prior to final release. If you spent any substantial cash before final release then you were doing things wrong!!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    HailMary wrote:
    CoolB76 wrote:
    Lol nice but this rant is a boat after the final release. Go back and read thoroughly not selectively.

    Lol nice but obvious troll is obvious.

    edit
    nevermind. Not worth it.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Shamusyeah wrote:
    As a fellow original player I don't agree with your comments. The game has changed a lot and much of it was for the better. For instance if we still needed 50 covers to max level a character, do you think there'd be more than a few people with more than one maxed character? What about if tournaments didn't have brackets as was originally the case.

    You are correct that the changes in the game are geared toward generating money as is explained in that ongoing article where the ceo discusses their changes to increase ARPDU. I don't have the link on me but it's worth a read. I think newer players have the hardest time because they don't have featured characters. As an original player like myself, the only thin that would have prevented you from having every character would be that you didn't play optimally in every tournament. They were all awarded. Would you like them freely handed out to everyone? No, you have to earn something in a game or it isn't fun (thats why cheating has always baffled me).

    Anyways as others have mentioned, you can certainly optimize your play style in order to improve your roster.
    1 get into an alliance that will finish top 100.
    2 join events as late as possible and boost so that you get a weak bracket.
    Follow these two steps and you shouldn't miss out on any more characters.
    3 ignore pve for the most part, pvp gives as much iso and is less annoying.
    4 do lightning rounds. They are worth 5-10k iso each if you play the whole way.

    So those are my steps for you to improve your roster and your chances of getting new characters.
    Use them if you like.

    22 spots should be fine when filled with mostly 3 star. I couldn't care about 2 star cards and prior to final release if you needed 2 star cards then YOU were doing something wrong. I had no probs getting top 10 in most events prior.

    Hey it’s no sweat off my back if some of you let complacency get the best of you.

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