Is it possible to play as a f2p player and make real progress in this game?

Roco32373
Roco32373 Posts: 10 Just Dropped In
in MtGPQ General Discussion
or are you forced to spend?  Thinking of giving it another shot. 
«13

Comments

  • Kinesia
    Kinesia Posts: 1,621 Chairperson of the Boards
    It is. You need a lot of patience, but you can get a fair way through just playing absolutely everything and saving up.

    My wife and I have spent a little bit but we'd _mostly_ be in the same place regardless. It's moved us a little bit ahead but not heaps.

  • Gilesclone
    Gilesclone Posts: 735 Critical Contributor
    I've been FTP for the last 5 or 6 months. I have all but 2 of the commons, 98% of the uncommons, 60% of rares and 30 mythics.

    I don't have the same choices as the whales, but I'm pretty competitive. It helps that you're playing the AI (which is pretty stupid sometimes) and not the player.  Nearly every day in TG I face decks with better cards.  I usually win.  

    So yeah, it can be done.
  • Roco32373
    Roco32373 Posts: 10 Just Dropped In
    Gilesclone said:
    I've been FTP for the last 5 or 6 months. I have all but 2 of the commons, 98% of the uncommons, 60% of rares and 30 mythics.

    I don't have the same choices as the whales, but I'm pretty competitive. It helps that you're playing the AI (which is pretty stupid sometimes) and not the player.  Nearly every day in TG I face decks with better cards.  I usually win.  

    So yeah, it can be done.
    Did you spend money at first? Or f2p the entire time?
  • Gilesclone
    Gilesclone Posts: 735 Critical Contributor
    edited September 2017
    I did spend money early on.  But because of the pitiful drop rates, it didn't get me much. I have an abnormally high percentage of SoI cards because of that.  But SoI isn't standard so I rarely use them.  My standard cards are virtually all FTP and I have nearly the same percentages there.

    Unless you're willing to spend a fortune, spending money only gets your cards faster, not more of them.
  • Roco32373
    Roco32373 Posts: 10 Just Dropped In
    Gilesclone said:
    I did spend money early on.  But because of the pitiful drop rates, it didn't get me much. I have an abnormally high percentage of SoI cards because of that.  But SoI isn't standard so I rarely use them.  My standard cards are virtually all FTP and I have nearly the same percentages there.

    Unless you're willing to spend a fortune, spending money only gets your cards faster, not more of them.
    Gotcha. Thank you. 
  • Doomstat
    Doomstat Posts: 115 Tile Toppler
    I haven't spent anything on the game and I place in the top 100 consistently when I put forth effort. I've been actively playing from 11/16 to now, but have had an account from when the game started.

    The only thing I can suggest is make sure you only buy planeswalkers you want to play. I bought a Chandra 2, maxed her out and regret it every day I scroll past her.
  • Mainloop25
    Mainloop25 Posts: 1,959 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited September 2017
    I've spent $140 total on this game. But I also have an alt account doing very well that I have spent no money on. I can consistently place highly in events when I try, but be prepared to spend a lot of time in lieu of cash. If you want to spend money, i would only spend on cards you really want. Don't buy planeswalkers, pay crystals for them in a month. 
  • khurram
    khurram Posts: 1,090 Chairperson of the Boards
    You don't have to spend money. Spending money does not guarantee anything in this game (unless of course you are buying the occasional exclusive card). You should do fine if you play all events (except the daily trial of the planes, don't play it unless you are in platinum tier) 
    Eventually you will start to place better and your collection will improve. I had close to 90 mythics before I spent any money on this game and even then to buy the exclusive guaranteed mythic. I had been playing for more than a year though and those were also different times, better rewards etc.
    Not sure what it's like for a newbie player these days.
  • morgue427
    morgue427 Posts: 783 Critical Contributor
    mostly f2p also have bought some cards but mostly packs when new sets come out if they caught me low, mostly though just playing the story line using what you can win will get you a long ways. yes it will be slow but steady if you are consistent. in the pvp if a deck wrecks you try to learn from it, rob the ideas shamelessly lol and try to make your own version of it, save your runes and crystals for new pws when you have enough to max them out. a lot of grinding really but i find the story line heroic challenges are a decent place to test new decks plus you get runes fro winning, so win win really
  • UweTellkampf
    UweTellkampf Posts: 376 Mover and Shaker
    I have spent something like 8 dollars on this game and am today able to compete for high ranks in the events. To come there it took me about 3/4 of a year and lots of luck in getting crucial cards. I have grinded through the whole of story mode, played pretty much every event and many, many quick battles. It was easier to progress in the past, than it is now - at least this seems to be the case in my perspective. The awards were prettier and drop rates "felt" higher. A friend of my started two months ago, she is playing a lot and she is progressing with a quite impressive pace. 

    I would say: Try it for 2-3 months. There are some key cards (like new perspectives) which make your life (and winning) easier, so if you get those fast, you will get your wins faster. I also agree with @morgue427 regarding the story mode: you can get crystals fast and use them for cards and pws.
  • hawkyh1
    hawkyh1 Posts: 780 Critical Contributor
    I've always been ftp. recently I've ranked top25 gold tier
    quite consistently. consider joining a coalition. it helps
    with cards, decks and having more fun. it takes a bit
    more planning if you don't start with a strong hand.

    HH
  • Emanon2000
    Emanon2000 Posts: 156 Tile Toppler
    I've spent loads on my primary acct.  I have a f2p account to test things when the system crashes... like right now.
    I have acquired all of the PW's except one and I have enough to buy it when it comes back around.

    I have a lot of cards in it that my 'Paid' acct doesn't have and wish to He(double hockey sticks) had.

    I've been playing a long time and my 'Paid' account has YET to get a Masterpiece even with the purple crystals.  My F2P acct has 2 Masterpieces!!  WTH!!  

    I haven't spent anything on packs at all!!  Just buying PW's until I get them all.

    Needless to say... Yes.. a F2P account can be competitive.  Especially in the new events where older packs are removed from the competition.
  • Sarahschmara
    Sarahschmara Posts: 554 Critical Contributor
    Once one gets involved with an active coalition, the rewards start stacking up pretty quickly. 

    We don't judge people who spend money--everyone has a fun budget and if spending a bit of money is going to make the game more fun then go for it!

    We do recommend only buying "guaranteed" things like PWs or special cards since getting those a few weeks before everyone else can acquire them can be a fun advantage. The packs should be considered on the same level as slot machines though. 

    I've spent $10 to get some crystals for Kiora because I didn't want to grind story mode and I thought it was a good value for my time. I've got a pretty good card collection (and even a masterpiece!) but I've had the advantage of working with a great group and have had a steady stream of coalition rewards. I am capable of playing for a competitive team (although I prefer not to) but I'm not good enough to make the top 25 in platinum. 

    It it is possible to find success without spending money... but the trade off is time. Lots of time. Besides playing the events, I also spend time reading the forum, the subreddit, and 3 different slacks. I do about 1.5 hours of data entry a week and probably another hour coordinating everyone's schedules. I spend time maintaining positive relationships and exchanging information with friendly rivals because we need healthy teams to compete against. But I also get access to expert advice from top players 24 hours a day so I think it's worth it. 
  • speakupaskanswer
    speakupaskanswer Posts: 306 Mover and Shaker
    I'm in a near-top-10 coalition and I haven't spent a single cent on this game. So, yes, it is possible if you don't want to play in the big leagues right from the start.
  • morgue427
    morgue427 Posts: 783 Critical Contributor
    got to work you way up to it like most do, time and patience will help you most keep getting boosters doing the challenges for the card and crystals and get new pws based on what cards you are stongest in, after you can start replacing the single colors with dual colors. but make sure you are ready with runes stored up dont bother buying the extra decks, yes it is a pain changing for every challenge or several at the same time but it is worth the time investment for that bit of gain. good luck
  • morgue427
    morgue427 Posts: 783 Critical Contributor
    as madwren said some cards you pay for (exclusive cards only available to be bought while it is the newest set) are stupid strong i would advise you to play and learn the game before you buy any 40$ is a steep price for one card especially if you arent positive you can take full advantage of it. learn the game and mechanics and when they come up you will know that they are worth it, otherwise just plug along and try to figure out how to work agaisnt decks containing those pay cards.
  • shteev
    shteev Posts: 2,031 Chairperson of the Boards
    Quite possibly, and this is probably the right time to attempt it. Drop rates are at an all time low, but the Cycling mechanic is extraordinarily broken, and you don't really need any mythics to take advantage of it; rares like Drake Haven, Shefet Monitor, and New Perspectives are amoung the most powerful cards the game has ever seen. Crucially, the AI opponent (we like to call him Greg) has no idea how to use cycling cards, so you have a huge advantage over him.

    I'd add the caveat that Cycling has done a number on my RSI, so watch out for that.
  • Jason_peters_36
    Jason_peters_36 Posts: 6 Just Dropped In
    IM SORRY, BUT NO,NO,NO,NO....... this post is full of either paid off people posting to entice people not to give up on this game, or are actual game devs or connected to them. i have spoken to dozens of players in game and out of the game, and I have not found 1 player who has had a different experience than me. Ive been playing since the day this game came out, still using the same account and all. And in the entire time ive been playing( mind you that i am a 20+ year MTG card game veteran, who has multiple real-world tourney first place wins under my belt), NOT ONCE have I gotten a masterpiece card. And ive opened 5 of those blasted pink packs already. Which I had to pay money to buy currency bundles to do so. Due to the fact that also, NOT ONCE have I been able to reach past 400 in ANY AND ALL EVENTS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH TIME AND EFFORT I PUT INTO IT. THIS GAME IS MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY PAY.TO.PLAY, BUT ITS ABSOLUTELY PAY.TO.WIN, and 98% of the time, PAY.TO.HAVE.FUN. FOR MONTHS I HAVE JUST FELT LIKE I AM CONSTANTLY GRINDING JUST TO GET ENOUGH CURRENCY TO BUY SOMETHING SINCE THE DAILY LOGIN PACKS AND REWARDS DONT HELP MUCH AT ALL, I HAVE ALL THE COMMONS, BUT STILL NOT ALL OF THE UNCOMMONS, ABOUT 1/8 OF RARES, AND A PATHETIC BATCH OF MYTHICS. MOSTLY USELESS ONES. YAY. Soooo please quit this misinformation, its downright mean to new players, and old players alike.

  • Thuran
    Thuran Posts: 456 Mover and Shaker
    Hi there, im Thuran. I am part of a top 3 coalition, and rarely lose a PvP event. Once arlinn Lord comes back I will have every walker and already own most hou cards and all truly relevant cards (cycling). 

    I also haven't spent a single cent on the game and came back less than a year ago :) so yes, very very possible to reach the very top of the game without ever spending a dime :)

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