Runes, Where fore art though runes?

Furks

The new training grounds seems to be rewarding more runes than it used to

Enygma6

They did bump up the Runes rewards for the Standard version Training Grounds.  Legacy version still has the older reward values.

Stalker

If its about money sell instant rune packs in the store, or better yet the full amount needed for that walker in the bundle. I’m a paying player but quickly stopped buying walkers cause of the runes situation. New bolas? Sorry still working on the first one. Came in this game when karn dropped. They need to make it easier for new players to catch up. And having different walkers makes the game fresher. But no incentive to get them so they can be stuck at low level. 

TomB

I think they'd sell more PW's for cash if they bundled them with enough runes to level them to 60 as part of the package...

Stalker

Well they have 8 days left to entice the sale of bolas by fixing the runes not being available. I don’t care how fun or good he is if I am rune poor. My $40 will stay in my account. If the game closes due to lack of sales every missed opportunity is to blame. Not just one.

AzraelCB

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

Mburn7

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Stalker

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

I see a little of what u r saying but what tools are there for new players? To tell a new player you’re not allowed to use money to catch up to the long term but very small population of players now?? Rng still rules supreme. If u want the game to last longer than the path its going there needs to be ways a player can spank his wallet to catch up. This is a pay to play game. If people don’t pay its hard for them to justify rebewing licenses. If everyone has maxed pw’s who does that hurt again? Last I checked there is crickets all over the coalitions forum. Thats healthy.

only argument I can see is to force people to play daily for runes when they have got what cards they want/need/can afford and use the crawl rate of leveling pw’s as the only hook left.

Furks

I don't see why a new player should have to grind for 6 month before getting access to the fun part of the game.

I hate bringing this up, but in Hearthstone the ONLY thing players spend currency on is cards. (ignoring cosmetic stuff) it's the same with paper magic too, you just buy cards. It's a card game after all and they are the focus of the game. As a player, you will always be happy with more cards (or orbs, which translate to extra cards)

I just feel like this game is trying too hard to put progression everywhere. Cards, deck slots, planeswalkers, planeswalker levels, mastery... Its like this insurmountable mountain and you never get to enjoy the view from the top.

Focus on the cards and the planeswalkers, ditch the rest.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I don't think everyone will agree with this, but I think that a game designer that wanted the best for the game would make executive decisions like this instead of just trying to keep the ship afloat. 

Gabrosin

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

This is really a tremendously bad attitude to take.  The problem Azrael voices is real.  The game has accumulated enough content that getting into it from scratch feels daunting, which is not a good place to be for any game.  Games need to grow with new users and new revenue sources or they stagnate and die, and there are thousands of other games out there for a player who gets discouraged by this one.

Responding to that with "well, new players shouldn't expect to get to play with the best toys" is self-defeating.  Imagine if paper Magic said that you couldn't use your mythic cards until you had been playing for at least six months, and you should content yourself with commons and uncommons until you had earned your way in... but you're still going to be playing against players who've got those cards, and if you can't hack it, tough luck.

Worse, you followed by posing a question and then straw-manned two terrible responses to it, as if anyone but you was suggesting those things.  It's actually not Azrael's responsibility to solve the problem he's highlighting.  It's great if we, the community, can come up with suggestions for the devs to consider, but the problem is on them.  And if they ignore it for too long, the game is at risk of withering and dying from lack of growth.

Mburn7

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Responding to that with "well, new players shouldn't expect to get to play with the best toys" is self-defeating.  Imagine if paper Magic said that you couldn't use your mythic cards until you had been playing for at least six months, and you should content yourself with commons and uncommons until you had earned your way in... but you're still going to be playing against players who've got those cards, and if you can't hack it, tough luck.

The thing is, you can get mythics at any level of play here.  I got Drowner of Hope in my first Zendikar Big Box purchase.  That card got me through every event up until standard became a thing.  Anyone can get a lucky pull, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm speaking from a complexity issue.  In paper, new players usually start with a mono-color deck for a while, and then as they get a better grasp on the game they slowly add more colors to their comfort zone.  Even though their friends/opponents may be playing a 5 color deck, they won't build one because they don't understand how to make it work yet.  That is how progression works in MTGPQ as well.  You start with the basic mono-colors (Origins Walkers), and then slowly work up from there.  First to better mono-colors, then to 2 colors you feel more comfortable using, and then everything else.  I would not recommend Karn or Bolas to a new player because of how complex deckbuilding becomes with that many options.  Sure, the mono-colors aren't as good, but they are a good cheap starting point for a player to begin amassing their collection and skills.

Also, back to your comparison to paper magic, have you ever played commander?  As a newer paper player (started around 2009) I have a roughly 0% chance to compete in vintage formats with pretty much anyone without spending hundreds of dollars buying old cards.  My extremely limited collection is just not good enough for the format.  At least here everyone has a chance to get the same cards for "free" (only cost is time and luck).  I mean, a total beginner in my coalition (playing less than 2 months) pulled an Olivia from a free booster.  I've been playing for 2.5 years and don't have her.  Newer players have the same chance to catch up as anyone else does without spending any money.  All it requires is some patience.

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Worse, you followed by posing a question and then straw-manned two terrible responses to it, as if anyone but you was suggesting those things.  It's actually not Azrael's responsibility to solve the problem he's highlighting.  It's great if we, the community, can come up with suggestions for the devs to consider, but the problem is on them.  And if they ignore it for too long, the game is at risk of withering and dying from lack of growth.

My straw-manning was definitely a bit much, but those are the only real solutions I can think of for how to allow new players to "catch up" to the more entrenched players without a lot of grinding.  Also, its a pet-peeve of mine when people aggressively complain about things and don't provide an alternative.  What purpose does your complaining serve?  And say we listen to you, then what?  If you can't think of a better system, then you'll just be unhappy with whatever changes are made.

Stalker

Mburn7 said:

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Responding to that with "well, new players shouldn't expect to get to play with the best toys" is self-defeating.  Imagine if paper Magic said that you couldn't use your mythic cards until you had been playing for at least six months, and you should content yourself with commons and uncommons until you had earned your way in... but you're still going to be playing against players who've got those cards, and if you can't hack it, tough luck.

The thing is, you can get mythics at any level of play here.  I got Drowner of Hope in my first Zendikar Big Box purchase.  That card got me through every event up until standard became a thing.  Anyone can get a lucky pull, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm speaking from a complexity issue.  In paper, new players usually start with a mono-color deck for a while, and then as they get a better grasp on the game they slowly add more colors to their comfort zone.  Even though their friends/opponents may be playing a 5 color deck, they won't build one because they don't understand how to make it work yet.  That is how progression works in MTGPQ as well.  You start with the basic mono-colors (Origins Walkers), and then slowly work up from there.  First to better mono-colors, then to 2 colors you feel more comfortable using, and then everything else.  I would not recommend Karn or Bolas to a new player because of how complex deckbuilding becomes with that many options.  Sure, the mono-colors aren't as good, but they are a good cheap starting point for a player to begin amassing their collection and skills.

Also, back to your comparison to paper magic, have you ever played commander?  As a newer paper player (started around 2009) I have a roughly 0% chance to compete in vintage formats with pretty much anyone without spending hundreds of dollars buying old cards.  My extremely limited collection is just not good enough for the format.  At least here everyone has a chance to get the same cards for "free" (only cost is time and luck).  I mean, a total beginner in my coalition (playing less than 2 months) pulled an Olivia from a free booster.  I've been playing for 2.5 years and don't have her.  Newer players have the same chance to catch up as anyone else does without spending any money.  All it requires is some patience.

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Worse, you followed by posing a question and then straw-manned two terrible responses to it, as if anyone but you was suggesting those things.  It's actually not Azrael's responsibility to solve the problem he's highlighting.  It's great if we, the community, can come up with suggestions for the devs to consider, but the problem is on them.  And if they ignore it for too long, the game is at risk of withering and dying from lack of growth.

My straw-manning was definitely a bit much, but those are the only real solutions I can think of for how to allow new players to "catch up" to the more entrenched players without a lot of grinding.  Also, its a pet-peeve of mine when people aggressively complain about things and don't provide an alternative.  What purpose does your complaining serve?  And say we listen to you, then what?  If you can't think of a better system, then you'll just be unhappy with whatever changes are made.

As a brand new player who bought karn, his being able to work all colors especially in ixalan events allowed me to try each color immediately and with great results where had I been forced to mono it with 5 seperate low end walkers may not have had much fun and been even more discouraged having wasted runes on them. Let alone feeling I wasted spending money not having access to daily badic modes.
But your point of giving time to learn mechanics before getting into dual, tri colors is valid. Most who like me played paper magic and to be forced the long slow road is ****. I should be able to speed things up to competitive level should I choose. Again I want to know why allowing people to fully max their pw’s and have more variety to easily try out their card collections is a bad thing?
afraid new bolas is too much? Money talks. Its also the only thing keeping the game going. Keeping all the non bolas owners from maxing their pw’s only makes that bolas purchase that much more enticing right? Cause peoples card collections is where balances in this game show. I just want an argument where maxing pw’s will kill the longevity or balance of the game? 
Hoping people don’t have required walker for an event and them getting it but not being able to max it make the event better for old guard? Does it ruin matches seeing level 60 walker vs ones own? Would it create a bigger void between paying players and free?

Gabrosin

Mburn7 said:

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Responding to that with "well, new players shouldn't expect to get to play with the best toys" is self-defeating.  Imagine if paper Magic said that you couldn't use your mythic cards until you had been playing for at least six months, and you should content yourself with commons and uncommons until you had earned your way in... but you're still going to be playing against players who've got those cards, and if you can't hack it, tough luck.

The thing is, you can get mythics at any level of play here.  I got Drowner of Hope in my first Zendikar Big Box purchase.  That card got me through every event up until standard became a thing.  Anyone can get a lucky pull, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm speaking from a complexity issue.  In paper, new players usually start with a mono-color deck for a while, and then as they get a better grasp on the game they slowly add more colors to their comfort zone.  Even though their friends/opponents may be playing a 5 color deck, they won't build one because they don't understand how to make it work yet.  That is how progression works in MTGPQ as well.  You start with the basic mono-colors (Origins Walkers), and then slowly work up from there.  First to better mono-colors, then to 2 colors you feel more comfortable using, and then everything else.  I would not recommend Karn or Bolas to a new player because of how complex deckbuilding becomes with that many options.  Sure, the mono-colors aren't as good, but they are a good cheap starting point for a player to begin amassing their collection and skills.

Also, back to your comparison to paper magic, have you ever played commander?  As a newer paper player (started around 2009) I have a roughly 0% chance to compete in vintage formats with pretty much anyone without spending hundreds of dollars buying old cards.  My extremely limited collection is just not good enough for the format.  At least here everyone has a chance to get the same cards for "free" (only cost is time and luck).  I mean, a total beginner in my coalition (playing less than 2 months) pulled an Olivia from a free booster.  I've been playing for 2.5 years and don't have her.  Newer players have the same chance to catch up as anyone else does without spending any money.  All it requires is some patience.

Gabrosin said:

Mburn7 said:

AzraelCB said:

The whole point of runes is to contol the tempo of progression in this game. The problem is that the tempo is too oppressive for new players. I feel like I will never catch up to my clan mates... another 3 color planeswalker in this set? Yeah, a part of me wants to share some harsh language with the one who thought that was a good idea. I already hate the first Bolas because his abilities are too effective and cheap for a Walker that has access to 3 colors. Let's do it again AND set our casual and new players further behind because of the oppressive leveling... good show... let me point you in the direction of hell so you can go there.

I mostly agree with what you're saying (although not the tone), but I would counter with one thing:

Why is a brand new player trying to purchase and level Bolas?  New players should really start with just a mono-color of each color and maybe 1 or 2 of the good dual colors, and then focus on building their collection.  Someone new to the game should not be spending 850 crystals and a million runes on Bolas.  I don't get why people think they can pick up a game like this and have all the best stuff in a month.  It took me about 6 months after I started playing just to get to the point where I was competitive enough to start buying walkers instead of cards as a rule instead of an exception (Kiora being the main exception). 
Why should it be any different now when it is so much easier to accumulate resources than it was when I started?

And besides, what is your solution?  Stop making new content for a year so that everyone can "catch up"?  That's an objectively awful idea.  Flood the game with currency?  That's not a bad idea from a player perspective, but its awful from the business side of things.  If you're going to criticize the developers this harshly, then you better have a way to do it better that is reasonable.

Worse, you followed by posing a question and then straw-manned two terrible responses to it, as if anyone but you was suggesting those things.  It's actually not Azrael's responsibility to solve the problem he's highlighting.  It's great if we, the community, can come up with suggestions for the devs to consider, but the problem is on them.  And if they ignore it for too long, the game is at risk of withering and dying from lack of growth.

My straw-manning was definitely a bit much, but those are the only real solutions I can think of for how to allow new players to "catch up" to the more entrenched players without a lot of grinding.  Also, its a pet-peeve of mine when people aggressively complain about things and don't provide an alternative.  What purpose does your complaining serve?  And say we listen to you, then what?  If you can't think of a better system, then you'll just be unhappy with whatever changes are made.

So the thing about paper Magic is that you have a choice about which events to participate in.  You might decide to play Standard and Modern but skip Vintage/Legacy and Commander, or vice-versa.  Maybe you'll only play limited.  You can invest money in cards to the level you're comfortable, and target it towards the play experiences you find most rewarding.

In PQ we've only got a small handful of events to participate in.  Sure, you could be super-casual, only play in Training Grounds, pass on caring about anything else... but the cost of acquiring content (cards/PWs) is very high, and the only way to defray it is to play frequently and amass content for "free".  It's all digital, there's no resale value, so it's harder to justify putting cash into the system knowing you'll never be able to take it back out.  There's no equivalent to opening a $$$ card in paper Magic... even securing the best mythics and masterpieces, a nice feeling, isn't like knowing you've acquired an asset that will let you have fun playing it OR you could turn it back into cash OR you could trade it for cards you want even more.

But the problem at the root of this thread is that PQ includes a second barrier to enjoying what you've acquired that you have to overcome, whether you pay cash or crystals for it.  There's a reason businesses invest so much time and energy and money into making the checkout process as quick and painless and convenient as possible for customers.  Every time a player decides "okay, I'm willing to pay $40 to get that PW three weeks early and not have to spend crystals on it" but then stops to think "wait, I don't have the runes right now to take that PW to a reasonable level, so I may as well spend three weeks saving my runes" and then doesn't buy it... it's a systematic failure for everyone involved.  PQ wanted that money.  The player wanted to spend that money, play with that planeswalker.  No one walks away happy here.

Also, your view on walkers and complexity is completely backwards.  Set aside Karn and his funky rules for a moment: multicolor walkers are the easiest to build with, and monocolor walkers the hardest.  Bolas 1 is the first PW I recommend to every new player; I only suggest the intro walkers because it lets them play while building up the necessary crystals.  For players with small collections, being able to access the best cards they own across multiple colors is vastly better than trying to win with cards from just one color.  It's only when you've got a very strong collection that you can comfortably build winning monocolor decks.

Buizel

I can't even get my original Bolas anywhere near level 30 without breaking my back. I'm still trying to level pretty much anyone else because it feels more satisfying to level a planeswalker 1 or maybe 2 levels than to see my runes explode and move Bolas up by half a level. 

Bil

   Honestly, I've been playing the game for 2 years and i never really felt the leveling of walkers through runes had any positive impact on the sales, or on any aspect of the game.
   The argument of paying 30 or 40 bucks to get something you won't be able to play with at full potential ( without hours of additional rune grinding) is actually a very bad point for sales IMO.
    Besides, as they is no direct and reliable way to buy runes for cash, it's not even a perspective of further incomes.
    It would make sense to sell walker bundles with enough runes to level the walker to 60 ... From a financial point of view that would probably boost the walkers sales without having much impact on the game balance, as the main issue around here is to collect the cards.
   

Gunmix25

Suggested in a different thread to make Standard TG daily prize 5000 Runes instead of crystals and keep the legacy TG prize as is. I think that would help a lot imho

TomB

Bil said:

       Besides, as they is no direct and reliable way to buy runes for cash, it's not even a perspective of further incomes.

You know, that's a very good point. Making runes more easily available wouldn't cost the company a thing, would it? Or do they think people buy cards hoping for dupes so they get more runes out of the deal?

Hateborn

TomB said:

Bil said:

       Besides, as they is no direct and reliable way to buy runes for cash, it's not even a perspective of further incomes.

You know, that's a very good point. Making runes more easily available wouldn't cost the company a thing, would it? Or do they think people buy cards hoping for dupes so they get more runes out of the deal?

That's the thing - that's the only way to "buy" runes that is always available it to mass-purchase packs, which will typically net you less than 20k runes for ever $100 you throw at gems for packs.  Yes, we currently have the Historic Bundles that can be purchased multiple times, but $25 for a pack that includes 15k runes is still a terrible price when you consider the cost involved in leveling up Karn, Bolas, or even dual-color walkers.  It paints a bad image when the cost to purchase a mono-color walker and then pay for 100% of their leveling comes out to over $100 when taking advantage of the most cost-efficient rune acquisition available and there are still 43 additional walkers at this time.  

I've talked with several friends that play this game as well and we're all of the opinion that the new walkers coming out look like they could be fun, but none of us are shelling out the cash for any of them this time because we all have multiple walkers still left in our "leveling queue".  The leveling system, or at least the severe rune drought, is going to actually cost D3 sales with a lot of players who'd otherwise be happy to buy these new walkers.

Kinesia

I want all new walkers to have a "questline" like the tutorial that Nissa has at the start. You end up with the first 20 levels, learn how to use the abilities, it's fun and you don't have to level them the current broken way.

Aeroplane

I'm surprised they haven't used a new version just to revamp the whole system whether its to increase stability and improve game play. they seem to be just throw a patch here and stack another block on top and hope it doesn't collapse. 
 Why doesn't TG have the same rune bonus as Heroic Encounters? There is no reason whatsoever for this. 

Story Mode could have a random card and PW generator mode. Easy- only PW mana bonus Hard- +2 to all mana bonuses.

Numerous improvement ideas circulate these forums but there seems to be mundane improvements. The new sets are great , but the rest of the game is very Vanilla in form. Mana ruins should never be a problem , but hey they have some weird marketing ideas.