New Feature in R191: Shards

crackninja

So as written, this is a loss that will appease those that would rage over RNG.  There is a way this could end up a win:  make these shards readily available through other means.  Like 25 shards for the 5E in scl9 progression, 25 shards for a rotating 5* in scl9 pvp for progression, vaults replace covers with large amounts of shards for a tier above what is removed (meaning a 2* cover is replaced by 25 shards of a 3*, etc).
My expectations are that it will be about 1 25th as generous

IceIX

Omegased said:

Hey IceIX, if a character I've bonused (or favourited, or whatevs) appears in the daily store, will i get an alert?

Not at launch, but likely later on, yes.

nordhofsweden

For 5* I quite like the new system, but I dislike it for 4* and especially 3*.

Why do I bh 3*? 
To get a 4* cover or to get a LL-token. I BH any character that'll get me there, but it'd be foolish to chase shards for more than 1 3* and that in itself is fine, but the probability of me getting that cover in a pack long before I have 300 shards are way too high.

Why do I bh 4*?
Mostly to champ them (but also or to get a 5* cover). It's kinda risky to target a character you're about to champ. If you get that cover in a pack you'll either "waste" your shards or continue fighting to get it from 270 to 271. (Ok, that means you'll get the LL-token so at least it's not a complete waste.)
I suppose it's gonna be better to target 4* with a few covers to go before they award you a 5*.

Omegased

when this launches, will everyone start with zero shards, or will things i've done in the past x time add shards?

is there any sweet launch freebie?

IceIX

Omegased said:

when this launches, will everyone start with zero shards, or will things i've done in the past x time add shards?

is there any sweet launch freebie?

Everyone starts at zero shards for all characters. Can't comment on a launch reward, but historically we have tended to give out stuff when we add/change a feature.

crackninja

HoundofShadow said:

As for Targeted Heroes, I find it strange that some are still surprised/disappointed that the concept of "balance" means "give and take". 

They are taking away something that didn't bother me and effectively charging me for it.  This is not a true improvement to the stated issue, thus, I'm disappointed (but definitely not surprised).  Again, this system does pave a way where they could be generous with the shards elsewhere in the game and make this awesome, but I have no reason to believe that will be the case.

Kolence

Just looking at LTs (or classics) it is fewer covers than with BH. 
With 400 pulls, we can expect 3 BH 5's and 17 BH 4's. 
Same amount of legendary pulls gives 6000 and 1200 shards, or 15 bonus 4's and 2.4 bonus 5's.

Now, it's true a BH cover could end up unusable, but as someone mentioned already, shards too have a downside of forcing you to commit to a character till the bar is full.

So, at first glance shards could be better than BH early on, before a character is fully covered, though with the lowered overall rate, not sure without more math Later on, it's definitely fewer covers overall.

Otoh, they can be bought with HP, which is nice. And can help characters that were not treated kindly by RNG. Without the risk involved with BH in that situation.

@IceIX
Can we pull from latest and earn shards for say a 0/5/5 5* character stuck in classics? 

jamesh

Actually, that's a pretty important question: can shards even be exchanged for champion levels? The screenshots shown in the initial post just show shards being exchanged to increase the level of a power.

If you can't use shards to gain champ levels, then that neuters one of the other current methods of acquiring 5* covers: bonus a 4* character whose champ rewards give out your chosen 5* character.

IceIX

Kolence said:

@IceIX
Can we pull from latest and earn shards for say a 0/5/5 5* character stuck in classics? 

Sure. Same rules apply as there were from Bonus Heroes. If it can be favorited, you can earn Shards for it.jamesh said:

Actually, that's a pretty important question: can shards even be exchanged for champion levels? The screenshots shown in the initial post just show shards being exchanged to increase the level of a power.

Yes, Shards can be traded for Champion levels.

Dogface

jamesh said:

Actually, that's a pretty important question: can shards even be exchanged for champion levels? The screenshots shown in the initial post just show shards being exchanged to increase the level of a power.

If you can't use shards to gain champ levels, then that neuters one of the other current methods of acquiring 5* covers: bonus a 4* character whose champ rewards give out your chosen 5* character.

If i look at the pics, I'd say yes. Okoye is at lvl 450, with 12/500 towards another champ level.

MoonKnight

@IceIX
This may have already been answered, but will these daily shard stores be one time sales, or will they be able to be repeatedly purchased for HP?

ThaRoadWarrior

@IceIX
I may have read it incorrectly, but do you get 3 shards towards a 5* just for pulling a legendary token, or do you get 3 shards for landing a 5* out of a legendary store?

Warbringa

I think overall it will be better than bonus heroes, the question though as it is replacing and not addition, is it enough to really impact dilution as players were hoping, probably not but we will see.

1.) As pointed out by other posts, each legendary token give you shards for both 4* and 5* so that is much better than most people are considering in their initial analysis
2.) If they provide enough shards through non-token rewards, that pull rate ratio may decrease closer to what traditional bonus heroes were.  I think if they want to make this feature a success, they need to be generous with the non-token rewards of shards so players actually feel and see the progress more than they did with bonus heroes.
3.) If you were "lucky" with bonus heroes, this may be a step back for you however those who were "unlucky" will probably appreciate it
4.) You can directly buy shards with HP - this gives HP a whole new value.  For many veteran players, HP is an excess resource that can't give you really any 5* progress (except indirectly through 4* feeder rewards) 
5.) As we expected, there is an additional revenue outlet for the game with HP being more valuable and directly purchased.  At first glance, it seems that only whales will be able to take advantage of this however any additional revenue to the game that is optional, as this appears to be, is a plus for the long-term sustainability of the game. 
6.) The ability to directly get the cover you want or need is a great improvement that can't be overlooked.  In my BH experience with 5*, getting that dreaded 2/5/5 cover distribution or any early 5 cover mix is rough since your BH draws can, in essence be wasted for near-term progression.  My 5* 5/3/1 Thanos can attest sitting there with 4 saved black covers. As all of my last 3 bonus hero covers for him have been black, the one power I don't need.
7.) There is more planning needed with this new system.  As mentioned by others, unlike the current system, you can't just switch bonus heroes whenever you want without starting at 0 for the new character

turbomoose

That looks like a great addition to the game, well done to the team 

looking forward to trying it out 

nycjonny

IceIX said:

Omegased said:

when this launches, will everyone start with zero shards, or will things i've done in the past x time add shards?

is there any sweet launch freebie?

Everyone starts at zero shards for all characters. Can't comment on a launch reward, but historically we have tended to give out stuff when we add/change a feature.

You did say they may come from shield clearance level. And since some of us have been at 200 for well over a year it stands to reason that if shards are given out that way the people stuck at cap should also get compensated. 

HoundofShadow

Is the number of times shards can be purchased for each character capped at 3?

IceIX

MoonKnight said:

@IceIX
This may have already been answered, but will these daily shard stores be one time sales, or will they be able to be repeatedly purchased for HP?

At launch, each set of Shards will be purchaseable from that store 3 times before they're "out" for that rotation.

ThaRoadWarrior said:

@IceIX
I may have read it incorrectly, but do you get 3 shards towards a 5* just for pulling a legendary token, or do you get 3 shards for landing a 5* out of a legendary store?

3 Shards per pull regardless of what you pull. Same as with a Standard Token. Pull an IM35? 3-star Shards.

nycjonny said:

IceIX said:

Omegased said:

when this launches, will everyone start with zero shards, or will things i've done in the past x time add shards?

is there any sweet launch freebie?

Everyone starts at zero shards for all characters. Can't comment on a launch reward, but historically we have tended to give out stuff when we add/change a feature.

You did say they may come from shield clearance level. And since some of us have been at 200 for well over a year it stands to reason that if shards are given out that way the people stuck at cap should also get compensated. 

Correct in that there may be retroactive rewards for changes to other systems. The flip from BH to Shards on pulls however, does not have any retro rewards is all.

Phumade

nordhofsweden said:

For 5* I quite like the new system, but I dislike it for 4* and especially 3*.

Why do I bh 3*? 
To get a 4* cover or to get a LL-token. I BH any character that'll get me there, but it'd be foolish to chase shards for more than 1 3* and that in itself is fine, but the probability of me getting that cover in a pack long before I have 300 shards are way too high.

Why do I bh 4*?
Mostly to champ them (but also or to get a 5* cover). It's kinda risky to target a character you're about to champ. If you get that cover in a pack you'll either "waste" your shards or continue fighting to get it from 270 to 271. (Ok, that means you'll get the LL-token so at least it's not a complete waste.)
I suppose it's gonna be better to target 4* with a few covers to go before they award you a 5*.

I largely agree with these concerns.  but in actual practice I don’t see it as a problem.  As a high volume wins focused player.  300 shards is not a meaningfully large number.  In actual play i could be wrong, but it won’t feel any slower or faster than it already is.  I.e. if it feels like I can earn 300 shards in 2-3 days then I’ll be fine with progress.

i do agree that high level player frequently change their bh s based on rewards.  So I do think 1/2 progress should transfer over when you change the favorite status.  I personally change bh status based on how close to next lt etc.  as 4* covers drop from events, let’s etc I will reran and resort who is prioritized based on results

i would be annoyed if I had 15 chars with between 200-300 shards

overall I agree that 5* are rare enough that people WANT to see their progress.  But 3* and 4* bh are common enough that people need to immediately use the full cover vs split progress.  I.e. it okay to wait longer for the bh to hit, because people plan around the reward trees in that tier.

personally if I can earn a tier a day, then it’s fine I won’t complain about numbers and 1/2 filled shard meters.  But while I earn a few 4* a week, some players might be 4* a month or longer. 1/2 filled shards will cripple that tier of player.

jamesh

I guess another way to look at this is that it removes a gambling mechanic from a game that appeals to children.  That alone seems like a good thing on principle.

Phumade

I really hope favorite combos and or tier sort at team select shows up.  Nothing is more annoying when you can t find chars cause you don’t know their buff number