It defeats the point of having progression based cash offers, solo events, alliance events, etc.
If the best rewards are Realm Rewards going forward it devalues the need to do anything on the game other than pop crystals and catch them all. It’s completely outta balance and outta touch of the skill based elements that the game used to ask for.
It clearly steals from end game reward budgets to do this and will likely accelerate 8stars faster than they would have come as well. Realm events as they are currently structured as bad for the game and they are 3 for 3 under this design in creating community wide strife and controversy.
One. Banquet events have never been progression locked, so paying players could always “leapfrog” players who play the whole year. If this is the first year you’re complaining about it, then I don’t know why you’re suddenly triggered by this particular Banquet.
Two. Why would someone else buying rewards devalue it for your account? You either gain rewards the whole year and skip Banquet rewards, or get your whole year of rewards plus banquet rewards. Its not like the rewards get diluted by the number of paying players, but rather that it is additional rewards available. Paying players can’t buy the rewards you obtained the whole year.
Three. Kabam is clearly being more measured in its rank and stars progression (as evidenced by all the complaints about the lack of high end ranking materials), so your concern about 8-stars coming is already being planned for.
If your real answer is that you’re an avid BG player and want to stay in your same competitive tier without having to spend money, then I don’t know what to tell you aside from that’s how competitions work.
I don't see a problem with them adding extra rewards for higher spenders. I got my free Isophyne and that's all I want. If they had a Jessica Jones 7 star that might intrigue me to spend of extra units that I have grind already but I will most likely save my units. If other players who spend more money or units benefit from the added rewards, I personally don't see an issue with it. If new accounts get all these 7 stars to help progess, that's great to hear. I just don't want them complaining when they play BG in Platinum (or higher) or do hard content that it's too hard. They might have the champs but most of them didn't develop any skills or don't know how to read nodes. Keep the spenders spending so I can play this game without adds.
I agree with the premise that there is absolutely wrong with the highest spenders having them most things. I love the fact that they keep this game add free. That really isn’t connected to my concern.
The method of catching up being RNG through Banquet and Gifting in the past felt more targeted at rewarding the highest spenders only as well. It also did a better job of rewarding moderate spenders with rarer rewards. Now it’s all mid for high progression moderate spenders with it being insane for low progression moderate spenders. It’s just off kilter and feels like a reward redistribution program focused on undeveloped accounts at the expense of the grinders.
It used to be that they’d still need to actually progress in the game as well. This directionality signals a space where progression really will end up being meaningless, and this becoming a collecting game first and a fighting game second. I don’t like that direction.
That's not communism That's capitalism when any player spends money buying trashy crystals to get decent milestone rewards
When a proven account that puts zero effort into the game and just spends on the event gets access to these things… you’re right it’s a form of weird capitalism. But with this weird undertone of never having to do anything in the game. Just drop down that fat trust fund whale wallet and get endgame rewards with zero need for any skill. Might as well be a card collecting game at this point.
It must be nice to pretend that people that spend on the game have 0 skill and just throw money at it and don't actually play huh
If somebody is stuck at Proven with this many units, then I think it’s a fair assumption
Please show me the account that is “stuck at Proven” but also hitting every milestone in the realm event. Or did you just make up a hypothetical that isn’t happening to be mad about?
technically speaking...
16 day old alt account at Conqueror:
3 days later now at Cav:
with these champs all from GBCs, a few SBCs and just hitting milestones with the help of this:
Medusa would have been R2 at Conqueror but the crystal limit didn't expand enough until Uncollected, where I autofought Collector.
Lots of pre-planning of course, but a now 22 day old alt about to cross TB with almost as many 7*s as 6*s:
Crazy times here in MCOC!
But you were never “stuck.” You would’ve easily been able to handle the content even without the perks of Banquet. Plus we’ve seen speed runners hit Valiant completely F2P in under two weeks, again without Banquet.
The idea that Banquet is somehow allowing undeserving people to progress (also, absolutely lol at the idea of people being undeserving if they drop insane money on the game) is very silly to me.
Of course you can speed-run to Valiant with a new account if you know what you're doing. This particular experiment was to show that an event like this, with careful planning, yielded an account that autofought it's way to Act 6. I repeat: AUTOFOUGHT ENTIRELY TO ACT 6. After that Act 6 is still nutty enough to have to actually fight the Sentinels, nerfed Xbones and unduped Sentinel final Boss, but with that 7r2 Medusa it was quick work. I'll proudly say this was "unearned" since the first 5 times I did act 6 with other accounts it was with 4*s and some 5*s, and certainly not in 18 days.
I remember reading one post where Kabam said that we cannot make crystals op or else whales will increase the gap between them and non spending players, that is why we introduced realm rewards.
I also remember from the live stream on how this will be a chill event where everyone will be happy, the crystals are great, the realm event is for non whales and so on.
I also remember when kabam said that we hear your feedback and will improve the banquet for the 10th year.
Guess what people, whales now have a R4, multiple R3 where as F2P have not been able to get a single R3. I am not saying that there is Act 8, 9 and crucible. No, sometimes diverse rosters are required, sometime people lack a few things for next progression and these are the things that Banquet event has helped F2P players with. But it has been nothing but total hollow hype.
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Two. Why would someone else buying rewards devalue it for your account? You either gain rewards the whole year and skip Banquet rewards, or get your whole year of rewards plus banquet rewards. Its not like the rewards get diluted by the number of paying players, but rather that it is additional rewards available. Paying players can’t buy the rewards you obtained the whole year.
Three. Kabam is clearly being more measured in its rank and stars progression (as evidenced by all the complaints about the lack of high end ranking materials), so your concern about 8-stars coming is already being planned for.
If your real answer is that you’re an avid BG player and want to stay in your same competitive tier without having to spend money, then I don’t know what to tell you aside from that’s how competitions work.
The method of catching up being RNG through Banquet and Gifting in the past felt more targeted at rewarding the highest spenders only as well. It also did a better job of rewarding moderate spenders with rarer rewards. Now it’s all mid for high progression moderate spenders with it being insane for low progression moderate spenders. It’s just off kilter and feels like a reward redistribution program focused on undeveloped accounts at the expense of the grinders.
It used to be that they’d still need to actually progress in the game as well. This directionality signals a space where progression really will end up being meaningless, and this becoming a collecting game first and a fighting game second. I don’t like that direction.
I also remember from the live stream on how this will be a chill event where everyone will be happy, the crystals are great, the realm event is for non whales and so on.
I also remember when kabam said that we hear your feedback and will improve the banquet for the 10th year.
Guess what people, whales now have a R4, multiple R3 where as F2P have not been able to get a single R3. I am not saying that there is Act 8, 9 and crucible. No, sometimes diverse rosters are required, sometime people lack a few things for next progression and these are the things that Banquet event has helped F2P players with. But it has been nothing but total hollow hype.