The structure of elders difficulty feels like a soft nerf to your favorite characters.

I mean, it’s 90 matches.

It’s not a skill ask, it’s a roster ask. And a hefty one at that. You can sneak through about 5-6 matches with trash each round, but all in all, you kinda need 50-60 Ranked 6-7*’s to get through it with relatively little fanfare.

And that’s inaccessible to a large part of the community, particularly F2P.

Meanwhile, that’s a complete 180 to the approach of monthly events for the last ten years, as rewards are now tied to complete arbitrary set of numbers.

It’s just another example of Kabam moving the goalposts to serve their own interests and bottom line. And I don’t know how anyone associated with this company can look themselves in the mirror.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890068#Comment_2890068

They do it every morning easily because they make millions per month doing basically nothing.

They don’t make that many millions. 🤣 I was rather surprised, in fact, the first time I saw numbers being floated around.

And certainly not enough to account for their hubris.

Reminds me of the RDJ Wall Street rant.

https://youtu.be/GSTtLWpM3uU?si=EdnmlDQSmL0KzFAn

smdam38

There parts of the game that you can’t complete unless you playing at a specific time.

It makes zero sense and is dumb.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890085#Comment_2890085

They obviously make enough per month/year that everyone on staff lives quite comfortably. I doubt looking at themselves in a mirror makes them feel like they're hurting the playerbase.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890093#Comment_2890093

Honestly, I don’t think so.

Netmarble is clearly coming down on them quite hard to generate more revenue. They’ve all but surrendered their position in mobile gaming. Not-too-distant cuts in labor costs. Constant reminders of difficulties in performing basic tasks and unprofessional PR suggests they're understaffed and morale is low.

I think this company was mismanaged fiscally for the majority of its existence. I think the reason why the AI isn’t fixed is they don’t have the capital to do so. Because their squandered their profits on other failed gaming apps… and Relics.

Gameplay, server behavior, and something as small as compensation turnaround lead me to believe the facility is far from state-of-the-art.

A few dozen million a year isn’t much. Not in that sector. The company I work for could buy them and still make payroll, doing both in one pay period.

Honestly, I think they’re one stiff breeze or 3/10 of a recession away from liquidating those 2014 servers for all the copper and lithium they can find…

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890104#Comment_2890104

You do understand that even people that make 200k per year, once they've lived on that income year in and year out, once they start making 300k per year would want to keep it that way yes? Same principle applies here.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890117#Comment_2890117

Butte, I really don’t have a clue what you’re talking about or the point you’re trying to convey.

Because they make $300,000 now, they want to look into a $200,000 mirror?

Either way, I don’t think that tests well with corporate culture or the pursuit of wealth that comes with being in such a tax bracket. Simply because a $200,000 lifestyle requires a $300,000 annual salary.

Nevertheless, it gives me pause digressing on assumptions of hypothetical shared experiences together. Particularly when it seems the experiences we’ve shared on this game lead us to some different conclusions.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890122#Comment_2890122

then your clueless. Its not the amount that matters. Its the fact that the company employees are use to making a certain amount of income. If that amount drops too far they panic and increase prices for the customers. I promise you they make enough already they arent looking in a mirror of self pity, and if they are its because they are worried why they arent making even more money. Get the picture?

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890136#Comment_2890136

You’re heated. And becoming more and more incoherent.

You on that Montana Moonshine, Butte? You wild rascal, you!

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890143#Comment_2890143

Im more coherent than you'll ever be. If you can't understand what I'm telling you, that's your fault my guy.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890145#Comment_2890145

You ol’ Rum Runner!

We’re going to have to bring Karate Mike in here for a ruling on that previous crossword puzzle you call a reply.

Now, I’m going to go to bed. You behave yourself, Moonshine Montana. And may your AI be flawless and your radiance be plentiful!

This was an interesting read. In terms of the money, this isn't a target on F2P. Why on earth everything is boiled down to that is beyond me, but they're looking at other avenues for money because people aren't spending it in Questing, and haven't for some time. They're shifting, but they're not in the poor house trying to squeeze it from every Rev we use.

The Quest is a test of Roster depth. I've been saying for years that growing a Roster wide is just as important as having a few all-round "God Tier Champs", for lack of a better term. Too long have people been content-rushing with a handful of strong Champs and calling their Accounts advanced, and that is only one aspect of the game. Having a range of as many options Ranked as possible has always been a mark of progress. One that a number of people have ignored because they had their main team.

For some, it's an adjustment but it will be something they grow into over time. You don't need to spend, you just have to play the game and keep Ranking.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890149#Comment_2890149

The key to F2P is that’s how we all start. Introductory. And the task for Kabam is to change them into spenders. And if the game isn’t inclusive, they will not generate new revenue.

And, yeah, they did it for a while. Acts 1-4 are a breeze. Then, you hit that brick wall in Act 5, for your roster isn’t good enough. Of course, conveniently, that’s also when the AI begins to act up, forcing players to compensate with units and spending due to Kabam’s purposeful gameplay irregularities. This continues with Act 6 and AQ, but truly hits full circle when players enter AW. Because when the AI has masteries, that’s when Kabam can truly capitalize on frame skipping and perfect mash AI!

At that point, many players get accustomed to paying to make up the difference. We’d write Kabam support over the years asking what’s going on as things worsened, but they’d send us an automated response blaming our phones and internet connections.

Add onto that, there is need to “expand design space” yet “control the game’s economy.” So, now you’re spending a little, and you figure why not spend a little more? Because spending can save you time in-game! The time-cost of money!

Stop me if you’ve heard this hustle before.

Simultaneously, they introduce more and more powerful champions, which make previous champions obsolete. Next, institute Battlegrounds to let the players sort it out themselves by getting them to chase champs at an even faster rate, all in the hopes to remain competitive!

Rinse and repeat hustle.

The problem is, they only had short-term goals and no vision. One hand washing the other, so to speak. Because in their pursuit to get players to replace their obsolete champs with new ones, they’ve created champs that are way overtuned, overpowered, and “unbalanced,” killing their own baseline because no one needs to use units on content with the champs that they themselves designed.

Battlegrounds, what they used as a carrot to drive panic-induced, irrational purchases, actually made players better against the nodes they created, as we constantly practice against champs at 3x the PI of our own.

In their greed, they killed their own baseline. And all they have left is to continue this hyper-escalation and shoddy AI to make up the balance.

But unfortunately, the game is not very approachable to a novice. Act content. That’s it. Monthly Event is now exclusive. Side quest, same. It takes a year and a couple thousand dollars to scratch the surface in BG’s. Alliances aren’t worth the time or hassle to learn in exchange for the rewards. And the AI turns them away before any of the aforementioned does.

FTP is the key to future revenue. And they don’t even know they’re killing their own game tomorrow in hopes to be profitable today.

That, or actually, they do. Part of me thinks they’re trying to pivot to make this an exclusive game. To make it a small, niche community, conditioned to spend and tolerate their immoral practices. Because that lowers labor costs, lowers capital expenditures, lowers maintenance and upgrade costs. They can put the game on auto-pilot, as they alluded to when explaining the rationalization behind their new monthly reward structure.

Either way, incredibly elegant. And incredibly scandalous.

phillgreen

After the heavy economics and social justice lesson I forgot the question but one thing I don't like about the crucible style, No synergies, no ramp up and no future benefits to other champs like horseman/herald.

Actually that's like 3 things but whatever.

I don't have a problem needing a wide roster, bg's cured me of that a very long time ago.

You're splicing your own narrative together, and while colorful, it isn't anywhere near the mark.

They're not at all trying to convert F2P into spenders. Not in the sense you're talking about. People that pride themselves on never spending are most definitely not the target for sales.

You're on a tangent about making the game approachable for new people because Elder Gauntlet isn't aimed at new people. It's aimed at those of us who have been playing long enough to amass our Rosters, and there's only one solution to that. Play the game.

Honestly, you're reaching to tie this into money and it's not about money at all. Could some spend and accelerate the process? Somewhat. They still need time and experience to increase efficiency in the Quest.

Your assessment reads more like a doomsday Louisiana psychic reading more than a connection to the quest. "I tossed da bones and you gonna die."

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890170#Comment_2890170

Well, I am talking to the Forum’s #1 Shill, who also has difficulty getting through the monthly.

So, I understand how you failed to notice this after being here for nearly a decade. And I admit, you’re certainly not my target audience for such grounded wisdom.

I don't have difficulty getting through the monthly at all. I said it was still overtuned. I can make an observation without struggling to get through it. Annoyance is not a hindrance.

Also, you can break the rules and call me a shill all you want. That doesn't make your narrative applicable here. Those 10 years you mentioned have afforded me quite a bit of experience with people turning every issue into a gripe about F2P.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890182#Comment_2890182

Be honest, GW, you’re low on revives at this very moment. Because, frankly, I’ve been watching you for years on here, playing devil’s advocate and making excuses for this company every step of the way.

Your observational skills are rather sub par, at best, Homie. And your rare gripes only come when they impact you personally.

You lack empathy. And although I am off topic with this one, I’ve wanted to let you know for some time that when I imagine the people associated with this company, or those who I question as to how they can sleep at night, you’re high on that list.

ZachMonster

Its not as fun as picking a team of 5 and playing around with your "fun" rank ups. You happen to mess up & die once and you are forced to revive. Removing the team experience for a gauntlet style run was and still is a big L here. End game and hard content sure. But not monthly consistent content.

Its bad enough they made this prestige change influencing ranks ups. But now you can't really even use your other champs for the sake of fun.

Its like use all your "best" champs or get lost. There is no middle ground.

And I have 15 r4s. Most all my 7* are r3. I dont lack diversity or champs to crush the EQ but it gets boring using the same 15 champs every single time. Just my thoughts..

Dr. Crab

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890260#Comment_2890260

Thats basically where I'm at. A once in a while thing is fine for diversity of content, but the fact that this is our new AQ, it just feels like a nerf to how you want to build your account or your favorite champions. If your favorite class is say Tech or Mystic and you want to go heavier there with your rank ups, you'll be hurt by this type of content material. Just my opinion, and believe it or not, I think @GroundedWisdom take is completely valid, I just think in the gradient of open fun to restrictive complexity, I feel this change is passing through fun and hitting that complexity sector where its just not enough fun to be worth it.

Also, I didn't read through all these comments but it looks like theres a bit of back and forth between the importance of free to play and making sure they feel like they have a game to play. As a person who has (not always but maybe more so now than every) spent maybe 25k on their account over the last 9 years, without free to play players, the game would have died. People play a game becuase its fun, people stick around after 9 years because of the community. I personally would hate this game if I was only playing with pay to win players. They are important, in the grand scheme of things, the paying players keep the lights on, but the free to play players keep the paying players happy to spend. Its an ecosystem that cannot live without the other.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890240#Comment_2890240

You're the one making this personal, "homie". I'm quite fine. You're adding your own narrative, to both the topic and my own comments. Try not to read between the lines so much and you might not miss the mark as often. I'm not struggling at all, really. I said it's overtuned, and I'm not the only one that feels that way.

The Quest tests our Roster range. That's about it. You can make as many foreboding statements about the company being on its last leg all you want, but the design isn't about money. It's about having a Quest for those who have more developed Rosters. So the solution for those having difficulty is, get Ranking.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890344#Comment_2890344

I'm making it personal?

"You're splicing your own narrative together, and while colorful, it isn't anywhere near the mark."

"You're on a tangent…"

"Your assessment reads more like a doomsday Louisiana psychic reading more than a connection to the quest. "I tossed da bones and you gonna die."

You clearly made this personal first, while ignoring the fact that I basically repeated Crash's Dev Diary formula, while sprinkling in the history of the game, noting most of their major failures, their short-term vision, and how they undermined their own baseline. A baseline that was created mostly on faulty AI, deceptive marketing, and false pretenses.

And you're big mad, making preposterous embellishments, because I took aim at the company who pays you a quarter for each ridiculously oblivious, sycophantic post you make?

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890378#Comment_2890378

You took everything out of context about monetizing on the new first-edition profiles, and applied it with the implication that the game is on its last legs, to a new Quest format.

I didn't make things personal at all. I talked about your opinion. There's a difference.

https://forums.playcontestofchampions.com/en/discussion/comment/2890420#Comment_2890420

I think you have a great deal of difficulty comprehending context, both interpreting and exhibiting it.

At no point have you said anything about the content my opinion, other than flippant remarks.

Do you have anything of substance to counter with? Or, are you just trying to make another quarter?

Okay, we're done here. You're just ignoring everything I say and making implications I'm somehow trying to make them money. That's your narrative, not mine.

Did you really go from childish to victim to self-empowered?

Fascinating turnaround, GW!

Yeah, you're having a conversation all on your own there, pal. Have a good one.