Board Thread:Game Discussions/@comment-24104999-20131122062435/@comment-23870891-20131224202409

I think I see the position you are coming from.

What you are seeking in this game is a competition or system based purely on skill where money gains one no direct advantage. You have beaten, and beaten rapidly at that, all the components of the game where individual skill thrives, and are now bored (for lack of a better word) because what remains takes gems in order to stop being one of the top 10% and move up to the top 1% of players.

Unfortunately that is not how this game works. Fundamentally the game is free to play, so Gree must make money in other ways to keep content coming. They cannot be like DOTA or LOL where they make money via appearance changes or acceleration because their game is already 90% visual and they focus on chance. They cannot be like WOW with a subscription model because most people would likely abandon the game if they did that. The money has to come from somewhere and the majority of the paying player base has accepted the microtransaction system they created.

Now lets say Gree does decide to introduce a pure challenge mode, either arena or guild war, where gem spending was impossible, and thus only skill would allow you to rise to the top. We would likely see very little change from the current rankings. Why? Because most of the real spenders would make sure to have the best armors from other sources, and have them maxed and in optimal orders. In addition, they also have a high level of dedication. They set alarms, optimize what free material they have to gain max points. In other words, they put in time. This is true of any game. Simply put.. to be the best you have to work for it. Most epics I see are weak because the people get them then use them before they have been leveled enough to be good.

When it comes to this game, I am content to be among the top 10% or so. I look forward to the challenge of beating the boss up to 60 each week and want to see if I can do it faster each time. I like seeing the newest armors and try to get them. I look forward to the lottery system of fusing armors because the disapointment I feel with each failed fusion turns to pure joy when I finally succeed (which has only happened once). Just like with gambling, with fusion you lose most of the time, break even occasionally, and once in a great while come out ahead. And this is what is appealing about it. I am consistently in the top 500 in the arena just passively using up my energy, and beating my friends list why I watch a show i enjoy each week.

All this at absolutely no cost to me because I don't spend money, only time. Simply put, I enjoy all the free aspects of the game, and thus am willing to put up with the paying aspects. When the game ceases to become fun, I stop playing.