Not able to max anymore in challenge without spending gold or money

Olivier

What do you guys think of the challenge system after the latest update?

To be honest, in my opinion it's getting too long and requiring too much of our time.

Currently being at 60511 stars I can say I'm a pretty busy player.

I almost never have a full gastank (I mean I try to get the full potential of my gastank so I've always played as much as I could in the challenge missions).

Before this update my earned stars per challenge varied from 1000-1300 depending on the weekly "+50% more damage done by..."

I HAVE NEVER SPEND 1 CENT OF REAL MONEY AND I'M NOT PLANNING TO.

For now, I'm hitting +1600 every time... well I would... if there would have been more time.
What I'm trying to say is that, since the latest update the difficulty doesn't go up as fast as it used to, as it should,... resulting in the fact that you can just keep on going.

I remember those days when you couldn't get any further in the challenge for the last 2 days, and you just tried to get 1 lousy extra star by literally struggling your way through the level.
The satisfaction you got from getting that well fought star...

Now it's simply not possible anymore without spending money or gold (but gold isn't infinite either so at the end it all comes down to spending real money and like I told you, I'm not planning to.

The last challenge I got 1577 stars, and I could have gotten more, if the time hadn't run out.
Over this challenge I filled 3 gastanks with gold (+150 gold) I was quite lucky with the gas in crates, only replayed 1 level in the challenge and I still wasn't at my limit.
I don't earn 150 gold every week so I can't keep doing this, and also, if I would have gone to my full potential I should have spent more than 250 gold.
If I need to loose from another player I'd like to loose because he played better than me and not because he has more gold than me.

It's getting to much, really frustrating and I think a lot of good players will burn out.

In my opinion there are 2 things that they can do;

1: increase the difficulty faster (like it used to) so that we would earn fewer stars per challenge (we would all be earning fewer stars like this.

2: Stretch the challenge over 2 weeks so players can get to their full potential without spending any real money.

Anyone with the same opinion as me?
Let me know

Cheers lads,

Olivier

Puppies-Kittens (Belgium)

tabernac

I'd definitely like to see less grind. It has already driven many longtime players into retirement. My suggestions:

- Get rid of triple rounds totally

or

- Allow players (even if there is a reasonable gold fee involved) to skip forward to whatever round they last had a perfect score on in the previous challenge (minus two). For example if you make it to 27.3 in a challenge, with perfect stars in one challenge, the next challenge you are given the option to skip to round 25.3.

Olivier

> @tabernac said:
> I'd definitely like to see less grind. It has already driven many longtime players into retirement. My suggestions:
>
> - Get rid of triple rounds totally
>
> or
>
> - Allow players (even if there is a reasonable gold fee involved) to skip forward to whatever round they last had a perfect score on in the previous challenge (minus two). For example if you make it to 27.3 in a challenge, with perfect stars in one challenge, the next challenge you are given the option to skip to round 25.3.

That also sounds a lot better than the way it is right now. Could be minus more than 2 for me (players who spend more time in game should be rewarded but I guess I can speak for all when I say we might also want to spend some quality family time ;-) anyway, anyhow, not like this...

Ok we get the round passes but having to score +1700 to get a lousy 8 round passes... no

JeemPed

@Olivier this is the best post I’ve seen on here in quite some time. I agree wholeheartedly. I got just under 1400 stars and I too just ran out of time. It was just starting to get hard. Even if they dropped the triple rounds to double would make a difference. Less stars would be fine with me. Hopefully it changes “soon”.

Zelenioblak

They should put reduced healing for bonus class like before n cut price of every bundle on half n make her twice better coz even they spend money on game ppl on end don’t do nothing n they r unhappy..game is too much expensive if u wish to play every week on top lvl

berg280

I've seen these sorta posts before. my question is. do you think f2p players should have the same advantage as p2p players? if that were the case no one would spend money. and this game would not exist. games do need money to keep going. yes I do spend a bit of money. I don't mind because I like the game and support it. it just don't seem right to complain when you play for free. now if you spend money and get the same things as people that play for free. then by all means, start complaining. just my opinion

Olivier

> @Zelenioblak said:
> They should put reduced healing for bonus class like before n cut price of every bundle on half n make her twice better coz even they spend money on game ppl on end don’t do nothing n they r unhappy..game is too much expensive if u wish to play every week on top lvl

That wouldn't help because that would make my survivors better, with the same time to play ;-)
I'm not even sure anymore if I have to feel the urge to earn tokens and make better badges because that also results in better survivors and I cannot even use them to their full potential now...

Olivier

> @berg280 said:
> I've seen these sorta posts before. my question is. do you think f2p players should have the same advantage as p2p players? if that were the case no one would spend money. and this game would not exist. games do need money to keep going. yes I do spend a bit of money. I don't mind because I like the game and support it. it just don't seem right to complain when you play for free. now if you spend money and get the same things as people that play for free. then by all means, start complaining. just my opinion

In my opinion, paying money should give you an advantage, that's true, but an advantage in progression, not an advantage in being better than someone else.
Back in the days we played Mario and Donkey Kong there were no differences, you either beat the game or you died, simple as that. Nowadays, everything is made to make big money, games full of advertisement... I get why they do that, it's a free game and they have to earn something, I totally get that... but 20 euros/dollars for a virtual weapon, what are people thinking

avelardez

This distance offers you everything you need. Just sucks you don’t get any stars. That’s a real test of your skills at a better cost. Plus the rewards are better than challenge rewards. Your max has production is 720 gals from Wednesday to Monday. They only way you can test your self is getting one 24hr gas for $1.99. I suggest you do it on Tuesday night to play the Distance and get a full run as far as you can play and use up the remaining gas time for Wednesday. Then play free the rest of the week.

Olivier

> @avelardez said:
> This distance offers you everything you need. Just sucks you don’t get any stars. That’s a real test of your skills at a better cost. Plus the rewards are better than challenge rewards. Your max has production is 720 gals from Wednesday to Monday. They only way you can test your self is getting one 24hr gas for $1.99. I suggest you do it on Tuesday night to play the Distance and get a full run as far as you can play and use up the remaining gas time for Wednesday. Then play free the rest of the week.

For me the game is all about the challenge, all about our guild. For as long as I played I didn't pay one cent so why did this have to change. Apart from that, the top players get insane amounts of stars now every week (+2200). Even if you buy this 24h gas (twice it must be for them) you wouldn't have any time left for your family and friends. They literally have to play more than 200 times the same missions every week, over and over again. There's a limit...

Also, to me, outpost has become useless, my storyline of the game is finished in every difficulty and for the distance, I sometimes play it but with these insane star scores, it's not possible anymore (only when the distance takes place on monday or tuesday)

Pandreq

Totally agree. The game for me is about my guild, which means getting stars. But unless I buy a gas booster, I can’t get to the point where it’s challenging - so now it’s just boring. I know that not spending money makes me a “second class citizen” but having invested a lot of time in the game over the last 18 months I don’t want to be driven out of the game through boredom. If NG doesn’t want f2p players any more, why not make it a paid game?

Jaden

I don't feel it has ever been any different - if you wanted to rank high you had to pay.

Only thing that helped me get more stars was collecting gas and not playing anything but the season missions in between challenges. Doesn't work now if I want to play Distance and was always a problem for people who liked to play other stuff besides of challenges.

The grind is still annoying, though... Must be even more so for players who get 1.5k+

Nolke

I totally agree Olivier!

bun

Since the update there are now far too many rounds. Even with round passes many of us are close to hitting 50 rounds, plus repeats to pick up dropped stars. We need more round passes, @Teeceezy please consider changing the number of rounds required to earn them from 5, to 3 or 4.
Having the distance coinciding with the challenge was always going to create a dilemma for those who play for free, how about a regular 1 minute gas event that runs when the distance is available during the weekend?

MrsScattercushion

I can understand why NG made the changes, in order to get around the potential star loss experienced from upgrading, but just from a personal point of view, it has left me frustrated. I'm a mainly f2p player with occasional gas booster dependent on finances/weekend event. I'm currently levelling my team up to 23. Even without a gas booster, and only occasionally adding gas via gold, I used to be able to get to rsl 26/27 each challenge, where it started to get more challenging and testing my abilities. I now want to be able to see what my 23s can do against the higher levels. Except I'm struggling to even get to rsl 26 in time at the moment. And obviously without playing the Distance too on a Saturday.

I don't expect to get where p2p players can get, or the same rewards, as they deserve to get something for their invested money. What does frustrate me is I cannot now progress as far, let alone further in the challenge and really see the value of grinding for supplies/xp to get my team (let alone weapons) levelled up. Where's the incentive to keep doing it, except for my guild?

Putchuco

The amount of time and money one needs to compete at high lvls has reached insane lvls. Few are willing to keep investing both.

KaLi

I agree the grind on the challenge feels like a lot more than before that even I have stepped down for now from buying a gas booster each week to push so much into it.


In order for some of us to pull through these moments is to be optimistic.

The challenge system is constantly changing/rebalancing that

I'm sure things will change for the better down the road.

Putchuco

Not even one gas booster per week is enough anymore, it used to be.

Clan

I enjoy this game but it encroaches way too much on my time. It is ridiculously expensive in comparison to other phone, PC, iPad and similar games. I spend money to support the game, but NG really needs to reduce the time taken to play. Plus you should be able to keep your round passes if you take time off for holiday.

Pic

I personally spend 1.99 weekly and I try to do that after I use my rps. Your post is understandable I topped out at 1901 I had another hundred in me. But had some RL going on and like you ran out of time. I'm part of a big guild Family and watch a lot of f2p players walk away all the time. Some don't have the time, some are discouraged about not hitting decent badges, some aren't able to keep up with the p2p players (like myself) 1.99 is money regardless of the amount. Hope things get figured out and fixed. But I must also add inside Mavericks we have 2 f2p players that gives the p2p players a run for there money @Carvincain @Mimica so it's possible if you have the time and patience

dgraminho

bun said:

Since the update there are now far too many rounds. Even with round passes many of us are close to hitting 50 rounds, plus repeats to pick up dropped stars. We need more round passes, @Teeceezy please consider changing the number of rounds required to earn them from 5, to 3 or 4.

Simple and efficient idea. Just reduce the rounds required to get a round pass to 3 or 4 and the problem will be basically solved. You could start with 4, but I guess 3 will be the golden number.

capibara

Doesn't makes sense we have to play 2000+ stars ...and challenge started to be fun olny from 28+ ...i'm losing players for the grind. They just stop playing challenge.
Also buying gas booster is grindy...one day playing like hell to reach 1200 stars and wipe out the boring part of the challenge...no sense...we are paying money to play bored 24 hours??....really??

JackBauer

Fully Agree @capibara.
I had two gas booster in the last months. One was the one for free, the other one was for the radio day.
It totally burned me out playing so many low level challenge rounds on one day.
Without using Gold for Gas I am not possible to reach my limit anymore.

Maybe NG should just double the walker health and walker damage by factor two or three then
it will all End earlier.

capibara

@JackBauer agree yes!
Solutions:
1. Only single rounds
2. Higher walkers health as said by @JackBauer . The challenge will probably end sooner...round 25/27
3. ...or a better solution ...needed now, not "soon"...

Olivier

> @JackBauer said:
> Fully Agree @capibara.
> I had two gas booster in the last months. One was the one for free, the other one was for the radio day.
> It totally burned me out playing so many low level challenge rounds on one day.
> Without using Gold for Gas I am not possible to reach my limit anymore.
>
> Maybe NG should just double the walker health and walker damage by factor two or three then
> it will all End earlier.

First part you're absolutely right.

Second part... higher walker health, no way...

Players wouldn't be able to complete the storyline of the game and they would have to rewrite the entire game ;-)

Kick_ass

It always comes down to money.

NG you need to see that losing your customer base to increase your profits short term isnt a great business plan. This game has a huge loyal following (mainly adults with disposable income imo) and could continues to grow. But no customer likes to feel like they were raped.

There are a lot of games out there and I see them reallizee they need to give a little to keep their customers and yes f2p are customers also, they watch your expensive ads witch is huge income source.

This is how companies die. I know the bottom line is important, but so is good old fashioned customer loyalty. The people above me have made great points. Time to listen and balance this game so f2p and P2P both stick around and don't burn or go broke.

Troublemaker

We are playing 50+ rounds of the Challenge, plus The Distance, plus Outpost, plus Scavenge.

This was supposed to be good, but feels like a grinding job that is more a compulsive addiction than any form of healthy entertainment.

I hope NG does something about it before it's too late.

Trachimachus

I'm glad there still is sometime between the challenges otherwise I might have lost my interrest a long time ago.

Less rounds means more challenge and more time to push along the distance.

I'm simply running out of time the moment it starts getting my attention these days.

SlowMo

You nail it @capibara!

NG, can I pay you 1.99 just to start the challenge at level 28? I don't quite care about stars so star count starts from zero is fine, and no need 24hrs gas.

Win-win, you make money, I have fun. Yet will not disrupt the star chasing ecosystem.

I don't mind pay to have fun, not pay to get bored and take away my family time!

capibara

Yep @SlowMo i would agree to pay 1.99 and start at round 28 and don't have to play 24 hours bored too... This is killing me... Not sure how long i can run this way. Also because at the end they will lose those money because we are quitting.... @Teeceezy

abailey362

Unfortunately, there is no fix or change that will make everyone happy.

In previous updates, if you were higher level, you started at higher rsl. This was introduced to reduce the grind to get higher level players to the tough levels faster. Then there was a faction that raised hell about being penalized for having higher level toons.
To make those ppl happy, they evened out the starting rsl for everyone lvl 20 and above. Now another (or possibly the same) faction is complaining about the grind from starting lower.

If you introduce a higher number of round passes, there will be a faction that complains about having rewards taken away because they can't play all of the low levels to get the mission crates and xp from kills. (this already came up when round passes were first introduced)


I am a high level player and yes the grind does get old, but it's a choice i make because I enjoy the game and more so, I enjoy being a contributor to my guild. At the end of the day it's a choice I make. I could slow down, move to a lower level guild in our family, and not have to grind so much, but I choose not to. It's a choice that every player has the ability to make.

Brings to mind a quote....slightly modified by me to be more relevant today.

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.” - John Lydgate
add - "You can please the internet none of the time" - me