The “Gear Rework” discussion has garnered a lot of feedback (both positive and negative) related to the 3.0 rework of the game’s gear system. Because that thread went in many different directions and topics, I want to create a thread dedicated to a conversation with the Development Team (@Jeto @Mother_Morgz @Kafka and others) related to one specific issue: the value vaporization of resources that cost real-world money and/or time. I am asking the Developers to please respond to this post. If they are not willing to refund the glyphs that I lost, then I am asking that they please explain the rationale.
SUMMARY:
The Gear Rework completely vaporized the high-value of some players’ glyphs that were invested to upgrade Mythic items from level 45 to level 50. This represents a vaporization of the time and money we invested in this game, and thus a break in the core trust we placed in the game’s mechanics.
DEFINITIONS & DETAILS:
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Stored Value: When a gamer spends time farming for in-game resources like glyphs, they are trading the value (or opportunity cost) of their time for that particular resource. Likewise, when a gamer spends real-world money on in-game resources like glyphs, they are trading the value (or opportunity cost) for that resource. In other words, the gamer is taking the value of their time/money - the potential of what they could do with that time/money - and storing it into in-game resources that presumably will be used for some in-game purpose. The more time/money stored into a resource, the higher the value of that resource. This is why glyphs take so long or cost so much to obtain… they are high-value items.
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High-Investment Resources (HIR): HIR are in-game resources that usually can only be obtained by (1) spending time playing the game or (2) spending real-world money. For example, to obtain glyphs in this game, players have to spend real-world money to buy specific glyphs, wait a week to obtain a random glyph [with in-game gold], or spend high-cost in-game resources [gems] to buy randomly presented glyphs. Thus, glyphs are “high-investment resources” that have high stored value (SV), while food/ore/gold are “low-investment resources” that have low stored value (because it does not take much to obtain).
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The Gear Rework (GR) converted all Mythic Lvl (ML) 45-50 items to the same post-conversion power level, regardless of their pre-conversion level. This was a great boost to all ML 45 items, because they ended up the same power level as ML 50 items, without having to spend the 10 glyphs that would have been necessary before the Gear Rework.
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Battle Scrolls: New dynamic in the GR that affects the stats of items in three categories: offensive (Weapons & Shields), defensive (Helm, Shoulders, Chest, Legs, Gloves, & Boots), and utility (Necklace, Belt, & Rings). Scrolls can be upgraded from Level 1 to Level 50. The higher the scroll level, the higher the stats of items within that specific category.
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During the GR conversion, scroll levels were set based on the highest-level gear piece in each scroll category, capped at each Hero’s Level. Thus, a scroll level was based both on the character level and the highest-level item within that scroll group. For example, a level 50 character would receive a level 50 Offensive Scroll (O-S) if their highest weapon level was 50, but would receive a level 45 O-S if their highest weapon level was 45.
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“Battle Scroll Beyond 1st” Items (BSB1 items): To obtain a Level 50 scroll for a particular category, players had to have at least one Level 50 item within that scroll category. Some players had more than 1 Level 50 item in a particular scroll category; for example, someone might have 5 items that are Mythic Level 50. I am defining “BSB1” items as all of a player’s Mythic Level 50 items in a particular scroll category that are above and beyond the 1st item required to obtain a Level 50 for that scroll category.
ANALYSIS:
The GR did some great things, including giving players a big power boost to their ML 45 items, and giving multiple characters an easy stat boost with advanced-level scrolls. However, consider the story of two players: Gamer #1 and Gamer #2 each have a ML 50 weapon, five ML 45 weapons, and six level 50 characters. Over one year, each player used gems (which took a lot of time to obtain) to buy 25 weapon glyphs, and each gamer spent 250€ real-world money to purchase another 25 weapon glyphs, which meant both gamers had 50 weapon glyphs the day before the GR announcement. However, post-conversion, they ended up with very different circumstances:
- Gamer #1: Pre-conversion, they never used their 50 weapon glyphs. Thus, post-conversion they would have:
50 weapon glyphs
six ML 50 weapons
six level 50 characters with maxed-out battle scrolls
- Gamer #2: One day before the GR announcement, they used their 50 glyphs to upgrade all 5 Mythic Level 45 weapons to Mythic 50 weapons. Thus, post-conversion they would have:
ZERO weapon glyphs
six ML 50 weapons
six level 50 characters with maxed-out battle scrolls
Post-conversion, both gamers end up with the same exact quality equipment (six ML 50 weapons) and characters, with one HUGE difference: Gamer #1 still has all 50 weapon glyphs, while Gamer #2 has ZERO weapon glyphs. All the time and money Gamer #2 invested into obtaining the 50 glyphs and investing them into five BSB1 weapons has now been translated/converted into ZERO in-game value post-Gear Rework. Gamer #1 still has all the stored value (time & money) that they invested into their high-investment resources (glyphs), while Gamer #2 no longer has any of that value. All the stored value that Gamer #2 moved from the glyphs to the BSB1 ML 50 weapons did not translate into any post-conversion benefit. It’s almost as if the value of using those glyphs has been vaporized.
Seen from another perspective, Gamer #1 got a boost to their ML 45 weapons, plus they still have 50 weapon glyphs to use for some future purpose. In contrast, Gamer #2 got a relative downgrade in their ML 50 weapons (because now they are equal in value to Gamer #1’s weapons), only now they will have to farm/labor for months and/or spend more money just to get back to where Gamer #1 is at. For example, Gamer #1 will be able to create a new character and use the 50 weapon glyphs to upgrade the weapon scroll months before Gamer #2, unless Gamer #2 farms/labors for months and/or spends more money just to get back to where Gamer #1 is at. That is loss of real-world value right there. It’s almost like Gamer #1 was rewarded, while Gamer #2 was punished.
In conclusion, for players that had more than one ML 50 BSB1 items, the Gear Rework (GR) vaporized the value of glyphs used to upgrade those BSB1 items from Lvl 45 to Lvl 50.
SUMMARY:
I invested time and money into obtaining high-investment resources (glyphs) in this game. With the exception of the glyphs used to upgrade the first Mythic Lvl 50 item in a given battle scroll group, the Gear Rework reduced to zero the value of all glyphs that upgraded my Mythic items from Lvl 45 to 50 . Thus, the Gear Rework essentially vaporized the value of a significant amount of time and money that I invested into this game. In simple logic, “I spent time or money on XYZ glyphs → I used XYZ glyphs to obtain ABC value → The Gear Rework translated the value of ABC to zero for me → The time/money I spent on XYZ is now worth zero.”
To be clear, I am NOT complaining about how unfair it was for people like Gamer #1 to have all mythic items get lvl 50 stats. Rather, I am pointing out that it’s unfair for the high-value of glyphs used to create BSB1 items to be translated to zero-value post-conversion.
This problem could easily be solved if the developers refund the glyphs related to the value I lost. By doing that, all value will remain intact.
A new season just began, and I would love to buy the Season Pass, just as I have purchased every other Season Pass that has been released (you can check my game account to confirm this). However, when developers can unilaterally vaporize the in-game value of resources that cost me time and/or money, I lose trust in a game’s basic mechanics of “spend time/money for XYZ resource to obtain ABC value”. Thus, unless the developers make a good faith gesture to restore the value of my lost glyphs, I guarantee I will never spend another dollar on this game again.
Never delete the value of a gamer’s invested time or money.
Edit: Corrected some typos and added a few words for clarity
