Kafka's Curiosity: What's to love?

[NerdieBirdie]

Others have described my thoughts in detail already, so I’ll be brief:

• Collecting/progression is fun. I like working towards goals little by little. (notably, pure RNG grind detracts from this - see Hoard Mimic, dragon eggs, and sentinels)
• Underspire. It’s got great rewards if you’re willing to put the time in, and I really like the dungeoneering aspect. Whereas most modes are just “click next battle,” Underspire has a (slight amount of) strategy and adventure to it.
• New PvP. There are lots of valid complaints about the new system, but I love that I no longer use 1 team for every single PvP battle. I’ve been able to test various combinations and use troops I never would have before, and it’s fun!
• Troop art is almost always fantastic!
• Different modes. There’s something to be said for having too much to do in the game, but I enjoy having variety and choice in what I play.
• F2P-friendliness. Some may disagree (which is fine), but GoW is, in my book, extremely F2P-friendly. Hyper stat-inflation making it practically impossible for F2P to compete with paying players is essentially non-existent (except on global leaderboards where players paying $ for more energy wins the day, but this notably has nothing to do with P2W stat inflation).

[RonMexico]

I’m not sure if the UMD of Puzzle Quest ever left my PSP.

There was something about the simple Match-3 gameplay mixed with RPG mechanics that just clicked for me in a way that I couldn’t really contextualize until titles like Slay the Spire, Vampire Survivors, Balatro, etc came along. In each case, here’s a relatively simple gameplay loop that is simple on the surface with plenty of complexity underneath.

I started playing GoW just before Covid so I had no idea at the time how much things were to change but immediately what stood out in early 2020 or so was that it scratched that original PQ itch-- something that PQ2, Galactrix, Marvel, etc etc couldn’t do and neither could something like Puzzles & Dragons.

From there, it took some time to find the right guild/family of guilds but checked that box as well. So then it was a case of here’s this fun core gameplay loop and here’s a group of people that I thoroughly enjoy doing it with and there was the making of something special. Unlike the folks who talk about the top of things like GW (and not to belittle that experience in any way), we did the climb together from midlevel obscurity all the way to B1. We caught lightning in a bottle-- we had a group that enjoyed being together in a game with a gameplay loop we all loved.

As the business realities (which I believe is what is truly driving the design philosophies) change, so has that group that kept us engaged. It’s not the same 29 others that we did the climb with but there’s still a part of the group that has remained together. As much as plenty of users will wax poetic about how these modes used to be, the meta was changing profusely before the mode went on hiatus and that too is/was going to change that group dynamic.

So what’s to love? The remaining community that I’m honored to call my friends and the gameplay loop that, while shifting, still brings back fond memories even if in fleeting moments. And finally? Nostalgia. PQ was 2007 and 2007 was a much different time than today.

[Fourdottwoone]

1.) Interaction between Community and Developers

This is really what got me hooked initially, about a decade ago. A company that cares about their game, that interacts with the community and reacts fast. I remember one troop receiving a reworked spell, presented as an upgrade, pushing it into a different role. The community explained that this breaks popular teams, there was an apology that this aspect of the troop wasn’t properly taken into account, the change got reverted within a day. If there had been some “buy me a coffee” link, I’d probably have donated on a regular base. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Interaction has been reduced to automated news postings that contain major errors more often than not. If someone really reads our feedback, they are hiding it exceptionally well. The only time our voice really seems to matter now is when reporting some cash shop related issue.

2.) Progression system

Specifically, plannable progression. Collect weekly troops, upgrade kingdoms, raise kingdom power, gain stats, take on progressively tougher challenges like Delves. Work on something, all the while knowing very well what you get in return for your effort and when you get it. Unfortunately, most of this got turned into entirely random slot machines. Hoard Mimic, Dragon Eggs, Shiny Troops, Sentinels, Immortals, even Deed Books, just to name some. It’s basically just opening gachas now, taken to the extreme. Pray that what you are looking for will show up within weeks rather than years, learn to cope with the constant disappointment that yet another month of farming hasn’t moved you a single step closer to your goal.

3.) Underspire

Underspire feels like a neat game mode, due to several factors that work out just right together. The weekly restrictions keep it fresh without making it too punishing. There’s some randomness involved in the paths, it’s constrained enough to still allow pretty reliable planning. The rewards are currently worth getting and even warrant spending gems on. Shame about the Sentinels, any other company would have made this a less toxic experience by including some pity system, but I guess a year of entirely ignored feedback means we are intentionally supposed to feel frustrated. Pretending that Sentinels don’t exist (and not spend anything on hunting them) helps.

Well, I may have drifted somewhat into that MOST HELPFUL area you were talking about. I should probably also mention guilds, or more general the other players I know, as the main factor keeping me here. Please cause less of them to quit by finally making Journey remotely playable again.

[KaliDragon]

I would describe my main account as endgame, missing only 3 troops (2 after I buy Foxglove), factions and classes long done.
The thing I love most about the game is my guild. I started playing March 2019 and have been with the guild since it’s foundation in October 2019. We are a crazy online family that sometimes loses players and sometimes welcomes new family members, but we are always there for each other.

My favorite event or game mode is Tower of Doom because it is the only event you can get on the leaderboard as a guild. That is, it used to be my favorite event until we were forced to use the event weapon

I started to play the game because of the Match 3 system combined with upgrading kingdoms / classes / underworld. It gives you something to work for.
Not to forget: No energy / life system as in most games. If you feel like it and have the time you can play the game for hours.

My favorite way of getting new cards was from keys though more often than not I had to forge them. The knowledge that sooner or later I would definitely get the troop was comforting. Which is why I do not like the lottery of the Hoard Mimic, Dragons or Underworld Sentinels.

I like the PVP update, not because of fighting the same boring teams over and over again (which was also true for the old PVP system) but because the season pass gives me a new challenge. Something to grind for, though I doubt I will have the time and energy to do it every PVP season.
The game does get boring after a time, with progression noticeably slowing down due to lack of books.
My newest account is less then 3 weeks old though I doubt I will be playing it for long. Currently it is still fun to level up and to upgrade kingdoms, get new cards etc. But sooner or later it will just take too much time to keep it going while playing my other 2 accounts.

[gow]

Guild Wars period.

[sylverscale]

From what exists now? Underspire hands down.

I also like building teams that have a good flow.

What I also like is that I don’t feel like I have to buy passes anymore to keep my troop collection complete because you made it nearly impossible now. So last campaign pass was the first one I’d didn’t buy, and I feel freed.

The overly expensive pvp shop troop and the fact that about 80% of burning chests contain stuff I don’t want/need made thet decision easy for me. So thank you for healing my obsession.

Of course the general game mechanics are fun, or else I wouldn’t be playing anymore at all.

I hope thst GWs will return and will not be another “pay to win” mode but will stay true to what made it a very interesting mode in the first place.

Sorry, trying to stay positive, I really do. But it’s not so easy.

[Elfin]

I like the things that have a treasure hunting aspect - Underspire and Tower of Doom. Finding unexpected rewards is fun.

I’m enjoying the novelty of the new PVP stuff but it’s hard to overlook the botched rollout and the egregious lack of regard toward players shown in the season pass. I kind of hate myself for liking it, honestly.

I like being in a guild and the teamwork aspects - there should be more guild-based leaderboards. Maybe every event should have both guild and individual leader boards. It’s fun to help other players and this community is just amazing.

It took me awhile to get there, but once I hit level 1100 or so, I began to LOVE guild wars. It was the hardest, most fun, most comradery-building thing in the whole game. I’m not sure how you guys missed that but we really need it back.

I love the troop collecting and game progression - I need goals to grind for or I stop caring very quickly. I think the same thing happens with guilds as a whole.

I appreciate it when we can communicate on game issues, even if I don’t like the answer.

A lot if stuff that we take for granted has already been mentioned and as I read it over, the number one thing for me is no time gates on playing. That is a huge plus for this game.

Thanks @Kafka for asking - I expect you’ll easily be able to pull out consistent reasons for why we all play.

[MannaSurgeon]

I’m just don’t want to get left behind when you reinstate guild wars… are you reinstating guild wars?

[Hi_Bob]

What? I don’t understand. Am I in the right place? Yes, this is the Gems of War Forum alright, where I always go to commiserate on whatever else has gone wrong in this game.

But now I’m being asked, “What do I like about the game?”.

Unable…to…process…paradigm shifting… can’t… focus… brain… freezing… must… leave… now…

Great post, Kafka!

[esabreen]

The reason so many complain but still play the game regularly, can be compared to someone having an addiction to something unhealthy. They keep using it because they’re addicted, but vocalize how detrimental it is at the same time.
If the negatives “honestly” outweigh the positives… you cannot force them to only speak positively. Addictive mindset.

[Hi_Bob]

Uh. yeah, I wrote a reply, but never mind…

[Ash3nShad3]

I actually initially tried out the game because of the high quality artwork - which the game thankfully still maintains. I will not play a game with lowgrade art.

My favorite modes are PVP and Arena, some Events and Underspire. I never liked Guild Wars and am glad it is gone.

What I appreciate about the game is that it can be played in small bits throughout the day, like during a lunch break. Many other games require that you sit down and play a match uninterruptedly for an hour or three, but this game can be done in little bits.

I enjoyed planning ahead my Kingdom Progress every week, and what I needed to do to advance my Kingdoms and Team Score. However since I have now reached a stage where books are literally the only way I can make any more progress, and they are scarce and expensive, it is no longer fun. One makes so much progress with pets, mythics, Class XP, Factions, Deeds, medals etc…but then at a point it all comes to an end and only books are left. It is a sad disappointment when you reach this stage.

Planning and progression was my major thing and now I need to wait a year to get the next Kingdom level with books, as I cannot afford to buy them all the time. Even with the new PVP gold mark system it will take 6 years plus to collect enough books.

Also it is nice and really enjoyable when you have the troops you need to compete…but when extreme RNG blocks that and you see others using powerful troops to play fast and you cannot, it will make one quit. I do not expect everything to be FTP, but if one spends some money on the game and plays a lot too one should be able to get what one needs without going bankrupt.

[Bizkit]

My favorite part of the game is the Arena. I find it fun to draft a team out of the given troops instead of trying to figure out which troops, out of thousands, you’re going to use.

[iTouchedAnu]

Ok at the risk of being banned yet again I’ll reply as you’re specifically asking for feedback.

I joined the games in 2018. I originally joined and kept playing because 1) I was good at it and 2) as a then free to play player it looked as though everything was theoretically possible to get with enough intelligent play and resource management. Things like Zuul were going to be a long hard slog but literally anyone could get it eventually so that appealed to me.

I got into a great guild fairly early on that was one of the 2 guilds that merged to become Defiance (this is PS4). I made a bunch of friends in there and got taught a lot by higher level players. As time went on and I started getting better I also became one of the ones to pass on my own knowledge, sort of paying it forward.

Defiance managed to claw its way up into bracket 1 in GW as well, and that became a whole new challenge. We were blessed with a couple people who literally lived and breathed entirely for GW and they of course mentored anyone who was willing to learn. GW was unique in that we were fighting other people’s ideas, and not just level 500 troops. Strategy mattered.

Then Defiance splintered and Assonance took in about half of our guild over time as spots freed up. I spent my time until that happened in another guild (DNA Maji ) basically mentoring new players. Which I really enjoyed. It was at that point I achieved one of my goals of having every troop as a free to play player, though it only lasted a day as Enraged Kurandara came out lol)

I finally made the transition to Assonance and found out I was in the big leagues. At lever 1390 I was by far the lowest level, but nonetheless I could hold my own. We now had 2 cores of dedicated GW players and started our climb. We took first in B1 a few months later and held on to it for a little over 2 years by my recollection. That greatly appealed to me. Being among the literal best in the world at something, even something so small, that’s a cool feeling.

But then…the paywalls started. Campaign passes, I actually liked them at first cause it was worth it for what you got. Then new kingdom passes. And under spire. Etc etc. I was at that point only short troops I literally couldn’t grind for. Sentinels, the freaking hoard mimic. Then dungeons showed up. And I was one of the ones running 1-2-3 daily with no chance at all to get a run. That was first nail in coffin.

I managed to finally get Diamantina and got quite lucky in only needing 7 eggs. But then the next lot came and after 20+ eggs I was still missing one.
Straw number 2

Then GWs cancelled. That broke us. As mentioned there were several people who lived and breathed it.

Then the final straw was the new pvp. It’s a cash cow. If you don’t pay you can’t really do it. At least not at the level of play I was at.

Combined with the perceived lack of interest in anything that benefited the community vs what benefitted the coffers of gems of war owners. That pretty much broke me. I mentioned this on here a few times, got banned for it. Got banned again for daring to ask why I was banned.

In the end that made my decision to leave the game easy. To put it into perspective, in the 2 previous years our guild lost about 6 people. In the month after the new update we lost roughly half the guild, including our leader. And including me. All have left the game completely and most had been playing longer than me.

I hope this story puts it into perspective for you, about how the action from the game devs can have consequences to the player base. I leave the game with friendships I will keep forever, with fond memories, and with the knowledge that I was part of something great. And with sadness that it will never be again.

OzZiggy - PS4 - Shards of Whitehelm - Shards of Acclaim - Holy Shards - Defiance - DNA Maji - Assonance

[Maisie]

Oh, one more I forgot yesterday:

Regular event schedule: the shift to put events onto a regular rotating schedule rather than being semi-random was a really good change. Now Tower of Doom is at a good frequency; and Vault weekends are firmly scheduled and predictable.

[jdk]

tl;dr —
Art, Lore (especially the old lore), weird teambuilding, long goals that aren’t tied to gnarly RNG (delves, played out gradually, not with power potions at release=good. Hoard mimic, books, dragon eggs=don’t care)

The text wall—
As others mention above, I also love the art and I love(d) the lore , in the kingdom quests and the flavor text and the new mythic announcements that used to have stories, etc. that’s what really hooked me years ago (in early 2017), the same thing that I loved about the original PQ which I played through more than once, not just a match-3 game but a neat world to explore , but GoW I could explore in quick mobile-friendly doses, not requiring long sessions

And the game was so friendly for f2p. The first time I spent money was the divine protector / gem mix weapon buff debacle, and I caved in and bought the $5 weapon after having skipped it when it was released, and I was frustrated by that feeling.

But Speaking of lore, I loved the stories that were published here leading up to the possessed king and the introduction of the underworld. And the underworld quests were less detailed, but still told a small story. Over time my frustration gradually softened and at some point I bought a $5 gem pack I didn’t need, just to support what I thought was a great product that I was getting value out of

The only time I have ever paid for a kingdom pass was for Hellcrag, because I thought it had a cool story and gave a glimpse of the kind of details and creativity that the older lore used to have, so I wanted to support the game having more of that again

And those are the only times I’ve ever spent money on this game, once when I fell for the pressure (divine protector) and twice just trying to support out of goodwill. Divine protector just taught me not to fall for that kind of FOMO in the future, and I haven’t since then

When legends reborn was released and I got to replay the forest of thorns story, I was excited to get to revisit all of Krystara and relive the quest lines even though that event structure was weird, and seems to be discontinued now anyway

But just after that, and just after I’d spent money on Hellcrag, the dungeon/dragonite rework convinced me to take a break from the game for about a year. I missed the rest of the legends reborn I had been looking forward to and was glad to not be playing and trying to chase impossible carrots.

So what dragged me back? Art and lore. I saw the fox troops of vulpacea and eventually got curious enough to want to check them out. I liked the art and I wanted to learn their story. I figured I’ll play a bit and get the spirit walker class to 100 and probably quit again.

But I was able to reconnect with my old guild and it’s cool to chat with all those people again too, so I’ve now stuck around longer than intended, but I mostly play less now. I leveled nightweaver in the hero-less period of PVP but didn’t touch PvP again at all until the immortals came out. I admit I got curious about those new shiny things so I’ve been playing to unlock them, but probably not the levels of grind needed to complete all the season goals. The stat buff from being in a loser alliance helps a lot to make it feel less grind-y, so I like that buff. But my only engagement with alliance/citadels/monoliths is to unlock some of those season goals, if not for that I wouldn’t touch them, and I might go back to not caring in the future

Team building and theory crafting used to be extremely fun for me, and to some extent still is, but the gameplay now is so focused on speed, it can disincentivize using fun but less optimal builds. Also removing casual PVP removed the testing playground I liked for screwing around with random combinations to see what works and what doesn’t

I think Delves are pretty interesting, because I’ve taken the strategy of engaging with them over the years like I don’t care about them very much, yet they’ve still felt like a realistic years long goal which can be accomplished with careful effort (unlike years of books RNG, which seems like it’s just a black hole) I’ve never spent gems farther than tier 4 to get the weapons in a faction event and I only got 2 of the easiest to PF500 before potions got tied to hoard level. But with hoard enchant potions plus continuing end game stat creep , I think I’ve now got 20 of them to PF500, still without any hoard over lvl 100.

The key is the delve years long slow burn is tied to my own desire to engage and progress, I can choose to invest resources into higher hoard levels for the specific harder delves I have left, it’s not just grinding to burn resources for random books for years on end or random dragon eggs. So the delves keep my interest slightly piqued for that reason.

I do like arena for getting to use random troops that I forget exist but I don’t actually really play it anymore because it’s so slow, and the chance of a random pet offer matters less to me now than it used to. There was a thread a long time ago about worst arena drafts, can you pick the worst possible team on purpose and still manage to win. That was fun bc it was ridiculous

I probably played the game most heavily in the mid game, the game was simpler years ago, progression was more obvious and attainable and goals were simpler. (Kingdom power was easier to come by for example, when all traits mattered, not just a number of troops with all 3 unlocked, we could level and single trait troops selectively, so every action caused incremental progress, it was fewer obvious bottlenecks and road blocks)

Among the guild events, I think invasion is best because it’s usually the easiest one that takes the least amount of time. And because the skull damage for siege breaker troops is great design synergy. It’s a trait I WANT the troop to have, and one I WANT to have unlocked bc it makes the event more fun, not something I feel forced to unlock reluctantly (journey)

Anyway, like many people who have posted here my relationship with the game has felt complicated at times.

But even when I quit, it was the Art and Lore of vulpacea that got me curious enough to come back. So I guess that’s the evidence of really what I value

Thanks for inviting people to share positive experiences and remember why we’re here

[Dwuemka]

Sorry for the wall of text but you asked!

I started the game back in October 2019, and what attracted me to it then:

1. no energy / life system that would limit you to play at a specific time of the day, when the bar is full again; I could play as much as or as little as I wanted.
2. no intrusive ads! Every single mobile game I played over the years very soon turns into watching-ads-game instead of playing-a-game-game; there were few exceptions, but they were mostly pay-once-complete-in-a-week type, not something I could regularly come back to.
3. very good quality artwork - I might not like specific troop art or a specific image, but even if it is not to my taste, it is of good quality. I still miss the previous (not the original one, but I preferred the teal buttons over the current black everywhere) UI & card layout (I still miss the legibility of the previous card layout, with coloured borders & no colourful ribbons, I got used to the current one, but the previous one was much better), but the main thing about the graphics quality hasn’t changed.
4. As a F2P at the start, I loved it that everything seemed possible. It took me a long, long time to get Zuul (9 months since I really started saving blue orbs, if I remember correctly, no GAPs existed at the time), but I got there. Some goals were set far away into the future (like - complete collection of mythics, considering the rate at which I collected diamonds), but it was clear that with enough play and some RNG luck - it was possible one day. A longer while later GAPs happened, and accelerated the diamonds rate - and it helped TONS in shortening my estimated “time left to get them all” - fun!
5. Easy game-play - match-3, but with a twist, with combining troops & weapons into the mix. I played the original PQ, and I think I had a brief adventure with PQ2 too. Low entry requirements - everyone knows how to match-3, and the game slowly revealed it’s true complexity and power. It felt very good to learn the rules and to grow.

Fast forward a little - after about half a year of playing very casually, I got into a better guild, learned to play better, got pulled into team building - and loved it. About half a year after that - I moved to my current guild and I’ve been there ever since. It might be trivial, or silly, but if it wasn’t for that move, I’d be long gone from GoW - the in-between guild sucked 99% of the joy of playing out of me. Luckily, the joy was re-ignited by the new guild. My second account bounced around a little, before ultimately settling in the same guild my main account’s at. I’m not naming any names, that’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is that guilds are many, and guilds can be very different, communication can be very different, pressure can be very different from guild to guild - a player shouldn’t be afraid to leave a guild when/if they feel unhappy, if the game is fun for them but being in a given guild isn’t.

Fast forward to when campaigns started - that was the moment when I caved in and thought that the campaign pass is a good value for money - a guaranteed mythic, a rare tarot troop, and some extra goodies that I wouldn’t need to wait for - sounded awesome. And that’s how a F2P got converted into a paying player - although don’t get me wrong, I’ve been looking at every single purchase very carefully ever since, because my strict F2P attitude was mostly caused by the awareness that it’s very easy to just splurge on all micro-payments (which are not so micro, at all) and spend much more than you would on a game without them. So while I’d pay for passes, I avoided 99% of all the other offers.

Fast forward to April 2022 - sometime before that (I don’t remember when exactly), I completed all delves to 500 pure, I had a full collection, my kingdom power progression has stalled. To my own surprise, as I never really thought that would happen, I became an end-gamer, and was facing a bit of a lack of motivation to continue. And just then the devs introduced new “new player” experience, and I thought I’d like to see it. I set up a second account that’s been with me ever since; it got a boost at the start from one of the starting $ offers, and it was in a good guild nearly from the start. It was fun again to progress, to collect souls for Dawnbringer, to collect orbs for Zuul, to collect traitstones for troops, to progress through delves again (even though when I first set up that account - I was saying DELVES AT 500 PURE ARE A HARD NO - and I had to take that back ). Fast forward to now - that account needs only 5 hardest delves at 500 pure and 20-something craftable mythics to be at complete collection (excluding underspire sentinels and Hoard Mimic). I once again found myself nearly at end-game.

So, August 2024. What is it that keeps me playing & what’s kind of… hard now, considering what attracted me to GoW in the first place? Looking back, my first instinct was to say that if it wasn’t for my current guild, I wouldn’t be here any more, but that’s only half the truth - if I really didn’t enjoy the game play at all, all the greatest people in the world in my guild wouldn’t matter (sorry, guildies), I just wouldn’t want to spend time on something that is causing me distress and bringing more unhappiness than happiness.

Looking back at what attracted me to GoW in the first place - great artwork is still there. The “no energy/life system” thing still doesn’t exist and hopefully never will, although unfortunately we now have more things that must be played on a specific day or else gone: back when I started, it was only daily delve sigils. Now - citadel wars in PvP, monolith sigils, holiday battles… limited daily purchases in underspire. While I play daily, I would prefer all sigils to stack during the week, so that I don’t have to be penalised for forgetting to purchase torches in the underspire or forgetting to play holiday battles on a given day; there’s also the battlecrashers issue during kingdom passes - the leeway built into the game is very narrow. Same with a few of the PvP seasonal goals (especially the guardian battles and citadel battles - there’s very little room for error). This adds stress - if the maze in underspire is big enough, missing one day of torch packs might mean the maze might not be finished on that week And stress is something I’d rather avoid in gaming, if possible. No intrusive ads - still a check. Easy game play - it is still there, but the type of teams I’ve been using in my early years and now… a difference of light years between them The necessary play style changed, we simply no longer have the time to allow for slower teams, for teams that require more careful playing and careful gem-matching, it’s become all-explode-y and as-fast-as-possible play.

I also mentioned “I could play as little or as much as I wanted” - this is something that has taken a hard beating over the years, and it was made worse with the PvP seasons update. Now I no longer CAN play as much or as little PvP as I want - I need to play for 180k VP for the seasonal pass and for 560k VP for the seasonal goals over 11 weeks. This is a lot of games in just one mode, and it’s not because I want to, but because I have to. I’d rather “want” to play a given game mode than “be forced to play a lot of it, or else”. I don’t like it that I can’t take a slower week, or focus on something else, because the week after that I’d have to play double. And I don’t have the time for it, and even if I do at times, I can see burnout looming in the corner.

And now, the last point - ability to achieve long-term goals. That is actually something that took a huge dive as well and is currently somewhere between “there’s no point” and “hold on to your pockets”. I mention the second account not to brag, but to emphasize that even a person starting as late as April 2022 COULD reach nearly end-game status with relatively low $$ purchases (deathknight armor, some starting offer that kick-started gems, and then campaign & kingdom passes). Admittedly, it was a baby account with a veteran brain, so I knew to skip certain mistakes I made with my main, so it is possible that it would take a completely new player longer than it took for my second account. But it was possible. Was - past tense.

Looking at the current state of the game, especially underspire sentinels, shiny troops & immortals - that feeling of “if I play smart and if I make the right choices, sooner or later I’ll have them all and I can upgrade everything to max” - is practically gone. It’s down to RNG luck in part - sentinels drop rate is ridiculously low - no matter how much I play, there’s only 9-18 guardian battles per week, and at the estimated 1,5% drop rate - I might never see the all 6 sentinels. I enjoy the mode, but I hate it that after playing all mazes in full (all guardian battles weekly) I only have 4 sentinels with one doubled, and I’m told I’m lucky to have that many - a lot of people don’t have even that many despite playing the same number of full mazes I have. I keep playing Underspire because I really enjoy it as a mode - but frustration with “I play, I show up, and I get nothing for it week after week” is real.

I’m not sure a player starting in August 2024 can get it all. If they miss ONE season, or don’t pay for the season’s pass - they will find themselves in a very bad place, without a chance, ever, to upgrade all immortals to full (and I have doubts if even paying players can do it - players who only buy the season’s pass, without buying additional offers for seasonal immortal’s souls - the cost required is just ridiculous) And I find it very, very sad. Shiny keys became a thing a little over a year ago - and without buying these cat-in-a-bag headstart offers, despite collecting every single shiny key I could get my hands on - I don’t own even one troop at shiny level 3. What is a new player, starting in August 2024, to do, when they discover that while they can get all craftable mythics for diamonds one day, but there’s practically zero chance for them to level even one immortal to 30?

Let me show you a few screenshots - and why I think the paradigm of the game changed from “everything is possible for a F2P” to “a F2P is at a huge disadvantage”. All screenshots are from last sunday.

Lvl 1772 account, paid season’s pass, no other offers bought, 4 seasonal goals to go (mighty monolith, conqueror, vanguard, promoted)

Lvl 1491 account, only free season’s pass, 4 seasonal goals to go (mighty monolith, conqueror, vanguard, promoted) + one unachievable goal (overlord)

Can you please tell me how this is to ever become a full collection of all immortals at level 30, for the player without the paid pass? Or for any player who starts playing now and will miss this season? There’s no more burning chests to earn for the rest of the season, but for a few. Even the paying player will struggle to get them all to 30, all the while we keep getting new immortals every season (and new shiny troops every week!) Have you done the math to make sure that it is actually doable for anyone, not just for people wit extra deep pockets who can afford all paid offers? I like having long-term goals, but these goals need to feel achievable. This doesn’t feel like this. And this is really affecting my motivation to play PvP, even though I quite enjoy playing it as a mode.

What I enjoy now, in August 2024:

1. Underspire - but I’d love to see the sentinel drop rate increased. I get it, it was supposed to be a fun gift dropping every once in a while, but it is a big wound on my completionist’s heart that I might never get them all
2. new PvP - but I’d love to see the issue of immortals solved so that upgrading them feels more achievable even for a F2P & reduction of the necessary grind
3. World Events - I’d LOVE to see them more often than just once every four weeks
4. regular rotation of events - I can plan my play time, I know when the slower weeks and the more hardcore weekends will happen (or will not - depending on my schedule). Thanks for that.

I find it sad that with the forced PvP grind necessary I haven’t played an Explore 12 battle in weeks; I feel sorry for all the people who still need epic trials, delves, bounty and weekend FAs - how are they to find the time for this new grindy PvP? What about all the people who are still looking for Hoard Mimic - when are they to have the time for Explore, if PvP requires so many battles now? So, this is why “I can play as much as I want or as little as I want” paradigm is just gone. Please bring it back, reduce the unnecessary grind.

I know you only asked for positive things, but you know what, when people care, they tell you what they are unhappy with BECAUSE they care. You want people to care enough so that they tell you what’s wrong. I tried to be positive in the negative, tho, and I hope this is enough of a food for thought for the dev team. Hugs, Alpaca

[Sylwani]

Ive given up hope on them listening to us about how overbearing pvp has become.

[Drazen]

My favorite part of the game is the whole concept of kingdoms/factions and working towards upgrading them, as well as the collectible aspect - I love getting new cards, and working towards upgrading them in order to make a good teams. I am usually a completionist, so I love the troop / loot hunting.

Since we are only allowed to post good things in this thread, let’s say it like this: I enjoy the parts of this game where I can play ALONE, without the need to be in the guild to achieve goals and get rewards. Unlike probably a lot of people here, I prefer the single player type of games (I might be anti-social, I don’t know) and being forced to be in a guild to advance normally in the game is less than fortunate. But I do like the parts where I can play without anyone else, at my own pace.

Another thing I love while playing GoW is to imagine one day there will be less events, less currencies and less dependence on RNG while playing. Makes the guild events and PVP grind a bit more palatable

That’s basically it. Not a best ratio of like/dislike of things in the game, but it is what it is. If devs would actually consider some of what players are telling them, I am sure the ratio would be better.

[Voq]

I don’t know where to start so I’ll answer the example questions and try to stay positive .

• What is your favourite game mode and why?

At the moment, my favorite game mode that I actively play is Underspire. I also like Epic Trials and level 500 pure faction runs but don’t play these because I already completed them once. I would play those again for fun but there’s other grinding I have to do to keep up with the game… Arena can also be fun but I also don’t play it much due to the rewards.

Why do I like those game modes? They satisfy one or more of the following requirements:

• challenging content (without being overly frustrating due to restrictions like Journey)
• rewarding, such as unique rewards like Starry Pets from Epic Trials or high value orbs from Underspire
• dynamic, like being able to choose from a selection of different battles or seeing a variety of different enemy teams
  • Many game modes may appear to fit this requirement but don’t actually make the gameplay feel dynamic.
    • For example, World Events give you several choices but there’s usually just 1 optimal battle to choose from after a dozen battles
    • PVP may give you 3 enemy to choose from, but I don’t bother looking at the teams themselves and just pick the highest VP available. You benefit from grinding fast and not from having the absolutely best win rate possible unlike GW.

Do you enjoy collecting Cards? If this is your favourite part, which method of collection is your favourite? Crafting, Chests, earning them through event rewards - and is there a specific event that you like better for this than others etc?

Yeah, it’s one of the aspects that drew me to the game aside from being from the same dev of Puzzle Quest. I’m a casual completionist and like to try to 100% collections. I enjoy earning new cards them through chests (I don’t mind gacha games ) and the ability to target specific troops in Soulforge. This is one aspect I used to enjoy more when I was in early/mid game; when you amass too many resources, it becomes less fun .

Do you like the progression system? What about it do you like specifically? Did you like any stage of the game better than another (ie, first week/newcomer vs mid or endgame)? Would you consider yourself new, mid or endgame now and how long ago did you create a new account? What are you working on in terms of your account progress currently if you are enjoying it right now?

I can’t comment on the current progression system but I enjoyed how I progressed through early and mid game in 2019/2020. I’m end game now and without being too negative, I don’t know what I’m working on honestly.

The other part I love about the game is how F2P friendly it is. While I’m may not be a fan of some of the recent monetization choices, you still can progress pretty quickly overall, especially the frequency of vault keys and GaP which we didn’t have years ago.