The order in which reward cards appear on the Victory screen at the end of each battle has long been problematic.
The addition of a second, simultaneous Shrine brings this into sharp focus.
In other words, it’s finally time to make this a priority.
TL;DR
Skip to the last two sections, then come back up to understand my reasoning.
Short version: Move Shrines to the front, Traitstones to the first group and, most important, Guild Wars points to the very end.
First or Last?
The first question is whether the most important cards should go first or last?
I think we can use both, in different ways.
The first cards to appear will only be looked at briefly, and only by someone who isn’t trying to win battles quickly. Therefore, it makes sense for impressive but mundane rewards to appear first. Apart from the very first card (which we all see most of the time, albeit very briefly), these rewards are mostly only important to new players.
Everyone gets to see the last few cards, either because they Skip ahead, or because the game shows them indefinitely while waiting for player input. Therefore, these are the most important rewards for people playing quickly and/or familiar with the game.
What Goes First?
XP, Gold, Souls, and Traitstones. All the things that become irrelevant, later in the game. The only real change here is that Traitstones definitely need to be moved to the front group.
What Goes Last?
The very last thing must be anything specific to the Event or game Mode. We already see Delve Chests in last place, as well as Vault Rewards. We desperately need to move Guild Wars scores to last place. And Event-specific rewards (such as Boss Damage or Fey Lanterns, from a few World Events ago) must be visible when the game stops scrolling the Victory screen rewards. Valravens also need to be visible. Gnome rewards are actually less important, though moving Traitstones and Shrines out of the way should help keep them in view, anyway.
What Goes in the Middle?
Delve room rewards, and similar mundane, but event-specific rewards. These will sometimes be visible on the final screen and sometimes not. Trophies and Class XP fall into the same category. But Faction Event points really belong in the last group.
Just to confuse things a bit, once a Class has reached level 100, knowing how many Class XP a battle gives you becomes far less important. It’s still important to show it somewhere (so the player can see how many Class XP they could have earned for another class in that mode), but it should be dynamically deprioritised. I would put it before Trophies if the class is already maxed, or leave it where it is otherwise. If this is too difficult, and a fixed order is required, put it always just before Trophies.
Stupid Shrines
Shrines are a niche element of the game that only appeals to a tiny fraction of players. Yet their cards get in the way of much more important rewards for every single player.
Fundamentally, this is a contest between marketing and common sense. But I believe there is an agreeable compromise.
First, the fact that Shrines are permanently marked with an Attention icon once full really should be sufficient for the marketers. Players uninterested in Shrines find these indicators incredibly annoying – the more OCD-like you are as a player, the more annoying it is to be unable to dismiss it.
However, marketers are rarely that logical.
Instead, I propose moving the Shrine cards right to the front of the Victory screen rewards list.
This is a win-win situation. Everyone gets to see that first card come up and remind us that Shrines exist (though, as I said, the map-screen reminder is far more prominent), simply because we usually don’t click fast enough to skip the first card. If this isn’t sufficient, make the background of the card more prominent, so it forms a stronger visual link to the Shrine “feature” in our minds.
Meanwhile, after skipping (or waiting out) the string of rewards, we get to see the most important rewards prominently, clearly, and conveniently displayed – just how we want them.
Conclusion – What Needs to Change?
If you disagree with my logic, this entire post has been a waste of time. But frankly, if you fundamentally disagree (as opposed to disagreeing with a couple of details), that seems like good evidence that you don’t play the game much.
I’m going to refer to a front, middle, and end group of reward cards, along with positions within those groups. The existing positions within the groups can generally remain unchanged (eg: XP, then Gold, Souls and Treasure Maps in the front group).
Here’s a simple, step-by-step list of some of the necessary changes:
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Move Shrine cards to the very front of the list. (Mind you, players would probably prefer them at the end of the front group.)
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Move Traitstones into the front group.
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Move Trophies and Class XP to the end of the middle group, after the Delve Room rewards (for example).
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Move Faction Event points to the end of the last group, just before Valravens and Chests. In fact, this is the correct position for all types of Event points.
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Move Guild Wars points to the very end of the list. THIS IS CRITICAL. (Technically, it’s also covered by the previous point – but it’s so important, it really does bear repeating explicitly.)
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Outside of the Vault, move Gnome rewards to either the start of the last group, or to the middle group.
Final Order
I’m sure I’ll miss something, but here’s an attempt at a complete order.
Front Group
- XP
- Gold
- Souls
- Traitstones, from rarest to most common
- Gold Shrine (or in first place)
- Soul Shrine (or in second place)
- Gold Keys
- Treasure Maps
Middle Group
- Delve Room Gold
- Delve Room Glory
- Delve Room Souls
- Delve Room Traitstones
- Other Room-Specific Rewards (except Faction Event points)
- Class XP (if class is level 100)
- Gnome drops (optional position)
- Trophies
- Class XP (if class is under level 100)
Final Group
- Gnome drops (more likely position)
- Vault Gnome drops
- World Event drops
- Journey miles
- Boss Damage
- Towers killed
- Tower of Doom Scrolls
- PvP points
- Explore mini-boss/mythic-boss annnouncements
- Faction Event points
- Guild Wars points
- Valravens
- Delve Chest upgrade
