This is not meant to be anything other than comfort for myself
The weekly has been a source of frustration for us players for as long as I can remember. It started out as a little thing and then grew each year. I still remember the day it went to 4.5 million and the outcries on the forums about how that was impossible and that none of the average players would be able to obtain it. Of course, at that time I could not get to 4.5 million either. But, being me, I went about analyzing the targets and watching others that had some success and then collected and built what I needed. It took me a good six months to get to 4.5 million, but boy what is worth the trip!
The second major change
Then, Kixeye (in typical fashion) pulled another stunt and raised it 50 million. This new FM was going to be the death stroke to the game if you believed the forums. Granted, I was in a much better place by this time having resolved myself to the direction they were taking the game and I was ready for this change. It did not solve the issue for others that came behind me, though. They were sorely behind the technological curve and did not have the knowledge that I had. It was at this time I started to pull in those that wanted to learn and struggling to teach them what I knew and how to anticipate changes that might be coming. It was a fun time, now that I look back at that year long endeavor. I made some new friends and helped quite a few find a new love for this game. It was short lived though as not a year later more changes come.
The Last change
Now we arrive at the big day a full year later and low and behold Kixeye does it again. Save this time they did it in stages. First, they introduced the 150 million mark for Tier 5 and tucked some shards and technology that was in a past raid. Then, they decided that people were getting 100’s of millions above that hitting the level 85 that they should go to 350 million! They put more shards in (which who really wants that stuff right?) and they moved our beloved bonus tokens from Tier 4 to Tier 5! Of course, they would throw us a bone and give us a target that was worth 73 million each, making, so we needed to hit five of them to reach that tier.
I was technically ready for this change too. I had the means to hit the higher paying targets. I had ways to keep going and do the 150 million each week while we had a month to prepare for the big change. I chose to take a couple weeks off instead. Why? Well, I was not sure I had it in me to keep teaching new players, and some old, how to handle these changes. This recent change seemed to be a bit too much, and I was not very happy about it. I might not coin as much as the next person, but I do spend a mighty sum on this game, and I believe, they felt they could get even more out of the stone that was running dry. I never spend on the weekly, and I find it counterproductive to pay for a chore that I do not like to do. Especially, as I see it as a reward for decisions, I do not agree were being made. Now, you might be of a different opinion and that is great, but if you are not happy with the changes, and your behavior is tossing money at it to be successful in any amount is the problem.
Wrap up
You are free to spend your money any way you choose. I am a firm believer in free markets and the individual choice to do what makes that person happy. I just wish you would think about how your decision to give a company money affects the decisions they make at changing the game. And I know there are plenty out there that will toss $10 or $20 on the weekly just to get it done. The problem comes when the player base is spending $500 a year on some content and then complaining when the content changes. Instead of finding a way to do it without spending our hard earned money and forcing the company to look for other ways to monetize the game, we (as players) are feeding the narrative that this is what we want to spend our money on as consumers.
What business is not going to give the paying customer what they want? And Kixeye paying customers wanted a 350 million point weekly every single week. At least as far as Kixeye is concerned, your purchasing habits told them as much.
Thank you for reading, this felt good.
