@SteemMonsters is evolving

NB: This is not a rant, but rather a statement of the current problem (according to me) and offering a few solutions.

@SteemMonsters is still in BETA (i.e. things are expected to change/be less than ideal), and hopefully the developers will listen to suggestions and tweak as we move along... and they have. However this last change has taken us backwards (IMHO).

Pay2Win

All TCG's (in fact most games where 'resources' can be bought) are Pay2Win. The guys with the most money will buy the best cards/most gold/fastest car/sweetest candies/whatever. I have no problem with that! I used to do it myself many moons back when I was really into Magic: The Gathering... With boxes and boxes of cards and more than a handful of complete expansions, I sunk (way more than I care to admit) cash into the game... and YES, I won more than my fair share of games/tournaments as a result.

@SteemMonsters does/did it better though

So while the kids with the most money won the MTG tournaments (and prizes), @SteemMonsters is (or at least was) different. YES, the folk that spend the most $ end up in the champion league and do/will win all the open tournaments and big prizes. That's life, and is the same in any game/sport/competition... But @SteemMonsters league limits mean that those that haven't sunk $1000s into the game still have a fair chance of winning and growing (you will only be battling against those people that have the same level of cards).

Daily quests and league prizes meant that with $<100 you could build a fairly decent deck, and that deck would grow a tiny bit every day (completing daily quests and winning new cards) and a fair chunk every 2-3 weeks (winning more and more depending on where you ended on the league ladder).

So how is that Pay2Play?

Well... that's how things USED TO BE. Without going into it to much (enough others have), there was room for abuse and things needed to change.

The Change: Instead of giving out BETA edition cards, a new set of 10 cards was introduced and used as rewards for daily quests and league prizes.

Better yet... These cards can ONLY be obtained by playing the game (_or buying from someone who did win them).

SWEET!!!
Ah... but wait!!! Almost everyone thought this was a great idea when it was first announced. While encouraging game-play, it simultaneously limits the guys with the biggest wallets from buying their way to the top.
... or so I choose to believe it was intended anyway.

The problem(s) & solutions?

1) VERY skew distribution of reward cards

The folk in the bronze leagues are getting just 1 reward card for every daily quest completed. 5 in Silver and 10 in Gold. I'm not sure how many in platinum, diamond and champion... but I'm assuming it goes up and up with each new league level.

This one isn't SUCH a major problem. People who have forked out hard-earned cash should be rewarded. But you've got league rewards for that! The downside to this is that it's going to take nearly forever for the okes in bronze to level up their cards. It's literally 10 times faster in gold, and I'm sure 20-30 times faster in Diamond/Champion. The gap between top and bottom is literally widening on a daily basis, and the folk at the bottom are going to lose interest and walk away.

solution?

Narrow the gap between daily quest rewards. e.g. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 etc. etc. depending on league level.

2) Over Supply of Reward Cards

I fiddle about in the Silver I and Gold III leagues most of the time, and even I've already got too many reward cards at a level that my summoners can't even summon any more.
GREAT! Sell the surplus and buy Beta edition cards? #SCORE!!!
Not so fast! Everyone (except bronze) is getting so many cards that in just a few short weeks of the reward cards being introduced, the market is already flooded with (shitty - see my next point) cards that nobody is even buying them up for a piddly $0.03

solution?

Increase the number of different reward cards and/or reduce amount of rewards... and more importantly usable / game-playable cards (see next point)

3) Useless/Shitty Reward Cards

There are MUCH better archer alternatives... and don't even get me started on that rust-bucket android!

solution?

Make the reward cards more effective (even rare and/or game changers if you will)... dropping reward card counts depending on league level if you must.
e.g. The Mushroom Seer & Divine Sorceress should be the shittiest of the reward edition cards (FWIW: I actually do like both these cards.).

4) Stagnation in your regular deck!!!

With my interest in the game waning a little, I'm not playing my daily quests as much as I used to. ... but I've STILL managed to level my reward edition cards up to levels 4, 5 ,6. At level 5 & 6, the Vampire is no longer a TOTAL waste of mana... hell even old rusty is starting to look like something useful at level 6 and up (well compared to my level 2 & 3 beta edition cards anyway)...

BUT there's a problem: My level 2 summoners can't summon level 6 & 7 creatures. And ol' rust-bucket at level 3 just can't compete for effective mana-usage with other level 3 beta cards.

Unfortunately that leaves me with the only option being that I need to pay for cards... i.e. PAY2PLAY :-(

solution?

Mix the rewards up a little. Include some beta edition cards in the daily quest and league rewards. Maybe even pop guaranteed summoners into the league rewards. 1 for bronze, 2 for silver, 3 for gold etc. etc.

So, in short: my wish-list for the next @SteemMonsters changes:

1. Reward the lower levels more daily (and make the gap between lowest and highest leagues smaller).
2. Change (INCREASE) the usability of reward edition cards.

• scrap the current lot and/or introduce more reward edition cards.

1. Change the composition of quest/league rewards. Include beta cards (at least summoners).

NOTE: These ideas have not been thought through properly... and I'm sure there are many other things that can/will change... but based on what I've experienced, if I am to continue playing, then at least SOME of the changes need to be effected.

The alternative is of course for @SteemMonsters to just say SCREW YOU FREELOADERS! We want to/need to make some $, and from now on you will be paying if you want to play!!

That is 100% acceptable as well... but then that needs to be properly communicated (and the wrong strategy, in my opinion, for at least another several months). Right now, it's advertised as if new folk have the choice of buying a little and growing slowly or buying a lot and jumping in at the top leagues... and unfortunately this is not true.

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