I’m new to the game but not unfamiliar with the mechanics of this “grind”. Even as a new player who spent a little to get a roster together I am piling up tokens as I have a bunch to level with no mats . It’s more than a bit tedious and my stupidity pushes me onward 
. Sometimes a break helps but yes the grind here can be a tad incessant
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So far as hero drop rates are concerned, I have less reason to be upset than others, I think. I went p2p for about 6 months and managed to pile up some duplicate 5-star heroes. It’s nice to have some heroes in that top tier – it’s true!
I’ll lay aside the matter of overall utility of those heroes (but for example: is the strength of my roster improved by having two Bertilas? Three? . . . what about the FIVE Bertilas on my bench?) to focus on the matter of ascension material availability. The last four alliances I was in topped out at 8* titans and 11v11 wars, and were composed of f2p/vc2p gamers. So my ascension mat drops were reduced from what I would find in a 30-member full-war 10*+ titan alliance, clearly. I have the materials to ascend one green 5-star, and I should get the last tabard I need for a dark hero within the next month, I think (maybe 40-ish days: Morlovia quest). But it seems reasonable for me to expect a 300-to-360-day cycle to accumulate enough ascension materials to fully level one of my 5-star heroes. And when I take my current inventory levels into consideration, I can expect a 12-year wait to complete my red heroes, roughly speaking. If I adjust that estimate by acknowledging which 5-star reds I want to complete, then that timeline drops to . . . approximately 9 years.
And nothing in that timeline accounts for new releases, lucky pulls, or the remote possibility of trading heroes.
Whether by dollars spent or the adage of Empires & Patience, I’ve earned the roster I have. I’d simply like to be able to play with the toys I’ve collected.
And this little diatribe has provided two more small points of inspiration (and two became more!):
- Selective Layered Ascension – I like my 3/4-star heroes quite a lot. I would be willing to pay ALL of the cumulative food and material costs to level and ascend, say, Grevle/Buddy/Bertila all at the same time. Once Grevle is completed, that “Layer Slot” remains locked until Bertila is finished. You can play with the heroes as normal, but once you assign a hero to an “Ascension Squad”, that squad doesn’t open up until all three are fully leveled.
Some caveats:
– you can only have either: a) one ascension squad, or b) one ascension squad per color
– you can ascend other heroes in lieu of working on the dedicated ascension squad (good surprises DO happen)
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Hero Vault – I like the 2/1-star heroes, too. If they could be made relevant (and, even better, NEW heroes added) at the higher levels of play, I think it would be a good thing to have a “vault” of ‘retired’ heroes to bring to some part of the game. A Vaulted hero cannot be reset for emblems, cannot be fed away, and does not count against your roster cap. There would be many logistical issues with this, I know, but the point is about keeping players engaged. (I will never forget the day I fed away my two maxed-out Needlers; I was a little sad about it.)
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Player-selected “Grind” Rewards – To mitigate the extended wait time for ascension materials, allowing players to choose a specific ascension material for which to quest would be good. I’m not referring to playable levels on the Quests tab – I’m brainstorming a meter that has the preselected item displayed as the chests are on Wanted Missions. Some means of accruing points toward attaining that item could be selected: one million xp for a 4* mat? 350k xp for a 3* mat? You get the idea.
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Well, I had an idea for #4, but it eludes me now.
Ah, yes! Now I recall!!
Birthday/Anniversary Bonus – Each player receives one copy of the HotM on either the player’s birthday (privacy issues? reticent players like myself?) or the anniversary of that player’s first day joining the game (pending recent activity, etc.). One “top-end” freebie per year . . . . Surely that wouldn’t be so bad.
I believe that there are ways to implement a faster “rate of return” for even the most dedicated f2pers that still will not hamper SGG’s bottom line.
I play in a more relaxed fashion that many others; I’m more hardcore than many others, too. But being able to utilize every tier of my roster in a timely fashion would be ideal.
EDIT: Apologies for my formatting issues. I don’t know why it works this way.
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My best decision in a long time was to delete the game! ITs a weir thing to say, but this game had become a burden. Now it off my shoulders and Im free again
Its a scam, thats all there is to it…
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It’s true. I have stopped playing for 1 month now. And I vomit just seeing the game icon on my phone. I hope this game comes to a bad end and people open their eyes and stop spending
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Oh good lord… yeah, where to start to reply to that…
about the only part of that post I agree with is “Here on E&P your patience is tested”.
(not referring to the OP, but to the other more recent reply, to which I don’t want to directly reply to because I don’t want to get into a pointless debate with someone who loves the idea of grinding for years in exchange for next to nothing, because I can’t ever imagine finding any common ground with anyone who thinks that way)
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This. You don’t even get ham and iron. Loot needs to be improved.
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Just got a red one. Orb, trap tools, and 3 silver tokens. Wasn’t even worth the time I spent on it.
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At least you got two unfarmables. I’ve had a few elemental chests that gave me freaking chainmail, tall boots, and silver tokens.
Seriously?
Got a red one ripening as well. Can’t remember the last time I got anything other that those three (expletive very much thought but not written) silver tokens.
Fingers crossed. Again. lol
Edit: all farmable AM… AGAIN. BUT?! Three, that’s THREE gold tokens! I’m not going to complain again about “RNG” for at LEAST an hour. Maybe two hours!
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Congratulations! 3 gold tokens is a nice haul.
Sometimes the game seems like it’s trying to make it up to me. Like when I kill a bunch of titans and get nothing, then Mystic Vision gives me a royal tabard. Or when my TC20s keep spitting out 3 stars for months on end, then I pull a Vivica from Costume Chamber.
Game is looking at me like… “there, we good now?”
I just glare back suspiciously.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re GOOD… but I’ll stop complaining for today at least.”
“Cool, cool…” RNG says, whistling casually. “So… what about tomorrow?”
“I’ll let you know how I feel tomorrow.”
“Remember, I just gave you a 4* ascension mat for a 30 second video…”
“Yeah, and also remember I spent the last several months doing a bunch of bull 
for basically bull rewards.”
RNG: “Soooo… you’re still holding a grudge, basically.”
“A little bit. Your insistence that one tiny gesture makes us even for several months of abuse is not exactly helping your case.”
RNG: “Right. You’re still mad, I get it. I’ll just uh… give you some more time.”
“I think that would be best, yes.”
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5 minutes later:
Been there too. I’m hella tired of the grind. So tired I was about to quit several times. Then RNG decided to give me a free Malicna. She’s not the HOTM I was looking for but hey, it’s something. That big lamppost weapon she’s carrying always makes me chuckle.
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Exactly how I felt when I pulled Noor. I was in a bad place at the time. Then along came Noor with her little birdies.
“Aww, how cute. You’re not a very strong hero, are you? But I can’t deny your adorableness.”
Wasn’t the HotM I wanted, but it was probably the hero I needed at the time to lift my spirits.
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Noor isn’t absolutely useless. One of my alliance mates (No, not Homaclese ) ascended her because well, he had no other options.
He gets good play from her, especially with Bera & Freya being prevalent. Noor is quite tanky and her minions are decent quality.
She gets a lot of hate but he uses her in hisRed stack in wars and does pretty well
He’s F2P as well so making the best use of what he has
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I do like her, and I’ve used her in a few wars. She’s certainly not OP by any means, but I wouldn’t call her garbage either. My own roster is fairly limited, so yes, I am making the best of what I have.
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Appreciate the positivity. But I’ve got over 60 of pretty much every 3* unfarmable. More than I’ll ever possibly use.
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Indeed, I have Rueben and would much rather have Noor. Rueben is just useless on both offense and defense. He was clearly made to counter the GM-Tell-Vela fronts, but then they nerfed them and now I don’t need him. Much rather have Noor.
Could I possibly borrow a few compasses and sturdy shields? I’ll gladly give you a bunch of hams and iron and a big old pile of common herbs in exchange.
Trade you half my stash of each for some nuggets. With all these mythic titans and ninja towers, my tornados are impossible to keep stocked. Tried to get some during AR and had a mediocre haul.
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Ah, unfortunately I regularly craft tornados myself, so same predicament.
Some 3* mats I have an abundance of, but for whatever reason, I never get the ones that I need. I still consider it a win when I pull my umpteenth orb or trap tool though, just because, it beats something I could easily get from farming.