I think this is an interesting topic and Iāll be interested to see what others have to say.
For myself, āinvestmentā isnāt really part of the equation. Like @Suicide_Bunny, Iād frame my answer more around the word entertainment. I knew the odds on summons and whatnot when I put money in, so nothing more is required imo. Using @voidstrikeās restaurant analogy, I ordered gems and those gems have been received. I have dispensed them in the way that seemed the most likely to net me the heroes I was interested in. Done. I mean, itād be cool if the game didnāt end tomorrow, but assuming a reasonable lifespanā¦everything between SGG and me is square.
There are two main reasons I feel this way.
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I have spent an amount of money on this game that is completely trivial to me. Iām not bragging, Iām saying thatās intentional and how I approached spending. What Iāve doled out affects the rest of my life 0%. I actually have no idea how much Iāve spent. I donāt think itās a lot, but I designed it so I didnāt need to care about the actual amount.
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My relationship with SGG is strictly transactional. I occasionally give them money, they provide a known service. Neither of us has obligations beyond that. I wish that werenāt the case and I think a different model of provider to player interaction would be more fulfilling for all parties (as well as extending the life of the game and ultimately making it more profitable, but I could be wrong about that). I have written about this in the past. It is my opinion that SGG, by their behavior and (lack of) communication has repeatedly AND EMPHATICALLY declined to adopt a healthier gaming model, one that would more fully embrace the mutual goals of the company and the player base in a collaborative fashion.
I donāt want that to come off as overly harsh. Per @JonahTheBardās Audiences With, if Petri really did come to visit I would make him dinner and attempt to get to know him as an individual. If the SGG staff were more prominent and available on the forums, participated in discussions with players, communicated about what is going on and - more critically - why, I would partake. And it is very likely my stance would soften. But SGG would need to take a step in that direction. Their lack of any sort of public relations expert is a huge flaw.
Lastly, I do often use game timers (e.g., raid flags full, titan spawns, etc.) as stopping points for my Pomodoro sets. Itās a nice stopping points and creates a finite and pre-decided break. Parkinsonās Law is always a problem, and creating artificial deadlines is usually how I combat that. My stopping time can be arbitrary, so the Mystic Vision cooldown is as good a device as any.