One Year of Play - Taking Inventory

Today marks exactly the 1 year anniversary since I started playing this game. I thought it’d be a good time to sit down and take inventory.

The left screenshot is how I can tell exactly when I started - “Complete tutorial” achievement on August 30, 2017. You can find this (on Android anyway) in Options in the bottom left corner, just left of the sign in/sign out button for Google Play Games. It is interesting that these are the same accomplishments you can see in Play Games, but in there it does not seem to show the date. Also interesting to look back and see that it took almost a month back then to kill 500 monsters or win 20 raids… today that would be done in less than 3 days typically.

The screenshot on the right is from today of course.

I should note that my level of activity has gone from rather casual in the beginning, to very active now - I play multiple times throughout the day, try to make maximum use of available World Energy and so on. Someone who is highly active from the very beginning could do better of course, while perhaps someone playing more casually over time may not quite have accomplished all the same things just yet.

Money spent

Total money spent: US$101.49 (I pulled my bank account history to get this number accurately)

That comes out to $8.46 average per month. I’ve paid for the VIP pass 5 times, it was active roughly from the end of February till the end of July this year. I didn’t spend any money the first couple months (not until the Winter Event), and is getting less again now too since I no longer have need for the 2 builders of the VIP pass, and also I’m realizing more and more the odds for 5* at the summons are just not good, and so I don’t want to spend all that much on gems (=mostly real money) for summons pulls any more.

Buildings

Barracks are at level 10 (their max); it was converted from a Forge, as is probably most common. I have one open space where I am allowed to build another Forge and nothing else, but I have absolutely no need for another forge with 2 already at level 20 (honestly I really could do with just 1 forge).

Three of the 4 training camps are at level 20, and the 4th is at level 19. I’ve ran 3 of them at level 20 for some time, and scaled it back down to 2 now as I’ve gotten several 5* from them to work on recently. For F2P or low spending players like myself, TC20 seems like the best source for 5* (and also 4*!).

Besides that, every single building is at level 20, which has a lot to do with keeping 2 builders going nearly the whole time I had the VIP pass for those 5 months. If you’re inclined to spend some money, the VIP pass I think is quite good value.

Ascension materials

Here’s what I’ve gathered in one year. I have never tracked these items, but their totals are easily calculated from what I spent on already leveled up heroes and what is in my inventory now.

I will note again that in the beginning, the first few months probably, I was not as active as I got later, and also probably didn’t realize the rarity of some of these items and could’ve had more if I fought harder in the rare quests and so on.

4* materials (for 5* heroes):

  • Damascus Blade: 8 total, 6 in inventory
  • Tome of Tactics: 8 total, 6 in inventory
  • Farsight Telescope: 9 total, 3 in inventory
  • Mysterious Tonic: 7 total, 7 in inventory
  • Mystic Rings: 12 total, 6 in inventory
  • Poison Darts: 10 total, 10 in inventory
  • Royal Tabbard: 10 total, 10 in inventory

3* materials:

  • Compass: 33 total, 16 in inventory
  • Fine Gloves: 25 total, 8 in inventory
  • Hidden Blade: 24 total, 8 in inventory
  • Orb of Magic: 31 total, 15 in inventory
  • Sturdy Shield: 23 total, 11 in inventory
  • Trap Tools: 34 total, 14 in inventory
  • Warm Cape: 21 total, 5 in inventory (these I need the most! I’ve got Isarnia and a 2nd Magni and a couple Sonyas and Kirils that could use these…)

I have gotten some of the 3* materials from the various $2 event specials that included them. I have not tracked how many exactly, it is less than 10 total. I’ve never bought anything that included any 4* ascension material.

Heroes

First off, I have done dozens of summons, can’t give a number exactly because I haven’t tracked that either, but I’ve done 2 10x pulls and many times individual pulls using gems and I’m guessing easily 2 dozen or so epic hero tokens. But clearly nothing close to some of the higher spending players.

So far I do not have a single HotM, or 4* or better event hero. I’ve got two 3* event heroes. This is probably the major difference with bigger spenders. I’m fairly ok with that, but I do think it would’ve been nice after playing for this amount of time, and having spent some amount on gems, to have had maybe at least 1 HotM or good event hero. Maybe I’ll still get lucky in the future. If not, I’ll still be quite ok with the “regular” heroes available from TC20.

5* heroes

I have 7 total, with 1 from the summons (one of the 10x pulls, it was during the Summer Event this year if I remember correctly), which is Isarnia, and 6 from my TC20s, which I absolutely love (of course!). I did not get my first 5* till I had played about 9 months. I’ve mentioned this before, it was frustrating for me not to get any 5* before then, but looking back it’s done me a favor, as I have a very nicely developed set of 4* that is continuing to serve me well today. But I digress.

Maxed 5*: Khagan and Magni
5* being leveled up: Sartana (3/41), Isarnia (2/47), Kadilen (2/15)
Unleveled 5*: Obakan, a 2nd Magni

4* heroes

They are probably too many to list individually.

  • Fully maxed 4*: 15
  • 4* at 3/60: 12 (and another one is close)
  • Other 4* (unleveled or barely leveled): 20

These, in combination with Magni, Khagan and Sartana, give me a nice bench of heroes for the war… I do not need to use any 3* or less in war any more, really all but one are at least 4* at 3/60 or above.

And I have materials to bring some more of the 3/60 ones to their final ascension level. But I’m holding some materials in reserve for use with 5*. Several of them are being level up now as noted above.

3* heroes

Again probably not very interesting to list them all. I’ve got 14 maxed 3*. I’ve got 2 event 3*, one being Squire Wabbit which I maxed, and one being Hisan (3* green sand horse) which is unleveled. Actually I got a 2nd Squire Wabbit but I used him as food some time ago, realizing that in the big picture I was not going to need a 2nd one of him.

Alliance

After about one month of playing, I’ve joined the “Phantom Legion” alliance. It is the only alliance I’ve ever been in, and they are a great bunch of people, with great leadership. I know from others on this forum of other good alliances, but I am quite pleased with my alliance and I have no desire to change to another. I have progressed to a co-leader position in this alliance, which is not something I set out to become, and I am greatly honored by their trust in me. I do my best to fulfil this role well.

Conclusion

Thinking about it, it is really quite an accomplishment for this game to still be fun and interesting after a whole year! Part of that is that growing seems never ending… even after this time I have plenty to do to level up new heroes and strengthen my team. As much as we all want more 5* and all the ascension materials, if we could all get a full stable of 5* quickly I think the longevity of the game would become much less.

And alliance wars - which I know not everyone loves equally - to me, have brought a whole new dimension, and have given new meaning to previously mostly useless duplicate heroes. Our alliance like some others has had some struggles with less than great matches, but we take it in stride and I do love how it brings our alliance together as a team (and we certainly do win some also!).

Thank you @Petri, @mhalttu and all the SG staff for what you’ve built.

Here’s to another year of E&P!

42 Likes

Hi @ChoppedLiver

Hearty congratulations on a positive and practical view from a committed c2p player.

By my definition, you are a big winner - working hard with realistic expectations and reaping the rewards.

Multiple thumbs up from me, and I hope to catch up in the next few months!!

12 Likes

Thanks a lot for the “Complete tutorial” trick! I didn’t know when I started until now. I thought it was somewhere around May 2017, while it was June the 7th.
I find your analysis of what you’ve got after 1 year very interesting: I think seeing what can be achieved can help other c2p and even f2p players (I’m pretty sure your 100 bucks didn’t pushed you a lot wrt to totally free players) to hang on with the game if they are ok with building their army not in a rush.

2 Likes

I don’t see the point in being c2p. My suggestion for everyone is be f2p or a whale. Never spend a cent and I’m playing since november 2017. I got a hotm (Zeline). I also have a similiar amount of 4* materials. With patience(you need it anyway), you can level all you builings. That means, no need for the VIP Pass.

2 Likes

The game gave me my 6th free mystic rings yesterday with Mount Umber in about 10 months of play. Bought one in a special offer and Marj has been 80 for quite a while now. I was also able to train in TC20 2 months earlier due to VIP from which Marj came from.

I may not even have Marj if I didn’t C2P. C2P is fine, as long as you know what you’re doing.

4 Likes

Thanks for your comment, but respectfully I disagree. In my experience it is actually the moderate spending that gives the greatest return - you can spend tons and certainly get lots of great heroes and a couple more ascension materials than others, but you’ll still be bottlenecked by having to grind and gather materials for your many heroes, build your buildings etc. which even with a VIP pass takes time.

And speaking of the VIP pass, you’re quite right that it isn’t needed, but… it does help a lot to shave off time to get your buildings leveled up. Basically for $5 you have the potential to save an entire month of building (assuming you can keep 2 builders busy the whole time, which admittedly can be challenging because of needed iron mostly), and it gives 900 gems over that month which is in itself a decent deal for that kind of money (now the average return for those gems, that’s a different story…). So I consider that a good return for a relatively small price.

Anyway, I am not suggesting people should spend only a little, or a lot, or none at all - it’s all fine. I’m only saying what my experience is. I’ll never be a whale, but I’m glad there are some to fund development… :slight_smile: And I think it’s actually great that the entire spectrum of F2P to whales can all co-exist in this game and enjoy it.

5 Likes

Thanks for the kind words @JonahTheBard! No doubt you will catch up, good luck and enjoy the journey!

1 Like

I am in the cheap to play camp - $70 over 15 months or so, and it’s a fantastic way to play. Spend a few bucks early on summons to get that roster beefed up. Then buy the $2 ascension and gem deals to level your team. Save those gems for some pulls OR the more recent gem ascension item offers. If VIP was around when I started I would have done that, for sure, to get to SH20 and TC20 faster.

At the end of the day I have 2 fully ascended 5* rainbow teams, 3 HOTM, placed in top 100 in legendary in Fables, and can run into the top slot whenever I want.

It’s HOW and WHEN you use those funds that make this game more enjoyable, IMO.

5 Likes

Congrats on surviving a year!

2 Likes

Great summary of your play @ChoppedLiver. Regarding the VIP pass, and you DID mention this, but the gem deal alone (900 gems for $4.99) is a pretty sweet deal and worth the cost by itself. The second builder, for me, is just icing on the cake. Good Luck on your game future and happy hunting :wink:

2 Likes

Hello good afternoon

I do not know if it’s the right place to expose me, but I throw my question.

I’ve been playing for almost a year now, being currently level 41 and still not leaving a single hero of 5 *, which is starting to overwhelm me as I see almost all the players of my level are with 2 or more heroes of 5 *, I see almost impossible to raise my punctuation in cups which is overwhelming and monotonous.
My question is, if this is normal, do not leave heroes of 5 * at this point I have asked if I have a problem in my account and they tell me that the game is done so that all players have the same possibilities, if this is so, How is it possible to get to this level and not one single one?

1 Like

Nice breakdown. I’ve been playing for roughly a year too. I’m also c2p (cheap to play), which, for me, means I let myself have a little treat in the game. I definitely won’t be a whale because, while this game is fun, I don’t see the value in doing that. I also can’t afford it. I know I’d just get frustrated taking the hard line that I’ll spend nothing, so I take the middle ground and sometimes spend. I did get the VIP option when that was released. It feels like that was a good choice because of the daily double hero summon, the daily gems, and loot tickets.

I’m doing okay. I’ve not really been strategic about building out my heroes. A lot of it is luck of the draw, but I notice some in my alliance are really powerful. Their discussions are a lot more detailed, but they spend more time in the game though too. Some, I suspect, also spend more money. I try to get one session in per day and, ideally, two or more. Usually, when I am in it’s a farming mission, so I’m going for swords so that I can keep training heroes. However, there are some days where I’m too busy even with the option of loot tickets. That’s rare, but it does happen.

I’ve managed to get a few 5 star heroes all of them Hero of the Month or from an event (Natalya, Red Hood, Gregorian (twice), and Tarlak) and a lot of 4 star ones too. Since the wars started, I’m making sure to develop them all 3-stars and up because the strategy of having just one strong team doesn’t work anymore.

I’m still enjoying the game, for the most part. I do think it can get boring at times. I was happy with the visuals around season 2, but I use my low level season 2 heroes to farm in the lower levels of season 1. The points I’d have to spend just to farm in season 2 aren’t worth it. The goal is now that I’m through the lower levels and some of the harder levers of season 2, is to keep developing my level 4 and 5 heroes. Then I’ll finish off the hard levels of season 2 and see what they give us when it continues.

You can only farm in the lower season 1 levels so many times before it’s just the same thing over and over. I had some fun with playing again with the new season 2 heroes I got, but that’s lost it’s shine now too. I’m back to putting my phone to the side, while I’m working or checking the internet and have it on auto play most of the time. I’ll play in the events, wars, battles, and against titans though.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the inventory. It helps me see that I’m doing okay overall.

2 Likes

Since when do you run TC20 and how many ?

1 Like

Just want to point out that your start date may not coincide with completing the tutorial. I know I started in February 2018 but must have skipped part of the tutorial and didn’t finish it until April 2. I finished Power Unleashed, Savior, Killing Machine, and Conqueror before Tutorial so it’s possible.

1 Like

@wawi I think @Elayanith asked the key question.

Is it normal to play for a year and not have any 5*? I really can’t answer that for sure based on just my own experience, but it’s probably on the unlucky side. If your only source for 5* has been the summons, it’s probably not out of the question. Like I mentioned, in one full year of play I got only a single 5* from the summons; the others have all come from running the level 20 training camps (TC20s).

Basically I would say there are 3 ways to build up a roster of 5*:

  • Spend no money or very little (F2P or C2P), and either get really lucky multiple times, or play for a long time (probably a really long time - more than a year based on your experience and mine…)
  • Spend a ton of money so you can do many many pulls
  • Run TC20s

The last option has worked well for me so far, I now have 8 5* heroes altogether (pulled Marjana one day after the 1 year mark when I took the above inventory :grin:), so unless you are willing and able to do a lot of spending, that is the option I would recommend if you’re not doing that already. I would recommend running 2, 3 or if you want even 4 TC20s for some time, and then scale them down when you’ve gotten some 5* to work on. I’ve ran 2 for nearly 3 months and then scaled it up to 3 for 5 or 6 weeks, got several 5* in a relatively short time and scaled it down to 2, and soon 1.

With approximately a 5% chance of a 5* from the TC20, and one training taking 2 days, with a single camp over time you should average 1 5* every 40 days; with 2 running, 1 every 20 days, and with 3, 1 every 13 days. These are just averages, I went for a month or 2 with only a single one (that was a duplicate and not very useful for a while), then got 3 in almost a week’s time - this is the nature of RNG.

Hope that helps a bit, may the odds be in your favor!

1 Like

Quite a good point. I’m fairly confident in my case that I did do the tutorial in the beginning… I guess it makes sense to look for the badge with the oldest date.

Sounds like you’re doing great. There’s always stronger people to be found with more/stronger heroes, and you’re probably right a lot of them do spend more also.

Possibly playing even more times per day might help some to get a bit more ascension materials over time, but if this does not fit life for any reason, or it might not feel like fun anymore, then really don’t…

I do get the point about it being boring at times, grinding level 8-7 for the bazillionth time isn’t very exciting. I think for me more than anything it’s the growth aspect that keeps it interesting for me, and I do also enjoy the wars, Titans and raids.

Congrats on the HotM/event heroes, that’s one area it sounds like you’ve done really well!

1 Like

Excellent post, cheers.
Would you mind helping with something. Could you explain what “TC20” means please.
I’ve had a quick look at some posts but can’t find an explanation for it.

Common jargon used by players of Training Camp Level 20 (research). Not only do you have to get the building level up to level 20, you also have to get the research (Legendary Training) Researched. What comes is the epitome of what can be achieved for hero acquisition by C2P and F2P right from the comfort of their own base. In this training, for each 2-day session of 297K Food, 100 Recruits, and I think a very common Ascension Material (Leather Armor or Rugged Cloth, can’t remember) and you have a chance to acquire 3*-5* heroes (obviously the chance for 3* being the highest, followed by 4*, then 5* being lowest).

It is what I also refer to as homegrown heroes (e.g. not acquired by gem summons, token summons).

For a list of other commonly used jargons, I invite you to check out the below thread compiled by @JonahTheBard.

2 Likes

I concur that you can get far better return on low spending…but you still get something as you spend more.

The VIP pass is the best value in the game.

There are several points where you can buy your way quickly into something that will take weeks/months without spending.

I started buying enough summons to begin with a 3* roster rather than messing around with 2* heroes. Cost: $10 (vip plus starter bundle)

For a another $25 or so I was later able to get a full rainbow team of 4* heroes (actually 4* plus great luck pulling 5* Delilah), but I was pretty lucky. It could easily have cost double that with worse pulls.

My subsequent spending doesn’t make me think I quite qualify as a whale…but it was a lot more money, and the return rate on it was way less.