Pay to Win?

I see a lot of messages complaining that this is (or is becoming) a P2W game.

Now, to me, a P2W game as one (or both) of the following characteristics:

  • Objects/item/levels that are not accessible to F2P players
  • Players can get what they want if they pay enough money

To my knowledge, in E&P there’s nothing that is precluded to F2P players and even spending a fortune you can’t get the 5* you want.

Yes, the more you spend, the more you can accelerate things.
Yes, the more you spend, the highest the probability of getting that 5* you want. Or that ascension material, etc etc.

So, to me, it seems that top spenders just buy time (which, I agree, is the most precious good in the universe) so that they can have something before those that are spending less.

In the long run, a F2P can assemble a team that is just as powerful as the top spender (but in the veeeery long run we will all be dead).

If one wants to be as strict as saying that “winning” in E&P means:

  • to be the first in the player ranking
  • playing in the alliance that is ranked first
  • having all the 5* heroes (and 4* and 3* and 2* …) maxed
  • having all the buildings at the top,
  • etc, etc, …

then, I guess, nobody will “win” this game.

Personally, I set a limit to my spending and “winning” goals that are in line with that spending, then I leave the rest to Lady Luck.

If I ever want to go faster, I know I have to spend more. If I want to spend less, I know I will have to use days, weeks and months to get to the level where others are already.

Am I mistaken? Is there something that I can’t achieve (with proper time and luck)?

5 Likes

E&P is not as P2W as a lot of other games I’ve seen and certainly not as P2W as most players claim. Sure, one can spend several mortgage payments worth of cash trying to buy attempts at summoning heroes until they have all the best heroes they could ever want, but leveling them and gathering the ascension materials for them still takes the same time/effort a F2P player would need to put in. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the slow rate of material drops, but it’s that slow rate along with the randomness that helps level the playing field.

So yes, I think your assessment is correct.

You might also be interested in reading this thread about how different players define winning:

2 Likes

Thanks lexinen. I missed that post. Interesting.

Thoughtful post @Rael

The raison d’etre of a game, as opposed to a sport, is fun. Therefore the more fun you are having with the game, the more of a winner you are.

I am convinced that I am a top 100 player in this respect.

3 Likes

This game is p2w. Believe whatever you want.

3 Likes

Thanks for your deep analysis and fact-based reasoning.
It’s much clearer now!

3 Likes

This very same topic is being discussed in this recent thread:

Let’s keep it all in one place, please.

Sorry, I didn’t notice it. If a moderator can move this thread under the previous one, it would be great

It is all okay unless developers are keeping the balance between pay-to-win and pay-to-play. If it is just a question of style of the gear (like in DOTA 2 or CS:GO) then it is okay.

If the balance is like in World of Tanks or Warface – well, we have a problem.

We also should take into the account the fact that people will always try to scam each other. Especially players. So they may send you privately in the gaming chat something like “My discord is Uncle Death#0000 – message me and I will send you a link of how to receive new gear and loot or something else and no, I am not a Scammer!”

I can understand there are people like me who are using special banking services with a double protection like in softpos. However, there are also people who do not trust even their wives.

P2w means that you can buy advantage with money. And this is exactly this type of game. This is pure example of p2w game. You can buy materials, emblems, even heroes with enough pulls. Basically everything with money to gain advantage to others.

1 Like

Some avatars.

Doesn’t summon works that way?

@JonahTheBard this thread just got revived after 3 years :rofl:

1 Like

When S1 heroes weren’t mediocre compared to other portals maybe we could say it was not p2w.

After season 2, we can’t just say that. Be honest. Things changed. Look at raids there vs. now.

Good point about S1 heroes, but you have to take into account that there are noe much more possibilities to get free summons:
If you dud not complete S2 and S3 in hard mode you can fo 6-7 summons from coins earned completing maps. Costume chamber gives you two summons and an average of another two from free keys. In addition the monthly challenge event gives you 3-4 summons and ToL or Ninja Tower additional two. So sone f2p should get up to 15 free summons a month, this should get you at least 2-3 S2-S4 or event or HotM or costumed 5* heroes a year. The there are the seasonal events, I collect all the EHTs I get and will spendxthem ar rhe seasonal events. Since christmas I spent some 60 EHTs and got Santa, Lepus and costumed Rana with the HotM Reuben, Frosth and Elradir. That was a bit of luck but I doubt I am the only f2p who is lucky. In my experience it is difficult to make the top 100 as a f2p but finishing events in top 1000 and winning some 2700 cups is absolutely possible. To be able to compete for the best1000 players in approximately some 1.5 million players is my personal win situation. So for me this game is not (yet ?) completely pay to win.

Happy gaming

The real problem as I see it is the fact that p2w players can, so to speak, shape their hand and their deck to contain only aces, whereas a f2p or c2p will have probably only a couple aces in his deck and the best he can pull with that is a pair of aces - which cannot beat a hand of 4 or 5 aces.

The chances of getting that all-ace deck (with duplicate aces even) is pretty much nonexistent mathematically unless you force it with unlimited summoning attempts.

Still I think it’s fair, given the fact that the game is set in such a way to make it possible and the fact that there are people willing to throw away a small fortune on pixels with no real return other than a bit of enjoyment.