Randa's Corner; Video Tales of Playing with Level 70's šŸ¼

Yesterdayā€™s Vidsā€¦

Ranking the Valhalla Heroes

Day Three 4* Rush Tourney Hits

Gargoyle Summons (82 Total)

As soon as the portal opened

Uh Oh

So Iā€™m unhappy with the game, that Iā€™m unsure whether or not Iā€™ll be continuing to play in the coming days, which will obviously affect this project Iā€™ve started here. I already left my alliance, and deleted all E&P apps on my phone. Unfortunately, this game is so deeply rooted within my daily routine, those apps didnā€™t stay gone long, but I still canā€™t see a path forward thatā€™ll change much of anything at this rate.

Reasoning

Unfortunately, I cannot go another undetermined amount of time with below average luck, considering September, November, December, January and February all saw drop-rates in the 0.5% to 0.7% range (despite up to $700 / mo = 400+ pulls, which gave me ~2-3 event 5* per 410 pulls, and around half of those were dupes).

False Hope

March and April I finally started to see some return on all that money invested, where I was finally seeing some luck for the first time in half a year - receiving at odds (or higher) dropsā€¦ but now it seems Iā€™m back at the bottom. The memory of that constant heartache from the prior drought is still far too fresh to forget about, and discard, as if it had never occured.

My Limit

I do not believe obtaining one new, random event 5* should ever cost $300+. However, if Iā€™m not getting new 5* on a regular enough basis (~ at least one every two weeks about, or one every four portals), I am not enjoying myself nearly as much. Heroes and their skills are my bread and butter.

So yeah, FYI

Yes, I had a lot of ideas in the works I was excited to get to, but with the current state, Iā€™ll be surprised if I upload anything to follow these vids. Although, this has been solace for me in this rough patch, but the longer this bad streak lasts, the harder it becomes for me to forgive the game enough to continue making content. Hell, even just logging in.

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Girl to girl talkā€¦ You were looking devastated. No way a game should make you feel and look like that. Do yourself a favor and quit spending for a while.

Better luck next time, you have a brilliant vibe like we could see in the start of the video and youā€™re a lot sweet in forum, for sure deserves more than that. :slight_smile:

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Like you read my mind :smirk:

But yeah, I know I donā€™t deserve this :poop:. I weathered the last time this game was cruel to me - for nearly half a year - and only got two decent months [for that loyalty] before it turned soured again. Not good enough imo, so Iā€™m done :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: Least for now!

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IĀ“m so sorry the game has brought you down like that. :hugs:

I really do believe, that Empires & Puzzles -as well as other games similar to it- has things build into it, which takes your earlier spending into account. (I wrote a bit about it in an earlier post, based on an interview with a game developer a few years ago (Randa's Corner; Video Tales of Playing with Level 70's šŸ¼ - #76 by Gwniver)

ItĀ“s really very sleazy, and punishing, but if one once spent a lot on the game in the past, then they need to either reach that level of spendings again, or decide once and for all, that those days are behind you. Right now the system has you recorded as someone who once were willing to spend a lot.

As far as I can see, itĀ“s only those, who purchase every single offer, as well as the ā€œnormal gem offersā€ from the store, that walks away with those rare 5*s on a regular basis.

IĀ“m completely behind you; I would really not spend anymore. What if you get an event 5*, would this feeling go away? Then itĀ“s right back on the hamster-wheel, like the game designers hope.

I see more and more frustration among the player base, not from summons alone, but also various gameplay of new events. What I try to pay attention to myself is;

Am I having a good time? Does this game bring more joy, than frustration? And why/why not? And the joy I do get from the game, how long does it last, once it happens?

For example, the feeling you got when you summoned El Naddaha not long ago - did that feeling last? Does it make up for what is happening now?

My advice would be, to be ok with your absolutely amazing collection. But I understand the desire to get new heroes, of course. Still, you got some heroes still unlevelled, and you most likely have a new hero from Soul Exhange coming up too? :slight_smile:

It would take me ages to recover from that summon you just did. IĀ“m still recovering from my Springvale summons, that took me months and months to save tokens for. But at least I just gave my time.

But, again - Time is the most precious thing we have. If I were the company behind a game, I would sure be trying to increase the happiness of my players. Have a positive influence on their life. Make sure people were having a good time. IsnĀ“t that what games are all about? Fun? :balloon:

I find it so sad, that we are not seeing that here from the developers behind EP. A pity counter is all it takes, as a beginning, anyway, which, once you reach it, would give you an option for a 5* of your choice. At least for those of you, who are spending on the game, and summoning a lot.

Spending on a game should result in joy that lasts.

I still recall the days, where games didnĀ“t have microtransactions in them, but instead, it was focused on gameplay and fun.This game does have some of that. I try to actively choose those aspects of it, and walk away from the rest.

Anyway, enough rambling from me :blush:

Dear RandaPanduh - Thank you so much for sharing it all. I know itĀ“s painful, but it helps the entire community, so everyone knows what they are getting themselves into. :pray:

I want to wish you good luck on your next summons, but instead I want to say, that I hope you can find joy in the game again, and perhaps take a look at your collection and enjoy levelling those new heroes. The Gargoyle you did get, as far as I can understand - is an amazing one, at least :partying_face:

ItĀ“s not a lot and not what you were after, but itĀ“s something. :hugs:

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I took four days completely away, and now Iā€™m back. But honestly, itā€™s primarily for this YouTube project, as the game itself can go fk itself :v::crazy_face:

So Iā€™ll basically be playing very casually from here on out. Havenā€™t even decided whether or not to join an alliance againā€¦ But thatā€™s tomorrowā€™s problem, anyway. Today, here are the vids I made:

My Hiatus

Who Iā€™d Max (& who I wouldnā€™t) & Why

Choosing my Tourney Defense

65 Summons (Gargoyles, Costume Chamber and Sand Empire all in One)

Totaling to..

295 Pulls since my last new event 5* :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Iā€™d love to meet someone who has worse luck than me. Do you track?! Iā€™d love to compare numbers and drops to make me feel less alone :laughing: Basically, itā€™s in this that makes me not want to play this game. But unfortunately, I need it for this YouTube projectā€¦ so here we are; conflicting emotions :upside_down_face:

However, my hiatus did happen to teach me a helpful way to accomplish this all with as little E&P as possible. Iā€™ve found a compromise that works: casual sort of play-style :laughing: As in, I only play the game when I need it for YouTube, essentially :crazy_face: (or Iā€™m that bored).

As in that time away - I had to be willing to skip a lot (including two tourney days I wouldā€™ve landed in Top 1% had I played) - and it helped me let go of that incessant, obsessive-compulsive ā€œneedā€ to complete all things in-game. & Overall, I think Iā€™m better for it, tbh :grin: (spose weā€™ll see :kissing_heart:)

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Iā€™ve gone alliance free recently too. Playing the parts I enjoy to keep my game frustration low. So no S3/S4 map as it annoys me, no grinding we just because itā€™s there. No quests if I canā€™t be bothered. But still hitting raids and weekend wars with different alliances when I have time. Feel a lot more content than I had in a while

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Ranking Costume S1 - 3* Edition

Day One 5* Bloody

TBD

UGH these vids are taking like hours to upload, and Iā€™m using data so itā€™s not the internet slowing em down. If someoneā€™s got a hack thatā€™ll make these uploads go faster, happy to hear it :upside_down_face:

(As it feels like the more I add to my channel, the longer it takes each time :roll_eyes: oof)

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Uploads can be snail pace slow. Try to find a free Wifi hub that permits this. Could also upload when sleeping and set the publish time to occur in the future if you want to be awake when the video becomes available.

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So I think I may have found an app to help me compress my video files for when I upload to YouTube. It did work for this last tourney vid (altho, itā€™s like an extra ten minutes to compress :laughing: itā€™s better that than 2 additional hours uploading)

So today we have

Ranking Costume Heroes: Part Two (4*)

Omg, these vids teach me more and more about video editing! Hahaha I just kinda lose myself in that, a bit :sweat_smile::rofl:

5* Bloody Battle: Day Two

Lol I was in a rush, but another one down :muscle:

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Ranking Costume S1 : Part Three (5*)

Lol canā€™t help but talk too much bout these heroes

5* Bloody : Day Three

Another dayā€¦

Additional 12 Costume Pulls in Costume Chamber

So clearly I canā€™t lay on furniture while summoning either, as the sound quality gets quite fked if I move too much :sweat_smile: Many complained about me pacing while summoning, but this is so much worse lol :sweat_smile: UGH. My anxiety does not make a good bed-fellow for these reaction, summoning vids, it seems :sweat_smile:

Kill. Me. Now.

Equalizer War Hits - Wednesday

Since you saw my sleepy mug earlier, figured it wouldnā€™t be overly shocking, throwing it in this vid too. Plus, I hate Equalizer with a passion :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Holy fk, Iā€™m tired. Off to bed. Gā€™night E&P world :v:

Edit

So unbeknownst to me, this compressor I had attempted to use to improve my upload time was significantly reducing the video quality in the process lol so Iā€™m reloading every video I did today with the original, which may take several hoursā€¦ But theyā€™ll all be there, in better resolution :sunglasses:

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Sorry, these were delayed sharing here, as the upload times were insane, I just went to bed while they did their thing instead :sweat_smile:

Yesterdayā€™s Vids ~

Going Over My Base :grin:

5* Bloody Battle - Day Four

Also, here are the day before vids, since I had to delete the originals - Iā€™m assuming the above links donā€™t actually work anymore:

12 More Costume Key Summons!

Wednesday Equalizer War!

5* Bloody Battle - Day Three

Ranking Costume S1 - Part Three (5*)

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Final Tourney Day ~

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Just doing my thaaaang

Choosing this weekā€™s tournament defense

(sharing my thought process, whether you like it or not :crazy_face:)

Saturday Attack Up War!

Been an intensive farming day. My new avatar tho, I love it :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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S5 Summons

Who Iā€™d Emblem/LB - 4*

Off to bed, finally :sunglasses:

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IĀ“ve been so busy lately so not had much time to watch videos and listen to great things - such as your channel :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Hope to catch up soon - and I love to see your face in the videos, youĀ“re a sweetheart and genuine :hearts:

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Hey Randa - Iā€™m curious why you chose Chick Jr., who is average and hits all but doesnā€™t have any buffs plus inflicts a ailment on allies, over someone like C. Valen or Jarvur who are fast and give themselves a buff but only hit one enemy.

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Because damage to all is far more effective [once fired] than any sniper. Tbh, I do not like snipers defensively, less thereā€™s no other option. Iā€™ll always try to place AoE - as the AI canā€™t mess that up and itā€™s a danger to every single hero on the opposite team.

& Chick is one of the hardest hitting ice 3*, so with Bauchan to speed him up, and Aqeela to protect him, hopefully shouldnā€™t be too much of a problem.

(Tbh, Iā€™m really not a fan of Valen, nor Jarvur)

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Congratulations! Just subscribedā€¦keep up the good work

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Itā€™s been a minute since Iā€™ve been able to share here lol these upload times have just been wild. Iā€™m finding itā€™s my android phone thatā€™s causing the most trouble, at up to four hours uploading :roll_eyes:

Anyway, this week so far:

3* Buff Booster Day One

3* Buff Booster Day Two - fail

Wednesday Attack Up War!

3* Buff Booster Day Three

Iā€™ve got W3K hits and summons coming up + two more days of the tournament, so stay tuned :crazy_face:

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Another day, and another late upload :sweat_smile:

3* Buff Booster - Day Four

All 12 of my W3K Hits :smirk:

(First time ever participating!)

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