[Suggestion] Limited availability 4* Hero Costume shards or 4* Costume of the Month ( with a 5% or 10% chance of a costume for a 5* HotM ) [spend depth, small team]
Game Background of Idea
Click for background
Costumes
Costumes are great spend depth ( AKA making the game slower so a small team can keep up )
A good base hero, with good costume, can require 2x to 7x duplicate fully leveled base heroes, and 2x to 7x duplicate fully leveled costumes for optimal use
A filler base hero, with a filler costume, can require 2x to 3x duplicate fully leveled base heroes, and 2x to 3x duplicate fully leveled costumes while waiting for good heroes, and good costumes
Catch up mechanic
Normally a MMO catch up mechanic is so all players can enjoy the latest content together
With a small team you want the opposite, make new users grind through old content
But enough of a catch up mechanic so they can be on a relatively even playing field with old players in a reasonable amount of time ( see 4* heroes below )
4* heroes
Before 5x of each color 5* HotM were released ( 25x total heroes ), 4* heroes were important to the meta
Using limited availability 4* heroes, and Classic 4* heroes, adds value to new, and old users while dramatically increasing spend depth ( looking at you Proteus, and Wilbur )
This also helps balance 4* heroes ( see notes )
Limited time windows
With limited time windows, you can control a users access to content and increase monetization
Lab v2.0
Lab v2.0 let’s you spend 1000x alchemy shards and select between two different choices of 3x 3* ascension items with a chance one will be 1x 4* ascension items ( reverse engineering suggests 5% or 10% per 1,000x alchemy shards, see notes for spend depth )
Costume of the Month
Add Costume of the Month shards ( CotM shards )
Click for mechanics
CotM shard pool
Each month the CotM shard pool will change but it will consist of
3x different costumes for 5* Hero of the Month ( each awards 1x base heroes and 1x match costume )
Example possible choices
Hel x1
Alberich x1
Gravemaker x1
2x 4* costumes for limited availability hero ( each awards 3x base heroes and 3x match costume )
Example possible choices
Wilbur x3
Proteus x3
4x different costumes for 4* Classic hero for filler ( each awards 3x base heroes and 3x match costume )
Example possible choices
Rigard x3
Melendor x3
Boldtusk x3
Kiril x3
These 9x possible heroes will change each month encouraging some players to spend extra, and hoard, the month BEFORE a desired costume for 5* HotM
Very important that costumes for HotM stick to a predictable schedule ( like Atlantis summons and past 5* HotM )
Spending CotM shards
Players can hoard CotM shards, or spend them
When spending 1000x CotM shards, just like Lab v2.0, players would get two choices between two different 4* heroes ( 3x base, and 3x costume ) with a chance one will be a 5* hero instead ( 1x base, and 1x costume )
Example choice
3x Classic 4* costume, and base, Rigard
or
3x limited availability 4* costume, and base, Wilbur
Example choice
3x Classic 4* costume, and base, Rigard
or
1x HotM 5* costume, and base, Vela
Reverse engineering suggestion 5%, or 10%, chance of 4* ascension item for 1000x Alchemy shards
Use the same ratio for CotM shards chance of costume for 5* HotM
Like summons, heroes could temporarily exceed available hero slots if 3x 4* costume, and base hero, are selected by user
4* / 5* costumes, and base heroes, will be from the above described pool and change each month
Thoughts
Click for more thought
No trade 4* heroes
Because trading between players will never be implemented ( severely decreases spend depth )
3x base 4* hero, adds more spend depth for individual accounts as non farmable 3* ascension items are needed for base hero, and costume
It will also pseudo simulate the situation when the limited availability 4* heroes were introduced, with multiple duplicate limited availability 4* heroes while chasing specific 5* heroes
It will also help new users deal with the glut of 3* non farmable ascension items due to 4* ascension item spend depth business model
It is why costumes for limited availability 3* heroes are not included in HotM shard pool
3* heroes
A separate mechanic should be implemented for costumes matching limited availability 3* heroes
Similar to Taverns, and Costume chamber, separating costumes for Classic 5* heroes and costumes for limited availability 5* heroes
Notes
Click for notes
Lab v2.0 Shard Spend depth & Loot box unit price
Spend depth any 4* ascension item
20,000 shards
Spend depth 4* Tonics
140,000 shards
Balancing 4* heroes
FIN
not in any prioritized order
