The Diary of the FTP who finished 53rd in legendary

Hello everyone,

I’ve been playing the game for 2 years and 4 months as a complete FTP ($0 spent) and would like to share my experience with you. (There is a great thread here on 1 year FTP experience: Progress from One Year as a Free to Play (F2P) Player [MASTER]).
I was waiting to reach a certain milestone (e.g. level 70), but today I managed to finish 53rd in legendary of the Pirates Event and decided it’s a good moment for this post. I’d like to show you that it’s possible to be competitive on a high level without (over)spending.
Will FTP be able to make a run for top 10? No. The people who are there (@Uclapack, @Xero786, @kainboy) are experienced players who have better heroes, better troops, more items and more flasks. But top 100 is an achievable goal even for FTP.

***My biggest accomplishments***

Apart from finishing 53rd today, I finished 50th in legendary in Pirates last September. I’ve also been number 1 on the raid leaderboard.

Summary

***My Roster***

I have 50 maxed 4*/5* heroes:
Maxed 5*(16):
B: Isarnia, Miki, Richard
R: Azlar, Anzogh, Khagan, Marjana
G: Lianna, Kadilen, Margaret
P: Hel, Domitia, Sartana
Y: Vivica, Joon, Leonidas

Maxed 4*(34):
B: Kiril, Grimm, Triton, Sonya, Boril, Valeria, Agwe
R: Boldtusk, Wilbur, Scarlett, Colen, Gormek, Sumitomo
G: Kashhrek, Melendor, Little John, Jack O’Hare, Caedmon, Skittleskull
P: Sabina, Sabina, Rigard, Merlin, Proteus, Proteus, Tiburtus, Cyprian, Jabbar
Y: Wu Kong, Jackal, Jackal, Chao, Hu Tao, Li Xiu

Summary

***Struggles as FTP***

I got my first ever 5* hero from TC20 in March 2018 (9 months after I had started playing) and it was Elkanen…
It was another year until I got my first ever 5* in summons - Hel from a x10 pull in March 2019. It is still my happiest moment in the game. Afterwards, I got Anzogh, Margaret, Kadilen and Miki - these 5 are the only 5* heroes I have ever got from the summons gate.

Summary

The most painful moment was in August when after I had been saving gems for months to try for Falcon, I made 12 pulls and got Sonya, Chao and 10 3*. No Falcon :cry:. For a few seconds I wanted to quit the game. But a week later RNG gave me Miki whom I really wanted. I’ve noticed that good/bad luck comes in streaks. When you’re in the most terrible streak, RNG will make it up to you. For me it was 1 year 9 months without any 5* from pulls and then Hel - one of the best heroes in the game. My advice to everyone is not to be discouraged by a terrible streak because a great one will come to you sooner or later. Save your gems for x10 pulls rather than doing single ones. I used to do that in the past, but it didn’t work for me at all.

***TC20 - FTP's best friend***

I’ve received almost all of my 5* heroes from TC20 and strongly encourage all FTP/C2P to run at least two all the time. My data from 570 pulls shows that the percentages are: 6% for 5*, 17% for 4* and 77% for 3* (35 5*, 94 4*, 441 3*).

To all FTP, you need to find the balance between hoarding mats and playing the hand you’re given. Sometimes, it’s better to max that 5* hero everyone hates, but other times, hoarding your precious mats and working on 4* heroes instead is the better option.

***My inventory and thoughts on Alchemy Lab***
Summary

I have a lot of 3* mats I can’t possibly use and was really excited about the new building which would allow us to create 4* mats. However, AL is highly FTP unfriendly. I wouldn’t pay 150 gems to convert a 4* mat into another random 4* mat. Would I spend 150 gems to convert a tonic into a telescope if I know for sure I’d get a telescope? Maybe. But with the low odds and high gem fee, I’m not even going to build AL for now. I really hope that the Devs would add more/better options to it.

***Why am I FTP?***

To begin with, I can’t afford to spend $50+ every month on a mobile game (and it’s more expensive in Europe). However, the reason I’m a complete FTP is that I know the odds. I know that just few gems won’t make a big difference. If I spend and don’t get that 5* hero I want so much, I’d be devastated. I’ve seen a lot of people leaving the game after spending a lot and getting nothing. I’m sure that if I ever spend, I will quit the game soon afterwards because of the disappointment. I’d much rather be enjoying the game as a loyal customer, being FTP with low expectations.

***All the heroes I don't have***

Players in the top alliances are chasing every single 5* as they think they won’t be able to compete with everyone else if they don’t have that single shiny hero. Well, I’ve achieved top 100 in events twice without all these heroes:
B: Captain of Diamonds
R: Falcon, Lancelot
G: Hansel, Peters, Buddy, Gadeirus, Gobbler
P: Cheshire Cat, Jafar, Ameonna, Boomer
Y: Gretel, Danzaburo

B: Ariel, Frida, Athena, Finley, Alasie, Arthur, Misandra, Aegir, Rumpel, Lepus, Alice, Perseus
R: Gravemaker, Zimkitha, Ares, Mitsuko, Santa, Kestrel, Black Knight, Natalya, Kong, Red Hood, Queen of Hearts
G: Alberich, Evelyn, Tarlak, Zeline, Mother North, Lady of the Lake, Lady Locke, Morgan, Hatter, Gregorion, Yunan, Atomos
P: Panther, Kage, Khiona, Kunchen, Seshat, Ursena, Aeron, Victor, Boss Wolf, Mok-Arr, Sargasso, MT
Y: Ranvir, Delilah, Drake, Guinevere, Poseidon, Rana, Onatel, Owl, Inari, Musashi

As FTP I would like to thank everyone who is supporting the game, helping it to exist and improve. If you’ll be happy with any result when you spend, go for it. However, if you know that spending and not getting that one hero will make you quit the game, then be careful how much you spend. You don’t need every single hero to be successful. Keep to your budget so that you don’t start hating the game. Good luck!

P.S. Apologies for the long post.
(@zephyr1, I’m not sure if this thread belongs in General Discussion since it features a lot of different elements - The Ridiculous Bragging Thread, TC20, Alchemy Lab, etc.).

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Congrats, that’s a fantastic accomplishment!

And I really appreciate you sharing such extensive details, and highlighting how much can be achieved without spending money, or needing specific heroes.


This is fantastic for Community Content so I’ve moved it. :slightly_smiling_face:

I’m not sure how much people have noticed this, but General Discussion is becoming more and more just for complaint threads, as most other threads get moved to other categories.

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Maybe we should have a general discussion thread and a general complaints thread? :rofl:

Congrats to the OP for doing so well as F2P! My friend who got me started on the game is also F2P and does pretty well. He was so happy when he got Mother North from an EHT. I got Buddy from gems I purchased.

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Awesome story! Thanks for sharing it. I am C2P and I can say for fact that the only time I don’t enjoy the game is usually after buying a deal package and ending up with very little in dividends versus the investment. I can afford the VIP and a few other things but I have learned the hard way that usually you won’t get what you want when you try to buy it. I have found that playing with the heroes I have and learning the mechanics of the game has benefited my playing ability. But this isn’t about me it’s about you. I commend you on your accomplishments and wish you the best of luck in the future.

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Always fun to see great positives posts like these from a long-time player about his experiences with the game.

Congrats on everything you have accomplished.

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Congratulations to the OP! Finishing 53rd while being f2p is something to brag about. By the way, I finished 1400th something cuz I ran out of wood for axes :confused: Anyway, congrats again dude!

Edit. It was 1521°

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Gratz @D_DI nice to read your experience and ftp viewpoint. And amazing accomplishment for event! My alliance mate also finished in top 100 for all three in fact, and he shared his insights for competing in the events.

It’s an absolute grind the amount of items, the repetitive number of runs to get the right board… It’s cracked!!

I know your main message is that ftp can be successful even without the latest heroes but how many runs did you have to do to get your event score? I’m assuming you have been saving up on the mats too.

FWIW, I can totally get that moment hel popped up on your screen.
There was an ftp/c2p player who posted his video of 10 pull and his scream of elation when poseiden popped up was awesome!

Thanks again for sharing your story, big props!!

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Yes, I used about 10 WE flasks and a lot of items I had saved. Top players start a level and if the board is unfavourable, they just quit, but I played all stages until the end since I need the XP, feeders, etc. (sometimes the bosses would kill my heroes and I still wouldn’t finish because it’s not worth using mats for that).

I started jumping like a little child when I got her :smiley:.

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This is a fantastic post… It is really inspiring for F2P players like us (I do buy the VIP pass though using Google Rewards app, so probably not 0$ level like you, but like 1-2$ per month). I hope to reach your levels someday. You, good lady, are truly legendary. Much respect. :slight_smile:

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Thanks. I’m female, btw.

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My bad miss D_DI. It’s a bit hard to know on the internet :pray:

I used 10 flasks too, about 150 axes, and a ton of small mana pots and arrows. I would’ve used more flasks but without items it was not worth it. Being f2p is not easy…

I never understood why they skip when boards are bad. That’s a waste of exp points :confused:

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Oops, corrected. :slight_smile:

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Huge congrats on your achievement! Inspirational for many, I’d imagine. :slight_smile:

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Wish I was playing that long with all of those ascension items also, GREAT JOB.

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Very nice to see this, and congratulations, dudette. :slight_smile:

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This is awesome, congratulations. I to am ftp also and 1 month shy of 2 years. When I saw your profile pic the stats are scarily similar to my profile and the number of non tc20 5* heros exactly the same with my 1st coming 16 months into it.

The struggle is real, keep it up

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Congrats an your awesome accomplishments!! And thanks for the encouragement for f2p players. Even though I’m c2p :lol:

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Awesome!!! Money can buy great heroes (if you lucky enough), but patience and determine makes a great player! You get my Respect!!!

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I’m not a top player, but I seldom started new when I had a bad board (only in the end when I wanted to ensure my loot tiers) - there’s always the chance of getting one or more of these chests on the boss stage on the lower levels :smiley: that really prevents (me) skipping :smiley:

Definitely, very great achievement!

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Hey @D_DI. Congratulations on the probably most beautiful avatar (Sargasso). I just finished top10 in Epic by using only 11 flasks but I used three non standard heroes (Falcon, Lance and Wilbur). Also I finished legendary top10 but I needed almost 20 flasks here.

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