My two year anniversary playing this game is finally here (well, technically it’s tomorrow but I’m going to be too busy) and that officially makes this a tradition. Here is where I was this time last year after one year of gameplay:
It was honestly pretty comical to look back at some of that and see some of my strategies at the time and how far along in the game I was. Lets see how things compare between then and now:
First, lets look at player profiles a year apart:
It’s crazy to have gained 42 levels in the first year and only 17 in the second, especially with Atlantis Rises and 1 WE event levels now a thing, but I guess that just goes to show just how much XP is needed in the later levels. A player in my current alliance is at level 93 and that’s just baffling to me. I’m excited to see that my Defense Team Power has grown significantly, although it’s still a far cry from the top teams out there. Overall, good progress made.
MONEY SPENT
I’m not looking forward to this part. Last year, I said that I wanted to spend less and that definitely didn’t happen. Time to calculate…
Well, that actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Compared to the $277.23 I spent last year, I only slightly surpassed that at $279.35 this year. And even less of that came out of my pocket as I used Google Rewards to cover $37.36 of it as opposed to $28.91 last year. Not bad. I’ll say it again, if you’re F/C2P, I highly recommend using Google Rewards to help you along. It may not seem like much, but it doesn’t cost you anything so you might as well. I also got a little smarter this year in how I spent my money in that I used the cash back feature on my credit card to fund most of the latter half of the year’s purchases, so it wasn’t money that was really coming out of my pocket at least. At least, that’s how I’m going to justify it.
BUILDINGS
Since my days in Clash of Clans, I’ve had an obsession with having everything maxed and this game is no exception. I’m so thankful for the new buildings and stronghold levels that arrived as it gave me more to work toward. As it stands, I’ve reached Stronghold 23 and only have a few levels on my Advanced House to go and then my two Advanced Farms and Alchemy Lab still waiting. Even though it’s not worth anything and never going to get used in its current state, I’m still going to max the lab and do all the research just because. I’m hoping it’ll get reworked at some point in the future. Fingers crossed!
I’m still yearning for a way to stash iron like we can food, but at least I’ve had a use for it most of the year. My training camps have definitely continued to hoard food though. I’ve switched to stashing feeders and now run a single TC20 and three TC11s. Compared to the 12.7 million I had stashed away last year, I’m now up to 69.1 million in reserves.
HEROES
Now for the fun stuff and to see what all that money spent got me along the way!
Heroes of the Month:
I’ve only added three to this list, but two of them were great additions – Gravemaker and Seshat. Both are fully leveled and see regular action in raids and wars. The other one I pulled is Anzogh, who I actually like but I just don’t know if he’s worth the mats to max out, especially considering I don’t really have much use for him outside of war depth. I’m waiting to see if I pull February’s HOTM before I pull the trigger on him.
Event/Atlantis 5 Stars:
I really haven’t focused much on events since Atlantis came out, so I’m still sitting on just two event heroes. Unfortunately Atlantis hasn’t been too kind to me either. Of the 100+ pulls I’m sure I’ve done from it, I only have Misandra to show for it. I’ve stashed up quite a bit of coins and gems to make a good bit of pulls soon, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve never had much luck when it came to Events/Atlantis.
Others:
I had 12 others last year, but now have 29 others. Would be 30, but I couldn’t stand the sight of Khagan’s face for a third time. A lot of these are either duplicates or heroes I don’t really want to use the mats on, but I’m holding onto them in hopes that the Hero Academy isn’t a bust.
Of all those 5 stars, I only had five maxed last year, but now have 16. That’s an incredible leap in my opinion for pretty much the same amount of effort. Oddly enough, last year I didn’t have a single yellow 5 star on my roster, but now have three maxed. It took about a year and half before I finally pulled my first one (Vivica) and I was so elated when it happened. Now blue seems to be my curse as Richard and Misandra are the only ones I have maxed. A second Richard and Thorne are my only other options and I’d rather not waste mats on either of them.
4 stars:
Up to 42 maxed, and 10 with maxed emblems, which gives me pretty good depth for wars along with the maxed 5s.
3 stars:
Boy did I get a laugh out of reading last year’s post when I decided to burn them all. If only I knew what was just around the corner. I’ve replenished back up to 28 and had emblems on some of them, but decided to focus those elsewhere.
TROOPS
2019 sadly did not bring a way earn/level troops faster (with maybe the exception of AR and events), so I’m still behind the power curve. I did however manage to finally pull a blue 4 star troop, but I’m still lacking the crit version. Two damn years and still haven’t pulled one. That’s crazy to me. Before I get any saltier, lets move on…
ASCENSION MATERIALS
4 star materials:
Damascus Blade: 9 in inventory, 16 used, total of 25. (had 10 last year)
Tome of Tactics: 10 in inventory, 16 used, total of 26. (had 10 last year)
Farsight Telescope: 14 in inventory, 12 used, total of 26. (had 11 last year)
Mysterious Tonic: 4 in inventory, 18 used, total of 22. (had 7 last year)
Mystic Rings: 11 in inventory, 24 used, total of 35. (had 18 last year)
Poison Darts: 5 in inventory, 18 used, total of 23. (had 11 last year)
Royal Tabard: 6 in inventory, 24 used, total of 30. (had 10 last year)
All I can say is, “Thank you 14 star titans!” This year tabards were my most popular mat and darts the least, but I still earned enough of each over this past year to max at least two 5 stars in each color. I’ll take that!
3 star materials:
Compass: 81 in inventory, 65 used, total of 146. (had 51 last year)
Fine Gloves: 38 in inventory, 65 used, total of 103. (had 38 last year)
Hidden Blade: 22 in inventory, 60 used, total of 82. (had 37 last year)
Orb of Magic: 42 in inventory, 52 used, total of 94. (had 49 last year)
Sturdy Shield: 38 in inventory, 48 used, total of 86. (had 34 last year)
Trap Tools: 30 in inventory, 52 used, total of 82. (had 55 last year)
Warm Cape: 49 in inventory, 48 used, total of 97. (had 30 last year)
I wish I still got excited about getting these, but unfortunately that magic has died. I may eventually get around to trying to convert them in the lab, but I highly doubt it. I’d rather use my gems elsewhere.
ALLIANCE
Finally, the place I call home. I’m actually going to give a shoutout to two alliances here as both have played a significant part in my growth in this game. After moving on from Olympians, I found a home in Misfit Toys thanks to @Rook. I learned so much while I was there and still consider them family. I eventually got to the point where I felt like it was time to challenge myself further and moved on to the Xtreme family, joining Xtreme Fear. I’m now lucky enough to call myself Co-Leader and love how involved I’ve been able to become in helping mentor and help others. Sera is an amazing leader and the entire Xtreme family is so filled with knowledge about this game. I’m happy to be where I am.
For anyone who made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope you’ve enjoyed my recount of the past year. Please share with me your thoughts and own experiences you’ve had in playing Empires and Puzzles. Cheers!
