Thank you for keeping this separate! Here’s why I’d like it to keep it separate from the Hero Academy:
A New Challenge
Getting the Hero Academy ready for a very small chance of summoning Atlantis heroes is a massive waiting game. It’s not engaging or challenging; it just takes a very, very long time.
Unlocking Atlantis training by finishing Hard difficulty gives us something to actively work for. This would keep us actually playing the game & matching tiles, which draws focus & game time. This would also extend the longevity of the game. The current reward for completing Atlantis on hard is not enough to keep me coming back to it. This unlock, however, would certainly get my attention. And it’s not even because I want more Atlantis heroes. Drawing an Atlantis 5* would still have incredibly small chances, and we won’t be needing more 3* heroes by the time we finish Hard difficulty. This reward is more about…
Expanding Your Empire
The game’s name is “Empires and Puzzles.” We have a cool castle in the mountains, but we never visibly expand our territory. We’re just meandering through entire continents to try & find who punched/brainwashed who because an NPC asked us to. It’s an awful lot of work. It would be much more rewarding (and awesome) if we could officially include Atlantis (and the Nine Realms) in our kingdom at some point in the future (or make a strong, formal alliance). I already imagine I’m doing that as I’m moving across the map and I’m sure I’m not the only one, but it’s still only imaginary. Actually bringing that into the game would dramatically increase the cool factor of our campaign work. I’m also not the only one who longs for this sense of expansion and kingdom-building:
Seeing Season 2 heroes in training camps on occasion is not, in my view, an overpowered benefit. Your odds of drawing something great are still very small. And even if we do draw Proteus (or even, say, Kageburado), we’ve earned it at that point.
What I truly have envisioned is every few weeks, I may draw Namahage or Gato. No, it’s not like that’s a massive benefit. But I would love it. “Welcome aboard, Atlantean!” We now see heroes from Atlantis making the long voyage to defend the empire. That is what I would love to see. They’re truly a part of your empire now, and you thus begin seeing them in your base. This concept is my favorite part. For most draws, it’s more of a decorative & stylish benefit.
Having about a 3% chance of drawing an Atlantis hero from a week-long Hero Academy session is nice & cool, but it does not give the sense of assimilation I’m talking about here. I’d want to see Atlantis heroes enough to actually make them feel like a part of your kingdom. The Academy 5* odds are useful, but they don’t have this cool factor.
There is another benefit to this idea, too. Without going through the trouble of creating more buildings, and without requiring players to upgrade a stronghold beyond level 25 (a very long process, I tell you), SG could make…
Training Camps No Longer Obsolete
Nah, they’re not obsolete obsolete, but they’re not exciting at this point anymore. Rather than always coaxing the player out for this new stuff and that new stuff, always more new stuff and maybe to the point where some old-time players get tired of seeing more and more stuff get old & boring, this idea can make old things become new. It’s like cleaning out the fish tank. Old and stale content is renewed through this reward, and the same training camps we’ve had for years are feeding us fresh air. If new and old content can stay exciting, that sounds to me like a bright idea.
Future Implications of Expansion
Now, if this idea is implemented, think of what it could mean for future updates. If season 2 & 3 regions can eventually become part of your empire, maybe you could move your headquarters! Maybe for the price of 2,000 gems, you could have your stronghold right into the center of Poseidon’s castle. If we can get more buildings there (as suggested in the links I posted above), then that’d be great. But if SG doesn’t want to go that far, just the opportunity to re-skin my home base this way would be cool. And every update, you can release a new beautiful stronghold spot in Season 3. There are NINE realms to choose from! Do you want a castle in Muspelheim!? I want a castle in Muspelheim.
There we go. Thank you for listening; I’m getting off my soapbox for now.