Recently, life has gotten hard. Really hard.
Parents know that parenting is tough, but there have been some next-level challenges thrown my way that have altered the way life will be lived for the rest of my existence as a father. Mercifully I have the support of an amazing partner but, this affects her just as much as it does me.
Needless to say, the game that has been around before, during and after the blow-up of the crisis has begun to wear a little thin. Even my forum posts have taken a hit, with less joy and a little more darkness than I prefer.
The silver lining is that I have really begun to put my phone down. Walk away from it for hours at a time. Live āin-personā as much as I can. It has been freeing. So much freedom that itās caused me to question any investment in this game at all.
So, whatās the point of it all?
Easy question to ask. SG has made itself quite a target.
As an over-arching statement: SG has a lot of failure in a short amount of time.
Iāll cave and admit that Telly is not fun when itās the only valid tank in wars.
Tavern of Legends is an embarrassment (donāt ever pay money for it)
Hero Academy is āNopeā
Academy Lab is even MORE āNopeā after the latest āfixā
Noor should just be renamed āNopeā-- even has the same prefix
The gems are random. Conspiracy Theorists need to stop telling people they arenāt.
The forums are the same cross-section of stupid as everywhere else in the internet.
I can spend 2 years of my life building everything on my base. Umā¦ yay?
Titans are not fun anymore. Some of it is due to lack of variety.
3 years into the game and completed all available levels-- still running out of materials to make little blue mana? [CENSORED] NO.
While weāre at itā¦ Season 1 5-8, 7-4, 8-7. Over and over and over and over and [censored] over.
You know how you run into the trouble with nerfing/buffing heroes after release? That could be avoided by listening AND APPLYING beta feedback. Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure.
Quality of life things. Only a few in the last year. You really could do better. Iām unapologetically saying SG sucks with QOL enhancements. One of the worst Iāve ever played in that regard. For a game with such generic actual gameplay, QOL is king.
But really, I understand that all of this is my problem to varying degrees.
RIGHT NOW:
Life is hard
The game is not fun
So, as a man of action, I decided to do something-- a thing not unfamiliar to other veterans.
I stepped down as leader. @Munch is probably better and more deserving anyway
I tried playing as Co for a bitā¦ but the 14* grind was too much and war was maddening.
I ended up as the leader there, mostly to try and boost membership. But that even required too much brain power.
I left the family for a quick vacation: Special thanks and shout-out to the kind, chill folks at Short Bus Crew. Nothing but good things to say about them.
I went back to Helios at the first available opening.
Iām not sure how long I was away from Heliosā¦
But I learned some very important things that other waning veterans may find helpful.
TL;DR-- I don't stress about anything in the game anymore, and it's working!
You can make lots of friends in this game but, for some of us, thereās really only ever one home. Usually that home is held down by a pillar of 2-4 solid folk that almost act as the reason you continue playing.
I had a good time going around and doing other stuff, but life followed me around and the game still sucked. So, with all things equal and nothing changingā¦ it was ultimately better to stay where I was most comfortable.
Absent the equivalent of a convertible car and a trophy wife, the Mid-game crisis can go a variety of ways. āEff-itā spending, āEff-itā no-spending, quitting, downshifting or any sort of odd behaviorā¦ mine was a bit of a rumpspringa where I did whatever. Iām still almost at the same place I was when I left, just knowing that the wanderlust and problems were just as valid then as they are now.
What keeps me in the game is an attainable, short-term goal. Mine is actually maxing every last hero in my roster. Unlike those who spend lots of money or tons of time in the game, I have never gotten around to finishing all of my 160 heroes.
Iām not stressing about my titan, raid or war hits. I donāt care anymore. I am just doing what i can and moving on. I donāt feel the pressure to succeed or be an example of a good player. I hold my own and play like a team member. Good enough.
One Iāve finished my short term goal, Iāll see if I want to keep playing. I donāt have any other games on my phone except for E/P and the exact-friggin copy, otherwise known as E/Pās buggy twin.
Some people go full-on merc at the end of their E/P life and thatās cool for them. Me, Iāll just die at home.
I hope that whatever has been going on with your personal and family life, is getting better or gets better soon. I know the world is in a crazy state right now and that also makes things that are bad pile up even more.
I think you have the right idea.
Stepping away is a healthy thing to do. Screens in general can take away a lot of your time, and moderation is key to ensure a healthy experience.
Treat the game like a game, and youāll have fun. I think thatās the best thing you can do
As a fellow parent, everything of mine is crossed for you and Iām 100% certain youāre doing an awesome job bringing up little creatures that will make this world a better place in the future.
Certainly puts into perspective what should be a fun bit of escapism that all too often is not.
Hoping that the next few months are easier.
Of course, my kids still occasionally play Empires n Puzzles as well.
As a side note, even my son (12) thinks Tavern of Legends portal sucks. He said it was like a bully playing ākeep awayā. I found that a fitting analogy.
Thanks for sharing, as itās also a good lesson for the rest of us. Glad that you learned some valuable things from the soul-searching. And hope that the challenges with your family get better soon.
Disclaimer ā I am NOT in a top alliance, I am NOT a top-level player, and I do NOT open multiple chests per day.
However, I have noticed an increase in my playing time and forum time at the beginning of the pandemic crisis, followed by a significant decrease in both over the last few weeks. I live alone, I work for an āessential serviceā company. I have been travelling to and from work all this time, so I have isolated myself completely from everyone else like family and friends. I thus tried to substitute this game and this forum for that loss. It didnāt work. I canāt replace lifelong friends that I now only have occasional long-distance contact with. I expected too much from this game and (no offence) this forum. Many people on here are amazing and I consider them great and supportive internet friends. But there is a tangible difference.
Sometimes it is so hard getting motivated enough just to do the dishes these days.
As a veteran, I can understand where youāre at right now. I have two profiles. One is on a āretirementā alliance that caps the titans at 10 but still takes wars seriously (if opted in) which suits me perfectly. Iām still very active but wanting to take a break from the constant crafting of battle items for larger titans.
Iām committing August to working on my roster for troops and emblems. Iām going to avoid the siren call of pulling for the next great hero that Iāll probably not get. Iāll do a 10x pull for costumes though.
The biggest change Iāve made is to remove my main profile from Rising Dawn. I still love that alliance and my husband still plays there. They are awesome but they are fighting 12/13s titans and I decided that after 3 years, I just donāt want that anymore.
Iāve taken that profile and joined it with my other one on Forsaken Oasis. Thatās my retirement alliance and itās a good place for me to stay active with no titan stress!
Always good to to take a break stepping sort of away clear your head think whatās best for you and your family. Nice to see a positive post on here for once, your cool person on the forum with knowledge to share glad your sticking about
These days, for me, the name āSmall Giantā evokes images of a falsely benevolent troll lurking under a small bridge, waiting to ensnare unsuspecting passers by. Itās also a fitting analogy. I hope in the future that international laws are passed to stop gaming companies doing what Small Giant (and others, Iām sure) have done.
@princess1 Thanks for chiming in! My alt (which quietly has become almost as powerful on titans as my main) now sits in the lowest Helios alliance (Helios Selene) where I play at a much more relaxed pace and have missed 2 of the past 4 titans with no big deal, but (like you) never miss a war hit.
It takes a bit to ease up off the throttle as I am a naturally competitive person, but now that Iāve finally done it, I feel better. I play the game but donāt feel that same ātensionā that I need to score high on titans or blow away every team in war. If a board messes with me I just sigh and shrug, think about quitting for a second and then go about my day. Scored 123 in war this past weekend. That would have bother me before, but not anymore.
Thanks for your reply. Itās tough to remain positive even with silly things like this game. But, if we understand our priorities, we can be negative without actually feeling negative
My best wishes to you and your family and may you all overcome all obstacles on your way.
I am also a veteran of almost 3 years and tired. Also steepped down from leadership. Then, on the first week of july, I was rushed to a Hospital, and had to stay a week in ICU and another week in cardiac ward, with an incurable heart condition that will demand much care to give me some extra time. And believe it or not, my biggest feeling while in Hospital, was of relief of not having to do titans, wars or co lead. Eye opener eh? Such an addiction to a game that for over a year just throws trash at us.
Now, despite being bedridden most of the day, I just log in for titans and the occasional chest, did not opt back into wars, wondering if I can even find a short term project in it. Should be a vaccine against E&P.
This really canāt be understated.
but, please, SGā¦ make it nearly impossible to get the nuggets for tornadoes.
Pretty much. Itās unfortunate, but we pay with our time and actual dollars for the punishment of RNG.
A+ on titan? Nice job! Here is a bag of titan genitals and toilet paper.
Omg! I hope you will be ok. When I first started playing this game two years ago I remember reading your many posts on the forum and finding them a great help to this noob. Sending lots of healing potions (minor Iām afraid, Iām low on food) your way
Recently I went solo with my own one man alliance to ward off the recruiters and Iām actually having more fun than I was. Personal life while has been hectic, honestly isnāt that hectic that I canāt log in and use war flags and hit titans. So it was probably more like caught in a vicious cycle of monotony. I had been wanting to do this for a while, however I had many friends that made it difficult as Iāve been with most of them nearly 2 years. Sucked it up and broke free.
I didnāt realize how influenced I was to spend and pull while in an alliance.
Iām still getting mat drops elsewhere. It appears the game makes up for it though other chests, since Iām not getting it from solo fighting 4 and 5* titans.
Iām saving crafting items like never before
My build progression has increased with more ham and iron than I typically would have every few days to do what I want and need to.
No dramaā¦yeah yeah, every alliance that says theyāre drama free has drama at some point.
I feel fairly casual, where I want to be anyway. Though I log in and play daily, the feeling of I have to is gone.
I contemplated that, but I do enjoy the camaraderie when I do tune-in. People that seem to like me when I do chime in.
I know thereās line for talk, but Iām not kidding myself that Iāll have people to chat with about other things-- as the game itself is the more interesting topic, with real-life as an aside.
Thisā¦Iāve been in my alliance for well over two years now and it is those same 3-4 folks who keep me sane as the natural turnover in the rest of the alliance occurs.
Yeah, thatās what really prevented me from going solo for so long. That and feeling like a traitor or shady abandoning members who I called friends. But at the end of the day, if the friendship is mutual, it shouldnāt need my attendance within the same alliance. Itās nice to shoot the crap and spam funny gifās and memes all day. To brag about accomplishments, new records, and amazing fights. To complain to those willing to listen about war boards.
The big part of this game is making friends, which get you sucked into the whirlwind of competition, envy, and eventually spending (especially when youāre in a competitive alliance). For weak willed people like me, thatās a recipe for disaster and it has been. To put it like this, I only lack Natalya, Skadi, and Lady Loki (everything else in heavy dupes and thatās considering what I didnāt feed away). So it was best for me to get myself out of this vicious cycle and environment, otherwise my next step would be a Mok-arrrrrggh feeding video.
Or the FOMOā¦ Like other humans, my alliance mates get lucky and pull a hero I really want so I thinkā¦ hey I could, too! Iām not trying to keep up, per se, but I know XXX hero would be super fun if I pulled them.
Although I suppose XXX heroes might increase the minimum age for the game a bitā¦ but I digressā¦
and so are you.
