How many FS per server finished(compared to last FA)

[EarthbornIcarus]

Rather than respond to everything, for the sake of keeping it short, I'll just say I read all of that and go from there.

I have possibly said DOOM the loudest and longest but note if you read through all of the various dooms I have said my issue is not with the spenders, nor even with a design that promotes spending, my issue is with the way the incentive is designed to pit fellows good will against each others wallets. I even suggested a better way for INNO to get paid would be to alot the top 3 prizes by % rather than limit it to 3. i.e. Top 1-2% gets prize one, Top 3-5% gets prize two, Top 6-10% gets prize three. This would get more people in the race instead of discouraging people. Several that now just think we won't get the top 3 would probably try for top 10% etc. I further have said that they should reduce the badges by enough of a percentage to make it solo doable and separate it from FS, just make it an Adventure... so if some want to go for it and others don't it isn't ripping FS apart.

Imagine how that would go, everyone had their own Adventure map that only they contribute to and the goal is to finish in the top x%, that not only levels the chances for anyone to plan well or spend a lot but also pits the top against others in their own FS (by individual choice) which I think would cause greater spending.

My issue has never been with spending, I have some premium expansions, I'm in a page 2 FS, ranked in the top 60, though I do not and will never have magic buildings just because they are blue (yuk if I buy it I should at least be able to pick from 5 colors or something! (another matter))... My issue is with the way they play teammates against each other to encourage the spending, the way they have over time tweaked every metric to group the spenders together just to facilitate this psycological factor the most, the way it appears this was always the plan (though I really don't give them that much credit, like any good conspiracy theory it can be logically explained by them looking at what caused a spending bump and going further in that direction leading to the same result as a master plan over time). I find it disturbs the entire game feel when you are given the options to be in Group A (spenders) and win or Group B (free) and lose.. OR (and this is important) Group C (spender that hangs out with some free) and lose because you didn't encourage them to spend.

All that aside it's also just stupid to offer Traveling Merchants since this will benifit mostly solo style players or people in FS with a poor market which are the least likely to participate at a win level anyway. Perhaps they would be a more suitable prize for the solo Adventure I described above.

General Conclusion: This game either needs to go with more solo metrics and abandon the 'all about FS mentality' so all of the spenders can actually compete with each other and a well planned/lots of time here person can still have a shot regardless of the FS they happen to reside in, or it needs to calm down on the not so well hidden intention of getting whole groups to encourage each other to break out the Credit Card (including the unspoken pressure of trying to keep up for those that cannot spend the time). Much like if I were on a basketball team and could buy extra points, you can bet my team mates would feel like they should be also whether I say it or not. There is just no ethical justification for this metric as a group event. It should be solo or scrapped... I'm tired of every FA depressing gameplay, causing rifts, people quitting FS all the while discouraging spending from people in non-spending FS because they aren't willing to buy the whole thing themselves or push fellows to spend. It's all an unnecessary scam that could be eliminated and have better results to their bottom line. IMO.

*See how I kept that short.

Short. Noted. Lmao.

In addition, I just want to say, thank you to everyone who commented here, I really enjoy reading your thoughts on this. It helps me see new viewpoints, and that's valuable. Iccy

 

[DeletedUser2424]

On Arendyl, an fs that came in 2 last time, watched as last minute, several FS's rocketed up the charts in the last day in the Pit...and the only way they could accomplish that is buy buy buy. When you see points going up by the thousands in ten minutes...Its not a fair game, it doesn't matter how well your fellowship worked together on the event...they cant win unless they tithe unbelievable amounts to Inno for the "privilege".

While i'm sure some of this was due to diamonds... the jump at the end is planned in many cases. Typically you're waiting on one guy in the fellowship with all the Necklaces or Blacksmiths... and he comes online and you just cycle over and over again. My point is it's not necessarily diamonds. My FS jumped like this several times. And i stand by my previous statement that the winning fellowship on Khelonaar (which i'm not part of) did it without diamonds.

 

[DeletedUser6219]

I am in 6 Fellowships. Last FSA 3 of them completed all of the stages and 1 of them ranked #2.
This time... 1 fellowship finished all three stages and did not even come close to being in the top 3...or top 10 for that matter.
I KNOW diamonds are used in top fellowships for FSA in Khelonaar A LOT. I also know that last time the top 3 FSA used diamonds as well on Khelonaar and Felyndral.
I do not like the FSA as it makes my game time seem like work. I put in a few badges here and there from the spell badges and 9-hour Farmer Delights. I no longer mess with my cities for events or FSA as I enjoy progression more than I do the tedious work feeling and most of the rewards; especially the FSA rewards.

 

[NightshadeCS]

Frankly using US4 as an example I don't understand at all what the FS who ranked 5 through 35 were doing. They were more than 10,000 points behind 3rd place, and well over the minimum points to finish. Where they really fighting over who gets a 5h vs 8h timer buff? A 45min timer vs a 30m timer? Right after winning dozens of timers in the winter event? Why? Did they spend diamonds in that fight? That makes even less sense. Maybe there are close to 40 FS per server who just love the FA, but even if there are, that seems like to few too be called a win for inno.

I am from one of the fellowships you are probably referring to, Soggy. We don't keep close track of where we are in the rankings except for personal satisfaction as to how high we can get without alienating our members. We call it the "honor and glory" strategy. Anyone who is frustrated with the FA or who doesn't have room for extra buildings can sit out, and those of us who love spreadsheets and mindless clicking for little reward play our little hearts out. If we can achieve a ranking that is higher than our overall Fellowship ranking, then we think we are pretty cool. I will say that iteration 3.0 was a beast, and it produced more hard feelings than the previous two. We had made it to summit 3 on the first two FAs but not this one. It was a bit disheartening even for me, and I am an enthusiastic participant every time despite how abusive it becomes.

 

[DeletedUser9551]

I can't imagine that they made more $$$ this time. There was far less competition I think, which would push down the top Visa Warriors, and with the increased difficulty and (70%?) drop in the number of FS that finished the event it seems to me like fewer players "spent a little" to help finish.
I mean, how many players used diamonds if they knew their FS wouldn't even finish the event regardless?

I can tell you this,my fellowship did not use any diamond, and probably never will to compete in any events...