I feel sorry for new players :(

[Darielle]

@Darielle No, I can't remember if the first one was a sale or not. And, what exactly qualifies as a sale? Because the everyday offers have bonus diamonds in them as well; does that make them "on sale", or is it just those "Special Offer" popups that meet the criteria?

That's a good question. I suppose I mean the percentages off diamonds but all of them are technically sales. I just find it hard to believe that there isn't some criterion at work when the only long term players I know who bought diamonds when they were brand new at the regular price have never seen a 200 or even 100 percent offer. In four years, I have never once seen one, and believe me, if I had, I would remember. From what my few friends who are in this position say, so would they have. I do realize that a few players in the same boat do not add scientific data, and anecdotes are not fact, but it often feels like fact when everyone else gets offers.

If anyone else would like to add their anecdote about the opposite being true, I'd love to hear it. If you bought diamonds at the regular price (no special goodies added except the normal offer) within the first week or two of joining, and then later saw 200 and 100 percent offers, let me know. I'd honestly like to believe that my few friends and I are just hated by the rng gods, rather than the rng gods rigging our chances.

 

[Dhurrin]

Well, we'll never really know but there's a reason behind the moves Inno has made recently to increase income. I know I'm not spending what I once was. Spending regularly doesn't mean it's at the same levels as before. No doubt there has been attrition among the ranks for those who spend money. Generally players just disappear so there's no way of knowing why any of them are no longer here. If the spending I hear that goes on to get one of the trophies in FAs is true it might better if there were items that could only be obtained by spending money.

I'm not spending anywhere near what I was anymore either.
But I do know a lot of players who left the game, several of them I now in real life too.

 

[Deleted User - 849411552]

That's a good question. I suppose I mean the percentages off diamonds but all of them are technically sales. I just find it hard to believe that there isn't some criterion at work when the only long term players I know who bought diamonds when they were brand new at the regular price have never seen a 200 or even 100 percent offer. In four years, I have never once seen one, and believe me, if I had, I would remember. From what my few friends who are in this position say, so would they have. I do realize that a few players in the same boat do not add scientific data, and anecdotes are not fact, but it often feels like fact when everyone else gets offers.

If anyone else would like to add their anecdote about the opposite being true, I'd love to hear it. If you bought diamonds at the regular price (no special goodies added except the normal offer) within the first week or two of joining, and then later saw 200 and 100 percent offers, let me know. I'd honestly like to believe that my few friends and I are just hated by the rng gods, rather than the rng gods rigging our chances.

I did start with the Builder special offer (I think that's what its called), then I spent fairly regularly whenever there were special offers. Gradually I started to get 100% and then 200% offers. I got to the point where I would not make a purchase unless it was a 200% offer.

But on one occasion I declined the 200% offer. I have not seen anything above a 50% offer since then. I also have not spent anything since then. This was not because I wasn't seeing 200% offers after I declined that one, but I felt I had spent more than enough on the game (more than on any other game of any kind). That's actually why I declined the last 200% offer.

And I couldn't see why I needed to spend any more because they only thing I would purchase would be premium expansions - and I'm not desperate for them. I'm simply saving earned diamonds and will likely buy an expansion during the Cyber Monday sale. Typically the expansions go for 20% off on that day.

I do think that Inno uses an adaptive algorithm based on your spending patterns. This algorithm would include a randomness factor of course.

 

[Mykan]

Do you remember if your very first purchase was a sale or regular? If it was regular then I could be wrong, but I have talked to other players who, like me, believe it's the "first" purchase you make that counts on whether you will get offers or not.

I remember mine and it was full price, only reason I know is I really wanted a discount prior to the expansion cost changing and just had to buy full price. In hindsight I should have broken the bank buying expansions as it probably beat any discount offered since. I regularly get 100% even 200% offers now. It did however take over 4 years to get the first 100% offer.

 

[Henroo]

I remember mine and it was full price, only reason I know is I really wanted a discount prior to the expansion cost changing and just had to buy full price. In hindsight I should have broken the bank buying expansions as it probably beat any discount offered since. I regularly get 100% even 200% offers now. It did however take over 4 years to get the first 100% offer.

I just saw this and I have to ask, what cost change? I assume from the context of your remarks that premium expansions once cost less than they do now. But that was before my time. How much did premium expansions once cost and what did I miss out on?

 

[Iyapo]

I do not remember how much they cost. It was something like 2k....and the price did not increase as you bought them. So you could get all 18ish for 2k each.

It was years ago. I think Orcs was the highest chapter when the price change happened.

Edit: of course that was back when there was absolutely no way to earn diamonds in game. You paid cash money or you went without.

 

[Iyapo]

@Henroo, I went digging!

It is an old page so the formatting is shot but you will get the gist.

At the same time they raised the prices they also limited the number you could buy(and started the whole release 2 premium expansions for purchase every chapter)

Expansions: Difference between revisions - Elvenar Wiki EN

en.wiki.elvenar.com

@Henroo Just for giggles a link to the forum discussion thread from way back when. @crackie, injustice for buddy goes waaayyy back.Post in thread 'Release Notes version 1.17' https://us.forum.elvenar.com/index.php?threads/release-notes-version-1-17.4793/post-32689

 

[Henroo]

@Iyapo That was quite indeed a steep increase in price! And I now understand @Mykan's comment about wishing he would have gone hog wild and bought every expansion available. I know I would if I was ever offered premium expansions at that price. Especially since they don't count as much in the tournament/spire formula.

 

[Henroo]

@Iyapo It took me a bit longer, but I finally read the 2nd link you posted. Damn, the forums in 2016 were a bit saltier than they are now! But at first, I was reading through several pages of old posts featuring mostly deletedusers. Which was kind of depressing. Inno did not even show their names anymore! And then all of a sudden, Soggyshorts and Sir Squirrel started showing up in the posts. So obviously, some members managed to keep their names from that era. Makes me wonder what Inno deleted the names of so many of the older forum members. It seems to me like this kind of devalues the older formm posts...

 

[Smooper]

@Iyapo It took me a bit longer, but I finally read the 2nd link you posted. Damn, the forums in 2016 were a bit saltier than they are now! But at first, I was reading through several pages of old posts featuring mostly deletedusers. Which was kind of depressing. Inno did not even show their names anymore! And then all of a sudden, Soggyshorts and Sir Squirrel started showing up in the posts. So obviously, some members managed to keep their names from that era. Makes me wonder what Inno deleted the names of so many of the older forum members. It seems to me like this kind of devalues the older formm posts...

I think its one of two things. One: they remove their names if they delete their game account or two: they remove them after a time of inactivity on the forum. I have no idea how long that would have to be. Perhaps their was a change of forum software and you had to renew your account or something.

 

[Lelanya]

We all got Forum mail asking us to confirm our one Forum account, that cc'd to email. No matter how many different accounts we have, we are only to have one for the Forum. Also we are supposed to have a game account to link to. Some players have exemptions, like Konniver (the Architect) who plays on EN1 but needs a Beta Forum account and JackLuyt, who played on Beta and US, still had an EN account for instance; probably Sir Squirrel as well. Inno had gotten new Forum servers iirc.

I sure do miss some of the older players, it's a shame.

 

[Iyapo]

@Smooper Inactivity on the forum will get your forum account deleted. I am DeletedUser2963. I ran like 5 new cities through the battle changes(back then I was a fighter). Then I quit for about 2 years. Me and my new cities have been around off and on for years!

@Henroo, That was a very salty time! Battle changes, expansion price increases, province encounter cost increases, and the orc wall was thrown down!

 

[Smooper]

@Smooper Inactivity on the forum will get your forum account deleted. I am DeletedUser2963. I ran like 5 new cities through the battle changes(back then I was a fighter). Then I quit for about 2 years. Me and my new cities have been around off and on for years!

@Henroo, That was a very salty time! Battle changes, expansion price increases, province encounter cost increases, and the orc wall was thrown down!

I knew you had cities under 2 names. I discovered today on Harandar that my AM sent a recruitment letter to Iyapo1. I think he might wait awhile to hear back from you.

 

[Iyapo]

Yeah, it will be a while, I log in every now and then but those cities are just peacefully retired because I wanted to run new cities through the new tech tree and I had to start a new account to do it. I really like running new cities...obviously!

 

[crackie]

@Iyapo It took me a bit longer, but I finally read the 2nd link you posted. Damn, the forums in 2016 were a bit saltier than they are now! But at first, I was reading through several pages of old posts featuring mostly deletedusers. Which was kind of depressing. Inno did not even show their names anymore! And then all of a sudden, Soggyshorts and Sir Squirrel started showing up in the posts. So obviously, some members managed to keep their names from that era. Makes me wonder what Inno deleted the names of so many of the older forum members. It seems to me like this kind of devalues the older formm posts...

I like the forum rules are made by DeletedUser51. It really gives it that added air of authority.

 

[Darielle]

I remember mine and it was full price, only reason I know is I really wanted a discount prior to the expansion cost changing and just had to buy full price. In hindsight I should have broken the bank buying expansions as it probably beat any discount offered since. I regularly get 100% even 200% offers now. It did however take over 4 years to get the first 100% offer.

That gives me hope ... I will be here four years in October. Thanks, Mykan.

 

[Lemon Wren]

If you bought diamonds at the regular price (no special goodies added except the normal offer) within the first week or two of joining, and then later saw 200 and 100 percent offers, let me know. I'd honestly like to believe that my few friends and I are just hated by the rng gods, rather than the rng gods rigging our chances.

Yep, me. I bought diamonds when I first started playing two or three (?) years ago. Full price, no extras. Then I saw that as you level up, the cost of items go up, too, so I stopped buying diamonds. At some point I started getting discount offers, which as far as I can remember, I ignored. Until it got to buy diamonds, get 100% more. Then I think I quit buying and eventually got the 200% bonus.

Now that's the only time I buy diamonds. When I can get an extra 200% for free.

 

[Darielle]

Yep, me. I bought diamonds when I first started playing two or three (?) years ago. Full price, no extras. Then I saw that as you level up, the cost of items go up, too, so I stopped buying diamonds. At some point I started getting discount offers, which as far as I can remember, I ignored. Until it got to buy diamonds, get 100% more. Then I think I quit buying and eventually got the 200% bonus.

Now that's the only time I buy diamonds. When I can get an extra 200% for free.

I have only purchased diamonds once (actually "I" never have, but my son went on my ID when I was brand new and purchased for me at the regular price). That was back in October of 2019. I came into the forum that same month to learn about the game, and found out about the 100 and 200 percent offers. So I waited for one of those ... and waited, and waited, and waited. I have not received one ever. But since Mykan said it took him over four years, I'm hoping that I'm about due, finally. I'll keep looking.

 

[Chimaera1234]

I've bought the 200% multiple times...but maybe the first one took multiple years to show up. I don't think it used to exist. Maybe the 200% offer shows up for larger cities, like after a certain premium expansion is purchased? No clue

 

[Lemon Wren]

I waited for one of those ... and waited, and waited, and waited. I have not received one ever. But since Mykan said it took him over four years, I'm hoping that I'm about due, finally. I'll keep looking.

What? OMG. That's bonkers.