Page 1 of 17 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 161

Thread: Stars...

  1. #1

    Default Stars...



    I'm not generally a whiner about things. I don't mind that paying players have an advantage over those who don't pay, or that big spenders get a heads up over those of us who spend less. It doesn't bother me that there are relatively poor drop rates as much as it does others, but the star system is very unfair in its current iteration.

    I was at a 12set the other day when I won a 2700 cent commission quest. I decided to push to 13 on a piece of gear and it failed.

    With a 45% chance it's no biggy, who expects to win every time?

    It took me over 1k cents to return to 12 on that item. I failed 3x @ 9, a few times at 10 and 11 and numerous times at other levels.

    The second item, same results, but it took me 1500 cents to get back to 12.

    Now I don't just set auto and let it rip. I do it manually for several and choose certain numbers of gems at different levels, and then do auto in certain spots. So I actually do have a system that other players use and have helped me to develop to manage resources as I try to upgrade rather than just blindly spending.

    The trouble is this: 2500 cents spent just to stay EXACTLY where I was.

    I won 1k cents earlier on the server and ended up with a piece of gear 3 lower than when I started. For $100 or $250 worth of cents, I expect PROGRESS; and I don't think that's an unfair expectation.

    I'm a huge fan of Age2 and run the #2 alliance on na23. I'm not a huge spender, nor am I the largest player on the server, but I'm a faithful player who is getting shafted by a system designed to be a major time and money sink. The players who have 15 sets at this point are players who have spent more than $3k on the server (and that might be a low estimate), and most of that has been for star upgrades.

    Again, I'm not moaning about spenders spending, I'm upset about risk vs. reward and the fact that there's a poor return on our investments. The risk is too great because, due to a random chance, you are very likely to lose everything you've paid/worked/farmed for and have invested time/money/effort into getting.

    Worse, I've heard several people say that their conversations with devs reveal that the reported chance of success isn't always the actual chance of success, meaning that we don't even have a reasonable gauge of what we're actually risking! (Granted, who knows what's true or not true?)

    So I guess what it boils down to is this: I think that somehow our investment in stars needs to be protected as we progress. I don't mind failing, and wouldn't mind chances being lower...but to lose and risk going all the way to 0 from 12, 13 or 14 is an unreasonable risk, especially given that taking that risk causes one to be vulnerable when fails do occur.

    I wish that there were an item for guaranteed upgrade or to "lock into" a level before trying a star. I'd be likely to spend for the protection against loss and be happy to do it.

    Alright, end soapbox. Back to killin'.
    Last edited by Big Papa na23; 05-04-2011 at 08:23 PM.
    [World]<01:23>[Rhadik]: i heard that superman wears big papa pajamas

    HH: 3 | HC: 1 1 1 0 (yet...one day!)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    England
    Posts
    37

    Default

    i agree its one thing to make money from players. which is in evonys interest but the star system is unfair. i spent over 320 gems pushing for 11 stars on shield it took that many gems to get it back to 10. which like you said fair enough you cant win every time. but twice in a ROW i failed going from 0 to level 1 first with brown gems then with blue gems. thats 100% which encase im mistaken means i had 0% of failing that.
    theres a fine line between making a profit. and being unfair.
    http://bbs.evony.com/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=323771&dateline=13054  08734

  3. #3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by el roberto View Post
    i agree its one thing to make money from players. which is in evonys interest but the star system is unfair. i spent over 320 gems pushing for 11 stars on shield it took that many gems to get it back to 10. which like you said fair enough you cant win every time. but twice in a ROW i failed going from 0 to level 1 first with brown gems then with blue gems. thats 100% which encase im mistaken means i had 0% of failing that.
    theres a fine line between making a profit. and being unfair.
    That's what I meant by the reported vs. actual % chance of success being reportedly different. Somehow there's a bonus/lessened penalty for latency after a fail (it seems).

    Now I will say this: I agree that not every schmo should easily attain the 15 star set or the benefit would be pointless. And really, I'm not even convinced that it's a bad thing that it's very difficult to advance for that reason. It *should* be a pain to become powerful.

    My real issue is the risk of falling to 0 after 8 stars at each upgrade. While the ultimate reward is very nice, I'm not sure that it's $4k nice.
    [World]<01:23>[Rhadik]: i heard that superman wears big papa pajamas

    HH: 3 | HC: 1 1 1 0 (yet...one day!)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Japan
    Posts
    2,473

    Default

    The Star system is a great concept. I love it. It basically levels up all your heros at once AND allows you to switch around their attributes at will by applying Intel, Attack or Politic focus.

    But as most players know, it is unreasonably difficult and unreasonably expensive. No reason why a player should need to spend around $10 USD to BUY a full 15 star set.
    And no reason a free player whould need to do 300,000 - 400,000 NPC attacks to collect enough gems to get to star level 15. So it's either:
    1. Free players farm for 5 years to get their full star sets
    2. Spenders pay ~$10k USD.

    Um, somebody call Maco... becuse this car needs a makeover.

    @Big Papa: It's not $4k to buy a full 15 star set. It costs ~$10k.

    Thanks to Boleslav for the Afro Samurai Signature series.
    I have made a few video guides that may help you.
    Please read the link below.
    My Evony Videos

  5. #5

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by japanpimp View Post
    The Star system is a great concept. I love it. It basically levels up all your heros at once AND allows you to switch around their attributes at will by applying Intel, Attack or Politic focus.

    But as most players know, it is unreasonably difficult and unreasonably expensive. No reason why a player should need to spend around $10 USD to BUY a full 15 star set.
    And no reason a free player whould need to do 300,000 - 400,000 NPC attacks to collect enough gems to get to star level 15. So it's either:
    1. Free players farm for 5 years to get their full star sets
    2. Spenders pay ~$10k USD.

    Um, somebody call Maco... becuse this car needs a makeover.

    @Big Papa: It's not $4k to buy a full 15 star set. It costs ~$10k.
    I'm just going by what players have reported to me...I haven't actually seen the bank drafts! lol

    I do agree that in general the star system is a very clever way to manage stats as you said.

    I liken it to medal farming, except that at least once you find a medal it's yours and you can upgrade when you have enough. Medal farming is frustrating and tedious, but is a much more reasonable system because there's a fixed cost and a clear end. It's in this way that the star system fails.
    [World]<01:23>[Rhadik]: i heard that superman wears big papa pajamas

    HH: 3 | HC: 1 1 1 0 (yet...one day!)

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    floating around on a boat
    Posts
    1,409

    Default

    the system is indeed flawed for us players!! honest players are being exploited by evony for being hooked on there game.

    i personally think that from 10 stars upwards any fails should only drop that gear one star level. this way its not a massive setback.

    the fail ratio is just insane, on na 21 nobody has a 15 set as of yet and i believe only 2 or 3 people have a 14 set.

    YNWA

    RETIRED
    XxGamblexX aka RedEyeJedi
    S137 ~ SS54 ~ NA13 ~ NA21 ~ CA1

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Japan
    Posts
    2,473

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gamble View Post
    the system is indeed flawed for us players!! honest players are being exploited by evony for being hooked on there game.

    i personally think that from 10 stars upwards any fails should only drop that gear one star level. this way its not a massive setback.

    the fail ratio is just insane, on na 21 nobody has a 15 set as of yet and i believe only 2 or 3 people have a 14 set.
    In ALL of Age II servers, ALL servers only 21 people have full 15 sets. I asked a few of them how much they spent and it was near $10k JUST for the gems.
    I have 8 of my gears to 15 stars. It has cost me ~$4k just to get 8 of them to 15. So I have 5 ore to go. I can easily sink another ~$4k into just gems to get my full set... making my total investment $8k. Um, I'd rather buy a car.
    So I am not going to invest any more cash into my stars until the system is fixed/modified. There is just no reason in hell a player should have to spend near $10k on a game. If a player wants to buy a 15 star set, fine, make it expensive. But $8-10k is just insane. It is silly pricing, just silly.

    Makes me wonder if Evony was even aware of how much it was going to cost a player to get a full 15 set before they released Age II.
    If Evony adjusted the Star Upgrade system so that players could get full 15 sets by investing $2k on average, Evony would be making alot more money. The number of players willing to spend $2k will make far more money than the number of players willing to spend $10k. Very basic Supply/Demand curve stuff. Business 101.

    And WHY isn't this thread on feedback.evony.com?
    Thantium told me on the feedback site that I am the only one complaining about the star system and historic heros and historic cities. I am not the only one complaining. I am one of the few complaining who takes the time to post. So take me and multiply it by a few thousand to get the actual number of those complaining.
    Last edited by japanpimp; 05-09-2011 at 05:47 PM.

    Thanks to Boleslav for the Afro Samurai Signature series.
    I have made a few video guides that may help you.
    Please read the link below.
    My Evony Videos

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gamble View Post
    the system is indeed flawed for us players!! honest players are being exploited by evony for being hooked on there game.

    i personally think that from 10 stars upwards any fails should only drop that gear one star level. this way its not a massive setback.

    the fail ratio is just insane, on na 21 nobody has a 15 set as of yet and i believe only 2 or 3 people have a 14 set.
    On 23, 3 ppl have a 15 set...and what's really interesting is that on na1.....only 2 people have them at 15, and na1's been up over a year now!

    If I would only go down 1 level per fail, I'd be MUCH more likely to not only try for the next level, but invest more money into my stars as well.

    As it stands, I'm not investing any more for stars for the foreseeable future due to the fail rate until something's done about it......or until I have 10k of each gem....which will be awhile. I may buy a port from time to time, but I don't have enough money to go to the real Vegas, let alone play from home.
    [World]<01:23>[Rhadik]: i heard that superman wears big papa pajamas

    HH: 3 | HC: 1 1 1 0 (yet...one day!)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    new jersey
    Posts
    267

    Default more like 20-35k

    Quote Originally Posted by japanpimp View Post
    The Star system is a great concept. I love it. It basically levels up all your heros at once AND allows you to switch around their attributes at will by applying Intel, Attack or Politic focus.

    But as most players know, it is unreasonably difficult and unreasonably expensive. No reason why a player should need to spend around $10 USD to BUY a full 15 star set.
    And no reason a free player whould need to do 300,000 - 400,000 NPC attacks to collect enough gems to get to star level 15. So it's either:
    1. Free players farm for 5 years to get their full star sets
    2. Spenders pay ~$10k USD.

    Um, somebody call Maco... becuse this car needs a makeover.

    @Big Papa: It's not $4k to buy a full 15 star set. It costs ~$10k.
    Japan pimp I think your the bomb and almost always agree with u even though we have a different styal of play.
    but my 15 star set cost me about 20k and lord Cheif his star set cost him about 30K all figures in US dollars. As Far as Risk reward goes the problem is not that the stars are too risky the problem is they are too expensive you only attempt to up a level 14 to 15 if you are willing to drop $2k Us Dollars per item you can get lucky as the the amount that I spent and Lord Cheif spent will indicate.

    Also I was thinking as a way of locking a server up making it a mission to cap all npcs that drop gems then abandon them that way no one can farm for gems .
    and me and my host will be the only ones with a 15 star set.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Japan
    Posts
    2,473

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by toeesquire View Post
    Japan pimp I think your the bomb and almost always agree with u even though we have a different styal of play.
    but my 15 star set cost me about 20k and lord Cheif his star set cost him about 30K all figures in US dollars. As Far as Risk reward goes the problem is not that the stars are too risky the problem is they are too expensive you only attempt to up a level 14 to 15 if you are willing to drop $2k Us Dollars per item you can get lucky as the the amount that I spent and Lord Cheif spent will indicate.

    Also I was thinking as a way of locking a server up making it a mission to cap all npcs that drop gems then abandon them that way no one can farm for gems .
    and me and my host will be the only ones with a 15 star set.
    WTF?????!!!???? $20k USD???? for your full 15 set???
    Some spending $30k??? OM-freakin-god.....
    I was hearing $10k. I have burned $4k so far and only have 8 gears to 15.

    Thanks to Boleslav for the Afro Samurai Signature series.
    I have made a few video guides that may help you.
    Please read the link below.
    My Evony Videos

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •