TLDR: I get CG's financial motivations to increase the value of higher relics, but the initial execution is AWFUL and is probably going to do much more harm than good (even financially).
Long-term Player Engagement: Most of the fun I have in this game is the strategy aspect and countering higher GP/relic teams. I don’t get any enjoyment just cruising through teams I’m way over-leveled for. If the Relic Delta feature is so strong that battles just become relic checks… why have any manual game modes?? So if they keep it this highly tuned, seems like a great way to tank long-term engagement.
Business Aspect: But I'm also confused by their business/financial motivates as this seems to cannibalize a lot of their existing model. Their stated motivation is to reward higher relic investments; sure this accomplishes that but in my opinion does so through such a hacky way that comes with an insane amount of downsides.
- Why would players spend crystals or buy bundles to chase new marquees, temporary legendary events (that are more expensive on a per $ basis), or even conquest units? As someone who spends a decent chunk of change on this game, never once have I purchased crystals or bundles to just apply higher relic levels for the sake of a marginal performance increase for all modes. It's always been to unlock a new character or be able to participate in a new mode. Under this proposal you would get more impact for your buck taking existing R5 glup to R8 than new characters from G1 to G13. Why would I spend on these likely higher-grossing marquee/legendary/conquest units? Definitely won't be buying the Conquest pass.
- This also seems to almost entirely diminish the 'stat bonus' aspect of datacrons. I find these more valuable than alignment/faction/character abilities and would definitely decrease the likelihood I spend on datacrons. Same with mods – makes them mostly irrelevant to the outcome of a battle so why invest?
- A lot of recent updates have been focused on improving the new player experience, but surely this creates an even bigger gap that is likely to further intimidate new players. If the time/money to become competitive looms even larger (especially given the state of GA matchmaking), the financial "gap" to catch up is so big that its' going to even scare off the biggest potential whales.
- Having this current proposal apply to all existing game modes across PVE and PVP instantly devalues a huge amount of historical investment. Yes, I understand power creep does that naturally but such a drastic shift is likely going to discourage spending in the short-term while the community waits to see if this gets walked back partially or entirely. I am already questioning why I would buy a few of the LSBs I've been waiting for if they're going to be useless at the "lower" relic levels they come at.
Suggestions: In the spirit of constructive criticism I'll propose a few potential alternatives of what I would recommend instead (to reward investment in higher relics).
- Tie a Relic Delta feature to a new game mode OR have a new game mode that is gated to R7/8/9 toons. I was (and still am) very much in support of datacrons since they introduce more variability and accessibility in the meta. Unfortunately Relic Deltas seem to be going in the opposite direction by making the meta more rigid/stale.
- Introduce Relic 10 that doesn't just increase mastery, but also comes with an additional special/unique ability. This would be a lot more digestible to the player base, which has generally been expecting and has accepted this inevitability, while also increasing player desire to bring toons to higher relics.
- Exclude Relic Delta from PVP modes. The benefits/incentives for higher relics in TB and Conquest will remain, without having much of an impact on all the negatives I and others have mentioned (which are most prevalent in PVP).
In general, new content and wrinkles to the game keep me around. These would scratch that itch, while still helping CG meet their business goals. The proposed rework of the mechanics as is, generally making a 5+ year player question my desire to continue playing the game.
Capital Games Team