I don’t think anyone can argue that we aren’t materially worse off since the drafts were instituted. Yes, the “pity counter” makes the drafts less bad than they would otherwise be, but when you factor in all of the changes EA has made since the introduction of the drafts the effect is that it is much harder than ever before to claim top players that improve your squad. Part of this is the ultra-low probability of ever winning a max Pool A player (personally, I’ve claimed at least 20 Pool A players and NOT ONE has been max). Part of it is really poor shard exchange rates. And the kicker is that the transfer market is now virtually useless (for anyone who isn’t a “whale”) given the hyperinflation of meta player prices.
Before the advent of drafts, most events enabled you to grind your way to accumulating enough shards to claim at least one meta card. You could do the math early on and be able to target the player that would most improve your squad. This was highly valuable/rewarding because you had value and certainty. But EA apparently saw it as missed opportunity to extract revenue and so they shut it down and constructed this randomized draft system and made it FAR more expensive (whether measured in time or $$$) to claim top players. We now have to grind for two months or more to accumulate enough shards to claim a single meta player (because the chances of winning one outright are effectively nil). That’s roughly double what it used to be.
Bottom line is this: The last 12 months has seen EA claw back a ton of value from users and offer nothing in return. Across the board the rewards available to be earned are poorer and/or less certain (e.g., placed behind a game of chance with poor probabilities or a higher than ever paywall — or both!). The cost of everything has gone up. And gameplay has not improved one iota. In short, we get less and less value and we pay more for it (whether in time or money) with each passing month. Quibbling over whether the “drafts” are inherently the problem ignores this overarching truth. Certainly EA could create a draft system that actually delivered similar levels of certainty and value as we enjoyed previously but EA quite obviously has CHOSEN not to! To me this is reason enough to criticize the “draft system” — not because such systems are inherently flawed or can’t EVER work, but because the one we’re stuck with is so clearly designed to give us the shaft.
