Prize map is too demanding
Hi, This month 202 bulbs are required to clear the prize map (204 last month, it was 192 at launch). That's app. 7 bulbs to get each day so 5 bulbs + 2 from the daily quests. Even with the 60 bulb...
Forum Discussion
@Lalaku_PSN I'm a casual player with a lot of demands on my time as well. The prize maps have become a source of frustration for me. I haven't been able to finish the last two even squeezing in extra time that I normally wouldn't play just to earn bulbs. And when I'm playing just to earn bulbs (while clipping hours off of sleeping) the enjoyment level plummets quite a bit.
I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that the prize map just isn't made for casual players. It's made to reward players that have a lot of time to invest each month and do so. Some players make so many bulbs each month they go over the 50 bulbs you can carry from month to month. It's possible the increase in bulb requirements from the first maps was in response to this. Their play after reaching this cap felt less rewarding likely exacerbated by an in game announcement that appears every time you would earn a bulb to let you know you are at max and can't earn another. If the increase was a response to some players going over, it was one of the poorer options to solve the problem.
I don't like how unobtainable the map is for me but I see my options as enjoying what I can squeeze out of it or quitting the game. I've also recently tried to limit much of my play time to things that feel like higher bulb yielding activities (again, at the expense of enjoyment). I'm actually leaning towards playing a great deal less and ignoring the prize map. But once I get there it's likely I will stop altogether. It's sad. I really love the PvZ franchise and a great deal of this game is pretty amazing. I'm hoping they are still feeling out what is reasonable to ask for the map and various individual items and this isn't what they are sticking with.
I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that the prize map just isn't made for casual players. It's made to reward players that have a lot of time to invest each month and do so. Some players make so many bulbs each month they go over the 50 bulbs you can carry from month to month. It's possible the increase in bulb requirements from the first maps was in response to this. Their play after reaching this cap felt less rewarding likely exacerbated by an in game announcement that appears every time you would earn a bulb to let you know you are at max and can't earn another. If the increase was a response to some players going over, it was one of the poorer options to solve the problem.
I don't like how unobtainable the map is for me but I see my options as enjoying what I can squeeze out of it or quitting the game. I've also recently tried to limit much of my play time to things that feel like higher bulb yielding activities (again, at the expense of enjoyment). I'm actually leaning towards playing a great deal less and ignoring the prize map. But once I get there it's likely I will stop altogether. It's sad. I really love the PvZ franchise and a great deal of this game is pretty amazing. I'm hoping they are still feeling out what is reasonable to ask for the map and various individual items and this isn't what they are sticking with.
- @TLEsquire The Prize Map is certainly not geared towards the casual player completing it purely through game play alone since it demands at least an hour or two daily towards earning bulbs, although the rest of the game is clearly designed to appeal to the casual gamer since much of the difficulty curve present in GW2 was softened or removed.
In this day and age the major video game publishers, EA being among them, have pushed towards recurrent player spending in a "live service" environment and by setting the Prize Map just outside of the reach of anyone who doesn't play a decent amount of time every single day feeds into the Fear Of Missing Out which we all discussed back when Rux's store first opened which is intended to drive people to buy bulbs from Rux.
It's really unfortunate that the franchise went from a live service where everything could be obtained by sheer game play, and luck with the RNG, to one hoping that the collecting habit ingrained by GW2 drives people to spend real money for the obsession of having every cosmetic, even if it's not likely to ever be used.
