Value of Rainbow Stars

This is a rather long and rambling follow up to my post about the value of Rainbow Stars in the Weekly Rainbow Challenges.

I’m a little annoyed about the way upgrades and costumes and the rest are available in Rux: it’s very difficult to earn enough Rainbow Stars from the Weekly Challenges to buy decent ones. Certainly, it’s almost impossible to buy them all just from earned RS.

So, I’m trying to understand the value of them – and if they’re worth it. And I have time on my hands ☹️

To Start,  my ROT 9000 is empty and has been for some time so my coins are useless (as are the tacos and marshmallows and badges, unless you’re doing some of the challenges in PvE that require those forms of currency to play).

So the only way for me to get legendary upgrades and costumes and the rest are through the Prize Bulbs and  Rux.

I have absolutely no problems with the Prize Bulbs – for me it takes a small about of time and effort relative to my time in the game to get them.  It feels like you’re at least working towards something.

So that leaves the Rainbow Stars.

Right now, for me, there’s 3 costume upgrades in Rux that costs 3,150 RS.  Basically, each RS is worth one penny, a little more if you buy the $74.99 pack.  You can earn 480 RS per month playing the challenges-if you’re successful. If you start with no RS then it would take you around 6 ½ months to earn enough to buy them all. So, if you really want them now, you have to buy RS with real money. In my opinion, the Challenge Rainbow Stars are just bait, reinforced by popular youtubers who spend lots of $$ on RS and then buy the upgrades or costumes as soon as they come out and then crow about how cool they are  to their 4 mil + subscribers. 

An aside: I understand that so-called micro transactions are the norm now. I first encountered them when my son was playing Battle Cats on his phone. He would say “can I get this it’s only a dollar,’ or “it’s only five dollars, “  on and on and up.  I find it a manipulative and insidious way to conduct business, especially when targeting kids. Get them deep into the game and then when they’re sufficiently addicted, convince they need to spend  $$  to get to the next level.  The designers and marketers know exactly what they’re doing and are brilliant at it. They must have learned from the casinos.  I hate it.  

So back to GW. I’ve been playing GW since GW1. I paid $21.76 for GW1 and never a penny more.

I paid $65.31 for GW2 and with upgrade packs a total of $131. I played GW2 for more than 3 years. That comes to about 12 cents a day. I played it almost every day and enjoyed it immensely (still do).  It was money well spent and a true bargain considering the enjoyment I got from it.

I paid $32.65 for Neighborville which I consider inexpensive for a game of any kind of quality. I guestimate that to keep up with Rux you would need to spend $75 every two months or $450 a year. So now we’re talking roughly about $1.32 a day, including initial cost (as a refence, Amazon Prime is $.32  a day).  At this point I have to say that I don’t enjoy Neighborville as much as GW1 & 2.  My favorite is Turf Takeover and for numerous reasons it’s just not as much fun for me in BfN. I keep coming back to it but I don’t know for how long.  So, I’ll just rely on the Prize Bulbs for upgrades and new characters – as long as that lasts.

  My conclusion: For me, the Rainbow Stars are not worth it. But I guess it all depends on how much you enjoy the game.