Episode Track Calculations

Yet you forget that feats are halfed and the rewards from the galactic crates before the update would be given over a 3 day interval and even if you were only able to do 2 or 3 quests in tier 6 you would be able to get 1 omicron (plus the gear and character shards) with the new system you are limited to 2 quests for all tiers except for maybe tier 1 and 2  which give 3.

Even if you manage to have all requirements to the max tier (which is locked by both the marquee paywall and the pass paywall) you will be getting much less rewards over the period of the month due to the fact that if you only give the old GC crates  1 omicron it is still about 9-10 omicrons a month at minimum with the new system you only get like 3 omicrons without the pass and thats if you even manage to get to those levels due to the fact most sources of the pass points are behind a pay wall which means you basically have 3x less omicrons alone. This is being generous with the difference between the crate and the pass cause you could get 2 consistently.

Thats not even including all the extra resources crates used to give like character shards and gear which means you get so little resources now compared to before this change to galactic challenges. They should just revert the galactic challenge changes and if they want to keep the pass. (and remove the 2 pay walls on GC) as no matter what you are getting less rewards overall.

Omicrons (number and timing)
No GC participation under the old system: 0 rewards

No GC participation under the new system with dailies completed:  3 omicrons, lots of other stuff, and 26k credits.  Spending 19.2k of those credits on Omicrons brings you up to 11 total.

To get the 12 omicron, you would need 26.2k more points to get to box 43.  Low performance on the free feats (1x t8, 7x t7) along with the free Marquee feats (8x t2) gets you there.  This requires no points from the faction feat, can be done with your 3-star Marquee, and doesn’t require the pass. 

Under the old system, your 2 omicron rewards would be on days 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28.  After this initial period (why I suggested 10k credits from the anniversary gift), you can purchase 3 omicrons on days 1, 8, 15, 22.  While you might be behind on your 4th omicron in week 1, you’ll be ahead of schedule by week 4.

(1 quick edit for clarification)

How do I claim the 2 Zetas from completing the 7 quests? (And subsequently, the Aeromagnifier, Omicron and Droid Brain). 

That could be incentive to do the quests as f2p, even if you don't get the Episode Points for the individual claims. But perhaps this would be too generous. Just putting the idea out there.

Comparing 8 red crates from the old system to completing the free track which requires your dailies along with 2 new red crates (t10 free feat, t10 faction feat, t2 Marquee) and 6 new gold crates (t10 free feat, t6 faction, t2 Marquee):

Free track gives 41k Episode credits.  If you purchase 12 omicrons (19.2k), 8 omegas (4800), and 16 kyros (2800), you would have 14.2k credits left over.  

You would already have an equivalent number of Omicrons, Kyros, Omegas, Mod slicing materials, purple gear boxes, and gold gear boxes.  

Without any additional spending, you’ll have 20 extra injectors and 40 blue gear boxes that can be salvaged for low relic mats.

What is still missing?  Less than a million credits and fleet credits, 24 mods, and 240 shards.  I’d say selecting 6 usable mods is better than getting 24 random mods.  For a late game player, the 240 shards is for shard shop (3600) and of that is partially made up from the 20 extra injectors.  

From the 14.2k credits you had left over, you could purchase mods or get some of the gear you would have purchased with SSC.  Or more likely you can purchase Brozium Wiring and the rarer Mod slicing materials.  But the new system gives you more choices.

From what I have seen math-wise (I didn't do it myself), it appears most people would make better rewards under this system, with some higher participation needed, which is how games work - No participation = No reward. We will see the reality of it at end of episode/era, and I won't complain about the balance until then, if needed. I don't think it is that bad though.

The problem with this release is that it has a bunch of content that is obviously behind a paywall, which makes it feel like you are being left out. Yes, I do understand that the intent is to entice players to buy the pass, but it would be better if the content was available to everyone, even if it's with small rewards, and just give bigger rewards for those with the pass. This would appear less greedy than what we currently see, which is god for the game moral. 

If you are f2p and considering spending some money, you are not going to start paying monthly for the pass, since LS bundles are a way better deal. If you are a paying customer already, getting the pass will likely be a good choice compared to buying the shard packs and whatever you used to do before.