Galaxy of Addiction and Disappointment: A Star Wars Story
I reached level 80 this week. It should have felt like an achievement, a time for celebration. It should have opened up new opportunities for me, but all it's really done has further removed the already diminishing thrill of progression.
I'm now frozen in time with around 30+ characters all geared up to 8 or 9 with just one piece of gear missing.
There are only two events I can "look forward" to - in the loosest sense of the phrase.
Raids, which happen once every 2-3 days. Yes, I do run heroic. They generally disappoint me at payout due to never getting fully crafted pieces, or the salvage I wanted, and then useless farmable salvage I can get easily enough without raiding.
Then there are shipments - fast becoming the bane of my life. Due to the mind-numbingly slow progression from raids and guild currency alone, I turn to shipments to find raid gear. I never miss a natural refresh, but after each 6 hour wait I'm disappointed with the junk I'm offered.
So then I fall into the trap which @CG_JohnSalera perfectly set up for me - I manually refresh shipments in the vain hope that I can force a droid caller to appear, with the 2 week window of opportunity getting smaller every day (thanks John). I refresh at 50 crystals, then at 100 crystals, then at 200 crystals, and with each failed refresh I hate the game (and myself) a little more each time.
I tell myself that I won't refresh at 400, because that's silly money and the odds are clearly stacked against me. Later in the day, after another two failed natural refreshes, I give in and refresh at 400 - and get nothing. Like any gambler, I think, "Just one more refresh". And I feel a little sick inside, because I know how much money I've just literally flushed down the toilet. Buyer's remorse sets in, and I ask myself what I'm doing with my life.
I then come to the forums and read that other players have had 5+ droid callers without manually refreshing at all, and I feel cheated.
Before the guild and raid update, this game could be enjoyed for what it was, the way it was originally designed. Every player had an equal chance to reach the same point, either by investing money or by investing time. Since this draconian gear gating, the game has become just one disappointment after another. The game is now nothing but a glorified slot machine. In fact, when I look at the psychologically manipulative tactics being deployed by EA/CG, I really do feel sick that I allowed myself to be sucked into this casino masked as a game. The house always wins. And Disney markets this to children.
If nothing happens to change things for the better, I will have to cut this unhealthy addiction out of my life for good. I'd been hoping that the gear gating mechanism would be toned down a little, but I'm starting to understand that it's only likely to get worse.
Writing this down is cathartic, if you made it this far then thanks for listening.
What a journey from zero to 80. That's my Star Wars story, what's yours?
I'm now frozen in time with around 30+ characters all geared up to 8 or 9 with just one piece of gear missing.
There are only two events I can "look forward" to - in the loosest sense of the phrase.
Raids, which happen once every 2-3 days. Yes, I do run heroic. They generally disappoint me at payout due to never getting fully crafted pieces, or the salvage I wanted, and then useless farmable salvage I can get easily enough without raiding.
Then there are shipments - fast becoming the bane of my life. Due to the mind-numbingly slow progression from raids and guild currency alone, I turn to shipments to find raid gear. I never miss a natural refresh, but after each 6 hour wait I'm disappointed with the junk I'm offered.
So then I fall into the trap which @CG_JohnSalera perfectly set up for me - I manually refresh shipments in the vain hope that I can force a droid caller to appear, with the 2 week window of opportunity getting smaller every day (thanks John). I refresh at 50 crystals, then at 100 crystals, then at 200 crystals, and with each failed refresh I hate the game (and myself) a little more each time.
I tell myself that I won't refresh at 400, because that's silly money and the odds are clearly stacked against me. Later in the day, after another two failed natural refreshes, I give in and refresh at 400 - and get nothing. Like any gambler, I think, "Just one more refresh". And I feel a little sick inside, because I know how much money I've just literally flushed down the toilet. Buyer's remorse sets in, and I ask myself what I'm doing with my life.
I then come to the forums and read that other players have had 5+ droid callers without manually refreshing at all, and I feel cheated.
Before the guild and raid update, this game could be enjoyed for what it was, the way it was originally designed. Every player had an equal chance to reach the same point, either by investing money or by investing time. Since this draconian gear gating, the game has become just one disappointment after another. The game is now nothing but a glorified slot machine. In fact, when I look at the psychologically manipulative tactics being deployed by EA/CG, I really do feel sick that I allowed myself to be sucked into this casino masked as a game. The house always wins. And Disney markets this to children.
If nothing happens to change things for the better, I will have to cut this unhealthy addiction out of my life for good. I'd been hoping that the gear gating mechanism would be toned down a little, but I'm starting to understand that it's only likely to get worse.
Writing this down is cathartic, if you made it this far then thanks for listening.
What a journey from zero to 80. That's my Star Wars story, what's yours?
