Anyone else here think that these non meta changing characters like bossk and visas should not have gone to hard nodes?There are plenty of other places they could have gone (I remember CG saying they were never going to update certain stores again) but there are 3 empty and 6 double cantina nodes that could have been used for these characters.The fact that it takes 6 months to 7* a character on a hard node makes the game less fun, I have been farming Visas since she realised to F2P and only received 9 shards YES 9 that is with refreshes aswell.Please CG you need to start thinking about updating your release candace.I saw a post not long ago about a good replacement for your system yet you have not acknowledged it, please listen to the community.thanks

Visas is really useful on the Sith raid so I can see why she has gone on a hard node but I agree her drop rate is horrendous I do at least one refresh a day on her and regularly out of the 10 attempts get only 2 shards. The biggest difference to hard node farming was dropping back to 5 attempts a day. Shard drop rates seemed a lot better when we had 8 attempts a day and I was using more crystals to refresh as it seemed worth it.They could do with changing the release cadence to speed farming up maybe put them on a hard node then after 3 months put them in either the guild store or guild event store as well so that people can speed up farming. Then after a year or so maybe make them available to the GW or arena stores and cycle toons through them

At least part of the idea about the release structure is about the value. People paying for a toon, regardless of what anyone else thinks about their usefulness, are being given a "set value" for their investment. I would imagine that part of the reason we see all toons hitting marquee events and following the same release structure is to keep that even, but to also not show a "judgment" on any 1 character vs another. They all have their uses and not everyone is solely focused on arena.

"Kyno;c-1600846" wrote:"Vettes4Fetts2;c-1600841" wrote:Of course it's gone. They are paying for that window, and that window only. 3 months because you paid for it. And I support that 3 month window.But to say that someone who paid day 1 somehow is affected by a toon going to a non-hard node 3 months later is laughable.Yes they are. There is more to a toon than just arena, TB advantage which doesnt come around that often and other events where that toon can be used.As I was pointing out also, they want to have an incentive for people to speed up the farming too, a smart f2p can use that to great advantage in keep ahead knowing that the farm time is pretty set in stone.Decreasing that or randomly changing it especially by placing toons in stores that dont rotate could be more detrimental to players who plan well and work the planThis is probably the first time someone has said making something more available can be detrimental to them lol. So if you buy an iPhone on day 1 with a 3 month pre release exclusivity, great, you paid for that privilege. But if I buy it on day 91 it should be both harder for me to acquire and also not have all functions until the 9th month? You bought and paid for 3 months advantage.

"Vettes4Fetts2;c-1600860" wrote:"Kyno;c-1600846" wrote:"Vettes4Fetts2;c-1600841" wrote:Of course it's gone. They are paying for that window, and that window only. 3 months because you paid for it. And I support that 3 month window.But to say that someone who paid day 1 somehow is affected by a toon going to a non-hard node 3 months later is laughable.Yes they are. There is more to a toon than just arena, TB advantage which doesnt come around that often and other events where that toon can be used.As I was pointing out also, they want to have an incentive for people to speed up the farming too, a smart f2p can use that to great advantage in keep ahead knowing that the farm time is pretty set in stone.Decreasing that or randomly changing it especially by placing toons in stores that dont rotate could be more detrimental to players who plan well and work the planThis is probably the first time someone has said making something more available can be detrimental to them lol. So if you buy an iPhone on day 1 with a 3 month pre release exclusivity, great, you paid for that privilege. But if I buy it on day 91 it should be both harder for me to acquire and also not have all functions until the 9th month? You bought and paid for 3 months advantage. I think that's the issue, you are assigning a 3 month period as a cut off when they very clearly designed this to be longer. They removed the stores that many have currency built up in and do not rotate for a reason, and that's to pace then after they go out of exclusive "Dale's locations" , they are still exclusive as designed because you have to have either saved crystals or paired to get them right away. The farm was designed in to be part of the exclusive period, it just winds down from very exclusive to not exclusive. Anyone buying these toons is expecting that as that's exactly how it was desigend.The devs never stated they only exclusive period was x months. They leave it open to interpretation because it lends itself to smart f2p and light spenders to still have a period that feels exclusive. Which is just an extension and the winding down of the still exclusive period for people who buy right out the gate

"Vettes4Fetts2;c-1601053" wrote:I would totally buy into this well written but misguided explanation IF at a certain point (even at devs discretion) toons would come off the single node farm at some point- ending the exclusivity. But they don't. They stay permanently. I've done many single node farms. I don't begrudge them making money, as I've stated on many occasions, but I must say at what point do you break the players bank and they stop spending? It's like they cut off their nose to spite their face sometimes. They may add to Cantina, because that's revenue on a limited resource. But stated never in a store that may benefit all players.And they did state terms. 4-6 weeks Chromium, 4-6 weeks Shipments, then f2p farmable. They set that cadence, not me. So my 3 month window is absolutely correct, and that is on the high end. again, no that is not correct, because they also clearly state in that same post that they will put them in a store that has a rotation or on a node. and that will absolutely add time unless you supplement with crystals and is very clearly stated as part of the release cadence. the exclusivity does end. approximately 6 months or so after they are put on a node because at that point anyone who wanted to could have them 100% free.

Hard Node Farms | EA Forums

31 Replies

calum1977
8 years ago
Visas is really useful on the Sith raid so I can see why she has gone on a hard node but I agree her drop rate is horrendous I do at least one refresh a day on her and regularly out of the 10 attempts get only 2 shards.

The biggest difference to hard node farming was dropping back to 5 attempts a day. Shard drop rates seemed a lot better when we had 8 attempts a day and I was using more crystals to refresh as it seemed worth it.

They could do with changing the release cadence to speed farming up maybe put them on a hard node then after 3 months put them in either the guild store or guild event store as well so that people can speed up farming. Then after a year or so maybe make them available to the GW or arena stores and cycle toons through them
ShogunUsagi
8 years ago
With regards to visas in STR she only became relevant after the GMY rework so she wasn't really that good in STR on F2P release.

But yeah going back to 8 may be better I would happily spend my earned crystals on refreshes for it.
SWGregoriou
Rising Newcomer
8 years ago
Ideally they would all be in the cantina :D .... but, I think visas belongs there as she is a top light side healer.

Not sure about bossk.
NyKynoe
8 years ago
At least part of the idea about the release structure is about the value. People paying for a toon, regardless of what anyone else thinks about their usefulness, are being given a "set value" for their investment.

I would imagine that part of the reason we see all toons hitting marquee events and following the same release structure is to keep that even, but to also not show a "judgment" on any 1 character vs another. They all have their uses and not everyone is solely focused on arena.
Boba_The_Fetter
8 years ago
Preach
BTTripleZero
8 years ago
It makes them more money. As much as I hate it, it all comes down to that. If they put more people in quicker areas to farm then people would be less likely to buy the original packs and less likely to buy from shipments. As much as I hate it, it’s $$$ for them.
Vettes4Fetts
8 years ago
I think we're beyond the point of defending it as "Well, they gotta make money somehow". Its been proven they are highly profitable, often to the tune of $11-14 million a month. So they're not hurting by any means. After the initial sales of packs, it wouldn't bankrupt them to stagger drop locations.
Vettes4Fetts
8 years ago
Profits end when customers leave.

There is a fine line between happy customers and happy shareholders. Making either unhappy leads to ruin.

Also, let's assume each developer makes a healthy $100K/year averaged out. They have a team of +/- 50 based on the team photo they have posted before. So that's roughly half a mil. Add in various overhead (mortgage, utilities, insurance, equipment, etc), and you're probably in the neighbor of $1.25 mil a year. So now we're in the neighborhood of $2 mil of costs per year. It made $130-140 mil last year. Even if EA takes half(!), they still bank well over $50 mil.

Even if we double or triple overhead, it's still very small compared to profits.

So tell me how their profit margin is so slim?
firebrigade9
8 years ago
Your salary total is off by a digit. 50 people at 100k is 5mil, not half a mil.
NyKynoe
8 years ago
"Vettes4Fetts2;c-1600751" wrote:
Profits end when customers leave.

There is a fine line between happy customers and happy shareholders. Making either unhappy leads to ruin.

Devaluing what a customer paid for will not make them unhappy?

The purpose of the release cadence is to give a more stable investment. Previously you would pay the same amount and tokens would either not be released for a year or be released within a few months.

Not they have a standard timeline, and have value on many levels.

Someone buying the toon right off the bat has a window, and people farming them later have some value in speeding them up with crystals through shipments. At that point those crystals could be stocked from free sources or paid for, it's not directly about money. They want to instil the feeling that the investment is worth it. This actually gives a f2p player a way to have an advantage, and now they can see and plan on that advantage.