So the update as a completely newer since im only like 3-4 months in f2p player this update is completely horrible.
The GC crates were basically my only way of getting some higher level gear and omnicrons (plus the extra character shards and other rewards) Now im only about tier 6 (maybe 7 ) in terms of strength and now what feels like and accomplishment with a reward every 3 - 4 days now is completely gone. If you have the p2w stuff (marquee and pass) you get 18.2k points per GC which is not even worth much due to the fact the paywall stuff is already much better for those points. It basically removes any sense of progress in terms of omicrons due to fact as f2p you are only able to get 4-5 omicrons through the episode system. That's if you can even get to level 50.
its basically removing one of the best ways to get higher level equipment across the board in preparation for when i can start gear 12ing characters. This new system that apparently was for F2P players is more like a complete butchering of f2p players chances of getting omnicrons and plus the extra shards were nice. Why they couldnt have left GC unchanged and just make pass points daily quests or maybe remove GC p2p requirements and make it so you get both the crate and the pass points and then that way you are actually getting extra rewards and not neutering what was one of the best sources for rarer materials for f2p players. This is the first anniversary i will have experienced and if this is how future updates will go then i wont be playing for much longer.
What used to be about 1 omnicron every 3-4 days is now 3 omnicrons every 4 weeks which is 3x worse in terms of rewards
Also you can get 4 omnicrons from the shop for a total of 8 but thats still less than what would have been in GCs and you are also losing so much overall due to the fact most of the rewards you used to get for free in crates are now in the currency shop so you get even less rewards due to the fact that free 2 play may only get to like pass level 20 at most which is not even half of the so called rewards that are meant to be better than the old GC chests