Many have claimed they were blindsided or misled into believing these characters would be behind a paywall (or two-year grind). For new players to the game this could be a reasonable complaint. However, those who have playing for at least six months (possibly years) this shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
Personally, I’m a big ewok fan and was seriously considering using crystals every month to refresh the Endor escalation event. After figuring the ROI in wicket shards compared to the ROI of other areas of the game (energy refreshes, purchasing gear, etc), it was fairly obvious there was a hefty premium to get Wicket or Talzin.
I also thought...if CG has already increased the frequency of these events, the likelihood of Wicket and Talzing becoming much easier to farm soon was high. Thus, ultimately, leading to the decision not to use crystals to refresh.
All of these freemium games prey on impatience and game-changers have stated this many times to help out new players.
If you are simply willing to wait...you will be rewarded for your patience.