Watch video ads.

"Kerrigan;c-1761223" wrote:
Maybe I suggest it because ads don't bother me. Maybe I suggest it because I have more time than money. Maybe I suggest it because it's completely optional. Maybe I think having whales and krakens be the only source of income is bad for the game. Maybe I think that having thousands of players contributing in small ways is better than a few players contributing enormous amounts. Is the possibility of a 30 second completely optional ad really that bad when it could provide additional benefits for players who are falling behind?

Right now the business model MUST be to have the introduction of new characters outpace the rate at which gear can be acquired in a free to play manner so that the spenders have incentive to spend. By introducing ads, the gear acquisition pace can be altered because even the free to play players are contributing to the financial success of the game. I would only support ads if the pace of gear acquisition was altered to allow ad watchers to (slowly) catch up.

So basically, there would be an additional tier of players. Right now krakens have everything immediately and fully maxed as soon as it is released. Whales max the important characters, but work slowly on less valuable characters, spending on them only when they become relevant. Dolphins spend more carefully than whales, and generally only on tremendously overpowered characters, and only when their funding allows it. Each of these types of players are spending money in the game and because of their spending, their gearing is progress is generally pretty high. In the current system, there are then the free to play players. They are behind and the gap is increasing because of the character release cadence already staying ahead of their ability to gear characters. Over time, each character will be fully unlocked, fully starred, but geared? Impossible. They just can't keep up. By introducing ads, the ad-watcher tier can be introduced. This tier of players won't be spending money, but they will be watching ads. Through the introduction of this tier, I would hope to have the gear acquisition rate adjusted so that watching ads allows this tier of players to keep pace with or slightly outpace the character introductions (which I believe is the largest income source from krakens/whales). So the ad-watcher tier will eventually catch up and be ready to gear the next character.

Ads would never be able to offset the income in any sort of significant way that would impact the price model for anything that goes on right now.

Thinking that this game needs to change its business model to make more money or to make the game healthier financially is not really an argument. They seem to be doing just fine.

Krakens are not the base income, that is supplied by the many "whales" and other light spenders that are regularly buying packs to farm gear and other things, not just for events or new toons, ads wouldnt change this and could play into said base but would not increase it.

Ads would be a bad idea, the would kill of players and would end up doing more harm than good this late in the game.