Alyona wrote : "Guys, new levels give you many benefits:
1) Your Units will become much stronger.
2) You will be able to upgrade Defensive stats for Offensive Units and vice versa. It means more space for strategic movements and less risk for your Offense to be caught and lost in unfair battle.
3) Only active players will receive this opportunity. The Defensive Units of players that are not playing the game anymore, but protecting other players or strategic sites will no longer be competitive.
4) Only the last 2 levels will require a special Resource.
5) You can get this Resource in Tournaments."
As we examine the impact of the top 2 levels of most of the agreements requiring sketches to upgrade (as well as over level 20 storage structures you cant get without sketches). We note that new free players and coiners alike are going to have serious issues attaining the unit strengths of the top coiners in Sparta.
This game depends upon a large active free player base to make it fun for pay users.
If you make the gap between those players so large that modest coiners and free players can never hope to touch the large armies of the top coiners, and plarium sponsored players.
It was previously possible for a smaller (and I say smaller because you pretty much have to be a modest coiner now to even be there) to catch a top players troops returning from a hit and do significant damage if not destroy the persons army if they neglected to use acrop or have other defense up. Now not only will the smaller player do less damage , he may lose his entire army AND not do much damage.
You have to take a look at what your doing to the game dynamic beyond just grabbing cash because you could really kill the goose that laid the golden egg here, IMO
I say this as someone who loves this game and the relationships Ive forged with some players, and Im truly afraid that this will change that forever. It may not end over night. New advertisiing may bring new players more geared to try to wade into the new mechanic, but eventually they will realize what we already know. Without a ridiculous amount of coin, they will never hold a candle to the top players. This gap is nigh becoming an insurmountable chasm with your new changes. Take heed and pause, or head into the abyss.