Yeah I'm excluding that because it was very early in the game, and I wasn't playing at the time, so I can't comment on that.

As for the summon pool - that's not really comparable. All that does is gives you a higher chance of pulling from a shard. Doesn't give you a guaranteed champ by spending money.

"I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Raid "

I cannot for the life of me understand how someone can justify the spending of that much money on an online game.   Having played the game now for a little over a year, I've probably spent in the realm of $400 and even that seems extremely excessive but I justify it as personal entertainment expenses.

I won't be paying for this new event, yet another new champ to add to the long list of champs I want to someday invest books into is not a priority when I'm trying to pay down credit.

Right, but it still means it's *possible* to get her as an F2P.

Though if she's like previous 'celebrity' champs, I have to assume she'll only be obtainable for a short time, and thn never again, like Ninja or Ronda

To be clear, my complaint isn't that she can only be obtained by spending money. My complaint is that she can be obtained *guaranteed* by spending money, but cannot be obtained *guaranteed* without spending money. Nothing else in the game allows this.

I get what you mean, but in the world of Raid this is a step in the right direction. Anyone who buys shards are basically buying champs/power so it is nothing new, the only difference is that you could never target them at a 100% before. This is actually better as it eliminates the gatcha mechanics. Paywalling her like this sucks but if her kit is anyrhing like an S tier champ i'd rather spend the 20 bucks then gamble with bought shards.

I'm with Trips. Thanks for keeping the lights on for us. 🙏

"Everyone from the player base should have the same opportunities and be treated equally" just does not fit any standard in monetization or the gaming industry in general tbh. 

Look at the Forge Pass - you literally get MORE opportunites to earn EXP and Silver through the pass. Look at the Shard deals, you get MORE opportunies to get better champs. Look at the gem pack, you get MORE opportunities to spend energy, buy masteries, etc. There is no such thing as "Fair" opportunities in a game like this. 

I think a pay to guarentee is honestly not that bad - you give people the option to guarentee a champion from spend, instead of say, buying $40.00 worth of shards and geting 30 rares. It's a terrible terrible feeling to get that, which is why most people don't want to spend on gambling. People are okay with spending to get something that is a guarentee. 

Problem is at $40 I guarantee it's not a champ you really want 😂

Been gaming since the 70's on computers.  Been a member of gaming comunities since the 70's...  I know one thing for sure...  Whatever cheating is "allowed" will be all the game is in a decade or two.  I've seen it over and over.  Cheats just take over gaming communities.  

That's my only concern with spending money on any game in realtime.  It always leads to RMT and eventually everyone just cheats to play... Whatever the cheat is.   It just takes over the game and takes the game away from the developers and remakes the game in the cheats' image.  

Just saying...  The real issue with money and gaming is it drives RMT which drives cheating, which takes the game away from the developer and also takes the value of ALL the gaming companies game item sales.  

Why pay for Multi-Battles?   Why would anyone do that and why would anyone attempt to sell Multi-battles as a thing of value?  When multi-battles are a detriment compared to the free and better alternative.  

The Champion Pass is potentially a great idea, presuming the price is reasonable. If they price it low enough a lot of people will subscribe to the pass just to collect the champion; priced too high and players will simply question whether the champ is worth getting, and only a minority may end up buying the pass.

OK, so basically the complaint is that if you spend you can get a guaranteed champion - so what?  In what way does that impact on you or any ftp player?  doctor_blur has spent money on the game, no doubt has all the champions us ftp would love just one of, so what does it matter if they spend more and get this one?

There wouldn't be a game without the spenders, and they aren't spending to win, it's a progression game, spenders reach the end goals quicker - why they want to do that I don't know, but that's their choice, ftp get there as well but it takes a lot longer.  

The 'hits' as ftp can be great also, I've been playing some 3 years and my void puls have been few and far between, pretty poor when I have got a void lego but i pulled warlord the other day and the buzz from that was great

then you realize the end is approaching. I've seen this more than once.

$85 for a legendary and all the rewards with it instantly......Yep I bought  it ;)

I cant find any rating information from HH or Ayumi to help me determine the value of Xena.  I havent seen the community discuss her skill set as we usually do with any new champ.  What am I missing?

The amount of DEF ignored increases progressively.  Damage is based on Attack.  The more buffs on the enemy the more DEF is ignored and the more damage is done.  Which type battle types will this champ have the most value?

EDIT:  Added comments about DEF and Attack.  

Well this seems like a pretty damn good champion for Arena for those that pile on the buffs. 

OK genius, explain how someone else spending money impacts on you or your gameplay?

Well, apart from the fact if there weren't spenders there would be no game

Incidentally, I have worked in the corporate world enough to see that between this and the other event to get a champion the company is trying to make their 4th quarter earnings goals. Nothing wrong with that... it is just what they are doing. All companies, if they are coming up a little short will run promotions towards the end of their 4th quarter to make their year end, quarter end, and month end numbers. 

I'm looking forward to trying her out for waves, especially some of the more annoying DT levels; also Hydra as a secondary DPS. Just a shame her A2 and A3 don't apply to debuffs as well as buffs otherwise she'd be mental. :)

Just to add on to my original point - the problem is not this specific champ. Looking over her kit, she seems okay, nothing game-changing.

The problem is the precedent it sets. Forge pass is on a roughly 2-month cycle, I think? So, are we to expect that every two months there'll be a new champ that people can buy, but not consistently get through any other means? How long before that starts changing the meta, for the worse?

You already saw it happen with forge pass, where the bolster set was briefly meta-defining. But, as FTP, I completed it, and managed to piece together a decent set with the parts they made available tome.

If, on the other hand, I'd have had to spend money to get the pieces, then, during that time, I'd have been materially disadvantaged compared to those who spent money.

A big part of the draw of this game, to me at least, is essentially "beating the system", so to speak. Finding creative ways to win despite others having access to more resources by virtue of spending money. Take that out of the equation, and the game becomes much less interesting.

Using microbiology as a justification for your opinion on mobile game monetization strategies is ...... interesting I guess. Although as a molecular biologist and biochemist who also works with something that doesn't relate to mobile phone games at all, I personally wouldn't use my nonrelated expertise as an appeal to authority.

Perhaps if you were an expert in gaming, monetization or casinos, I'd be more on board with the conclusions you erroneously apply to mobile games from your research.