Free game? Can you truly compete without spending cash?

[Snikkerz]

I like how you wrote up a big ol whiney post about how you aren't getting something for nothing in a game you aren't going to play.

[ANIMEniac]

I can relate to what the OP says. And then there are some things that just won't work to keep "balance" and fairness and to keep away people who will try to cheat and abuse the system.

First point: competing as a "free" user.

Can people compete with just a starter? Yea, they can.
Of course, buying cards gives someone a huge edge b/c of their library and access to some really great cards that will help the deck.

Personally, I feel that boosters should be accessible through FM, and not just Gran exclusive. This way you can reward free users and allow them to get packs and cards much more easily. Part of Alteil (and any CCG) is the fun in tweaking and building decks. As it is now, you are limiting that aspect of the card game to those who can pay.

Another thing, let's face it, every online game will cater to those who are willing to spend real money. This is how the game makes profit. Although I would hope some things get fixed so that those who "buy" don't get an overwhelming advantage.

Second Point: Trading

Trading is a nice way to gain cards you don't have. It would be much easier than buying packs for it. However, with a game that deals with ranks, you just can't have this ability. Why? What prevents someone from passing along his "high level" deck (tweaked out with strong cards and whatnot), trading it all to a new account, and proceed to slide through the rankings (or get better rankings w/ said "better" deck).


Third Point: Friend battle w/ rankings

Sounds good to have doesn't it? You can have fun and boost ranking. Well, sadly, expect more abuse with this than anything. What stops someone from abusing two accounts to boost his own ranking? It is just too many possible abuse and too much effort to try to restrict and prevent them then it is worth.

[TsunaYoshi]

Just play what they give to you and no complaint, because is free . i think this statment is true, what you expect from something that free in this world just breath that not take money . just some of people that have money can get extra thing.

[Gigantorus]

Trust me, buying cards gives a very tiny edge. Its more of a min-maxing than giving options for a dominating strategy. The guy who was first last week in the ranking (thanks to me for playing him about 10 times and losing all of them to him *shake fist*) is a Gowen player who mostly uses low rarity cards. He has a couple of rare cards in his soul cards selection but the edge they give him is very small when measured against his overall strategic choices with his card file. He would have definitely been top 3 anyways, most likely top overall, even if all he had was a starter's deck.

Even when you buy grans, the chance of getting rare cards is really really small. If you get extremely lucky and get five 5 star cards and five 4 star cards in two boxes, they're very likely to be different and you really are gambling if you use a main unit with one card only.

Now Logress might get angry at me, but just don't play with Refess. All other starter decks can give you a great chance of winning if played right.

[ANIMEniac]

Yes, I can say that you can win with minimal rares and most of the starters are pretty good. However, just b/c one deck really stands out w/o having to buy many packs shouldn't mean it is the norm. We are talking about Gowen right? I can consider Gowen the "poor man's deck". It doesn't take much to make it strong, and it's even more deadly with great skill behind. But that is Gowen. I started Lawtia and found it pretty difficult on its own starting.

Also, while playing, I have come across quite a few interesting deck builds. I've seen Falkow try to remove everything on the field, I've seen Refress built around Inquisitor, the Lawtia Lycan decks, and even a Gowen "explosion" deck. Most of these are only possible through quite a numerable sum of packs. Variety in deck (AKA Meta) will keep a CCG thriving. Honestly, I know we all don't want to be facing the same Gowen deck constantly through the day.

Next let me bring this foresight upon the community who says "free" players will do fine. EXPANSION. What happens then? When all the payer get the new cards and all the free players will have to stick to their "outdated" deck. What happens? Most will leave, some may end up buying.

That sounds fine right? Those who want to stay can and those who don't like can leave? IMO, that's a very poor game community mentality. You want to try to cater to a wider group of players. More people = more games = more fun. I'm sure you have all seen how empty the Folrart Arena can be. At this rate, we will lose nearly all the free players. There needs to be systems set up to cater to both free and paying customers if we wish for a wider/larger community.

[Gigantorus]

You can do well with Gowen, Falkow, and Lawtia starters. Only Refess is lackluster.

For expansions, I don't even know what will happen then. I doubt anyone does. Lets wait before we make judgement.