I was a little taken aback by the cost of these cards, especially the common and rare. I get it that they are a sink for resources and that we want to keep a floor under card values, but seeing as these cards have no place in battles (and an unlikely/limited role impact on conflicts), I think the bar was set too high for resource costs.
I want a max common, so that is 8 million grain I need. I have a smallholding, with 26 common, , 14 rare plots and about 5 of them magical. It was a struggle to get the Research to buy the Aura Permits in the first place, and even though I have been stockpiling resources in the Liquidity pools, I thought a buffer of 2 million grain would be safe.
I get it, decisions have to be made, however it does look like the way things are set out for land that all the goodies will accrue to the biggest players in a disproportionate manner.
Not wanting to grumble without offering an idea, how about a modifier to the allocation system ( lol !, my base PP gets me 0.035% allocation according to Beakers site). Turn it on its head for the first three days.
Reverse the ratio of allocation to base PP first with a 3 day window, not exactly a straight flip of the % but you get the idea, smart math ppl can figure the math out, then allow the remaining cards be released on the current weighted allocation for the next three days, then the free for all
Giving smaller players a good shot will help them build up land while increasing the desire to burn all those resources need to craft the cards ($$ really, smaller holders won't have the capacity to produce what they need). Larger players will then be able to burn off what are likely just idle surplus resources to mint their share.
As it stands, I'm really in two minds, and here is the nub of the issue, looking back on how much I have spent on this game since 2021, how much longer will I continue to spend at the same level? Asking me for $200 for a land card (common), that I really should be in a better place to craft from my resources without going too crazy with adding new money is feeding into a growing feeling that I am running too fast to stay still, I am missing the feeling that there is actually a snowball effect.
Don't want to come across as too negative, still a daily player, still play modern manually ( do bot wild), love the Frontier idea, new cards are awesome, but I feel the land cards are like the voucher cards and conflicts access just too expensive and it feels like access to the good stuff is not aligned well enough with the level of $ input into the game, what I mean is that threshold is too high, it's very much all or nothing ( that's how it feels to me at least) until you get to a level of asset ownership that is really not for most.
I understand the fear of making something accessible to all too easily, it gets abused, but hey! we are learning well how to circumvent the bot farms
I dunno, thinking out loud here and was reluctant to write it down as I can see the other side too, a bigger investment in the game deserves a bigger reward, that's fair.
Just felt disappointed by many of the "bonus offerings" recently, honest gut reaction, but said with a smile :-)
I think this is really thoughtful feedback and it’s a fair concern to raise. Think it's fair to say that the resource costs caught all of us by surprise.
That said, I’m hopeful the team has really crunched the numbers here. The way the system is structured, it feels like there’s room for this to work out well both for those going all-in on maxing cards and for players taking a more measured approach.
Not everyone needs to hit max immediately to benefit & if the economy & sinks are tuned the way they appear to be, even partial progress should hold meaningful value over time.
We'll soon see! Cheers for the thoughtful comment, tarab!