anyone else notice the gladius upgrades sold for powder keg ? u3 for 299 coins or x1 for around 40 bucks...if ya bought the coin pkg for the event ya probably didnt want to spend another 40 bucks for x1 ,so ya probably used 299 coins to get u3.then the next day x1 was around 20 bucks, i for one would have spent another 20 bucks and save the coins. kixie response was at the start of an event the upgrades are more imporant (so we can get more money for them) as the event goes on the importance is lessened so we adjust the prices (so we can still make some money).. .i'm thinking bad business ,but no one asked me ..... just saying for a friend
I could see if someone was starting from scratch, who wants to always have the max stats fleets buying both offers (if thats how they play and/or can afford it). For everyone else why would you? It was possible to have a fully built fleet (including flag) with at least 1 X1 normal by event 1 and a full X1 fleet (including flag) by event 2. That does require taking all available tokens and having maxed r&d and as thats not always possible for some players, I can see the appeal of buying any X1 offer.
The time it takes (4 normals and flag) to go from U2-U3 and subsequently U3 to X1 is a minimum of 50 days. The question I would be asking (for your friend) isnt "why are kix offers so expensive?" it would be " what else was your shipyard doing for 50 days in a 60 day cycle?"
anyone else notice the gladius upgrades sold for powder keg ? u3 for 299 coins or x1 for around 40 bucks...if ya bought the coin pkg for the event ya probably didnt want to spend another 40 bucks for x1 ,so ya probably used 299 coins to get u3.then the next day x1 was around 20 bucks, i for one would have spent another 20 bucks and save the coins. kixie response was at the start of an event the upgrades are more imporant (so we can get more money for them) as the event goes on the importance is lessened so we adjust the prices (so we can still make some money).. .i'm thinking bad business ,but no one asked me ..... just saying for a friend
The price is adjusted based upon how far your fleet is upgraded, not what day it is. My upgrade to X1 was only $14.99, because my fleet was already U3.
anyone else notice the gladius upgrades sold for powder keg ? u3 for 299 coins or x1 for around 40 bucks...if ya bought the coin pkg for the event ya probably didnt want to spend another 40 bucks for x1 ,so ya probably used 299 coins to get u3.then the next day x1 was around 20 bucks, i for one would have spent another 20 bucks and save the coins. kixie response was at the start of an event the upgrades are more imporant (so we can get more money for them) as the event goes on the importance is lessened so we adjust the prices (so we can still make some money).. .i'm thinking bad business ,but no one asked me ..... just saying for a friend
I could see if someone was starting from scratch, who wants to always have the max stats fleets buying both offers (if thats how they play and/or can afford it). For everyone else why would you? It was possible to have a fully built fleet (including flag) with at least 1 X1 normal by event 1 and a full X1 fleet (including flag) by event 2. That does require taking all available tokens and having maxed r&d and as thats not always possible for some players, I can see the appeal of buying any X1 offer.
The time it takes (4 normals and flag) to go from U2-U3 and subsequently U3 to X1 is a minimum of 50 days. The question I would be asking (for your friend) isnt "why are kix offers so expensive?" it would be " what else was your shipyard doing for 50 days in a 60 day cycle?"
Well, unless you can do the build of he fleet in less than 10 days through coin or tokens, most likely that time is spent building the fleet. I know that I generally don't have much luck completing the TLC (once available) past the first few levels without having upgraded the fleet that it is designed to supply, thus that is usually not a source for build, but maybe some upgrade tokens. And even the TLC usually only provides a few days build of the 50 or so days it takes. part of that is I did not play for a while and so still do not have all my buildings fully upgraded, so its not possible too bank coins as i can't get the current fleet built. The fact the retrofit lab pretty much serves no purpose after the first month, shows that the original design just wasn't profitable enough for Kixeye. And that ay be because too low a percentage of players are willing to coin any more because the value is so short lived
The biggest challenge in the game is if you miss some time with the current rate of releases, it is pretty much impossible to catch up without coining, and difficult to keep up without coining. I did a fair amount when I restarted, call it paying dues, but just can't justify it at this point. Maybe where I spent the coin and offers didn't maximize, but the fact that it requires that much planning and work for what is supposed to be fun, well...
There are too many things in the real world that better justify the cash. If it didn't require quite as much effort to keep up with the joneses, I might do small coining but just don't see the point any more. And yes, that does mean decent chance I will stop playing again in the very near future.
I could see if someone was starting from scratch, who wants to always have the max stats fleets buying both offers (if thats how they play and/or can afford it). For everyone else why would you? It was possible to have a fully built fleet (including flag) with at least 1 X1 normal by event 1 and a full X1 fleet (including flag) by event 2. That does require taking all available tokens and having maxed r&d and as thats not always possible for some players, I can see the appeal of buying any X1 offer.
The time it takes (4 normals and flag) to go from U2-U3 and subsequently U3 to X1 is a minimum of 50 days. The question I would be asking (for your friend) isnt "why are kix offers so expensive?" it would be " what else was your shipyard doing for 50 days in a 60 day cycle?"
Well, unless you can do the build of he fleet in less than 10 days through coin or tokens, most likely that time is spent building the fleet. I know that I generally don't have much luck completing the TLC (once available) past the first few levels without having upgraded the fleet that it is designed to supply, thus that is usually not a source for build, but maybe some upgrade tokens. And even the TLC usually only provides a few days build of the 50 or so days it takes. part of that is I did not play for a while and so still do not have all my buildings fully upgraded, so its not possible too bank coins as i can't get the current fleet built. The fact the retrofit lab pretty much serves no purpose after the first month, shows that the original design just wasn't profitable enough for Kixeye. And that ay be because too low a percentage of players are willing to coin any more because the value is so short lived
The biggest challenge in the game is if you miss some time with the current rate of releases, it is pretty much impossible to catch up without coining, and difficult to keep up without coining. I did a fair amount when I restarted, call it paying dues, but just can't justify it at this point. Maybe where I spent the coin and offers didn't maximize, but the fact that it requires that much planning and work for what is supposed to be fun, well...
There are too many things in the real world that better justify the cash. If it didn't require quite as much effort to keep up with the joneses, I might do small coining but just don't see the point any more. And yes, that does mean decent chance I will stop playing again in the very near future.
Totally fair points sir and I understand the game can be tough especially if you`ve had enforced timeouts.
Its been listed up there^^^^ but its worth repeating and it doesnt matter if you`ve had timeouts or where you are currently in the game, the absolute no1 thing to do first is save 2 weeks fm tokens before the new cycle starts. Its a 1 time transition ( you`ll probably need some help doing it) but you`ll be amazed how much further along each fleet gets in a cycle. After that the next step is stop using shipyard time on build. Use that time on upgrades and fm tokens on the build. If you can scrape together some tokens from any events and tlcs you`ll have a full built fleet and flag and at least some upgrades on some ships almost every time.
As far as your buildings go I cant help you with that and it may sound harsh but this game is built on a progression model. Its constantly progressing and timeouts, extended timeouts and repeated timeouts really hurt. Just take it 1 building at a time you`ll get there eventually.
If youre going to be in and out of the game regularly for whatever reasons then perhaps this isnt a good suit for you and its really down to you to make that call. If you just had 1 timeout but are back playing regular and just need a small leg back up, swing by my sector anytime and ill help you. There are plenty of alliances out there too that can offer the same. If you come by before next cycle starts I can help getting the new hull quickly and sometimes all it takes is a 1 time boost and you`re right back up there again. Best of luck to you however you decide to go.
*Edit* Juts in case you didnt know, your buildings that decrease build/refit time can be upgraded to OP10 with base parts. The upgrades assosiated with OP11 will have to be done the slow way, tokens or coin. Not huge but something that might help a little.
I could see if someone was starting from scratch, who wants to always have the max stats fleets buying both offers (if thats how they play and/or can afford it). For everyone else why would you? It was possible to have a fully built fleet (including flag) with at least 1 X1 normal by event 1 and a full X1 fleet (including flag) by event 2. That does require taking all available tokens and having maxed r&d and as thats not always possible for some players, I can see the appeal of buying any X1 offer.
The time it takes (4 normals and flag) to go from U2-U3 and subsequently U3 to X1 is a minimum of 50 days. The question I would be asking (for your friend) isnt "why are kix offers so expensive?" it would be " what else was your shipyard doing for 50 days in a 60 day cycle?"
Well, unless you can do the build of he fleet in less than 10 days through coin or tokens, most likely that time is spent building the fleet. I know that I generally don't have much luck completing the TLC (once available) past the first few levels without having upgraded the fleet that it is designed to supply, thus that is usually not a source for build, but maybe some upgrade tokens. And even the TLC usually only provides a few days build of the 50 or so days it takes. part of that is I did not play for a while and so still do not have all my buildings fully upgraded, so its not possible too bank coins as i can't get the current fleet built. The fact the retrofit lab pretty much serves no purpose after the first month, shows that the original design just wasn't profitable enough for Kixeye. And that ay be because too low a percentage of players are willing to coin any more because the value is so short lived
The biggest challenge in the game is if you miss some time with the current rate of releases, it is pretty much impossible to catch up without coining, and difficult to keep up without coining. I did a fair amount when I restarted, call it paying dues, but just can't justify it at this point. Maybe where I spent the coin and offers didn't maximize, but the fact that it requires that much planning and work for what is supposed to be fun, well...
There are too many things in the real world that better justify the cash. If it didn't require quite as much effort to keep up with the joneses, I might do small coining but just don't see the point any more. And yes, that does mean decent chance I will stop playing again in the very near future.
Totally fair points sir and I understand the game can be tough especially if you`ve had enforced timeouts.
Its been listed up there^^^^ but its worth repeating and it doesnt matter if you`ve had timeouts or where you are currently in the game, the absolute no1 thing to do first is save 2 weeks fm tokens before the new cycle starts. Its a 1 time transition ( you`ll probably need some help doing it) but you`ll be amazed how much further along each fleet gets in a cycle. After that the next step is stop using shipyard time on build. Use that time on upgrades and fm tokens on the build. If you can scrape together some tokens from any events and tlcs you`ll have a full built fleet and flag and at least some upgrades on some ships almost every time.
As far as your buildings go I cant help you with that and it may sound harsh but this game is built on a progression model. Its constantly progressing and timeouts, extended timeouts and repeated timeouts really hurt. Just take it 1 building at a time you`ll get there eventually.
If youre going to be in and out of the game regularly for whatever reasons then perhaps this isnt a good suit for you and its really down to you to make that call. If you just had 1 timeout but are back playing regular and just need a small leg back up, swing by my sector anytime and ill help you. There are plenty of alliances out there too that can offer the same. If you come by before next cycle starts I can help getting the new hull quickly and sometimes all it takes is a 1 time boost and you`re right back up there again. Best of luck to you however you decide to go.
*Edit* Juts in case you didnt know, your buildings that decrease build/refit time can be upgraded to OP10 with base parts. The upgrades assosiated with OP11 will have to be done the slow way, tokens or coin. Not huge but something that might help a little.
I appreciate the insight, and offer of help but if you need the FM tokens to complete incomplete fleets, how do you save tokens from the FM? Even with that, the photon is 6days almost 3 hours with a bare hull + thud. so that is 30 days, 10 hours if the flag ends up being the same(and it isn't) 4 weeks tokens is 20 days build, and they still have nothing on them
And unfortunately my buildings are well past the base parts help since that is not useful for like the last 3 or 4 levels, so they take 10-11 days for each upgrade. I can actually progress a little in all of the FM and PVE events, but losing ground each week. And to have to research each new target on top of actual game time in order to be reasonably efficient in most (I do ok without that but likely not most efficient path). Then to get tokens in events is tough as also need the actual hull, weaps and specials, so often can only get a handful of tokens - now choose between build, upgrade points and upgrade days.
I took a break last time because it was just grind for something that was useless pretty much as soon as it was built. Generally get max use out of most for maybe a month after that.
If the upgrades were back in the retrofit lab so not dancing between the build and upgrade, might make more sense. or the FM tokens available at T1-4 were for current hulls
I appreciate the insight, and offer of help but if you need the FM tokens to complete incomplete fleets, how do you save tokens from the FM? Even with that, the photon is 6days almost 3 hours with a bare hull + thud. so that is 30 days, 10 hours if the flag ends up being the same(and it isn't) 4 weeks tokens is 20 days build, and they still have nothing on them
And unfortunately my buildings are well past the base parts help since that is not useful for like the last 3 or 4 levels, so they take 10-11 days for each upgrade. I can actually progress a little in all of the FM and PVE events, but losing ground each week. And to have to research each new target on top of actual game time in order to be reasonably efficient in most (I do ok without that but likely not most efficient path). Then to get tokens in events is tough as also need the actual hull, weaps and specials, so often can only get a handful of tokens - now choose between build, upgrade points and upgrade days.
I took a break last time because it was just grind for something that was useless pretty much as soon as it was built. Generally get max use out of most for maybe a month after that.
If the upgrades were back in the retrofit lab so not dancing between the build and upgrade, might make more sense. or the FM tokens available at T1-4 were for current hulls
If you dont make that transition you`ll keep using this excuse. I cant save my tokens because i need them for incomplete fleets. Youre going into events with incomplete fleets that arent upgraded even with all fm tokens so what difference does it make? I didnt say it would be easy but it is the solution. In the last 2 weeks before the new cycle starts dont open the chests and make do in the event with what youve got. Youll struggle in that event and will either need some preps or to grind/coin but as soon as you win the hull youve got 11/12 days tokens to start the build. Then you collect the rest of the fm tokens normally.
As of now, players who`ve made the transition have 4 blanks built and will be ranking them. There is another weeks fm next week and likely a tlc for some additional build tokens. Thats usually enough to get all the specials most weapons and maybe some armour on. The followin week is the last weeks fm and those tokens go on the flag. Additionally If there are upgrade tokens in the tlc you`ll be able to get the normals to at least U1 some to U2. I understand tlcs are more difficult with inferior fleets but its a circle. The further along you progress your fleets in 1 cycle the better they do in tlcs in the next cycle and thats only achievable if you make that transition.
Upgrades arent going back into the retro lab. If they did players would upgrade for free and the game would be forced to make revenue in a different way and knowing kix would probably end up being worse for us.
I just wanted to pop in to say a huge "thank you" for the constructive conversation, and to let you know your comments are noted and appreciated. This is exactly the constructive feedback I love, and it's great seeing folks connecting as a community.
It would be nice to be in a world where tasks were easier, Pillage, Raid, Bounty, Campaigns, as it is its all too hard for my fleets again. Which is one of the reasons why players stop playing, where is sector chat and even world chat is sparse. Maybe my idea may help or it may not.
It would be nice to be in a world where tasks were easier, Pillage, Raid, Bounty, Campaigns, as it is its all too hard for my fleets again. Which is one of the reasons why players stop playing, where is sector chat and even world chat is sparse. Maybe my idea may help or it may not.
If you offered a place to go where the game was easier, why would I stay in the harder one?
When I am not helping people on forums, and I'm not banned, I run a YouTube channel. I focus on actually helping players in the game. I respond to every comment on there, so it is the best way to find me. If you want more info click the link below.
It would be nice to be in a world where tasks were easier, Pillage, Raid, Bounty, Campaigns, as it is its all too hard for my fleets again. Which is one of the reasons why players stop playing, where is sector chat and even world chat is sparse. Maybe my idea may help or it may not.
If you offered a place to go where the game was easier, why would I stay in the harder one?
Because apparently some players want a challenge which is why in theory the FM targets keep changing.
It would be nice to be in a world where tasks were easier, Pillage, Raid, Bounty, Campaigns, as it is its all too hard for my fleets again. Which is one of the reasons why players stop playing, where is sector chat and even world chat is sparse. Maybe my idea may help or it may not.
If you offered a place to go where the game was easier, why would I stay in the harder one?
Now let's talk about upgrades. Upgrades are not required,
We see that without upgrades you can still do the targets for the months to come, my U0 mutineer fleet is still useful. For a while (Pegasus) I didn't do a single upgrade even when I had tokens because I was tired of people saying UpGrAdEs ArE rEqUiReD, so I used U0 fleets and played the game fine. People still complained...so I have been doing what upgrades I can for free which is generally half X1/U3 for the second raid and full X1 a month or two later.
Now, the purpose of upgrades is to give us something to do in between the first and second raids of the cycle. I know i have my ships 100% built by the time the first raid ends (for free). So...if you did not have upgrades what would you build in the second month?
If you are willing to put in a combination of time and money, the game is actually very well paced on the PvE side. Just get it out of your head that you need a U3 fleet a week after it comes out. Upgrades are optional and you could play and progress in the game fine without them. In my experience, players fall behind because they keep upgrading the old (now much less useful) hull instead of building the new one.
TL:DR: Upgrades are not actually required, and you can get a full fleet done for PvE in the current system if you are already caught up.
I have to disagree with you on a few points about upgrades,
Mutineers NEED the flag at x1, recent TLC's with zealots you took insane damage unless at X1 upgrades, Gladius hulls really under perform IMHO unless at x1
I was fairly caught up and got Photon build started straight away coming up to raid i will have fleet fully built with some limited weapons but mostly regular and one hull at U3 others will be at U1 for free that still leaves me with @ 32 days worth of upgrades will this keep my shipyard busy between raids ?? im sure it will but so will finishing my everest fleet AND upgrading them once out It would also be nice to refit some of the escalation weapons onto my other fleets since i now have some more to fit ............
These few things alone will keep my shipyard busy for at least the time between the next few raids. That is on the back of COINING x1 upgrades for zealots, mutineers and gladius to stay caught up
Your last point of 'IF YOU ARE CAUGHT UP' does not apply to most players and as recently highlighted anyone without a x1 zealot fleet was severely hampered in the TLC's and this is why people still build/upgrade outdated tech.
For me the real issue is i no longer see the balance between time and coin its becoming time AND coin
why say that no upgrades are required when all the video have been make with x1 entire fleet? why allways lies ? doesn't need it: except if you're blind, you can see the huge difference
It would be nice to be in a world where tasks were easier, Pillage, Raid, Bounty, Campaigns, as it is its all too hard for my fleets again. Which is one of the reasons why players stop playing, where is sector chat and even world chat is sparse. Maybe my idea may help or it may not.
If you offered a place to go where the game was easier, why would I stay in the harder one?
You would not be allowed into the easier world Derpy unless you fell far behind in the game.
It would be a world for those of us that cant keep up so that we could continue to play the game instead of getting fed up and leaving the game, like many players have done.
The main problem is that your all making comments about something that we all know Kix doesn't care about and WILL NOT HELP with. A while back people asked that upgrades be moved to maybe the retrofit lab, lets face it most of us have retro ed anything worth while and its only use is as a building upgrade requirement occasionally. So moving the upgrade there would have staved complaints for awhile. But Kix would prefer to add the pressure to coin more so that you could use your yard to build silly things like fleets needed to stay in the game. Example build an extra Hellswarm over say 14 days then add 18 days to upgrade (well when I hit the upgrade button thats what it said or maybe its because Im real ugly I dont know) so quick as a flash I decided screw that. So what is my point? its real simple, like many who use to coin heavily I refuse to and now play for free and will continue to do so until my fleets arent worth jack and I can retire from the game yet again except next time I cant see myself coming back like a lot of players because the game requires too many chores for minimal fun time unless yeah you guessed it I coin and for the guy who said he and his wife spend $20 each on McDonalds, a lot of us are not American and after the exchange rate well not many couples spend close to $40 each on McDonalds so Im with Derpy but each to their own. If you can afford to coin you can still enjoy the game.
This is not meant to be an offensive in any way. I understand the need for Kixeye to make money. I spend to have fun, not out of a necessity to play the game. I left the game once before because greed got in the way of a good game, I am seeing the same pattern of greed once again. I got 4 friends back into the game this year, they are like me and spend a bit as well, but they are saying the same things I am and I can see them leaving again.
When upgrades were introduced they were to make fleets more viable to harder targets, to give a player a leg up. I was totally on board when this idea was introduced. I had the choice to either spend time or money on this. At first a ship was introduced and a month or so later the upgrade came out. Fine, it gave me time to finish what I had going on and start working on them, or in my case, coin it. Now, a ship comes out and the upgrade comes out at the same time. Still, not so bad if it is just to get a leg up on the targets. That is not the case any more. A player HAS to have the upgrades because targets are designed around them. I try to play fairly cheap, I don't see the sense in spending the price of a new XBox game every month just to do a chore that I actually hate doing.
I could comment on quite a few areas in the game where it has become a costly chore to play but I feel the upgrades are by far the most ridiculously overpriced, in time and coin, in the game
I know there are many in the game who will disagree with what I have said and their opinion is theirs and I will not debate them. But the truth is I don't want to play a game that requires me to sit in front of a screen for hours every day or coin like I am a billionaire. I just want a game to have fun on, to get on when he kids are in school or have gone to bed. So many like me have lives, and tbh this game really isn't good enough to spend that much money on.
I came back to this game because I love the game. I stayed because I seen improvements in the pricing. I hate to say, I will end up leaving again if the cost of playing the game continues to soar.
upgrades have been in the game to make hulls, weapons, specials, armors and turrets better it was called the retrofit lab....... and then the foundry and since they pretty much scrapped those ideas with nothing else being added to them they went for upgrades to tie up out shipyards wich was never ok in my opinion. after awhile the upgrades got longer and took more kits and its keeping fleets from being ready for targets since it seems theyve been making targets with X1 fleets in mind then having to reduce damage in many events once everyone complains of the insane damage. i hate upgrades just as much as most people do too, its a pain in the ****. and even though kixeye says they listen they dont really not to the complaints that really matter, just the complaints that hurt the pocket book
upgrades have been in the game to make hulls, weapons, specials, armors and turrets better it was called the retrofit lab....... and then the foundry and since they pretty much scrapped those ideas with nothing else being added to them they went for upgrades to tie up out shipyards wich was never ok in my opinion. after awhile the upgrades got longer and took more kits and its keeping fleets from being ready for targets since it seems theyve been making targets with X1 fleets in mind then having to reduce damage in many events once everyone complains of the insane damage. i hate upgrades just as much as most people do too, its a pain in the ****. and even though kixeye says they listen they dont really not to the complaints that really matter, just the complaints that hurt the pocket book
don't disagree with anyone when they criticize upgrades a blight on the game which is deemed necessary?, however reducing damage in events after they start has always been a thing since the beginning, the players engaged as content testers should help towards that problem, lets see.
The major issue I have with the way upgrade tokens are being employed is that;
1. They are being used as a major revenue stream. Eg. Flag hull is obtainable in Pillage but Not Upgrade Tokens, they are however available to Purchase just as Pillage Finishes.
2. Apart from the occasions when a U1 upgrade might open an additional weapon slot, the U1 and U2 upgrades are usually minor gain for a significant dock time. It is frustrating to have to go through 8 daysish of dock time to benefit from a reasonable survival gain.
3. Irrespective of whether you support the arguments that either you don't need upgrades or you do; The reality is that your fleet will perform better with them.......and most importantly that targets are tuned assuming that upgrades have been applied and therefore whilst you are performing better, (taking minimum prescribed Kix damage), you will perform much worse if you do not have them fitted.
Taking away the idea that building/upgrading to a better fleet enhances your experience and making it the opposite is One of the worst features in the game currently.
The major issue I have with the way upgrade tokens are being employed is that;
1. They are being used as a major revenue stream. Eg. Flag hull is obtainable in Pillage but Not Upgrade Tokens, they are however available to Purchase just as Pillage Finishes.
2. Apart from the occasions when a U1 upgrade might open an additional weapon slot, the U1 and U2 upgrades are usually minor gain for a significant dock time. It is frustrating to have to go through 8 daysish of dock time to benefit from a reasonable survival gain.
3. Irrespective of whether you support the arguments that either you don't need upgrades or you do; The reality is that your fleet will perform better with them.......and most importantly that targets are tuned assuming that upgrades have been applied and therefore whilst you are performing better, (taking minimum prescribed Kix damage), you will perform much worse if you do not have them fitted.
Taking away the idea that building/upgrading to a better fleet enhances your experience and making it the opposite is One of the worst features in the game currently.
1. Absolutely correct... they wait till near-ish end of event to add stuff to re-entice the heavy players to gain/blitz more points to stay ahead.
2. Most have noticed the any survival bonuses haven't been till U3 lately... Almost making upgrades mandatory if you don't want overly significant damage.
3- You need them. "..and most importantly that targets are tuned assuming that upgrades have been applied ".
Like I said before, upgrades are not new... where and how they are implemented is, plain and simple (Retro lab, Foundry?). They are nothing more than retrofits designed to make money!! Someone prove me and have the remaining player base wrong?
Derpy is correct (I am a big fan) in that you dont NEED upgrades.
A test on an 80 target with X1 Glads gave 8 minutes damage . Same target with U1 Glads cost 1hr 52mins You dont NEED upgrades, but the raid is going to be pretty miserable without them.
I dont NEED to upgrade my ECM fleet but I WANT to - so I will wait for X1 offer, If I miss the raid through waiting.. maybe I just wont bother to log on.
Friday night, only 21k online, in my sector, only 13 people have more than 6 million on the 2ND day of the raid? This game is dying on it's feet, sad to see.
The time it takes (4 normals and flag) to go from U2-U3 and subsequently U3 to X1 is a minimum of 50 days. The question I would be asking (for your friend) isnt "why are kix offers so expensive?" it would be " what else was your shipyard doing for 50 days in a 60 day cycle?"
The biggest challenge in the game is if you miss some time with the current rate of releases, it is pretty much impossible to catch up without coining, and difficult to keep up without coining. I did a fair amount when I restarted, call it paying dues, but just can't justify it at this point. Maybe where I spent the coin and offers didn't maximize, but the fact that it requires that much planning and work for what is supposed to be fun, well...
There are too many things in the real world that better justify the cash. If it didn't require quite as much effort to keep up with the joneses, I might do small coining but just don't see the point any more. And yes, that does mean decent chance I will stop playing again in the very near future.
Its been listed up there^^^^ but its worth repeating and it doesnt matter if you`ve had timeouts or where you are currently in the game, the absolute no1 thing to do first is save 2 weeks fm tokens before the new cycle starts. Its a 1 time transition ( you`ll probably need some help doing it) but you`ll be amazed how much further along each fleet gets in a cycle. After that the next step is stop using shipyard time on build. Use that time on upgrades and fm tokens on the build. If you can scrape together some tokens from any events and tlcs you`ll have a full built fleet and flag and at least some upgrades on some ships almost every time.
As far as your buildings go I cant help you with that and it may sound harsh but this game is built on a progression model. Its constantly progressing and timeouts, extended timeouts and repeated timeouts really hurt. Just take it 1 building at a time you`ll get there eventually.
If youre going to be in and out of the game regularly for whatever reasons then perhaps this isnt a good suit for you and its really down to you to make that call. If you just had 1 timeout but are back playing regular and just need a small leg back up, swing by my sector anytime and ill help you. There are plenty of alliances out there too that can offer the same. If you come by before next cycle starts I can help getting the new hull quickly and sometimes all it takes is a 1 time boost and you`re right back up there again. Best of luck to you however you decide to go.
*Edit*
Juts in case you didnt know, your buildings that decrease build/refit time can be upgraded to OP10 with base parts. The upgrades assosiated with OP11 will have to be done the slow way, tokens or coin. Not huge but something that might help a little.
And unfortunately my buildings are well past the base parts help since that is not useful for like the last 3 or 4 levels, so they take 10-11 days for each upgrade. I can actually progress a little in all of the FM and PVE events, but losing ground each week. And to have to research each new target on top of actual game time in order to be reasonably efficient in most (I do ok without that but likely not most efficient path). Then to get tokens in events is tough as also need the actual hull, weaps and specials, so often can only get a handful of tokens - now choose between build, upgrade points and upgrade days.
I took a break last time because it was just grind for something that was useless pretty much as soon as it was built. Generally get max use out of most for maybe a month after that.
If the upgrades were back in the retrofit lab so not dancing between the build and upgrade, might make more sense. or the FM tokens available at T1-4 were for current hulls
As of now, players who`ve made the transition have 4 blanks built and will be ranking them. There is another weeks fm next week and likely a tlc for some additional build tokens. Thats usually enough to get all the specials most weapons and maybe some armour on. The followin week is the last weeks fm and those tokens go on the flag. Additionally If there are upgrade tokens in the tlc you`ll be able to get the normals to at least U1 some to U2. I understand tlcs are more difficult with inferior fleets but its a circle. The further along you progress your fleets in 1 cycle the better they do in tlcs in the next cycle and thats only achievable if you make that transition.
Upgrades arent going back into the retro lab. If they did players would upgrade for free and the game would be forced to make revenue in a different way and knowing kix would probably end up being worse for us.
Leaving this thread open for additional feedback.
My base and ships are useless again
I wish it was possible to have a separate world for slower players
** Thats it ! **
You have five worlds
Have the first world for new players
The second for us mediocre players and
the last three for the top players
With strict rules and conditions for moving up or down
https://www.youtube.com/c/DerpyTheCow47?sub_confirmation=1
Mutineers NEED the flag at x1, recent TLC's with zealots you took insane damage unless at X1 upgrades, Gladius hulls really under perform IMHO unless at x1
I was fairly caught up and got Photon build started straight away coming up to raid i will have fleet fully built with some limited weapons but mostly regular and one hull at U3 others will be at U1 for free that still leaves me with @ 32 days worth of upgrades will this keep my shipyard busy between raids ?? im sure it will but so will finishing my everest fleet AND upgrading them once out It would also be nice to refit some of the escalation weapons onto my other fleets since i now have some more to fit ............
These few things alone will keep my shipyard busy for at least the time between the next few raids. That is on the back of COINING x1 upgrades for zealots, mutineers and gladius to stay caught up
Your last point of 'IF YOU ARE CAUGHT UP' does not apply to most players and as recently highlighted anyone without a x1 zealot fleet was severely hampered in the TLC's and this is why people still build/upgrade outdated tech.
For me the real issue is i no longer see the balance between time and coin its becoming time AND coin
It would be a world for those of us that cant keep up so that we could continue to play the game instead of getting fed up and leaving the game, like many players have done.
1. They are being used as a major revenue stream. Eg. Flag hull is obtainable in Pillage but Not Upgrade Tokens, they are however available to Purchase just as Pillage Finishes.
2. Apart from the occasions when a U1 upgrade might open an additional weapon slot, the U1 and U2 upgrades are usually minor gain for a significant dock time. It is frustrating to have to go through 8 daysish of dock time to benefit from a reasonable survival gain.
3. Irrespective of whether you support the arguments that either you don't need upgrades or you do; The reality is that your fleet will perform better with them.......and most importantly that targets are tuned assuming that upgrades have been applied and therefore whilst you are performing better, (taking minimum prescribed Kix damage), you will perform much worse if you do not have them fitted.
Taking away the idea that building/upgrading to a better fleet enhances your experience and making it the opposite is One of the worst features in the game currently.
2. Most have noticed the any survival bonuses haven't been till U3 lately... Almost making upgrades mandatory if you don't want overly significant damage.
3- You need them. "..and most importantly that targets are tuned assuming that upgrades have been applied ".
Like I said before, upgrades are not new... where and how they are implemented is, plain and simple (Retro lab, Foundry?). They are nothing more than retrofits designed to make money!! Someone prove me and have the remaining player base wrong?
A test on an 80 target with X1 Glads gave 8 minutes damage . Same target with U1 Glads cost 1hr 52mins
You dont NEED upgrades, but the raid is going to be pretty miserable without them.
I dont NEED to upgrade my ECM fleet but I WANT to - so I will wait for X1 offer,
If I miss the raid through waiting.. maybe I just wont bother to log on.
There is no point in this game unless it is sorted out
Turn this back into a game for me and players like me, many of us cannot keep up and the game is a mess for a NEW player.