Chest odds improvement

[Quovatis]

Again, thanks for providing chest odds. We can finally see if it's worth purchasing and trying our luck. I thought all the top rewards had about the same ~5% drop rate, but I was wrong. The worst odds vary by a factor of 5 from chest to chest! We can now see that, which is great. Previously, players could get basically lied to, as they would purchase one type of chest, get the top reward fairly frequently, then buy a different type of chest expecting the same odds, but find that the prize they wanted was almost impossible to get. Bait and switch.

But come on, the lowest odds I've seen is 1.00% for both the Tank Workshop and the Night Witch Hangar. 1/100!!! You sell some of these chests for $5 each. Is a tank workshop really worth $500 to get just one? Of course not. Some chests have a 85% chance of getting just trade goods and not a single troop tactic. What a scam.

For some chests, the odds are significantly better. The elephant stable is 3.85%, and some chests I've seen as high as 5%. The difference in 1% and 5% is obviously a factor of 5, and is huge.

I'm sure the vast majority of players don't look at the odds (which is what Nexon wants, and why the info is well hidden), but please consider making the minimum odds 4 or 5%. Anything lower is just a complete scam for players. Dangling that top prize with a 1% chance at getting it does not make any player happy.

 

[forgetthis]

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't waste my time pleading this case to Nexon.

Nexon wants the chests to be like lottery tickets or slot machines - occasionally people will hit a jackpot, and then they will be tempted to plunk down more money to recapture the excitement of winning again. The only reason Nexon would adjust the odds is to make buying the chests more addictive to the part of their audience that will keep plunking down money.

As you noted, it's a terrible value in most cases. And, it's no coincidence that two of the best prizes out there have ridiculously low odds of actually getting one. But it's making Nexon money, so nothing is going to change unless people stop buying the chests.

 

[JMoney]

I approve of this. Infact, the chests could use a major overhaul in not just their drop rates but also just what they drop. I pretty much avoid any chest that has a chance of dropping trade goods in them because paying out crowns for trade goods is an absolute rip off. Especially when you consider that, as you said, some of them have an 85% chance of giving trade goods over anything else in the chest. That's just silly. These chests should not be dropping any trade goods at all unless they come as a bonus from opening the chest like how you get a free bazooka troop card from that one chest.

 

[Quovatis]

It's not even a real "jackpot" if you do get lucky and get the 1% reward. It's not worth it any way you look at it. If instead the 1% chance "jackpot" gave 10 prizes and crowns or something, it would be much more alluring.

Let's just consider the current offer of the "big huge sale": $30 for 7 tank chests, 7 ancient chests, and 7 Ides of March chests.

The top reward in each chest:
Tank chest: Sherman Crab Tank Armyx1 - 3.51%
Ancient chest: Elephant Stable - 3.85%
Ides of March: Centaur tank army - 1.00% (seriously, what a joke for a "top prize"!)

The chance of getting absolutely none of the top prizes whatsoever is:
(1-0.0351)^7 * (1-0.0385)^7 * (1-0.01)^7 = 55%

You spend $30 and your chances of even getting a SINGLE good prize is only 45%...less than a coin flip. That's just ridiculous. For $30 you should be guaranteed at least something good.

 

[forgetthis]

I agree with you that your scheme would make the chests more alluring. My point is that Nexon is concerned about maximizing profit, and the way they have set up the chests makes them the most money.

Similarly, I might buy more crowns if things were set up more reasonably, both in terms of the cost of crowns and of what it would realistically take for me to find the crowns useful. That's been a common complaint for years now among active players at higher levels. The fact that Nexon refuses to make any changes shows that they believe that they will make the most money under the current structure, and it's foolish to believe they will ever change it. The same goes for the chests.

Nexon will not change unless their customers' purchase patterns change. They've made that clear in everything from how they deal with player complaints (or don't, in most cases), to their indifference to key game bugs, to their pricing models. Until players stop buying and/or stop playing, Nexon isn't going to change anything. Even then, they may just choose to take whatever money they can squeeze out of the remaining players and then shut things down.

 

[Manifesto]

.
But come on, the lowest odds I've seen is 1.00% for both the Tank Workshop and the Night Witch Hangar. 1/100!!! You sell some of these chests for $5 each. Is a tank workshop really worth $500 to get just one? Of course not. Some chests have a 85% chance of getting just trade goods and not a single troop tactic. What a scam.

In our clubs and pubs the poker machines have a mandated sign: ‘’Your chance of winning is 1 in a million’’. Yet dumb people still play these machines.
1 in a hundred doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?
Nexon aren’t going to change a model which earns them money. Unless the now-transparent odds drive people away, then they might, as forgetthis said.
Let’s face it, if any of us were running a business, we’d design the system the same way. Give them just enough of an incentive, as long as we get a few ‘bites’, enough to give us a steady income. Commonplace business practice.
Although if Nexon were smarter they’d throw in better odds every 3rd or 4th time, just to strengthen the ‘addiction’. I doubt they’re that smart.

 

[Quovatis]

I'm not blaming them. Of course it makes sense to con players as much as they can to make money. I'm just exercising my right to point out what a scam it is, as not every player is going to read the odds. I don't expect them to change, but if they want to make a few more players happy, especially with all the bad stuff recently, they could consider not screwing us quite so much.

 

[Manifesto]

What if they bought you flowers first?

 

[Saruman the White]

I'll say this once again; if I meant to play a casino game, I'd choose roulette or blackjack instead of DomiNations! I reckon this as a strategy game and I'm interested in all features that are pure strategy, which totally excludes chests.

 

[KniferX]

You can also add p2w there, I don't see strategy in essentially buying and using watered-down, dev approved cheats in the form of elephant archers and stables, along with the bazooka sentry.

 

[Drinkin'Buddy]

The only way to approach chest is with no expectation of winning the grand prize. 1-3% could mind as well be 0%.

 

[Luuzer]

I'll say this once again; if I meant to play a casino game, I'd choose roulette or blackjack instead of DomiNations! I reckon this as a strategy game and I'm interested in all features that are pure strategy, which totally excludes chests.

past 6-9 months they have been working hard on dumbing down the strategy and making it more and more pay to win game

 

[IShrugged]

They wouldn’t buy them, but how about they picked a few weeds on their way over

 

[IShrugged]

I see this too. I’m here for the stratagy and to test my skill at out strategizing others. I do however watch for the better deals that might give me an edge. I bought today’s April fools deal of 5 mammoth troop cards for 4 bucks. I don’t use them much but carry them into multi-player battle because occasionally I come across a fully loaded base of loot and even a diamond in trade goods available but am well outclassed overall. Enter the room cards...