Crown usage and player stats

[Skyman]

TinSoldier
I was just wondering a couple of things.

1. Does anyone actually use crowns to buy food/gold. I can see its used for troop cards and buildings. I can imagine you might use it for oil if youve got your upgrade plan wrong somewhere. But why would anyone use it to get food/gold when its gained so quickly elsewhere.

2. Also my guess is most people keep 1/2 workers free, battling for resources until they complete walls. Then they use all workers on upgrades. As the player has completed the resource sink, they then login significantly less. Do the developers see this reduction in usage as a problem?

 

[LordAnubis]

You forgot one critical thing. NTGs are always being hunted for war coalitions.

One can chew through 42-54 NTGs in a single war depending on coalition level.

Then you always are raiding for oil for something whether its research, upgrades, or retraining.

So yah no if you don't log in to get these critical resources then you'll be killed in war.

 

[Bootney Lee Fonsworth]

That's pretty much where I've gotten to. Wars are a waste of time and resources as they're currently constructed. The devs are hellbent on making rubies worthless and seem incapable of creating more perk levels to fight for, so why bother for meaningless glory?

As for multiplayer, the loot has been so poor since i got to CWA I'm just as well off putting my tc out, parking at a medal range where it's immediately attacked, and collecting resources while i maximize my treaties. In short, the game has become almost entirely pointless to play except for a few hours every two weeks as my workers free up. Horrible design, that somebody at the HQ had to know was inevitable, but nobody seems interested in doing anything about.

On a related note: I've been a daily player for 2.5 years. All told I've spent around, $200 on three accounts. Not a whale by any means, but the sort of player they should be interested in retaining. However their words, actions, and my own lying eyes tell me they are not. Not saying I'll quit entirely, too much invested in my bases and alliance mates, but the thrill is certainly gone and I'm not sure how it'll ever come back at this point.

 

[Manifesto]

Beg to differ here. You’re not the type of player they want to keep. Even me, who buys a big crown sale 2-3 times a year or the occasional card sale for my alt, is not the type of player they want to keep.
They want to keep the player who buys crowns regularly or the small troop card sales regularly. They need a steadily flowing income.
What they also need is the maxed player to create an alt when the maxed age gets boring. The alt is more likely to spend little amounts here and there to get started.

 

[Bootney Lee Fonsworth]

Saying that this game, or any for that matter, doesn't need to keep people who have spent $200 on it even spaced out over several years seems remarkably short sighted. I've never once spent that kind of money on any single game. Any game like this needs to have a healthy mix of all types of players. Without anyone to feed the whales they'll either starve or quit spending as much.

Is my $200 much as an individual in the grand scheme of things? No? But multiply that by 100,000 people with similar stories and you're talking real money. By tilting things so much in favor of pay-to-win, not addressing myriad issues, overpowering defense so much in multiplayer, insanely long upgrades, etcetera more and more people realize that the occasional $20-40 spent doesn't really get you anywhere.

I can't imagine it costs much to maintain our bases on the servers or the game's economy wouldn't be so dependent on dead bases. For an ostensibly free-to-play game in a world of entertainment options saying they don't want/need players like me or you just doesn't seem healthy for the game.

 

[Skyman]

You forgot one critical thing. NTGs are always being hunted for war coalitions.

One can chew through 42-54 NTGs in a single war depending on coalition level.

Then you always are raiding for oil for something whether its research, upgrades, or retraining.

So yah no if you don't log in to get these critical resources then you'll be killed in war.

Thanks Anubis I'd forgotten about ngt as I dont war. TinSoldier any reply coming?

 

[Skyman]

The difficulty i have is that I have 4 upgrades planned for the next 4 days as my current upgrades finish.

2 in Armoury, 1 oil well and the library.

I have the resources for the armoury and oil well and am £1m short from having the money for the library (simply because I cant hold enough for well and library together).

so for the next 2days I have no incentive to play at all. Then for the 2 days after that i need to collect £1m in gold which should take around 15mins.

TinSoldier My continual frustration with this game is that the people who play the game cleverly/often are not able to progress more quickly than those that do not because of the imbalance between the ability to again resources and the time required to use them.

 

[GailWho]

I don’t seem to have the same problem as you. I suppose I found a balance in my gameplay because with 17 workers, 2 slots in the armory and 2 slots in the library I always seem to have something I’m working toward. Perhaps you should play at a different medal range to make raiding slower and more difficult. Attack stronger bases, or bases with less resources. Or join a chatty alliance. Nothing like a good conversation to stop you from meeting your raiding goals, allowing your workers the time to put their hammers down and rest. If none of this works I have a feeling that if the devs ever launch the museum they have been talking about, there will be stuff there that will keep you occupied.

 

[Manifesto]

Perhaps I should've said the player they don't want to ''focus on'' instead of the player they don't want to ''keep''. My reasoning is:
100,000 x $200 per 2 years = 20 million
100,000 x $15 per mth per 2 years = 36 million
I realise 20 million is no small potatoes but I think you're underestimating the value of smaller payments on a more regular basis. Not only are the payments easier to manage but a regular supply of troops is very beneficial especially to newer players.
Personally, I made lots of smaller payments when I first started. In later ages I've gone away from that and took advantage of the occasional crown sales.
They're both valid options but I think newer or younger players would prefer the smaller, more affordable option AND it's a steadier income stream for Nexon.
I've missed plenty of crown sales but I've bought $4 or $6 deals even when I didn't need the troops, just because it's cheap.

 

[Manifesto]

Totally agree.

 

[TinSoldier]

Good questions!

1.) For some events, like the recent James - Younger event, you can make progress with collecting Food, Gold, and Oil that was purchased using crowns. If you have an event like that where the deadline is coming up, you can spend a few crowns to ensure you pick up the event building. (The Saloon in this case.)

2.) Citizen usage varies greatly from player-to-player. Some folks have abandoned building upgrades, in favor of University research, while others keep a handful for the 6- and 12-hour Expedition slots. As others have pointed out, they log in to raid for National Trade Goods, or to be social with their Alliance. We also notice a lot of you log in at 14:00 UTC when new events are announced in-game. (and to collect those League Boat bonuses!)

 

[Manifesto]

I'm usually asleep at 14:00 UTC !

 

[Skyman]

Good questions!

1.) For some events, like the recent James - Younger event, you can make progress with collecting Food, Gold, and Oil that was purchased using crowns. If you have an event like that where the deadline is coming up, you can spend a few crowns to ensure you pick up the event building. (The Saloon in this case.)

2.) Citizen usage varies greatly from player-to-player. Some folks have abandoned building upgrades...

Thankyou for the intersting reply, let me make a logical inference:

1.Using crowns to purchase resources to finish events would be used by a small no of players on a limited no of occasions. So has a limited usage.

2. People abandoning building uprades is not helpful for the game. (Users dont identify with the new improvements in the game, tactics and gameplay stagnate and users dont promote the game).

So, going back to my concern about moving through the game at a speed relative to ability and players frustration with long upgrade times.

instead of using crowns to get resources in a very small number of cases. Why dont you enable players to buy a small number of crowns daily through resources?

This enables me to to move through the game more quickly, slightly reduces upgrade times and encourages more game play.

it would not prevent people buying crowns with actual cash.as i am suggesting the number of crowns you could gain be pretty small. Say single figures in global age at 1m per crown.

 

[sileepuppee]

It really matters on what you do but the lengthy upgrades definitely slow everything down especially when you're not crowning everything. I haven't spent money nor will I ever and that slows the building process down but you try to make that lemonade best you can. I guess you get lucky if you get great people in your alliance as that really adds an element to the game. I always have some 9-10 day construction going on or university research going on to take up 13-14 of my citizens. I always have 3-4 on expeditions because with the deletion of troops chests, its the best way for me to get some quality troop cards. Bear in mind that I maxed the dock and max researched the library aspect so all my expeditions come back much more quickly while requiring one less citizen. I always just go for the roc, freedom force, demolition squad, and really all the ones that require only 1-2 citizens. Anything that I can complete or complete a big chunk of while I sleep. I don't necessarily aim to upgrade walls but as mentioned earlier if you're always going to war you are farming the ntg's and getting gold/food/oil is just an added benefit so I apply that to walls or general upgrades. All that being said, having those great people in alliance allows you some good banter back and forth and that really makes the game enjoyable. Not everyone has the time to chat and I know alliances use WeChat, WhatsApp, discord, etc but that's not us. Maybe for us that adds another element to make the game more than game. I suppose that is our reasoning for not using money either because it becomes an investment rather than a game. Anyway that's just us.

 

[Manifesto]

instead of using crowns to get resources in a very small number of cases. Why dont you enable players to buy a small number of crowns daily through resources?

Totally goes against their mindset.
Nice idea but also these small amounts of crowns are already available by successful defenses, video rewards, hunting, etc.