State of the Game for F2P players

Prev1
I'm a relatively new player, and I was talking with a friend of mine who made some really good points about this game. He told me how hard it is to farm other teams/players, and still make progress gearing up your main team.
He said it's better to put all your gear into your main team even if you can't really farm other teams/toons, than to farm multiple teams over time, since it's too hard to get your main team to high enough gear to be viable.
Anyone have any thoughts/ideas about this? (Specifically high level f2p players)

Replies

  • Fingolfin26
    270 posts Member
    edited August 2020
    I'm ftp I'd say in general this is correct, however, a lot depends on what mode you're focused the most on.
    For me I prefer to look at tiers of gear. I've worked to get my roster so that most of my core teams are minimum gear 12. Now I'm farming gear 13 for some characters and working on getting a new team up to gear 12.
    So I'm not going to go all in on a squad till they're maxed, because you need a diverse roster too, at least for gacs and tws.
    Again it depends on what is most important to you.

    I also like to farm shards on the side so I'm ready for new teams, so I farm 5 hard nodes (light/dark) and spend the rest of my energy on gear with 3 energy refills. 3 ship hard nodes and then gear with 2 energy refills. And then when I get to 100 extra crystals I snag a cantina energy refill as there are a lot of needed characters there in addition to signal data.

    Once I've gotten arc trooper and ewoks done I'll probably flip that energy over to mod energy refills.

    Hope that helps
  • Gouj4
    416 posts Member
    I’d say it depends how new. If you’re a pretty new player I’d say it’s best to focus a main team to start off with. Phoenix are generally considered one of the better teams to push you along. Eventually you’ll know when you’re at a level where you can focus on some more teams but if you’re on the newer side then I’d say your friend is right
  • Kyno
    32087 posts Moderator
    I dont really think this idea has anything to do with f2p or $$$.

    Unless you are a kraken who just has it all, you should always be focused on one goal. This goal is dependent on your larger direction you want to take.

    Usually this goal is a team for an event or game mode.
    You absolutely should always keep a laser focus while working towards a goal, one toon at a time, which leads to one team, which leads to a goal.

    There is also some merit to holding on gearing a toon until you are closer to the sub goal of a useful team, unless the toon you are gearing will provide other useful benefits until the rest is ready.
  • @Fingolfin26 @Gouj4 For reference, he is talking about using his CLS team as the only team he gears up until they are relic, only then he'll put gear into anyone else. He went Phoenix>Empire>CLS.
    Im just about level 85 right now, about to get Padme, not that this is a question specific to me at all.
    I see what you are saying Fingolfin. Having multiple teams good, and slowly getting them all to really good gear levels.
    Also, how long does it take to farm enough gear to get a character up to relic? My 'very wise' friend says it'll take a year to get a team there.
  • Gouj4
    416 posts Member
    In that case it’s a little different. Obviously he should only focus one team at a time so focusing his CLS for the time being is most beneficial for him but to that degree I’m not so sure. My personal opinion, and I’m due to get CLS next week would be to get the team to gear 10-12 (12 being preferable) and then focus another team as in the long run this is gonna help for things like GAC, TW, TB and so on. At level 85 you’re gonna want at least a couple good teams. Having one team really high is only gonna benefit in arena. In terms of the time to get there I think it depends slightly on if his guild is doing the heroic Sith Raid and how much guild event tokens or GAC currency he gets as most the Gear 12 stuff are in those stores/raid. It’s certainly not quick but I couldn’t put a time frame on it from his point of view because it depends on a couple factors. That’s just how i look at it from my view though so hope it helps
  • Kyno wrote: »
    You absolutely should always keep a laser focus while working towards a goal, one toon at a time, which leads to one team, which leads to a goal.
    That's what we do; but I think we all have multiple personnalities

  • Gavsta
    201 posts Member
    I'm in 2 minds about this...
    Firstly, I agree, as an FTP player, if there's something 'meta' or powerful for an element of the game.... then that is a requirement ahead of any other teams/characters that I may want to get as a fun team or passion project.
    Plus, its a grind to farm toons and teams to meet the requirement to either enter an event, or make the team viable for use in a game mode.... and I say this having recently finished the farm for GL Rey, and on the road to Jedi Luke.
    This process is both quicker & easier for people who spend money, be it a minnow all the way up to Kraken.
    However, (Secondly), I'm in a guild with both FTP & Whaley players.... and they have the same problem as I do... but can spend (if they choose) through a lot of bottlenecks.
    Plus, as TW & GAC are based on GP.... despite the matchmaking not being perfect... so I'm not competing against people who are at a different level. So as long as my arena (& fleet) team are able to compete on my shard, then what others spend or how quicker they get the meta only affects me for a month or so in arena... and my overall gameplay isn't affected.

    So, in conclusion... when I want to play to be effective, I farm the teams/toons needed.... but I, for me, farm a toon/team every so often.... for funsies.
    This has meant I have fun... continue to enjoy the game... and keep myself competitive (when I want to.... not because the game progression tells me to).
    I recognise that most players have the same problems/issues as I do with farming.... but if I'm more efficient, I get there quicker.
    Plus, if I manage my roster better, then I get favourable match ups in PvP... for example, in GAC 3v3 this time around... I've had 7 battles, and not one has had a GL. My Top 80 1.8m GP is more competitive than the top 1.8m GP in other rosters.

    For you, as I say to all players.... play your game, how you like. Listen to advice on what works & what's needed... but only do this if you enjoy it buddy. I like RPGs and stuff.... so I enjoy (to a point) resource management and grinding in games.
    I do add though... the GL farm was a long one.... and was really testing. However, at that point, I had all the other legendary characters, so it was the only path I could follow unless I wanted to round out teams, or work on some passion project.
  • Gifafi
    6017 posts Member
    edited August 2020
    the game is easier than it's ever been for new and ftp players to progress. What CG really needs to do to level the playing field is to stop the practice of people hoarding for weeks/months/years and then getting high enough level to join arena shards. It's not only unfair but there isn't any benefit to CG, and in fact costs them money. makes zero sense
    Maybe End Game isn't for you
  • I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?
  • TVF
    36526 posts Member
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.
    I need a new message here. https://discord.gg/AmStGTH
  • TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.
  • TVF
    36526 posts Member
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.

    "it may just push the timetable out farther"
    I need a new message here. https://discord.gg/AmStGTH
  • Kyno
    32087 posts Moderator
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.
    TVF wrote: »
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.

    "it may just push the timetable out farther"

    This.

    again this game is not P2W, you can't buy something now and just keep the same advantage throughout. players will always catch up because everything in the game is free and just cost time.
  • TVF wrote: »
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.

    "it may just push the timetable out farther"

    Yea, but is pushing it out farther still practical? I’m in a tough shard where I couldn’t get above 100 consistently, so I hoarded almost every piece of gear I collected from August until GL characters were announced (about 7-8 months). I was getting first every day in fleet and top 5 in HSTR. I was one of the first dozen or so to get a GL in my shard (now we have well over 50).

    I can’t imagine how long it would take to get ahead of the curve while taking in only about 100 crystals a day...2 years of hoarding? 3? That doesn’t seem practical.

    That arena crystal income is necessary to keep up with new characters. There’s many f2p players in my guild that are still working on geos because they decided to finish Malak, GG, or padme first. I don’t know if they’ll ever get to GLs.

    Anyway, I was just curious how feasible it is to be f2p any more without just giving up on arenas altogether.
  • TVF
    36526 posts Member
    Well since the game is dying, your shard will keep getting easier each day!
    I need a new message here. https://discord.gg/AmStGTH
  • TVF wrote: »
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.

    "it may just push the timetable out farther"

    Yea, but is pushing it out farther still practical? I’m in a tough shard where I couldn’t get above 100 consistently, so I hoarded almost every piece of gear I collected from August until GL characters were announced (about 7-8 months). I was getting first every day in fleet and top 5 in HSTR. I was one of the first dozen or so to get a GL in my shard (now we have well over 50).

    I can’t imagine how long it would take to get ahead of the curve while taking in only about 100 crystals a day...2 years of hoarding? 3? That doesn’t seem practical.

    That arena crystal income is necessary to keep up with new characters. There’s many f2p players in my guild that are still working on geos because they decided to finish Malak, GG, or padme first. I don’t know if they’ll ever get to GLs.

    Anyway, I was just curious how feasible it is to be f2p any more without just giving up on arenas altogether.

    Fleet arena is the place for F2P, particularly with Malevolence. A 5* capital ship and some G12 Geos can climb to #1 if you know what you are doing. That 400 crystals is way better (and easier to get) than the extra 50-100 you get from for moving from 100 to 20 in squad area.
  • I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I think f2p can keep up even with the low crystal income, but it will take a lot longer to get to the point where you get a decent amount.
    I have a friend in my guild who started about the same time I did in April, maybe a few weeks earlier. We went generally the same route, separatists to Padme, but he bought the hyperdrive bundle. I am not even level 85 yet,(83) my separatists are gear 9/10, but I’ve got the future GR team around there as well. I can sometimes sneak into the top 500 in arena, but more often than not I get around 600-650.
    My hyperdrive friend is currently sitting in the top 100 with his gear 11/12 Padme squad. He’s also got his separatists all gear 12. He has moved all the way through Phoenix and Empire, idk if he will chase CLS now though. He’s currently farming towards JKR.
    That is what buying just the hdb does. From the very beginning, you are at the top of ships and normal arena, and you ride that crystal income all the way to the end. The only hard part is catching up if you started out towards the bottom.
  • I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I think f2p can keep up even with the low crystal income, but it will take a lot longer to get to the point where you get a decent amount.
    I have a friend in my guild who started about the same time I did in April, maybe a few weeks earlier. We went generally the same route, separatists to Padme, but he bought the hyperdrive bundle. I am not even level 85 yet,(83) my separatists are gear 9/10, but I’ve got the future GR team around there as well. I can sometimes sneak into the top 500 in arena, but more often than not I get around 600-650.
    My hyperdrive friend is currently sitting in the top 100 with his gear 11/12 Padme squad. He’s also got his separatists all gear 12. He has moved all the way through Phoenix and Empire, idk if he will chase CLS now though. He’s currently farming towards JKR.
    That is what buying just the hdb does. From the very beginning, you are at the top of ships and normal arena, and you ride that crystal income all the way to the end. The only hard part is catching up if you started out towards the bottom.

    Are you two in the same shard and guild? Although I’m sure we’ll both forget, I’d be interested to hear where you both are in a year or so. You won’t see much difference short term, but long term, you will start to see some distance between the two of you just from crystal income differences.
  • Echuffenw
    14 posts Member
    edited August 2020
    Kyno wrote: »

    Unless you are a kraken

    x86to22iatto.jpg
    Post edited by Echuffenw on
  • TVF wrote: »
    Well since the game is dying, your shard will keep getting easier each day!

    Ha, I rarely agree with you, but this one is on point.

    Moving up in shard is a lot easier when people that have played for years are quitting left and right.
    If you wait out all the others in your arena shard eventually it will be easier to get lots of free gems...
  • Jppc wrote: »
    Dramgon wrote: »
    TVF wrote: »
    Well since the game is dying, your shard will keep getting easier each day!

    Ha, I rarely agree with you, but this one is on point.

    Moving up in shard is a lot easier when people that have played for years are quitting left and right.
    If you wait out all the others in your arena shard eventually it will be easier to get lots of free gems...

    I don’t know if it’s a good thing to me or not but in my shards I never saw a top player quit :( if the game is dying because people are quitting, my shard is an exception.

    I guess it depends on how old your shard is, and on how commited the players there are. I've had many players quit in mine already, but it's a launch hard. We still have many active players but I've seen lots of players go over the years. I think that's the natural flow of things once shards get really old.
  • I'm a relatively new player, and I was talking with a friend of mine who made some really good points about this game. He told me how hard it is to farm other teams/players, and still make progress gearing up your main team.
    He said it's better to put all your gear into your main team even if you can't really farm other teams/toons, than to farm multiple teams over time, since it's too hard to get your main team to high enough gear to be viable.
    Anyone have any thoughts/ideas about this? (Specifically high level f2p players)

    Dépends on what you farm. Farming for shards is very long and you should farm more than one team at a time imo. Basically your actual project and your next project.

    About gear farming, i think farming one team at a time until you attain the gear level you need is better.
  • Waqui
    8802 posts Member
    Also, how long does it take to farm enough gear to get a character up to relic? My 'very wise' friend says it'll take a year to get a team there.

    One year? Even when ranking low in hSTR it won't take a year. What kind of guild is your friend in? Do they even farm hSTR? Is there a high level of activity, good ticket production and frequent raids? Do they do well in TBs? If your friend's guild is halfway dead he won't get much gear from guild events.

    In general it's good to prioritize your main/arena team until it puts you at the rank you aim for and only equip other teams/characters with gear your main team won't need. Furthermore, only gear up characters which you plan to use in the near future (for whatever game mode or event).

    Your Padmé team will be viable for quite some time. It's both strong and versatile (counters many other teams). Gearing it further won't be wasted. If you want an specific advice on how to mod your team or which characters to add to your team please post a link to your profile on swgoh.gg.
  • Old_Ben12345
    399 posts Member
    edited August 2020
    Waqui wrote: »
    Also, how long does it take to farm enough gear to get a character up to relic? My 'very wise' friend says it'll take a year to get a team there.

    One year? Even when ranking low in hSTR it won't take a year. What kind of guild is your friend in? Do they even farm hSTR? Is there a high level of activity, good ticket production and frequent raids? Do they do well in TBs? If your friend's guild is halfway dead he won't get much gear from guild events.

    In general it's good to prioritize your main/arena team until it puts you at the rank you aim for and only equip other teams/characters with gear your main team won't need. Furthermore, only gear up characters which you plan to use in the near future (for whatever game mode or event).

    Your Padmé team will be viable for quite some time. It's both strong and versatile (counters many other teams). Gearing it further won't be wasted. If you want an specific advice on how to mod your team or which characters to add to your team please post a link to your profile on swgoh.gg.

    Thanks for those tips, that helps me out a lot.
    I'm not sure how good his guild is. I know they do the heroic sith raid, not sure how often or how they do in tw/tb. I'll see how his guild is doing and maybe recommend he leaves. However, it is entirely possible he just is inexperienced and is overestimating the time frame to do things.
    Here is my account: https://swgoh.gg/p/252191742/ Ill have Kenobi in 2 or 3 weeks, so my team will be Padme, Ahsoka, Anakin, Kenobi, GMY. I think I have them modded decently well, but I'm not exactly sure how to mod padme. I think all health sets and primaries, with speed arrow and as much speed secondaries as possible. I’ve heard Yoda should be fast, but other than a speed set and speed secondaries, what should he have?
    Right now, Im putting gear into my geos to catch up with ships, I started working on ships very late in my swgoh career. The good thing about my situation is that I am farming phoenix > empire > cls next, although i will add in jkr from hard battles. These teams require very little gear to get to the next stage, so I can focus on gearing my GR mainly while still doing these other things.
    Post edited by Old_Ben12345 on
  • TVF wrote: »
    TVF wrote: »
    I’m curious how easy it is for a f2p now vs before the Hyperdrive bundle. Before, a player could laser focus on a team, use that to climb in arena, and then use the crystal income to keep up from there. Laser focusing on a team no longer means climbing in arena for early gamers. Can a f2p player keep up with low crystal income from arenas?

    I was f2p for a long time and i was able to catch up despite hovering in the 300s in arena until I started getting serious. Focus should still work, it may just push the timetable out farther with the HDB.

    I meant for new players starting now vs paying players. You got high in arena before the Hyperdrive bundle was a thing.

    "it may just push the timetable out farther"

    Yea, but is pushing it out farther still practical? I’m in a tough shard where I couldn’t get above 100 consistently, so I hoarded almost every piece of gear I collected from August until GL characters were announced (about 7-8 months). I was getting first every day in fleet and top 5 in HSTR. I was one of the first dozen or so to get a GL in my shard (now we have well over 50).

    I can’t imagine how long it would take to get ahead of the curve while taking in only about 100 crystals a day...2 years of hoarding? 3? That doesn’t seem practical.

    That arena crystal income is necessary to keep up with new characters. There’s many f2p players in my guild that are still working on geos because they decided to finish Malak, GG, or padme first. I don’t know if they’ll ever get to GLs.

    Anyway, I was just curious how feasible it is to be f2p any more without just giving up on arenas altogether.

    I have a recent alt account. About 2 or 3 months now. The main thing I notice is that it does make it a little harder to get to the top sooner but in the long run I doubt it'll make s lot of difference.

    In fleet I can climb to about 70 then there's a wall of fleets that have 100k power vs the one I had at 40k power. Even farming good ships won't overcome twice the gear. Though this is only temporary and in a few months I'll have s good ship team up there. Once everyone has a maxed team or as maxed as most take it before switching focus, the advantage will go away.

    In regular arena, I just switched from Phoenix to Ep lead and can climb to the 400s easily enough. Then there are teams that are just twice as strong because they are level 85 and have much higher gear. I'm currently limited by how much I can gear them because they have to be lvl 74 to get to go. But once I hit level 85 that advantage will also decrease when I can get comparable gear.

    I'm also sure that many that buy the hyperdrive bundle spend the gear on early teams like Phoenix to get the early advantage and to get the 7 star thrawn right away. Many also may go overboard and g11 or g12 them. Once you build a high gear counter team, these people have to build their 2nd and 3rd arena teams without the hyperdrive bundle.

    While they had a lot of free stuff at the beginning. I'm betting most of these new players don't know what teams to build for good raid scores, how vital it is to get in as high as guild as possible to get good gear from heroic raids (some will probably languish in the starter guilds for far too long), or which teams to farm for a future arena team.

    Yes there will be some that have both the experience and are buying the bundle. But I doubt that there are enough of those to lock you out of the top 50 for long.
  • Waqui wrote: »
    Also, how long does it take to farm enough gear to get a character up to relic? My 'very wise' friend says it'll take a year to get a team there.

    One year? Even when ranking low in hSTR it won't take a year. What kind of guild is your friend in? Do they even farm hSTR? Is there a high level of activity, good ticket production and frequent raids? Do they do well in TBs? If your friend's guild is halfway dead he won't get much gear from guild events.

    In general it's good to prioritize your main/arena team until it puts you at the rank you aim for and only equip other teams/characters with gear your main team won't need. Furthermore, only gear up characters which you plan to use in the near future (for whatever game mode or event).

    Your Padmé team will be viable for quite some time. It's both strong and versatile (counters many other teams). Gearing it further won't be wasted. If you want an specific advice on how to mod your team or which characters to add to your team please post a link to your profile on swgoh.gg.

    Thanks for those tips, that helps me out a lot.
    I'm not sure how good his guild is. I know they do the heroic sith raid, not sure how often or how they do in tw/tb. I'll see how his guild is doing and maybe recommend he leaves. However, it is entirely possible he just is inexperienced and is overestimating the time frame to do things.
    Here is my account: https://swgoh.gg/p/252191742/ Ill have Kenobi in 2 or 3 weeks, so my team will be Padme, Ahsoka, Anakin, Kenobi, GMY. I think I have them modded decently well, but I'm not exactly sure how to mod padme. I think all health sets and primaries, with speed arrow and as much speed secondaries as possible. I’ve heard Yoda should be fast, but other than a speed set and speed secondaries, what should he have?
    Right now, Im putting gear into my geos to catch up with ships, I started working on ships very late in my swgoh career. The good thing about my situation is that I am farming phoenix > empire > cls next, although i will add in jkr from hard battles. These teams require very little gear to get to the next stage, so I can focus on gearing my GR mainly while still doing these other things.

    Health and speed are good for padme.

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