Barriers to Entry and Events

SicelaLuna · January 2022

TL, DR: Equal Footing Events That Everyone Can Play

After the failed Community Event this weekend, I noticed something interesting...there were less than 15k participants in the community event itself. Given that the first token was in a fairly low milestone, that would indicate that there are less than 15k daily players of the game that are League 7 and above (yes, I know not everyone uses the portal, but I imagine most daily players would).

This got me thinking about being a new player. At this point, the game has been going on for around 4 years and there is no "catch-up" mechanic for new players. Just think about it - for a new player to even really enjoy the game they need:

6 MP trainers
6 +color generate gems
6 +color destroy gems
10 or more +special gem trainers (power, protect, etc)
A decent wrestler in each class and era, male and female

All of these trainers at 5k no less. This isn't even counting all the "nice to have" entourage, like +MP match coaches, +turn sub trainers, +gem damage trainers, etc. Now, if I was a new player, forgetting the fact that I'd have to grind through 6 leagues before I could even get any real content, I would give up long before I got a lot of the necessary wrestlers. This isn't even counting coins, tokens, TP, etc.

Let's look at another example in the game - the DX vault. As a new player, just looking at the sheer size of it, I would never waste money on a VIP subscription. It takes literally years to slog through the mediocre props and outdated wrestlers to get to anything remotely good. Basically, if you haven't subscribed to it since the day it was implemented, there's no point in signing up now.

So, why this long-winded post? Well, the game is going to slowly decline unless we get fresh players. And in it's current state, I can't imagine a new player ever sticking with it. So, here's the big change I'm suggesting:

Scopely, let's come up with a weekend solo event that everyone starts on the same level. None of your current roster is needed to play. Maybe give out a "trial superstar" that starts at Lvl 1 and gets special farm-able coin, tokens, and shards to level up and evolve throughout the weekend. The event could be some type of gauntlet-style where the more/better you play, the higher you can get. Start off with opponents like a 1sb Cesaro and gradually progress up towards a 5sg of the current meta. And at the end, maybe the top 500 or 1000 players get the weekend card at a rarity from 1sb to 5ss based on where they ranked. No perks, no loot coins, no monetization, just time and effort. Sure, it might not make a lot of money, but it would be FUN. And happy players ultimately spend more later on. Maybe someone that's League 4 or 5 actually grinds really hard and gets a good character out of it. Now you've got a new player in the game that is going to come back because they aren't just immediately running into impossible SD opponents or whales during feud. Let's breath some new life into the current stale game that we're playing.

Thoughts from the community?

Eli · January 2022

https://community.wwechampions.com/discussion/6920/barriers-to-entry-and-events

That didnt mean there was less then 15k players playing tho, that means there was less the 15k that actually made points for the event, if you remember well the first points for it were pretty deep in the event, around milestone 9 I think, so that just means the other players just didnt reach high enough to start making points toward the event.

As far as equal footings, that's just never gonna happen and it's true for most games, you just can't give new players what others spent years getting without disrespecting your old players, same for the DX vault you are talking about, what are the players that have been spending for it for 4 years gonna think if the new guy can come in and get the good stuff right away that they spent a bunch for 4 years getting to ?

That being said I think it's a hell of a lot easier being a new player now then it was 2 years ago as they improved on that a lot, they keep throwing free characters left and right every week, remember how much people paid to "try" to get HOF Eddie and trick Andre just 2 years ago, well everyone get em free now and the list goes on.

SicelaLuna · January 2022

So in the same breath you say, "We can't just give stuff away, that's not fair to those that paid," and then say, "they're giving away free stuff that people paid for two years ago." Do you see the contradiction? Also, paying money doesn't mean you have a permanent boost, it means you have a temporary advantage that others should be able to catch up with time and effort. Anything released more than 6 months to a year prior is basically no longer anywhere in the top meta and should be available for free or at a greatly reduced price (once again, through time and effort).

Also, just an aside, you didn't address the suggestion that there should be at least one event a month that is based solely on effort and where a player's previous roster is not taken into account.

Barriers to Entry and Events

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