🥳 Party Week with NEW POWERFUL TIER 6 MEDALS!!!

New Plates: I love the concept of the new plates, and how it has a chance of making older/forgotten users viable. But more so, it gives an option for Free-to-play users a chance at using available users to compete. However, but limiting it to higher cost prize walls, it limits these options for users. I would love for these to be more readily available, but like Royal rumble plates, I fear these will be isolated onto to the top spenders and factions.

Steel Cage: I understand the concept and the thought process. You want to level to playing field across the board. We've tried 99 mp for everyone, no trainers/entourage/plates, etc. It is currently too easy for folks with the top players to just run roughshod through the competition, and not easy for other players to compete. If you give everyone 99 MP, then it becomes a lot of fun to use anyone you want. However, Using 99 MP across the board, it is basically a race for who has the highest promoters and who buys additional.

In the current Steel Cage rules formats, it is going to be whoever has the highest premium users with gear (Regal, etc) and or low mp characters who can start turn 1. Or it will be users who have 99 MP. It still weights the contest fully on the side of people who spend, and is unbalanced for those who don't.

Why not have a "fun" showdown and a competitive showdown.. You still get most of the good stuff out of the "fun" showdown, but the premium you limit the competition and then can compete for top prizes. Just take the top % of users from the "fun" showdown and they compete then under the steel cage or other rules you implement.

• New Plates: The introduction of new plates is a great concept as it helps make older or forgotten superstars more viable. It also provides Free-to-Play users with opportunities to compete more effectively. However, restricting these plates to high-cost Prizewalls limits accessibility. Making them more readily available, similar to Royal Rumble plates, would benefit a larger portion of the player base rather than just top spenders and factions.

• Steel Cage Format: A more balanced approach could have been implementing perks similar to Faction Feud, such as increasing gem damage by X% and boosting multiply gem strength. This would help level the playing field and make matches more competitive. Additionally, introducing both a "Fun" Showdown and a "Competitive" Showdown could be a great way to balance rewards and competition. The "Fun" Showdown could offer most of the standard rewards, while top-performing players move on to a Competitive Showdown with higher stakes under Steel Cage or similar rules.

• Showdown Tasks Difficulty: The current Showdown tasks are extremely challenging, especially requiring 200M damage with Grayson without plates and entourage. This is nearly impossible compared to regular Showdown events, where the damage requirement was only around 90M. Adjusting these tasks to be more feasible would make the event more enjoyable and fair for all players. With increasing difficulty, please improve the rewards as well. Players are not able to upgrade because of less shard availability.

plates and medals: Great addition puts everything together. Changes the game with the medals.

steel cage showdown: good concept, bad execution. CSS was very pay to win, need gears that are not accessible to a lot of players. Although with the right setup could still get it done but very grindy which some don’t have the ability.

tours: outside of the silver tour, most were very accessible for points. Brutus was BRUTAL!

Overall: Personally was able to finish the base, when usually can get a little further down the line. So for me it was average but I did hear multiple complaints across the community.

Future of these events: wouldn’t recommend as many restrictions during Steel Cage. Eliminate straps or entourages or gears, 1 at a time not multiple. Would help people especially with female characters, who, in my opinion, need one or the other most of the time

terrible showdown. Did you spin a wheel to decide on the steel cage rules?

Showdown ending at 6am pst was very unexpected when it usually ends right before reset. Wish it had been posted in the blog. I missed out on a lot. Still had 36 energy when time ran out

Well so much for the hype , celebrating the month and ignoring many ftp players, the steel cage was absolutely terrible, having to face 6 gold with no mp to start is insanity , plus the fact that the manager event to get points was to use bushwacker

I managed to get only one win because a good soul put a 2 star in the defense, after countless of refreshes yeah it was imposible so started losing points there , then the next day were non ftp characters sure tatanka could be purchased in the prizewall but not everybody is spending them as soon as they earn them so more lost points there barely managed to reach the gold chest , and that's thanks to an 11 pull from the dailies that helped, that was a struggle, now imagine the event oh boy , having matches that last more than 20 minutes to get points and the multitude of tours , with work i barely just barely managed to get the first bonus of the milestones , with 10 one wouldn hope that a ftp player can get the cheapest skill plate , well i ended with 9300 yeah so much for an anniversary event there's so few available items to get with that after struggling in the steel cage , my weekday definitely felt like a bust with the event , can't enjoy something if you only get tortured with no compensation, 24 energys to motivate the players?? Thats 12 hours of pain to "enjoy" so to be brutally honest the sd needs a defense of some sort to limit the difficulty the lower tier players have to endure, maybe the use of only one entourage at least to have a chance to do something starting with no mp with the perks as well, nightmare just a nightmare, and its the anniversary could have been a little bit more generous than give the bare minimum of cakes , seems like many of us got the last portion of the cake, the one that had the face shoved into, this anniversary is a huge letdown personally

Not an enjoyable Showdown.

I will repeat much, already being said in this thread, but here goes:
While I very much enjoy the Steelcage rules, this Showdown was not the way to do it.

• Completing the 200 million damage with the CSS, while they hit like wet cardboard was tedious to say the least.
• The lack of Entourage in an event with limited energy, forced us to use either 99 MP, or 1 MP characters, severely limiting our options. Ozzy, HoF Goldberg, HoF Molly, HoF JBL across the board!
  
• The extra 24 energy was a nice bandage, to tie us over at least.

So… I endured the event, and even used the extra 24 energy, to run HoFs enough to reach the 2 bonus milestones.
Completed all CSS tasks, except HoF Vader and 1 more I didnt own (HoF JBL maybe?).
Did all tours incl Hellmode, with the CSS.
Basicly completed all the FTP stuff possible.

What do I have to show for it:

• Total of 10.300 Prizewall currency.
• Lowest price for a new plate was 12.000. 😫

…Sigh… I feel, could have done more productive things, with the time spent in this event.

In other news:

Tier 6 medals - Love them already. Not as much for the setbonus, but the guaranteed % stats.
Even the defensive substats are bigger, than Tier 5 Primary stats.
Looking back, I wish I had equipped them on HoF Neidhart, while grinding the 70 Showdown matches. The difference between using Tier 5 or Tier 6 is just huge.

Regards
Sheisserick

I really don’t know what to say about this one, Couldn’t agree more with everyone’s opinion on how utterly awful this weeklong event unfolds. The event itself wasn’t that bad but aligned with the SD under steel cage rules was the worst decision ever. This has to go down as the worst SD tournament that i’ve been a part of in my whole 8 year existence. Not gonna lie, whoever on his right state of mind would agree that this was an absolute disaster. Don’t think i’ve got enough things on the other side of the table to counter back but here’s a quick overview on how this overall event was turned out;

SOLO EVENT:

• At first, the event kinda looks similar like every other event that we had where it merged into the weekend event but it’s not the case. The daily tasks were pretty easy and takes no time to complete such as levelling superstars, win x number of matches and specific match wins etc. As far as the reward section goes reaching to the cena balloon collectible was achievable if you have range of CSS and complete your daily tasks but besides that most of the milestone items were heavily RNG based like the bags for the PW currency or straps that have chance to pull between 40% to 150% and never once got a single 150% which shows how bad the odds were set up. If we could get some guaranteed stuff or PW currency that would certainly help alot of players and that would end this event on a much positive note.

SD WITH STEEL CAGE RULES:

• This was not a fun experience for all of us and the decision to put a restriction over plates and entourage was little too much. Guess what if all this was not enough there’s CSS requirements that were just ridiculously tedious. Capping the energy cans at 8 instead of 16 was classic and whoever comes with that idea needs to get pay raise. Specially on weekdays when People were free, they don’t have no jobs to worry about or have any life outside playing champions all day long. I’m actually surprised that how could you ruin a node like SD nonetheless at this stage of the game. Requirements for dealing 100K damage per CSS, the fact there’s no entourage nor skill plates inside steel cage and top of that heavy spenders who already set their tier 6 medals onto their defence. Having all these brutal restrictions posters like Bret, Waller and NWO alliance members were doing 30M-40M damage hardly. Which means to complete a single task you have to do like 3-4 matches with that superstar and meantime have to maintain your winning streak and make sure to climb your way up as well. Not talking about the big guns who have 99MP cards like JBL, Cena, Simmons equipped with the gem buff reversals making it near impossible to find a certain opponent that you could play against and finish off your CSS tasks. Surely, there’s no one who would ever want to have the steel cage match ever again. Tbh back then, when we first had the cage it was somewhat playable and engaging just because we had some counter perks like increase dmg for certain gems or buffs that makes a big difference unlike this one where superstars were hitting like wet noodles and hanging off their skin.

8th ANNIVERSARY PLATES:

• The addition of these new anniversary plates are huge just like the royal rumble plates that easily retrieved certain low or older superstars in a most efficient way but without spending or having some RNG luck with the PW bags these plates are not obtainable. If you could make the 13M milestone attainable for the most players that would benefit a vast majority of players that can atleast get a chance at one of the plates similar like the rumble plates but instead you choose to make them all out of hands from the most players. Even though they are on the prize wall but the costs for some them are just too high but that’s not the case if you’re a big spender or get lucky with the bags which are hard to believe seeing how ugly the odds are against most players.

PRIZEWALL:

• The weeklong prizewall has some really great options like selection of shards, wide of moment tokens and ofcourse the newly added skill plates but sadly none of them were widely available to the playerbase. The only way you could get to that range if you constantly scoring points in the 24 hr daily contests or get some mercy from the RNG gods and got lucky with the contest bags. Other than that they are locked behind massive cash gates. If you could come up with a more realistic approach that would also cater some light spenders and top performers it’d be a whole different story rather than just being aiming for the heavy spenders and sidelined 70% of the community.

SUMMARY:

• This week has alot going on from tier 6 medal releases to the new anniversary edition plates. In the heat towards how unbalanced and underwhelmed the steel cage rule SD tournament was designed. It took off all the positive aspects of this node. Also appreciate the fact that you guys realised the issue with the CSS selection and send out 2 dozens of energy cans via inbox. Not sure if anybody would pleased with after all the efforts they’ve put into this. Steel cage rules are interesting and could make the game more much fun and challenging but you gotta find the way to balance things that would make the event much more appealing and enjoyable. Hopefully in the future we get some improvements in the certain areas and also increase the reward section as well. Just make sure it didn’t end up like this one which was clearly a failure and letting everyone’s hope down for the rest of the month.

Things That I liked:

Introduction of Tier 6 medals adds a new layer of strategy to the game and it finally feels like medals are going to play a BIG role as the new tier medals have bigger and better boosts. It’s still early to do a full blown analysis but early impressions indicate that min-maxing with them is going to be a fun experience. Looking forward to experiment with them and learn more.

The Prizewall was LOADED with lots of shards, plates and moments as well as resources. There was something for everyone which I really liked. Kudos to the team for coming up with a diverse prizewall.
Introduction of 8 new plates was exciting.

The tours were manageable with plenty of CSS options.

Things that I disliked:

Although the prizewall was exciting, I fell short of accumulating enough cake medallions to purchase even the cheaper 8th anniversary plate, despite my best efforts throughout the contest and achieving a high rank on the SD leaderboards. My rewards were limited to a mediocre moment and some resources. Compared to previous 5-7 day contests, the medallion payout felt insufficient. The prizewall offered many enticing rewards, but the economy of medallion acquisition through grinding was underwhelming, dampening the overall experience. Simply put, there were not enough medallions to get most of the rewards.

Showdown with steel cage stipulation:

Coming to the bone of contention, this was an extremely frustrating experience. This was the worst Showdown ever since I started playing this game around 23 months ago. Steel cage rules were supposed to be a fun new mechanic and yet the only purpose it serves is that it artificially inflates the grind and the hours that one has to put into the game to complete the tasks without increasing the fun or satisfaction out of it. It was supposed to even the playing field a bit but what it ultimately did was that it diminished the Showdown experience to just a 99MP exhibition where all you could do was stare at 99mp posters on defence and be able to do nothing against them.
The 200M damage tasks were a significant stretch, with the team's expectations exceeding reasonable player capabilities. Those tasks required 3-4 matches per CSS poster with whom we had to do the said task which was extremely tedious and quite an unreasonable ask from us considering that the energy was capped at 8. The 24 extra energies eased our pain a little bit but this horrific design should never be brought back ever again.

I get that the players ask for new game modes and new things but this is not how you do it. Steel cage rules is just like your regular matches minus entourage and equipment and not a new game mode by any stretch of the term. The game has advanced so much that we cannot have a mechanism where we play the game as if we are living in 2018. Taking away our equipment and asking us to use specific posters when the opponent is turn 1 ready with 99mp boosts shows that not enough thought was put into designing this contest.
The team claims that our feedback is important, but actions speak louder than words. The steel cage rules were widely panned in their first iteration, yet rather than revising the system and making meaningful improvements, the team compounded the issues that the community highlighted previously by padding/inflating the task requirements via negating equipment without offering satisfactory rewards. The blog mentioned that more tier 6 medals will be available through the steel cage rules, however what we were not told was the fact that there was only a “chance” to get tier 6 medals as the medal chests were mostly dropping tier 5 medals and strap parts. Not good. Please don’t mislead us like that. If there’s no guarantee just a chance then say that upfront.
Ultimately, what I got from SD for doing everything that I could do was contest points, some strap parts, tier 5 medals which I could have acquired through other means and modes without grinding for 5-6 hours. I cannot say anything positive at all about this SD. The rewards did not justify the efforts needed at all. Extremely poor designing which one would not expect from someone who is supposed to be celebrating their 8th anniversary.

Hi,

The introduction of Steel Cage rules into the game has proven to be a controversial decision, with the majority of players expressing dissatisfaction with this feature. The restrictive nature of the Steel Cage rules, which are designed to increase the level of difficulty, has only served to frustrate many players. Rather than enhancing the experience, it has created an environment where success is more dependent on spending significant amounts of money than on skillful gameplay. This is a clear departure from a more inclusive approach that would allow all players, regardless of financial investment, to have a fair and competitive chance. The Steel Cage rules appear to benefit only the big spenders, as they have the resources to overcome the added challenges, while Free-to-Play and lower-spending players are left at a disadvantage.

Another concern lies in the nature of events that seem to cater more to the company’s interests rather than those of the players. This raises the question: is the celebration or the event truly meant to reward the players, or is it a marketing strategy designed to benefit the company more than its user base? The players are the foundation of the game’s success, and any anniversary or special event should prioritize rewarding them, not just creating an opportunity for additional revenue generation. It’s essential for the developers to consider what truly benefits the players and create events that reflect their needs and expectations.

The concept of new plates is one of the more positive additions, as it can reinvigorate older or underutilized superstars by giving them a chance to be relevant once more. This enhances the strategic depth of the game and adds excitement for players who enjoy experimenting with different lineups. Moreover, it provides Free-to-Play users with a valuable opportunity to level the playing field and be more competitive in various events. However, restricting these plates to high-cost Prizewalls undermines the accessibility of this feature, as only top spenders can afford them. To ensure a fairer and more inclusive experience, these plates should be made more attainable for all players, rather than only being available to those willing to spend large sums. A model similar to the Royal Rumble plates, where the plates are more accessible, would allow a larger segment of the player base to benefit from these exciting additions.

A better approach would involve introducing perks that are similar to those found in Faction Feud, such as increasing gem damage by a percentage or enhancing the power of multiply gems. These kinds of improvements would provide a much-needed balance to the gameplay, enabling all players to compete on more equal footing. Such enhancements would also encourage players to develop more diverse strategies, making the overall experience more interesting and competitive. In modes where competitiveness is crucial, adding these kinds of perks would ensure that players of all skill levels and spending capacities can enjoy the event, rather than excluding those with fewer resources.

The issues surrounding event tasks also need to be addressed. As tasks become more difficult, the rewards should be appropriately scaled to reflect the increased challenge. A major concern for many players is the limited availability of shards, which significantly hampers their ability to upgrade their superstars and plates. This shortage creates an obstacle for players trying to progress, as they are left feeling stuck and unable to enhance their characters. To improve the player experience, developers should ensure that progression is smoother, offering more opportunities to earn essential resources. Making tasks more achievable and rewarding would go a long way in creating a more enjoyable and accessible gameplay experience for everyone.

While the new medal system is a step in the right direction, the execution of certain events has fallen short. Some events were heavily skewed toward players willing to spend large amounts of money, as the necessary gears and items were often out of reach for the majority of the player base. This created an excessively grindy experience that frustrated many players. While it is possible for dedicated players to complete these events with the right setup, the amount of time and effort required was overwhelming, and not all players have the resources to invest in such a grind. This imbalance between paying and non-paying players has led to negative feedback, particularly from Free-to-Play users who feel their efforts are undervalued.

Personally, I was able to complete the basic tasks for these events, though I typically manage to progress further in similar events. However, the broader community’s feedback has been largely negative, with many players expressing dissatisfaction with the event’s difficulty and the pay-to-win nature of the rewards. The restrictions on specific plates and entourage members were particularly unpopular, as they limited the strategies players could employ and made it feel more like an event designed to encourage spending rather than one focused on skill and strategy. This approach undermines the core competitive nature of the game, reducing the experience to one based on financial investment rather than gameplay ability.

In conclusion, while the event concept had promise, its design fell short in many areas. The restrictions on available plates and entourage options made the event unnecessarily limiting and frustrating. The event's requirements were overly demanding, turning what could have been an enjoyable experience into a tedious grind. Additionally, the high costs associated with certain plates, even if they were available on the Prizewall, created an insurmountable barrier for many players who were unable to afford them. This lack of accessibility detracts from the enjoyment of the game and alienates a large portion of the player base.

Ultimately, the game would benefit greatly from a more balanced approach to event design. Developers should focus on making events more accessible and rewarding for all players, regardless of spending habits. Progression paths should be clearer, high-cost items should be more reasonably priced, and overly restrictive elements should be removed.