User blog comment:Giant 6m8y1/This game became awful./@comment-25500470-20141220222610

I see a balance.

Take a game like Quiz RPG. *THAT* is a blatant cash grab, period. Wearing the costume of being a free-to-play, use-your-knowledge game, yet you won't get anywhere - ANYWHERE - without spending. And then when you do spend, the value proposition just is not there. There's very little you get in exchange for that cash.

VC has stages. Some people don't seem to understand how they work.

If you're a free player, meaning you spend nothing at all, this is what you get:

- At least 1000 jewels. Good enough for three summons (which I think is a waste), some buildings (which might make sense) or items (which might make sense).

- At least two Premium Summon tickets.

- At least one Ultimate Summon ticket.

- One Guaranteed SR ticket.

- The potential to earn free cards all over the place.

- The potential to obtain at least 5 SR cards.

- The potential to earn at least 10 other SR cards.

- The potential to gain event SRs and even URs.

- The potential for Limited Enemies to drop Premium Summon tickets and/or Maiden Tickets.

That's a LOT. Way more generous than other games I've played. I started VC with Snow Mage, screwed up evolving her, but I went through the regular event to earn all of the rewards there, then went to the scheduled event (which was hard as all get out, true).

Most of the cards that kept me in the game were free. Lil New Year kept my squad healed nicely.

Used one of the free Premium Summon tickets which gave me, of all cards, Juliet. From there I built my COLD team, and got stronger.

During this entire time, I didn't bother ranking. There was no point. The rank rewards aren't and weren't that great. Most of the cards you get for top rank were surpassed by event cards or summon cards or whatever.

After joining an alliance I saw that sharing the F/AW kills meant I got rewarded along with them. So I focused on that. Didn't care about ranking, I just wanted the drops. Cost me nothing.

The key is to not get tempted by all of that other stuff like AUB and whatnot. If you want to do it, then do your 5 and that's it. You're not forced to drop rods and keep going. Same with ranking, you're not forced to get that high and the cards aren't that great anyway. Look at the current event, even one UR Santa Oracle is possible to get entirely free with you doing nothing but getting a few hits in on her and it's better than the RR long term. Don't focus on "I'll never be able to defeat cashers!!!" that's not the point. Focus on either collecting cards, building a good city (which I know, you can't max the castle without jewels, but if you save the free jewels you receive, you can do it), or just stack all of the reward items. Eventually you'll get drops that make you strong enough to contend, at least with those of your same level.

GSR/GUR? Overrated. High soldier counts for the GUR, but they still get owned by Super Soldier (yet another FREE card). GUR Santa Oracle is nice, but if you take her out first with a crit, it's all over. That rarity makes you no stronger. Now, someone with 4 GUR Santa Oracles and 1 HUR Sif as their defense team? Yeah, I wouldn't want to face. that. But I doubt anyone is that lucky.