[Poll] Do ultra-rares add or detract from elements?

[Chromatophore]

One thing that concerns me is that, based on what i've read, the chances of acquiring these ultra - rare cards has gone down over time, making it harder for new players to catch up to the vast stockpiles that some players already have (presumably).

I hope that something can be done so that people don't get discouraged and the fan base can continue to grow for this terrific game

[Marvaddin]

I agree. I think the Nymph chance in Oracle could be like a fixed 5%. If we dont a fixed rate, it will decrease, decrease, and so there is no point in getting an Oracle spin every day.

[Astrocyte]

'Nymph Immolation'.

OFF-TOPIC
May I suggest: "Nympholation"


(if not for a deck name, then for a band name or an album name)

[dragonsdemesne]

I think ultra-rares are a good idea, even though I only have 3 nymphs so far :p  I do think it would be a good idea to add marks as a possibility to win from the oracle, in the way that nymphs can be won.  (with a similar frequency?)  I'm finding after starting my new job that I don't have time for tournaments anymore.

[Manipul8r]

I do like the rarity system in Elements, it's clean and simple, usually isn't game breaking, and doesn't grab for money.

That said, rarity in other games is almost always a marketing tool.  It's fantastic that this game is free, but I don't see why the chances of getting a nymph is so low.  Increasing it to 10% isn't going to get anyone 72 nymphs (or 144 if you want sets of upgraded ones) any time soon.  Assuming that you luckily never get a 7th nymph of an element, getting 6 of each element would take ~2 years of daily Oracle spins at a 10% nymph rate.  I'm not particularly concerned unless nymphs ever become staples in top decks, though.

[xathil]

If you want all the cards and to just practice your deck building, make use of the trainer. Having something to work towards makes this game replayable. If we all started with every card, there would be little to no attraction to play the game long term.

Just my opinion.

One thing to wonder (not that it's the be all or end all) would be whether giving everyone all the cards would increase or decrease site traffic.  On the one hand people who play mainly to acquire cards could get bored and quit.  But on the flip side people who get frustrated trying to "catch up" to more established players might have greater incentive to stick around.  Just a thought.

I would say that giving everyone a full collection of cards to begin with would decrease the site traffic. A large part of the replayability of Elements for the large majority of players is in grinding towards a complete collection of cards, and also in new cards and patch updates.

The number of people who do know about the main forums is largely overshadowed by the number of people who don't. The number of people who do participate in forum-organized PvP (Tournaments, Leagues, Events, War, Trials, WoE Alpha, etc.) is even lower. Without PvP events, Elements is largely a grindfest. Without the grinding aspect, there would be very little reason for the average non-event-participating player to come back.

I disagree. The grindfest is a much bigger detraction from the game than nymphs ever could. I can see the uses of some of the nymphs, but the only thing I hate more is the grinding system. 1500 gold to upgrade a SINGLE card when you start out basically takes away enough gold to build a BRAND NEW DECK. the upgrade system detracts from people experimenting because it locks all their gold into a single card. The forums, wiki and basically all the guides point you to what?... THE MOST EFFICIENT DECKS FOR GRINDING. THAT is really what detracts from the game. The fact you need to GRIND before you can really start playing. You can't build one unupped deck after another experimenting for good strategies to use against false gods as all you do is lose money building decks, lose money losing. The difficulty gap between half blood and false god is big enough to force you to grind. I cant speak for other players but I can say that I've been annoyed at how long its taken me to work on a FG grinder (which still isnt finished) so that I can work on my own deck ideas. Forget about building decks around ultra rare nymphs. I can't even afford to build decks freely because of all the grind. Sure there is the trainer for that.. but if im going to be playing matches... shouldn't i be playing matches with REWARDS? to reduce some of this grind I will eventually need to get through? I'm slow at grinding. I don't play an awful lot. FG's kick my ass 99/100.

[Manipul8r]

xathil, that is a different matter completely.  Check out this suggestion I made before: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,23781.0.html

[Uppercut]

If it matters, I actually quit playing because of ultra rares. The only reason I'd ever continue playing ETG is for a balanced competitive play, and cards being unattainably rare is precisely how that doesn't happen.

[BluePriest]

Theres nothing wrong with the ultra rares in EtG. Unlike soem card games, like yu gi oh, just because a card is rare, it doesnt mean its gamebreakingly powerful. The nymphs are fun, but not OP (closer to UP for the most part). This si why I have no problem with ultra rares.

[bucky1andonly]

The problem with ultra rares being kind of only meh compared to some other normal cards only makes me not want them that much more, sure I'll keep them when I get them, but chances of me using them are very low.  I think the oracle should give both nymphs and marks and at a higher percent.  Introduce actual ultra rare cards that are really worth getting.  Not all nymphs were created equal anyway, so winning a grey nymph is kind of crappy, while a purple one is great.  Need more rares over all anyway, plus more cards in general.  So few cards in a card game shouldn't have 24 ultra rare cards.

If a card is rare, it is supposed to be good, otherwise there is no point.

[Uppercut]

Power level is a non-argument. It doesn't matter how strong they are in the current meta. In a latter meta they could be stronger and then the rarity becomes an issue. The potential to be a problem shouldn't even exist.

The biggest difference between EtG and Yu-Gi-Oh is that there are no true rares in physical card games, just more expensive cards. I don't know anything about Yu-Gi-Oh so I'll use Magic as an example. If I wanted a competitive MtG deck I wouldn't need to buy 3 boxes to find a Jace, I'd simply buy one on Ebay with 100 dollars instead of spending 300 dollars looking for one. In ETG this isn't a possibility, I can't proxy a deck, fine tune the proxied deck, and then purchase it. I have to luck sack and sink a lot of time (and in a roundabout way money since that is money I'm not earning elsewhere) and even then they're still near unattainable. It is seriously a horrible system.

[BluePriest]

So what would be acceptable for you bucky/uppercut? If you could buy them? I think that would make more people unhappy than happy. If the were more powerful? I agree they need to be balanced more (which would increase their power for the most part) however, I dont think they should be OP compared to other cards. That, once again, I believe would make more people unhappy.

So what would be an acceptable solution? I would say a fixed rate is definitely necessary. The chance dwindling as the card pool raises is not good imho. On the other hand though, I like that these rares are ungrindable. How could we improve it and still keep the majority of people happy?