Buy a spot in War team?

[Scaredgirl]

I had this controversial idea a few days ago when I was thinking about ways to help the developer by getting some extra donations.

In War we had a Rookie, an 8th team member who got a spot on a team outside the auction because of his or her newbie status. Idea was to introduce new players to the community and see what happens when a total newbie joins the ultimate PvP event. Idea is to now maybe add a similar role where a player gets added to the event, only this time they get picked through donations. This person would be called a Donator.


Option 1:
During the auction, everyone can donate money to Elements PayPal. After the auction is over, 13 people who donated the most (confirmed by Zanz), get to join a team of their choosing so that the highest donator picks an element first, then the 2nd highest, etc. This option would guarantee a spot in the team for highest donators.

Option 2:
Same as the previous one, but instead of Donators picking their teams, Generals would bid on Donators. This would have the advantage of giving Generals some control over who joins their team. Maybe there would be two auctions, one regular and one Donator auction, and each General would have to buy one Donator.

Option 3:
Team Rich Kids. A 14th team with rich newbies who will probably get destroyed in the first 3 rounds. Interesting idea but doesn't really fit well with the theme.

Option 4:
*Insert option here*



Advantages:
- more money for the development of Elements
- it's interesting to see how less experienced players do in a big PvP event

Disadvantages:
- number of available spots (using the auction method) on the team would decrease by 13
- Other team members might dislike Donators because they feel Donators don't deserve to be there


I personally think that advantages easily outweigh disadvantages. I think that a person who is willing to financially help Elements development deserves a spot on the team just as much as someone who has a slightly higher post count. This would be a great way for people to be able to join the War without having to be in the chat "inner circle" for months.

I think it's very important to realize that this wouldn't of course mean that War just became pay-to-play. It would only mean that one person in each team got there by donating. So basically by decreasing the number of regular spots by 13 players, we could potentially gather a bunch a cash and help Elements development.


I would like to add that this is not some evil scheme by Elements developer to trick you into giving him money. The original concept was all mine. This would be a way for the community to say thanks and give something back after receiving the Arena and soon new Shards. We could of course have a separate fund raising event, but that takes tons of organizing and probably won't be very effective because fund raising works better when there is a clear goal or gain. If we just start a topic called "Please Donate", I doubt we would get many donations.

I would also like to add that this system, if implemented, would be a one-time-deal and we wouldn't use a similar donate-to-join system in other events. Doing it once could be cool, but multiple times would probably become pretty lame pretty fast.


I didn't include a poll because most people here are going to apply for War, therefore are seriously biased. Either they are people who don't want to donate and are against this, or they are people who have no chance of getting in War through auction so they think donations are great. The decisions should be made by objective people like Warmasters and others who are not planning on joining War.


Please post your opinions here. I'm especially interested in alternative ways to make this donation thing work.

[RavingRabbid]

I'm kind of preferring Option 2.

[bucky1andonly]

Sorry, but this, the bigger part that is, is just fail.  If you are not gonna join, then the opinion should not matter one bit.  I was considering joining the war, but I won't at all if this donation bit goes through.

The decisions should be made by objective people like Warmasters and others who are not planning on joining War.

[Jocko]

Option 2 would be the best option, of course.
I totally support the idea of increasing the donation counts, and, while im not completely happy about this desicion, war will still be fun. Everyone complained about the new trial rules, but matches are going on nicely so far. Its not the same thing, of course, but it could work too. And i want elements to keep growing.

[Scaredgirl]

Sorry, but this, the bigger part that is, is just fail.  If you are not gonna join, then the opinion should not matter one bit.  I was considering joining the war, but I won't at all if this donation bit goes through.

The decisions should be made by objective people like Warmasters and others who are not planning on joining War.

The point is that people who stand to lose/gain the most, are the worst people to make any kind of decisions because they simply cannot be objective. People who are not going to join the event, are more likely to see the big picture and not only think about what this change would mean to them personally. This doesn't of course mean we will ask some random people in chat and let them decide. We have the Warmasters and other staff members who are not joining the War, they are more than capable of making these decisions.

The possibility of you not joining the War.. well, if that happens, I'm sure we will find someone to take your place.

[majofa]

I don't know if we should ever give any kind of advantage to people who have more money in real life.

[The_Mormegil]

I don't know if we should ever give any kind of advantage to people who have more money in real life.

This. However, this might as well be a good place to "redirect" some of that money into something more useful, so...

I'm not a huge fan of this, but my reserves come from A) fearing an effect like this might spread and ruin what Elements is truly special for (being 100% free for everyone) and B) fearing to have a stupid jerk as a teammate 'cause his aunt made him a present.

[PlayerOa]

No. This will nearly destroy War.
The generals will have skillful players and good deckbuilders, not rich (and maybe stupid/not good at elements at all) people.

[Jenkar]

As a non-war participant (studies = 0 time), i think i might be one of those ''objective persons'' you talked about.
However, feeling it's unfair for ''subjective'' people who have much more war experience than i do, i'm just gonna spectate and point out minor things :

• First : there's no need for ''donations'' because zanz added arena and shards. Those who felt like donating because of it already did/are doing, those who didn't aren't concerned. Same with any argument of the same kind.
• ''Either they are people who don't want to donate and are against this, or they are people who have no chance of getting in War through auction so they think donations are great. '' you forgot ''or they have a brain and therefore are gonna put their subjectivity aside for the time of the vote.'' You're supposing that the people who are going to vote are dumb. That is neither polite, nor (in my humble opinion) right. (''The point is that people who stand to lose/gain the most, are the worst people to make any kind of decisions because they simply cannot be objective.'' goes well with that.
• I like the : why not try it, and if it was good, keep it, if it was bad, throw it, that i understood in Jocko's post.

More as the discussion advances.

[TimerClock14]

People who participate in the war are there because they worked to get there. Be it countless hours of grinding to hone one's skills, or clawing through the ranks in the Underworld tournament to get to the top 8; everyone who's in war put effort into being there. If some rich kid buys a spot in war, good for him, but he may end up being the downfall of that team. And then drama ensues; and we all know how badly war and drama mix.

Also, the "Free Online Fantasy Card Game" does not need a forum that hosts events where you can buy spots in a major PvP event. It's rather hypocritical if you ask me.

Either way, I'm not going to join war any time soon if this gets put in.

[Astrocyte]

I am not planning on joining War; I don't foresee having the time to participate.

My main objection to this idea is that I don't see it being an effective fundraiser. The prize is a spot in a long, time-intensive, very involved team event -- so the prize is only gonna be motivating to people who:
1) have time to be in War
2) have money lying around IRL
3) want to be in War so much they're willing to spend real life money to get into it
4) know they're not going to get picked up in the auction.
That's a LOT of conditions for potential donors to meet. I just don't see a lot of people being interested, and among those, I doubt many will be willing to throw down any significant money (will the exercise be worth all its potential disadvantages it if it only nets $100?).

Other pbjections:
- People have kicked and screamed in the past about how it's not fair for people to get cards in return for a donation. I don't understand how getting a spot in an event in return for a donation is any fairer.
- This could still be manipulated by people who are already planning to join War AND have real-life money -- they could use this to guarantee that their team has no weak spot from the donor.  Proven veterans and known jobbers could both make it into the donor-player pool, and then the generals would be compelled (for the good of the team) to do everything they possibly can to get the veterans and avoid the jobbers. If the donor-player pool somehow ends up being composed only of people who'd have been in War anyway, then all it's been is a War player pledge drive that maybe sucked a few bucks out of some other people too.
- Donors who don't really understand what War entails could just end up quitting after they realize they don't have time or motivation to stick with it. The end goal (more money for ETG) is achieved, but at the cost of a big FU to that donor's team. I realize that people already quit War sometimes anyway, but a donor might be more likely to do so.   
- Why do this instead of the donation schemes that people in our community have already said they would support? (shards or other in-game cards, forum icons, physical goods like a T-shirt, etc) 

[RootRanger]

Half the people that work to be on a war team aren't able to do their share of work.
I can't see how people that aren't even able to make a war team through the auction will be able to contribute.
I plan on entering war, but it's highly unlikely that 13 donators are going to prevent that, so I don't really think I'm being biased.