February 2019
Level 28 here. So, I am fairly impressed with the game so far. Great visuals and the gameplay is solid, if not a tad bit slow and clunky in some spots. The connectivity issues could be worse, but they're tolerable on my end. My only real gripe is the reward system. 45 Apex Packs inside of the first 100 levels, then nothing afterwards doesn't really seem that fair for people who just want to earn up what they want. To say that I'm not feeling any predatory vibes from the current microtransaction system would be a bold-faced lie. I am aware of the battle pass that is due to come out that includes loot boxes, but I still think the reward and progression system should be looked at and modified. At least some increase to the crafting material drops and some added XP, Legend coin, or maybe even crafting rewards for finishing games, win or lose, with early leavers. To be more precise...
I noticed some folks talking about leavers, which is why I decided to address a potential reward for staying in a match after your teammate(s) leaves the match prematurely. But, I really wanted to address the severely lacking amount of metal in crafting material drops as well as the small amount of earned Apex Packs. While I intend to invest some kind of sum of money towards the game's loot boxes (because the game is just good enough to get some monetary support), I would like to be able to earn my cosmetics without feeling pressured to push money towards getting them.
February 2019
As it stands now Legend Tokens are the only constant reward when leveling up but they will soon start collecting with little use for quite some time it seems. The fact that crafting metals are not guaranteed in any form makes it very hard to acquire them and subsequently craft the cosmetics needed to buy the prerequisite legendary needed to purchase the exclusives available with legend tokens. By level 43 you will have enough LT to purchase both of the currently available Legends and after that they sit collecting dust.
This is all to make the point that the reward system definitely needs some reworking. Especially an increase to crafting metals in some form. I think we need to see a significant increase to the amount received in pack drops. Maybe even just add a flat amount you would get with every Apex Pack, with a chance of one of the items being additional crafting metals. Additionally I think it would be great to have some amount added to each level up as well, perhaps somewhere in the 25-35 range.
I get you want to entice people into purchasing Apex Coins, but when the system seems so clearly rigged to force you into that it turns a lot of people off... I also know we're still in the infancy of the game and we don't know what's coming with the Battle Pass, but as it stands this is a glaring concern to me and many others I'd assume
February 2019
I came up with some different approaches as well (see link above) but literally any small improvement would go a long way here.
February 2019 - last edited February 2019
Considering how slim the chances are of getting material drops, I actually like the idea of receiving crafting material with level ups. That would mitigate the frustration of not getting material drops consistently. Still, I do agree that drop amounts need an increase with a more rewarding level up system. I suspect they will bring some big patches to the game with the battle pass, so here's hoping those patches will change this messy reward system for the better.
I actually checked out your OP the same day I wrote mine. I didn't bother posting a reply since it was getting a little messy with troll comments. But, I will say that I find your idea of hiding currency items in-game to be a fantastic idea. Though, I personally think it should be Apex Coins over Legend Tokens. Maybe 1-3 Apex Coins could be hidden in two or three select spots around the map and you'd have to be particularly lucky or adventurous to find them. That way, you could earn up enough coins to buy at least one Apex Pack over time.
That's just one simple solution. The greatest solution would just be to add more Apex Packs or some other beneficial currency to the reward system. The current system is just punishing compared to games like Overwatch, HotS and others.
February 2019
@wheel_dragon_lk Thanks! Your post actually inspired me to write a bigger one here addressing all the currencies and issues I saw with them.
February 2019
That's good to hear. Also, very glad to see a community manager had responded to your thread. It's always a toss-up when any member of staff responds, but it's great to see your address of the reward system getting a response. Here's hoping this will be the start of getting it improved.
February 2019 - last edited February 2019
I'm with ya! In their defense the community isn't making it easy to keep up. A lot of activity and a whole lot of duplicate topics being created instead of contributing to large ongoing threads. Sometimes it's warranted but see numerous topics a day just say the same, almost word for word sometimes, as a topic just a few rows down the main page...
February 2019 - last edited February 2019
Ehhh, I don't know about other gaming communities, but I've seen megathreads in the Overwatch forums go completely ignored by any forum or developer staff member. Threads that have lasted for months and capped at the comment limit, needing additional megathreads. Like I said, it's just a toss-up when it comes to concerns or new ideas for improvements and features. It all depends on the people running the show and sometimes, duplicate threads are necessary to get the point across when dedicated threads don't work.
We'll just have to wait and see what gets done about all these problems going forward. The game is still very young, after all.