First off, Im very much enjoying the game, and the new holiday event. So far the game has done a wonderful job at providing a fun free environment, where you were able to spend money to support CNE but were never required to do so.


My concern stems from the new holiday outfit as part of the event. This is starting to step into the pay to win area, and I know thats something CNE is against. I was told today that there may be a chance to get the clothing items from the stocking reward as part of the event, and if that is true ( i have no confirmation on this) then it does alleviate some concern, but Im sure even then the drop rate chance is terrible and the average player wont be getting even one piece, let alone all 3.


My main concern is what happens when you add more and more clothing? The bonuses seem small now, and are mostly irrelevant at this time, but will that be true going forward? I hate to compare to other games, but this is exactly how Wartune started. They hooked people on free gameplay, and it was fun, then they added clothing. It seemed small at first, but then it was $20 wings. Then Mounts. Pretty soon it was pay $100 for all these extra slots to be filled, or you were left far behind others.


Why does clothing even need stats at all? We already have a full set of gear, and now we started earning Trinkets. And from what I understand, you can have multiple Trinkets, and they all stack, Im not sure if there is a limit to how many you can get. All those small bonuses really do add up in the end. People dont need stats to want to buy outfits. They will buy them just for the appearance, to be unique, or to show off at different times of year. There is no need for stats to be included.

So far this is an amazing game. Even I bought a starter pack to support the team, which I never do (not for facebook/Kong games). I know Justin and the Dev team are against Pay to Win type gameplay, and its something CNE is against, Im just concerned that maybe inadvertantly this wasnt thought all the way through. And what assurances do we, as players have, that you wont just keep adding more expensive clothing, with bigger stat bonuses, or additional slots like Wings and Mounts that we will have to pay for?

Honestly, I've said this before and I'll say it again. I'm willing to put faith in the Dev team that this won't turn into some crazy P2W game. While I might grumble from time to time, they've done an amazing job at keeping BW2 balanced and fair to everyone that plays it. Because of that I've willing to trust them on this one. Yeah, the clothing gives you stat bonuses, that's true but they're pretty small bonuses. Worst case they mess up the arena a bit and if it get really bad I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to have them not count there.

A lot of people are making a snap judgement on something that's been in place all of a day on a game that's been around a few months. It's way too early too start doomcalling things. It's the first event, the first set of clothes, it's not easy to get things balanced out right with no prior experience, give them some time to see how things go and if it's anything like BW2 I'm sure they'll get it evened out over time.

I'd like to add my own concerns, talking about it in game is only annoying people and I feel it's always better to get this kind of thing out in the open. The fact that someone actually read this thread and replied is more than I'm used to in other games (that I have quit, a few times because nobody cared to listen) so I'm hopeful I'm not wasting my time here.

When I first played your game and I read the Kong comments (which is usually a great way to see if it's worth my time) I saw the word stamina and I recoiled in horror. You see in every game I've played in the last few years where the word stamina came up in the comments I ended up rating it 1/5 and leaving in disgust at yet another money grabbing studio that didn't care about players only about their wallets. Your version of stamina is a bit less offensive but in essence it's the same, limit how much people can play and make them pay for the privilege of continuing. You have your reasons I assume but even if they're good reasons I still can't shake the feeling that I got in those other games.

Then you add the constant advertising of starter packs that I can't get rid of, it's always there in the corner of my eye. Good marketing no doubt but I understand how it works and then it becomes annoying. Put it under the shop button, that's what it's there for. In the same vein the event pack. I don't want to buy overpriced clothing. I might have if it was $2 but for this price I'm actually a bit offended that you think I consider that good value. Your claim that I get $35 worth of goods when all I get is $10 worth of shardium and some cosmetic stuff is just nonsense, sorry. I understand you need to make money but at least be honest about it.

I'm scared that such overvaluation will only get worse, it's happened in pretty much all games like this I've ever played. That you've already started down this road this early is usually a bad sign. Add to that the dreaded stamina mechanic and I have to be honest, this is not looking good. The door to a full on pay to win disaster is wide open. That worries me because the number of games that are not pay to win disasters is pretty damn small.

Because I want to help you not turn into such a game I'll give you some tips. Sell the clothing separate from the shardium. I have no use for shardium right now but might like clothing, give me the option to buy only the clothing. You should probably make it a lot cheaper than it's now.

I would take a long hard look at any items you sell that make characters more powerful, even if only temporarily. These items are the gateway drug so to speak.

Lastly, your shardium packs should probably contain some bonus shardium. Gold and lumber are completely worthless.