Impact of the New Paragon EX System
After reviewing the recently presented Paragon EX weapon system, as well as the available gameplay footage and community discussions surrounding it, I believe there are legitimate concerns regarding the long-term impact this system may have on the game’s overall balance and competitive environment.
A common argument being made is that this feature will primarily affect only the highest spenders. While it is true that the system was introduced to create additional progression opportunities for players who have already maximized most existing content, I do not believe its effects will remain limited to that segment of the playerbase.
Historically, similar systems introduced in other games have often led to substantial increases in power disparity, ultimately affecting the broader competitive ecosystem rather than only the top spenders themselves.
The game is already significantly monetized through frequent hero releases, ongoing power progression, and the existing four-tier Paragon system. For many players, particularly low and mid spenders, maintaining competitive progression already requires careful resource management and long-term planning.
The introduction of another major power system allows further widening the gap between players, not only between free-to-play users and whales, but also between strategic spenders and players with effectively unlimited spending capacity.
At present, there is still meaningful room for strategy, game knowledge, and efficient resource allocation to influence competitive outcomes.
Speaking from personal experience, I would consider myself a mid spender. Rather than attempting to maximize every available hero, I chose to focus resources on a limited number of priority heroes in order to achieve Paragon 4 progression, while my Celestial/Hypogean heroes remain only at S+.
Despite the fact that numerous players within my district have spent considerably more than I have, I have still been able to remain competitive through focused investment decisions, understanding of game mechanics, and efficient long-term planning.
This is, in my opinion, one of the healthier aspects of the current competitive environment.
Gameplay comparisons already available within the community show substantial performance differences between teams using Paragon EX weapons and those without them. The increase in power does not appear marginal or situational, but instead significant enough to directly impact competitive viability by a lot.
The issue is not that high spenders gain advantages — that has always existed within the game. The greater concern is the possibility that the power gap becomes so large that strategy, optimization, and game understanding no longer meaningfully influence outcomes.
Once that balance is lost, many games begin experiencing reduced player engagement, as players increasingly feel that progression and competitiveness are determined primarily by financial investment rather than informed decision-making.
For that reason, I sincerely hope the developers carefully evaluate implementation of this system before it becomes fully integrated into the broader progression environment. Once that happends it will be too late.