My Honest Thoughts on the Anniversary & The Current State of the Game
Hello everyone, it's been a while since I posted here, but, on the occasion of the anniversary, I think it is due that I make another "little" post to talk about my view and the state of the game, as well as the anniversary content.
Currently, my account is lvl 108, round table lvl 368, and I am stuck in the story at a stupid slime for now (75-25). In any case, I would say I have played this game for a little while now, not from launch but 4-5 months at least. I am not a big spender, I buy the subscriptions and own the Eva memorial (currently waiting for Karishara's rerun and Kay's).
When it comes to my view of the game, well, I would say that I have come to love this game more since the day I started it, and all of this is because of all the work and interest the devs put into it. Every patch came with small improvements that little by little helped the game move forward. Although slow sometimes, you can see that they really care about the game. And besides this, another fact that I LOVE about this game is the communication. The devs really listen to the players, they see our feedback and respond in return. This for me is the biggest W of this game (besides the characters, of course).
Now, talking a little about the state of the game, I would say it is rough around the edges. The game still does have some minor problems here and there (for example, right now when you summon, a line appears in the center of the screen). Minor problems that arise but are solved nevertheless.
Another topic I would like to discuss really quickly is the revenue for the game. I am pretty sure that there are some interested in how well the game is doing on that topic. Well, not very well.
From the beginning of the year, the revenue has just kept declining. Now, when it comes to this game, I would like to say the upkeep is not that high compared to what they earn, but even so, I consider that this game deserves so much more for what they give in return. On the other hand though, I am aware this type of games (18+ games in general) are hard to sell. I just hope this anniversary brings them as much as possible because I really want to see this game doing well.
Good, now that I've covered everything about the current state of the game, it's time to talk about the direction the game is taking now with the anniversary. The content was split into two parts, so prepare for another "small" opinion.
For the first part, they announced two things that stood out, those being the level penalty adjustment from 25 to 40. (For those not aware, when enemies are 25 levels above you, they begin to take less damage and deal more damage. This penalty disappears at round table level 300.) This is a big change for beginners to advance faster. (Plus the rookie dungeon, I guess, though I don't consider that very important, being so far into the game already and not knowing how much it will help.)
The second thing that helps everyone regardless of level is the batch sweep, a neat function that lets us clear every daily dungeon in three clicks.
These are the main things from the first post about the anniversary; the rest are just cosmetics, a very, very beautiful skin for Estheria that can only be used as an inn attendant (maybe further down the road it will be a free skin as well, who knows), some skins for pets, and they are also preparing 3 BGM tracks that can be used in different places. Not very important stuff here, but certainly welcomed. (Also a new comic.)
The first post, I won't lie, was dry; there was almost nothing about the anniversary. But now that we have everything, let's get to it.
I think the reveal of Flame Kay is the biggest reveal we could have (Dare I say, her design is even better than Morgan le Fay?) She is gorgeous, and her memorial skin, well, I will be sure to get it, that is for sure.
Besides that, in the skin department, we will also have a cute skin for Erin and a bikini one for Lua (Ran when, devs?).
Very nice skins, maybe one of the selling points the devs are thinking of and aiming for, if we are to compare it with what Azur Lane is doing, with the primary revenue coming through skins. Correct me if I am wrong.
A PC client, this is HUGE, and yet it's also not. Like, when I saw it, I thought, omg, this is so nice and handy, but thinking about it, I believe the majority of the players (like 75%+) will still play the game on their phones. Now, don't get me wrong, it is a nice touch, and maybe this change is bigger than I am giving it credit for (most probably it is and I am just an idiot), but for now, we will need to wait and see.
Raid season 3, nothing to really say here, a new season, new bosses, etc.
Lobby BGM Selection System, this is another nice touch, nothing big, but for sure something I will use.
Stonehenge 15F, this is very nice. I personally love to see new stages here that bring us new powerful gear (who knows, maybe mythical gear one day? A survey that asks us about it would be nice).
Beach girl event, this is a complete mystery, but the interactions with the girls were always nice. (Even more so than with Eva gacha skin, maybe we'll get more voiced characters outside of the memorial events someday.)
And besides all of this, 420 summons + selector tickets! That is a huge gift for us, like, they could have given less and I would have been happy, but well, I won't say no.
I won't talk about the world raid because I would like to experience it first, but from what I read, it will be quite fun. More content.
For the last bit of the anniversary post, Jeheon Kim, the CEO of the development team, thanked us for all the support for the game.
So, finishing up with my own closing remarks, as a player, not a CEO or who knows what:
This game is a must play if you like chill games where you don't want to spend 6–8 hours grinding, and also like some ecchi stuff on the side (I would recommend being alone when you play it, though). The game is very generous, with spending being completely optional. Progress can feel quite fast at first until you hit the first walls of the game (there will be quite a lot), and well, the devs are really listening to the players, so you can be sure that your voice will be heard.
Keep in mind though, this game is best played as a side game, not a main one.
Thanks to whoever spent who knows how much time to read this.