Lotsa words in the post below, so please don't try to read this in a hurry. Relax, slow down, and take your time as you meander through this~
I feel like I am kind of obligated to write this forum post on my personal first anniversary of Chi. Timezones may differ (especially in Japan, where the time is set), but where I am, it's still that glorious day where one year ago I finally overcame the evil forces of captcha and registered a Yahoo! Japan account (it took like two hours).
Before I really start, I have some words of wisdom for the new players who have dipped their feet into the pool that is Chi. If you feel you do not apply, feel free not to open the spoiler.
Which brings me to my first point for beginners to Chi reading this article: the language barrier is incredibly difficult. I am not going to lie about this. For those of you who already are fluent in Japanese, congrats, you have one less thing to worry about than most people who sign up for the game outside of Japan. It took me a bare minimum of a week to figure out how to use the chat and do basic navigation in the game. Google Translate (and other sites like it) are indeed a godsend to those who do not speak Japanese, but one thing I've come to learn is that there are other resources that don't waste as much as your time and fulfil the same purpose. You do not need to translate every mission objective and reward; there are people out there who have done it already. However, if you are the belligerent type and require that everything be translated by your own hand, I highly suggest (if you have not already) downloading the Japanese IME, or a similar program if it is incompatible with your computer.
Another thing that I suggest to new players is to manage your resources well. Every day the moogle trade shop refreshes, and in it you can buy (using Mog Coins, one of three in-game currencies) valuable potions and ethers. I highly suggest not trying to rush through the story to unlock new areas and heartless. Take it easy, slowly, and above all, enjoy it. There's nothing worse than sitting at the computer facing a mini-boss that one-shots you, and you doing chip damage to it, barely wittling down its HP, wasting valuable Potions and time. Another thing is to not try to rank high in he subjugation missions. The rewards may seem tempting, but generally are not worth it, especially if you are expending huge amounts of Potions and/or ethers. Paying players tend to dominate the top rankings, so be content with your 3000-5000 ranking. Work your way up slowly. There will be rewards for you when you become stronger.
So, now onto the real article, and the real focus: what I feel has changed and has impacted gameplay.
Firstly, and I feel the most important, is the continual barrage of events. When I first started playing a year ago, there was no event going on. Not one. My first event was the First Anniversary, and I had about a month before that started to become somewhat decent at the game. There were no major events, outside of story updates. The Guilt List was reasonable, with stuff that both beginners and experienced players could help each other out with. (I remember beating my first Morning Star for the Guilt List, and it only took 2 or 3 continues. I was psyched) Since I started back up in the game in November playing as a competitive player, there has been no break. Sure, some events are less stressful than others, but you're still expected to at least try for some of them. It keeps top players coming back and spending money on the game, so I guess that's how the business model is now working. Non-paying players will always suffer at paying player's hands, but now it is even moreso, although it is slighlty limited by the Ultimization factor, which leads me into my second point.
Ultimization is a method to make the strong even stronger and an illusion for those who think they are strong to have strength. This was introduced when my Uni internet decided to be awful and not let me play Chi, so I was not with the leading groups competing for the highly desired SR+ Ultimate Moogles. While this may have decreased the luck-based portion of Raise Draw so that players can make any card strong, the 4x boosted cards Chi sells in their Kingdom Boxes helps those who have the assets to be strong - much stronger than a non-paying player could be. 28k of attack, defense, or HP and 2800% LUX intake is something extrodinary, and obviously paying players have decks full of these cards and cards boosted by their SR+ FGMs (giving their 70k cards a 3x boost). And since these stats will dominate the rankings, they take me to my third point, the ranking system.
Every week, players collect little crystals of light. And at the end of every week, players are ranked with their peers and foes based on this number, their team's collective number, and their highest damage output, not factoring in Chain damage or the 5x bonus given at the beginning of a Raid Boss fight. While this seems good in theory, it tends to have the "haves" (eg paying players) on the top and the "have-nots" (newbies and non-payers) on the bottom. Sure, this is fine and all, but it seems a bit humiliating when a level 10 paying player not only outdamages you (as a ~230 level character) but also outranks you in LUX collection. Oh, and we've gotten to the point where an additional LUX cut might be necessary in the future. Because, you know, visual limit.
So then, you might have the question, does level really matter? For non-paying players, the answer is an absolute yes. Level-ups provide AP and BP recovery, which is very incredibly helpful in beating more heartless. The HP increase and Deck Capacity ups are neligible the further you level up (you need 175 Deck Points to run a full SR+ deck (all 19 Cost cards), any more is pretty much useless unless you're a paying player, in which case you need 189 to be able to equip all the 21 Cost cards). For paying players, it matters much less the level you are, assuming you have over the deck capacity you need, since one mega-potion does the same job as leveling up. The only thing that matters - if you like the aesthetics - is the "wild" hair design at 300. The developers seem to think that level matters, so they raised the cap to 330.
I want to take a final, brief moment on one of the things that is bearable in Chi - the timezone. If you're playing on a random team, chances are no one will be on when you are, unless you live over in Asia, and then the chances are high. Additionally, Chi's time is based off JST, so for people like me who don't live in it, the whole GUT and LUT situation is a challenge to handle, since it is taylored to those who live over in Japan (obviously). While I might get some good hours - I wake up to 2HRLUT - I miss out on two of the three GUTs and two (might be more) LUTs. Take into account that timezones are a thing and you'll be more tolerant (maybe) of people not showing up to a GUT or LUT. GUT and LUT is something that has not changed since I started to play the game, and I am happy that it is still something that remains in the game now.
Despite every flaw I see, I still, somehow, keep coming back to Chi. My teammates are fantastic individuals (who speak English!!!), I love my cards dearly, and I tolerate the pay-to-win aspect of it (albeit barely at times). When I had no access to Chi, I was actually kind of sad that I was missing my teammates, the events, and the fun and distraction it provided.
Alright, that's enough about me reminiscing about the game, why don't you go out and make some memories of your own, so that you can share them with the Chi community when you celebrate your own first anniversary? For those who have experienced these changes alongside with me (and the other older, experienced users), share your own thoughts as we approach the Second Anniversary event, and the new memories that will come in the year ahead!
Lotsa words in the post below, so please don't try to read this in a hurry. Relax, slow down, and take your time as you meander through this~
I feel like I am kind of obligated to write this forum post on my personal first anniversary of Chi. Timezones may differ (especially in Japan, where the time is set), but where I am, it's still that glorious day where one year ago I finally overcame the evil forces of captcha and registered a Yahoo! Japan account (it took like two hours).
Before I really start, I have some words of wisdom for the new players who have dipped their feet into the pool that is Chi. If you feel you do not apply, feel free not to open the spoiler.
Which brings me to my first point for beginners to Chi reading this article: the language barrier is incredibly difficult. I am not going to lie about this. For those of you who already are fluent in Japanese, congrats, you have one less thing to worry about than most people who sign up for the game outside of Japan. It took me a bare minimum of a week to figure out how to use the chat and do basic navigation in the game. Google Translate (and other sites like it) are indeed a godsend to those who do not speak Japanese, but one thing I've come to learn is that there are other resources that don't waste as much as your time and fulfil the same purpose. You do not need to translate every mission objective and reward; there are people out there who have done it already. However, if you are the belligerent type and require that everything be translated by your own hand, I highly suggest (if you have not already) downloading the Japanese IME, or a similar program if it is incompatible with your computer.
Another thing that I suggest to new players is to manage your resources well. Every day the moogle trade shop refreshes, and in it you can buy (using Mog Coins, one of three in-game currencies) valuable potions and ethers. I highly suggest not trying to rush through the story to unlock new areas and heartless. Take it easy, slowly, and above all, enjoy it. There's nothing worse than sitting at the computer facing a mini-boss that one-shots you, and you doing chip damage to it, barely wittling down its HP, wasting valuable Potions and time. Another thing is to not try to rank high in he subjugation missions. The rewards may seem tempting, but generally are not worth it, especially if you are expending huge amounts of Potions and/or ethers. Paying players tend to dominate the top rankings, so be content with your 3000-5000 ranking. Work your way up slowly. There will be rewards for you when you become stronger.
So, now onto the real article, and the real focus: what I feel has changed and has impacted gameplay.
Firstly, and I feel the most important, is the continual barrage of events. When I first started playing a year ago, there was no event going on. Not one. My first event was the First Anniversary, and I had about a month before that started to become somewhat decent at the game. There were no major events, outside of story updates. The Guilt List was reasonable, with stuff that both beginners and experienced players could help each other out with. (I remember beating my first Morning Star for the Guilt List, and it only took 2 or 3 continues. I was psyched) Since I started back up in the game in November playing as a competitive player, there has been no break. Sure, some events are less stressful than others, but you're still expected to at least try for some of them. It keeps top players coming back and spending money on the game, so I guess that's how the business model is now working. Non-paying players will always suffer at paying player's hands, but now it is even moreso, although it is slighlty limited by the Ultimization factor, which leads me into my second point.
Ultimization is a method to make the strong even stronger and an illusion for those who think they are strong to have strength. This was introduced when my Uni internet decided to be awful and not let me play Chi, so I was not with the leading groups competing for the highly desired SR+ Ultimate Moogles. While this may have decreased the luck-based portion of Raise Draw so that players can make any card strong, the 4x boosted cards Chi sells in their Kingdom Boxes helps those who have the assets to be strong - much stronger than a non-paying player could be. 28k of attack, defense, or HP and 2800% LUX intake is something extrodinary, and obviously paying players have decks full of these cards and cards boosted by their SR+ FGMs (giving their 70k cards a 3x boost). And since these stats will dominate the rankings, they take me to my third point, the ranking system.
Every week, players collect little crystals of light. And at the end of every week, players are ranked with their peers and foes based on this number, their team's collective number, and their highest damage output, not factoring in Chain damage or the 5x bonus given at the beginning of a Raid Boss fight. While this seems good in theory, it tends to have the "haves" (eg paying players) on the top and the "have-nots" (newbies and non-payers) on the bottom. Sure, this is fine and all, but it seems a bit humiliating when a level 10 paying player not only outdamages you (as a ~230 level character) but also outranks you in LUX collection. Oh, and we've gotten to the point where an additional LUX cut might be necessary in the future. Because, you know, visual limit.
So then, you might have the question, does level really matter? For non-paying players, the answer is an absolute yes. Level-ups provide AP and BP recovery, which is very incredibly helpful in beating more heartless. The HP increase and Deck Capacity ups are neligible the further you level up (you need 175 Deck Points to run a full SR+ deck (all 19 Cost cards), any more is pretty much useless unless you're a paying player, in which case you need 189 to be able to equip all the 21 Cost cards). For paying players, it matters much less the level you are, assuming you have over the deck capacity you need, since one mega-potion does the same job as leveling up. The only thing that matters - if you like the aesthetics - is the "wild" hair design at 300. The developers seem to think that level matters, so they raised the cap to 330.
I want to take a final, brief moment on one of the things that is bearable in Chi - the timezone. If you're playing on a random team, chances are no one will be on when you are, unless you live over in Asia, and then the chances are high. Additionally, Chi's time is based off JST, so for people like me who don't live in it, the whole GUT and LUT situation is a challenge to handle, since it is taylored to those who live over in Japan (obviously). While I might get some good hours - I wake up to 2HRLUT - I miss out on two of the three GUTs and two (might be more) LUTs. Take into account that timezones are a thing and you'll be more tolerant (maybe) of people not showing up to a GUT or LUT. GUT and LUT is something that has not changed since I started to play the game, and I am happy that it is still something that remains in the game now.
Despite every flaw I see, I still, somehow, keep coming back to Chi. My teammates are fantastic individuals (who speak English!!!), I love my cards dearly, and I tolerate the pay-to-win aspect of it (albeit barely at times). When I had no access to Chi, I was actually kind of sad that I was missing my teammates, the events, and the fun and distraction it provided.
Alright, that's enough about me reminiscing about the game, why don't you go out and make some memories of your own, so that you can share them with the Chi community when you celebrate your own first anniversary? For those who have experienced these changes alongside with me (and the other older, experienced users), share your own thoughts as we approach the Second Anniversary event, and the new memories that will come in the year ahead!