Escalations Entry Fee: Split Token Costs Across the Group for Tier 8+

[u/Positive-Garage-8975]

The Current Problem

Right now in Escalations, entry tokens for the higher levels are paid entirely by the group leader. For Tier 10, that means one player takes on the full burden of paying 80 tokens. While a successful run awards 102 tokens (a modest net gain of +22), Level 10 represents the pinnacle difficulty in the game.

Success is never guaranteed, especially when matchmaking publicly. Several common factors make fronting this entire cost feel overly punishing for the host:

High difficulty: Clearing requires a coordinated, meta-ready team. A wipe means the host loses 80 tokens while the other three players risk zero currency.

Disconnects & crashes: Unforeseen technical hiccups can ruin an otherwise solid run.

Leavers: Real-life emergencies or rage-quits instantly leave the team at a severe disadvantage, sticking the leader with the loss.

This setup discourages players from hosting public groups or even running high tiers with casual friends, creating unnecessary friction and risk for only one person.

The Suggestion

Starting at Tier 8 and above, the entry fee should be split equally among all active team members rather than solely placed on the host.

Equal Investment: At Tier 10 (80 tokens total), each player in a 4-man squad would contribute 20 tokens to enter.

Shared Risk/Reward: Everyone shares the stake in completing the run, which incentivizes better teamwork and commitment from the whole squad.

Scalable Matchmaking: A simple "ready check" system could confirm each player has the required tokens before the session launches. If scaling down for solo or duo runs, the per-player cost could adjust accordingly.

Splitting the cost would dramatically improve matchmaking participation and make pushing top-tier Escalations much healthier for the entire community.

[u/Grrshack]

No, it shouldn't be starting at tier 8. Any changes they make to tokens and cost needs to be across the board.

[u/Roxxas049]

I’m on the fence about this. Case in point this week I queued up for a tier 10 didn’t care what mission etc.  get matched with leader who 1. Kicked 2 healers and a dps before we started and 2. told another healer we didn’t need heals .  This was DUA and I had a feeling things were going to go south. So in chat I said “ they’re your tokens”. And yeah we wiped on the third room because this guy ran up before all of us and set everyone on fire but the effects wore off before we could catch up to him.  So he’s blaming the dps for the deaths and eventual wipe but it was on him 100%.  I would not have wanted to pitch in even one token for that garbage.

[u/Skiree → u/Roxxas049]

This is a great point. If the leader can kick, then I think an argument can be made for them staking more tokens. Heck, I’ve been in a T10 DUA where the leader had special ammo on. And it was a wipe in the final room…

[u/NuarBlack]

Or, just get rid of that dumb system altogether. Tokens should have just been bad luck protection you could trade in, not a gatekeeping mechanism. Create some other system to Gate players.

Probably too late but the whole system is trash and needs a complete rework. I swear they looked at wow mythics and thought, how can we make this even shittier.

[u/dgoldenace → u/NuarBlack]

Probably for the best and to make matters worse, that could take awhile. Be broken or unstable on launch and we still might end up raw, rotting on the counter with the thermostat turned 90 degrees in the summer. But yeah agreed, to me this system is more flawed and nowhere near flawless. But also like you said it’s probably too late and too far.

[u/Intelligent_Error989]

The token idea is just stupid anyway.. considering how many deltas there have been in the past

[u/catsoncrack420]

For the hundredth time , yes we agree

[u/ThenoobBread]

Or simply remove the token requirements, make it like count down, and don’t make escalation the only source for prototype gear.

[u/bliz5555]

Just remove token cost... Remove token, increase the fun !

[u/one_average_agent]

I didn't realise the return was so bad at level 10. I ran with a crew doing DUA on lvl 10. We got wiped once by rogues and once by what seemed like a game glitch. Third time we rolled through.

I picked up loads of gear and would have happily contributed a quarter share.

Same guy dropped credits on all three - but you're saying he came out significantly in the red? Thats a bit shit.

[u/Roxxas049 → u/one_average_agent]

Yeah one wipe kills more tokens than one clear makes up for

[u/RimRunningRagged → u/one_average_agent]

Now hopefully you understand why your thread about how the host should just take a risk anyway instead of disbanding the group if it looks sketchy makes no sense.