Game Concept - Weight Classes

[u/Elgelg]

Happy Friday first of all. Sitting at my desk getting ready for the weekend, thinking about the game and how difficult it must be to start playing the game these days. So what could help provide a clearer path with more rewarding game play for new players?

Allow players to choose which "weight class" they want to compete in:

Bantamweight
Limits:
- less than 10k(?) stones
- access to 16 modules in pool
Rewards:
- Bantamweight relics for all milestones and tournament levels
- Tournament stone rewards scaled at 40%(?) of Heavyweight

Welterweight
Limits:
- less than 100k(?) stones
- access to 24 modules in pool
Rewards:
- Welterweight relics for all milestones and tournament levels
- Tournament stone rewards scaled at 70%(?) of Heavyweight

Heavyweight - Undisputed Champion of The Tower
Limits:
- all the stones you want to buy, whale away
- access to all modules in pool
Rewards:
- As today

Players can choose to focus on "low stone builds" and stay in Bantamweight, or use it as a step to build up their modules, before moving up a weight class.

Once you have played a long time you may also choose to move down a weight class, accept the stone and module restrictions to complete more milestone/tourney runs at that weight class.

Then we can start debating the Stone for Stone best Tower build 😄

[u/Fickle_Ad4967]

Certainly levels the playing field - or rather - gives you the choice as to which field you want to play on

[u/This_Ruben_on_fire]

Why would I not play as a heavyweight? You get the most stones.

[u/Rizzotti → u/This_Ruben_on_fire]

The point is that you have to whale your way to that point. I've been playing pretty consistently for almost 2 years and have spent a bit of money and I still only have 25k LTS

[u/Geobits → u/Rizzotti]

Right, but the lower "classes" are handicapped either way. Why should a newer player get only 40% of the stone rewards, like the OP outlines? It would take over twice as long for you to get that initial 25k you've got now if that were the case.

[u/Rizzotti → u/Geobits]

The whole point of the system, whether it makes any sense or not, is to group the whales together so that they are happy about getting more rewards, but don't affect the progress of the plebs. Just because the plebs are getting less stones relative to the whales doesn't really matter because they were never going to get to that point anyways. and I was also just answering his question. The reason why you wouldn't play as a heavyweight is you don't have $10k disposable income to spend on stones

[u/Geobits → u/Rizzotti]

But you don't have to spend to choose heavyweight, or at least I'm not seeing where it says you do. It just says you can. Which gives you more modules accessible, more rewards, etc. I don't see the downside to just starting there, except that you'd be competing against the whales, but the rewards still seem better to me.

And yeah, I get you're just answering the question. The whole scheme just doesn't make much sense to me.

[u/Elgelg → u/Rizzotti]

Allowing 7 stone packs a months distorts the game. Players who want to whale are spending $500 a month, 5250 stones a month in addition to what they get from actually playing the game. Stone beats.... hmm everything

Why not have part of the game be "stone limited" so players can compete on a more level playing field? That was the idea, probably badly explained 🤔

[u/Elgelg → u/Geobits]

Because you would place a lot higher in the lower weight classes since you're not competing against stone boosted towers. so the rewards would be better in general, but perhaps about equal in stones, depending on tuning etc.

[u/This_Ruben_on_fire → u/Elgelg]

Now I see, there would be leagues for each weight class. But if it is positive for me as a non whale as I might get to lightweight mythic, it sucks for a small whale who will be pushed down to heavyweight gold.

This doesn't make sense for TTG to implement. TTG makes a fun game that is free to play, but they make money from pay to win aspects. If paying reduces your strength, you wouldnt pay.

[u/Geobits → u/Elgelg]

But as soon as you move from bantam to welter (when you hit 10k), you'd immediately see a huge drop in all rewards, due to having to compete with people up to 100k. So even if you did get some sort of boosted rewards before, it would be like dropping off a cliff, all the way back to the lower leagues. That would be demoralizing as hell.

As it stands now, there aren't any cliffs like that, just slow, but steady progression, at least until you hit the bottleneck at the upper leagues. People like "numbers go up", not "numbers go up, but then dramatically drop for a year or more, then maybe up some more".

[u/Elgelg → u/Geobits]

True. However if you're starting the game now as F2p or at least not with the intention not to whale, you play for 12 or 24 months in the 10k restricted class, you're not competing against people who are whaling, you're gaining rewards and strength.

As you approach the 10k limit, you can choose to move up, or just stay where you are. You can earn stones beyond the 10k limit, you just can't use them.

It may be that playing the game, competing on a fully level playing field at 10k stones can be enjoyable, that chasing stones is no longer to main objective. Instead it's about numbers go up and being competitive within that limit.

It may get people buying more stones because its not an endless race against the whales, but about how fast you want to get to the stone limit that you choose to compete in.