Just how bad are the gacha mechanics and P2W in this version of GE?

[alazar14]

Hello,

I used to play Granado Espada when it was run by Gamers First (in fact, I bought a physical copy at Gamestop years ago when it released, like 2006 or 2007). The game always had amazing music, was a fun game to play when my life got busy because of the MCC, and AFK leveling, but has always suffered with P2W issues. Even at that stage in its US release there were some issues, and the issues that only got worse as the community shrank and the whales were catered to more and more.

I realize this is a F2P Korean MMORPG, so I absolutely expect it to be P2W by default. That said, just how bad is the P2W in this game? Is it so bad that the game basically becomes unenjoyable in PvE at Master + level? Is it tolerable?

Where would you say the line is drawn between free and paying players. In other words, at what point would things become really hard to accomplish for free players (who spend only a few hours a day playing, but can AFK most days).

I don't plan to pay a cent (mainly because of the principle of the thing, I refuse to pay when games artificially create a problem to sell me a solution via cash shops), but I want to know if its possible to get to say, Master with 3 characters without paying anything? Doubt I would play past that as investing too much in F2P games is generally a bad idea.

[76561198124281101]

P2W- yeah. Semi-avoidable in a way any Korean MMO work- you`ll have to grind.
Gacha- do not even needed until you`re REALLY into the current cash character.
Many of aspects that was pure cash stuff in older versions (like char promotions, some recruitment quests and so on) is currently completely "free".


Thing is - it`ll save you A LOT OF TIME if you pay for 2-3 char packages and choose current OP chars. Grab them - and your gameplay will be easy, and if you manage your time (with both AFK grind and active grind) -everything else would be a piece of cake.
Without the packs...

Well, it would take a while, but you actually can do a lot of stuff without paying a cent. You will not be competetive with DPS, so squad runs you`ll probably do as a buffer\debuffer, but even solo- it`s possible to avoid the payments completely.

While i whine alot in this threads, i mainly whine about the char diversity being in a very poor state. Not P2W being an impenetrable wall.

Master with 3x chars is basically "just grind a questing for a couple of days" now. Even Grandmaster with 3x chars is not a problem, actually.

Everything there is currently in the game is doable without paying a cent.

But while whales can open their wallets day-1, and poof- they can rush to endgame, F2P player would have to go through all the steps. And some would take a while.

Thing is - F2P gameplay don`t have a direct "I can`t do that until i pay alot" paywall. "I need to grind a month if i don`t want to pay and get it right now" -yeah. That would not be hardcore grinding like an old times, like running CT or Castilla dozens of times per day. More like ~2-3 hrs of daily activivty, and then you barely have anything to do and leave until the next day. And it`ll be like that every day. That`s where you usually can just have a burn-out and leave in like 2 weeks.

As F2P player- you start with a good pick (like Adelina+ Calyce+ Emilia), do questing, end up in Evil equip on ~Master level in a couple of days. You can do R3-R4 ranked missions on that level, and after ~a week or two of active gameplay you`ll switch to "meta" picks like Lynn and Sariel, probably with Greek Croma armor and full Evil\Desapio set and HM-GM levels. Events can usually provide you a couple of Valeron weaps. On that step you`re "kinda stuck" in terms of your daily activities. BH and Castilla is doable, you`ll have no problem making ~30-40m per day with ~1-1.5 hrs of active gameplay (BH+Cast 1-3, maybe Lynn daily). A bit more with Ranked missions.
Then you visit a market. Char pack is ~1.5B. Doable? Yeah. But even if you`re raising your daily income to ~100m (basically BH+Casts, Lynn daily, selling most of loot from ranked runs, and AFK for vis on some maps)- that`d be 2 weeks. If you don`t want to spend more then 1.5-2 hrs of daily gameplay - it`ll take a month. If you`re okay with that- OK, you`ll have fun buying chars from time to time, and overall a good experience. If you`re not- you`re either grind hard (daily runs of squad missions and so on) or burnout after a week or two and leave.

As a "whale" you open your wallet day-1, grab a couple of "comfortable" chars like M.Lorch, Chungha, Christina. They come with 37 AR\DR equip for a month. Grab an Evil or Desapio sets .Level them up in Sedecram=>A.Portus- and you can run R5-R6 day-2 or day-3. Cast or BH is oneshotted. Some investments for GC and rings- and you can even run Lucifer missions solo, which rises daily income considerably. You can AFK in a way more "profitable" maps, just because chars like M.Lorch need WAY LESS vis to get running.

So... There`re nothing " impossible" for F2P player. In a sense- you can actually have a bit more fun going F2P way, if you`re really into learning the mechanics and doing stat math, as quest chars are weaker and you HAVE TO use your brain to use them properly. Every single questline is doable with quest chars. May be tricky, may require a good equip, but doable. Majority of missions you`ll be able to visit as buffer\debuffer, as even whales love a good buff.

[alazar14]

Originally posted by rumbisdolgopa:

P2W- yeah. Semi-avoidable in a way any Korean MMO work- you`ll have to grind.
Gacha- do not even needed until you`re REALLY into the current cash character.
Many of aspects that was pure cash stuff in older versions (like char promotions, some recruitment quests and so on) is currently completely "free".


Thing is - it`ll save you A LOT OF TIME if you pay for 2-3 char packages and choose current OP chars. Grab them - and your gameplay will be easy, and if you manage your time (with both AFK grind and active grind) -everything else would be a piece of cake.
Without the packs...

Well, it would take a while, but you actually can do a lot of stuff without paying a cent. You will not be competetive with DPS, so squad runs you`ll probably do as a buffer\debuffer, but even solo- it`s possible to avoid the payments completely.

While i whine alot in this threads, i mainly whine about the char diversity being in a very poor state. Not P2W being an impenetrable wall.

Master with 3x chars is basically "just grind a questing for a couple of days" now. Even Grandmaster with 3x chars is not a problem, actually.

Everything there is currently in the game is doable without paying a cent.

But while whales can open their wallets day-1, and poof- they can rush to endgame, F2P player would have to go through all the steps. And some would take a while.

Thing is - F2P gameplay don`t have a direct "I can`t do that until i pay alot" paywall. "I need to grind a month if i don`t want to pay and get it right now" -yeah. That would not be hardcore grinding like an old times, like running CT or Castilla dozens of times per day. More like ~2-3 hrs of daily activivty, and then you barely have anything to do and leave until the next day. And it`ll be like that every day. That`s where you usually can just have a burn-out and leave in like 2 weeks.

As F2P player- you start with a good pick (like Adelina+ Calyce+ Emilia), do questing, end up in Evil equip on ~Master level in a couple of days. You can do R3-R4 ranked missions on that level, and after ~a week or two of active gameplay you`ll switch to "meta" picks like Lynn and Sariel, probably with Greek Croma armor and full Evil\Desapio set and HM-GM levels. Events can usually provide you a couple of Valeron weaps. On that step you`re "kinda stuck" in terms of your daily activities. BH and Castilla is doable, you`ll have no problem making ~30-40m per day with ~1-1.5 hrs of active gameplay (BH+Cast 1-3, maybe Lynn daily). A bit more with Ranked missions.
Then you visit a market. Char pack is ~1.5B. Doable? Yeah. But even if you`re raising your daily income to ~100m (basically BH+Casts, Lynn daily, selling most of loot from ranked runs, and AFK for vis on some maps)- that`d be 2 weeks. If you don`t want to spend more then 1.5-2 hrs of daily gameplay - it`ll take a month. If you`re okay with that- OK, you`ll have fun buying chars from time to time, and overall a good experience. If you`re not- you`re either grind hard (daily runs of squad missions and so on) or burnout after a week or two and leave.

As a "whale" you open your wallet day-1, grab a couple of "comfortable" chars like M.Lorch, Chungha, Christina. They come with 37 AR\DR equip for a month. Grab an Evil or Desapio sets .Level them up in Sedecram=>A.Portus- and you can run R5-R6 day-2 or day-3. Cast or BH is oneshotted. Some investments for GC and rings- and you can even run Lucifer missions solo, which rises daily income considerably. You can AFK in a way more "profitable" maps, just because chars like M.Lorch need WAY LESS vis to get running.

So... There`re nothing " impossible" for F2P player. In a sense- you can actually have a bit more fun going F2P way, if you`re really into learning the mechanics and doing stat math, as quest chars are weaker and you HAVE TO use your brain to use them properly. Every single questline is doable with quest chars. May be tricky, may require a good equip, but doable. Majority of missions you`ll be able to visit as buffer\debuffer, as even whales love a good buff.

Thanks for the detailed info. A lot of that is a bit over my head, as the most I ever accomplished with GE was Master rank on all characters, I think I may have had "High Master" at some point, I can't honestly recall anymore. Don't even remember anything past that point, its honestly been YEARS.

It does sound like the game is your typical F2P mmorpg. Designed for whales, but allowing just enough viability for free players to be cannon fodder in PvP (to make whales feel a sense of pride and accomplishment of course), and play a minor role in PvE.

Well, I'll check out the game a few weeks then, worse case scenario I just have a bit of nostalgia for an old game I used to love, and I move on after that.

One more question for you, is there a particular server I should start on where most of the people are playing, or a server that might be best for a free player based on the economy, etc?

I started on Espada, is this one still semi active?

Thanks!

[76561198124281101]

Feruccio is the most active, Espada and Jilberto are way behind.

[alazar14]

Originally posted by rumbisdolgopa:

Feruccio is the most active, Espada and Jilberto are way behind.

So, would it be a bit easier for a new player to get by without paying in the lower pop servers or in the higher pop server?

[76561198124281101]

It would.
Well, at least in one big thing- Feruccio have more stable market.
While you can buy kinda same stuff on all servers (with more endgame stuff available on Ferrucio), buying it on Espada or Jilberto would often require you some broad shouting. While on Ferru you can just visit Market Manager and buy it. Plus- Feruccio exists for much longer, so demand of most pre-endgame stuff is already satisfied, and supply on market is stable.

However, you can be a bit annoyed on early questing on Fer. It`s kinda flooded with botters, so finding a spot to AFK can be tricky on some maps.