IAP confessions

[Mackc2]

I haven't spent any money on this game, I probably would though if the orbs where cheaper however at their current price they are not worth buying especially since free orbs are so common, however I think they need a massive price reduction before they are sold at their worth.

and yes I am satisfied with my no-orbs purchased I have amassed a large collection of 5* and have been able to keep up with highish arena and the "Late game" challenges without them being trivial.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I spent 20 dollars on the last day of the first Hero Fest in April. And oh baby the result was unforgettable.

So yeah, I'm not happy with that purchase. Since I only ever did full pulls, it was the equivalent of flipping a coin and getting tails six times in a row. Furthermore, I'm still missing all of those four units and would appreciate any one of them. I won't ever spend again, but I guess I'm happy I gave something to this game, because I really do like Heroes enough to support it.

[ruruo]

Clownfish xD I give myself a small Feh allowence every month. I’ve never gotten anything good with paid orbs though, but it’s fun to do a full summon in payday.

[Fruity Insanity]

Turtle here.

I make sure I record exactly how much I spend on the game so as to not overspend. I’m not particularly tight with my money, but I’d still like to keep impulses in check.

As for money well spent, well......... I suppose every time I didn’t get what I wanted it was worth it, and every time I didn’t, it was not, but that’s not a good measurement to go by, so I’ll just say that overall, given how much time I spend on the game, and how much entertainment I get out it, I don’t really have any regrets. I hope to one day be able to consistently stay in Tier 20 instead of flip-flopping in and out.

Princess banner for the voting gauntlet was when I first spent money - really wanted a Lucina, since I missed my chance when I didn’t get her when the game first launched. First time I spent going hard for a character was for Azura on the Hero Fest banner. Ended up with two of her, so it was fine. Got two PA Azuras too, so I’m happy. I think.

Between $13 and $40 at a time, usually.

And no, I doubt it. Or I would at least hope so.

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

I'm the Joker, I don't need to confess my sins.

I think I'm still a Clown Fish. I really wanted Bridelia and Summer Corrin, and both times I believe I hit the 100 USD spending cap per month for users under 20 years old. That pop-up really did drive some shame into me, so I regret it a bit. I didn't end up getting Bridelia, but I did get Summer Corrin.

[Prince Endriu]

Bought nine 23 orbs packs recently to get PA Azura. Thats 207 orbs total. Could have waited until the end of the month hoarding orbs but caved in - wanted to have it behind me.

The ultimate reason for buying the first pack was that I went in with 5 orbs expecting just one green - as was the case most of the time but got two - or maybe even three...  so I bought a  pack to continue the summon and bought some more.

Was the money well spent? Tough one. I got Azura 2x in the end so at least the mission was a success.

Orbs are ridiculously priced - at least in regard to my wallet. So I have to choose rather wisely if and when to buy orbs. 

I dont regret it, though. Despite some serious flaws and gatcha shennanigans I like this game very much and will probably buy some more orbs when I feel it might make sense. Certainly not in order to get Ayra. Will give halloween a pass too. 

I think the 23 orbs pack is the best for me and the difference in price is forgetable.

 

[eclipse]

I'm a clown fish, since my only "spending" was from a gift card.  One day, I'll drop some money on this game, as a way of thanking the developers.  The rest, sadly, is mostly irrelevant to someone in my position.

[Ranulfo]

I initially was very proud of my  FTP-ness but then I realized I've been playing this game nonstop basically every day since launch. That's more than half a year of Heroes being my main source of entertainment, so I went fuck it, might as well put some money into this if I'm not doing it for anything else. I've since spent 60€ of my own and 60€ from gifts, so I guess I'm a clownfish. Wouldn't really say it was worth it, but I don't regret it either. I did get S!Corrin and Elincia out of it.

[Charmeleonbrah]

Clownfish checking in here.  I've spent only $50 so far, and that netted only one 5-star (Minerva) with a bad nature (-Atk).  Ironically I would maybe spend a little more if the player received more orbs per purchase, or if the appearance rate for 5-star units was higher.  What's funny is that people think Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are super expensive now at $100, yet I could easily spend that same amount on the new Tempest Trial banner and not even get Ayra.

[Prince Endriu]

Just a different thought: the fact that orbs are premium priced and f2p orbs are rare and very often locked behind a grind wall, makes pulling 5* units, especially the ones you want with good IVs very rewarding or very disappointing if you get shit. Both those feelings werent that extreme if f2p were abundantly available or 10 times cheaper. 

[Charmeleonbrah]

Just thought of this: Senran Kagura would make a killing if it put out a mobile gacha game.  If this game is any indication, people will spend a lot to acquire waifus, and probably more so for fanservice waifus.  Everyone is still spending orbs on the Performing Arts banner so they can drool over Azura's panty shot. 

[XRay]

2 hours ago, Prince Endriu said:

Just a different thought: the fact that orbs are premium priced and f2p orbs are rare and very often locked behind a grind wall, makes pulling 5* units, especially the ones you want with good IVs very rewarding or very disappointing if you get shit. Both those feelings werent that extreme if f2p were abundantly available or 10 times cheaper. 

I would not call 100+ free Orbs per month that can be earned with minimal effort rare though. That is 25 characters right there. If you add in the free summons, that is another 5 free orbs every time there is a new banner.

1 hour ago, Charmeleonbrah said:

Just thought of this: Senran Kagura would make a killing if it put out a mobile gacha game.  If this game is any indication, people will spend a lot to acquire waifus, and probably more so for fanservice waifus.  Everyone is still spending orbs on the Performing Arts banner so they can drool over Azura's panty shot. 

There is Senran Kagura New Wave. I am not sure if they made a killing though.

I like Senran Kagura, but I do not have same level of emotional attachment to those Senran Kagura waifus as I do with Fire Emblem waifus. Sex appeal is very good, but it alone does not guarantee success.

[Prince Endriu]

32 minutes ago, XRay said:

I would not call 100+ free Orbs per month that can be earned with minimal effort rare though. That is 25 characters right there. If you add in the free summons, that is another 5 free orbs every time there is a new banner.

There is Senran Kagura New Wave. I am not sure if they made a killing though.

I like Senran Kagura, but I do not have same level of emotional attachment to those Senran Kagura waifus as I do with Fire Emblem waifus. Sex appeal is very good, but it alone does not guarantee success.

I disagree. It depends what you call minimal effort, though. Training tower missions involve completing it 15 times. While that might not pose a problem at all for experienced and well-rostered players, its still a grind that will give just 1 orb. Tempest Trials is a grind no matter how you look at it. Some orbs come easier than others, true. The thing is 125 orbs might get you 25 units - but CERTAINLY not 25 5* units. Might not get you any 5* at all. So I wouldnt exactly call it an abundance of orbs. As you said, its per month - so it takes quite some time to save them up. To me thats the epitome of being rare and valuable, consider that trying to get all 4 units of a  new focua banner might even swallow up to 1000 orbs. 125 is nothing in comparison. All of that makes getting a 5* unit all the more rewarding.

[XRay]

38 minutes ago, Prince Endriu said:

I disagree. It depends what you call minimal effort, though. Training tower missions involve completing it 15 times. While that might not pose a problem at all for experienced and well-rostered players, its still a grind that will give just 1 orb. Tempest Trials is a grind no matter how you look at it. Some orbs come easier than others, true. The thing is 125 orbs might get you 25 units - but CERTAINLY not 25 5* units. Might not get you any 5* at all. So I wouldnt exactly call it an abundance of orbs. As you said, its per month - so it takes quite some time to save them up. To me thats the epitome of being rare and valuable, consider that trying to get all 4 units of a  new focua banner might even swallow up to 1000 orbs. 125 is nothing in comparison. All of that makes getting a 5* unit all the more rewarding.

Minimal effort as in even noobs can do it. Just look at the orb distribution page on the wiki. For the past few months, you get over 50 Orbs for just logging in. There are a ton of easy quests and events over the month that gives the other 50 Orbs that takes the lowest of the low effort. This month is not even over yet and we already have 140+ Orbs. We got 200+ Orbs over the previous few months, so Orbs are not even close to being rare.

Completing the Tenth Stratum quests is nothing. You can spam the reset button until only a team of 3 appears and they give you a whole month to do it. Tempest Trial is no different from daily Training Tower/Chain Challenge grinding.

5* units being rare is not the same thing as Orbs being rare. It also does not make sense from a business perspective to give out so many free orbs that free players can get all the new 5* units without paying a dime. That just screams entitlement.

Edited October 21, 2017 by XRay

[Prince Endriu]

9 minutes ago, XRay said:

Minimal effort as in even noobs can do it. Just look at the orb distribution page on the wiki. For the past few months, you get over 50 Orbs for just logging in. There are a ton of easy quests and events over the month that gives the other 50 Orbs that takes the lowest of the low effort. This month is not even over yet and we already have 140+ Orbs. We got 200+ Orbs over the previous few months, so Orbs are not even close to being rare.

Completing it the Tenth Stratum quests is nothing. You can spam the reset button until only a team of 3 appears and they give you a whole month to do it. Tempest Trial is no different from daily Training Tower/Chain Challenge grinding.

5* units being rare is not the same thing as Orbs being rare. It also does not make sense from a business perspective to give out so many free orbs that free players can get all the new 5* units without paying a dime. That just screams entitlement.

Just my opinion.

Business perspective is an entirely different thing as can be seen on the current Ayra banner. I dont work for ninteno/is, so my point of view is different.

Be honest! Wouldnt it be cool if we could get the oppirtunity to earn more orbs?

I wasnt even implying that, all I was saying that thanks to premium prices and, lets call it a limited number of free orbs per month, 5* pulls are more rewarding. If orbs were more abundant and much cheaper to buy - everyone could have all units and it wouldnt be special anymore.

Edited October 21, 2017 by Prince Endriu

[LuxSpes]

23 hours ago, Talandar said:

- How much money did you spend? Tell us your spending class, based on this chart.

I'm pretty sure I fall in the Great White range. I use 'pretty' because I'm too afraid of looking through my receipt and finding I'm a Killer Whale. Though considering I never managed to +10 a particular focus unit, while 

23 hours ago, Talandar said:

- Do you think the money was well invested? Any regrets?

Well considering this is a gacha game and that I could have spent that money on physical game consoles or other 'true' games if I wanted to waste my money, not really. Sure it did give me some fun to get some rare 5* units, but looking back, it was mostly a gambler's high and a fake reassurance that my finances were good. But paying my tuitions a couple of months ago made me realize I'm not really in a position to spend my cash on Bartres. I'm not in any financial trouble since I did set myself some limits, but I do think I overspent since I now have to be extremely conservative with my money. There are tons of games coming out that I have to pass out on now. So yeah, I do regret it.

One thing I also realized is that buying orbs either made me unlucky or it changed my mindset when it came to pulling. Pulling had become an incredibly frustrating experience and I was almost never happy after pulling since I often felt like it had taken way too many orbs to get a single copy of the character I wanted, even when color sniping. When asked about my luck before I went full whale, I would answer that my luck was above average, but after a few months of buying orbs, I felt that my luck was below average. Since I stopped buying orbs, I also stopped caring about what I pull and after 2 months of being in that mindset, I again feel like my luck is above average.

I'd probably chalk it up to a change of mindset, since I still managed to pull 160 5* characters during the course of my time playing this game, which is means I got around 17 or 18 5* pulls per month, and in one month of being back to F2P, I pulled eight 5* heroes, which is well below under my monthly average till now, but I still feel extremely lucky for even pulling those units. Though reading about @XRay getting all those +10 unit while being a clown fish, I can't help but feel like I was the unluckiest Great White to ever spend. The closest thing I have to a +10 5* exclusive unit is a +6 Lucina and that merge level has slowly been built up during my months of playing and the highest amount of a unit I got in a single banner were the 5 Lukes I got when furiously pulling for Katarina.

I don't think I will ever whale again, not only because it's healthier for my bank account, but also because it's healthier for me when it comes to my mindset regarding this game. 

23 hours ago, Talandar said:

- What was the reason that you start spending money on this game?

I first spent on this game because I wanted a chance at getting some new units and justified it in my mind as me encouraging the devs by spending the same amount I would have spent to buy a single game.

23 hours ago, Talandar said:

- If you buy Orbs, what bundle do you choose?

I chose the 75 orbs pack the most.

23 hours ago, Talandar said:

- Is the game tracking your spending habits?

Already somewhat addressed it in my regrets wall of text, but I feel like I've been luckier when I was F2P than when I was spending so no, I don't think my spending habits have any impact on my pulls.

[XRay]

7 minutes ago, Prince Endriu said:

Just my opinion.

Business perspective is an entirely different thing as can be seen on the current Ayrs banner. I dont work for ninteno/is, so my point of view is different.

Be honest! Wouldnt it be cool if we could get the oppirtunity to earn more orbs?

I wasnt even implying that, all I was saying that thanks to premium prices and, lets call it a limited number of free orbs per month, 5* pulls are more rewarding. If orbs were more abundant and much cheaper to buy - everyone could have all units and it wouldnt be special anymore.

It would be cool if we get more opportunity to earn Orbs, but I am not convinced that it would be beneficial to the game or the series as whole over the long run. I was not happy when the Advance Wars series got axed since its sales was declining, and it would be pretty stupid if Fire Emblem Heroes closes so soon because they did not make enough money. Lowering prices can only increase your revenue up to a certain point before it drops back down. Now that I can patronize whoever I want, I do not mind giving some money to whatever artist, charity, company, or organization I like so I can help contribute to whatever they are doing.

9 minutes ago, LuxSpes said:

Though reading about @XRay getting all those +10 unit while being a clown fish, I can't help but feel like I was the unluckiest Great White to ever spend. The closest thing I have to a +10 5* exclusive unit is a +6 Lucina and that merge level has slowly been built up during my months of playing and the highest amount of a unit I got in a single banner were the 5 Lukes I got when furiously pulling for Katarina.

Oh god. Where is my sea anemone? My fat ass will not fit for some reason!

Nope. I am not a great white. I am not a great white. I am not a great white. And I am definitely not a killer whale, blue whale, or penguin hopefully.

[Prince Endriu]

57 minutes ago, XRay said:

It would be cool if we get more opportunity to earn Orbs, but I am not convinced that it would be beneficial to the game or the series as whole over the long run. I was not happy when the Advance Wars series got axed since its sales was declining, and it would be pretty stupid if Fire Emblem Heroes closes so soon because they did not make enough money. Lowering prices can only increase your revenue up to a certain point before it drops back down. Now that I can patronize whoever I want, I do not mind giving some money to whatever artist, charity, company, or organization I like so I can help contribute to whatever they are doing.

Oh god. Where is my sea anemone? My fat ass will not fit for some reason!

Nope. I am not a great white. I am not a great white. I am not a great white. And I am definitely not a killer whale, blue whale, or penguin hopefully.

☺

So like I said, at the current conditions 5* pulls can be extremely rewarding or totally disappointing. It is as is.

The game being shut down?

I dont know about that!

When you sell a product - you might want to target an exclusive one hundred who pay premium or a general 1000 who pay standard. Since orbs are a digital product we dont need to talk about productivity.

Tier 20 residents are about 4000. Tier 19 are about 30000 - the numbers are in decline if my observation is correct. So its about a couple of thousand people who keep the game alive then.

 

 

 

[Nitramyte]

I haven't spent a cent and I won't. For me (and only me, I know others have different goals), spending just makes an already-too-easy game easier. It's like buying experience maps and such in the 3DS Fire Emblem games to take out the challenge.

Heck, I can even stay in tier 20 sometimes if I have the right bonus hero that week. If I'd focused on getting merges instead of getting 7+ teams of units ready, I could easily stay in tier 20 all the time. The only thing stopping me is the silly points system that favors merges so heavily. 

Speaking of which, the fact that a ftp can stay in tier 20 means that either there aren't very many whales, or a lot of whales don't care about the arena.

[eclipse]

22 hours ago, Nitramyte said:

I haven't spent a cent and I won't. For me (and only me, I know others have different goals), spending just makes an already-too-easy game easier. It's like buying experience maps and such in the 3DS Fire Emblem games to take out the challenge.

Heck, I can even stay in tier 20 sometimes if I have the right bonus hero that week. If I'd focused on getting merges instead of getting 7+ teams of units ready, I could easily stay in tier 20 all the time. The only thing stopping me is the silly points system that favors merges so heavily. 

Speaking of which, the fact that a ftp can stay in tier 20 means that either there aren't very many whales, or a lot of whales don't care about the arena.

Or there's whales who have no idea WTF they're doing, or the tiers allow more people in there due to more people playing the game.

If my experiences with the voting gauntlet are any indication, a LOT of people don't really use SI. . .or put some really questionable things on SI (like Palla with Ruby Sword and Triangle Adept).

[Cannoli]

I personally don't play mobile games too much. It's really just this and Tomb Raider Go, so I don't really have any experience with gacha games. From my admittedly limited understanding, FE Heroes is relatively generous for a f2p game. So I appreciate that Nintendo is showing some restraint as far as predatory business tactics go.

All that being said, I've dropped about $80 in casual spending and sniping for Tana and Axura. As to the why, I've enjoyed the game thoroughly since launch and want to support the franchise. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth, especially compared to the micro-transactions in full priced games these days.

On 10/22/2017 at 4:14 PM, eclipse said:

If my experiences with the voting gauntlet are any indication, a LOT of people don't really use SI. . .or put some really questionable things on SI (like Palla with Ruby Sword and Triangle Adept).

I think a lot misplaced skill inheritance and hero merging comes down to a lack of information in-game for things like effects stacking, IVs, etc. You have to actively seek out info on the minutia of this game online, which a lot of people can't be bothered to do (or would rather experiment on their own). I can only assume that the Ruby Sword/TA combo was supposed to be a Hector counter or something. It's a neat idea, but I'm not sure those two skills stack.

[MrSmokestack]

8 hours ago, Cannoli said:

 You have to actively seek out info on the minutia of this game online, which a lot of people can't be bothered to do (or would rather experiment on their own). I can only assume that the Ruby Sword/TA combo was supposed to be a Hector counter or something. It's a neat idea, but I'm not sure those two skills stack.

They don’t stack. Heroes could do a better job explaining how skills interact with one another, but I guess experimenting is half the fun of the game.

I personally haven’t spent a dime on this game since July. 200 orbs spent trying to roll for a unit I never ended up getting was what finally convinced me to stop. My luck has taken a turn for the better since then, and sometimes I wonder why I spent money in the first place with how F2P friendly Heroes is.