Following on from Sgt Ron's article the other day, there have been more updates to the circuit fight rules, a lot of them after what appears to have been reasoned comments from the community.The first addition was a new quest:
Win 4 Circuit Medals from Dec 27 thru Jan 25
Reward 30 Niodes.
Ah, there's nothing like a Niode reward to get folk crawling out of the woodwork. Don't think I can recall the circuits being so competitive.
Next up, the XP gain on losses has been removed. Can't agree more, you don't gain XP for a loss anywhere else.
The system for Niode rewards has also had a shake up. There are still a possible 4 up for grabs.
You gain 1 Niode on entry.
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 2 battles.
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 8 battles.
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 22 battles.
So for the lazy slugabeds, an entry niode is back, not the 2 we had for so long. Fair enough say I. Its a reasonable compromise for those who want to camp vs those who want to be competitive. Also note that in line with the removal of gained XP for a loss, you now need actual wins (rather than just attacks) in order to get the other tiers of Niode reward.
The last change, and this is an absolute stoater for free players, Crystal rewards have gone from double to triple the XP gained for a win.
Now that is a game changer, and I'm not certain if it's good, bad or indifferent. You see, I am certainly aware of players who are leveling nicely, but perhaps a little faster than they may like. The reason they wish to level slow is due to maintaining a Niode income in line with their needs to be able to level and then equip both existing and new mechs.
By the same token, they are choked of crystal income and need to hit circuit fights to not only level their Crystal mechs but also to convert over to Bioptics/Ferrite because leveling takes its toll on those as well. Let's face it, people just don't farm like they used to.
But now, is there going to be any need to farm at all? I'll be honest, I have gotten out of the habit. To be honest this is mainly due to being able to use prizes or hand-me-downs to equip new mechs and I level fairly infrequently. The 40 a day plus a few seeds serves me fine. But those seeds can account for up to 50 Crystal a day (not that I've had that amount in ages mind you...) but even loosing the 1 or 2 seeds is the loss of a few hundred crystal a month.
With no XP at all.
I guess we'll have to see if there are any farmers left in a few weeks time.
Submitted by David McCallum : #701548