Somewhat good news like this has been a long time coming

i think pix is trying new ways to separate us from our pocket books. Getting scraps as a tease for the 「dookie」 they are about to drop next.

I'm honestly confused by what this is doing. I don't know if it's a benefit or not.

It makes it two upgrade costs are a steady progression from mark one level one to mark two level twelve, rather than prices spiking at the end of mark one. This change makes progression to mark two easier for budget players while making the progression to mark three harder in exchange. I think that, in concept at least, this change is good since most players are budget and thus benefit from this.

I will say though, with a lot of budget players buying stuff already at mark two, the benefits of this change may be a lot less apparent.

Yeah I'm not buying the benefit side, this is just about providing more krill to the whales.

Yes more players can now take their gear to MK2 and more than likely creep up a league or two and presto! You're now facing more Reaper/Rook/Newton/Okie Dokie madness.

So you hit a new brick wall at level 2.4 instead and perhaps get frustrated enough to open your wallet to keep up with the competition.

If you have something ready to go to MK-2 only this change is a killer , I’d guess the 40% upgrade discount is leaving Us . If there’s a 40% discount tomorrow I’m using it - lol 😆

It SOUNDS good, but its a typical bait & switch. Once the players in question make their Mk2 progression, thats when Pigsonic invariably rains 「dookie」 on everyones parade, and does some sort of "rebalance", either on the sly, or announced, that will effectively negate those players Mk2 progression. They will end up in the same situation, getting their 「multiple dookie delivery chute」 kicked unless they pony up $$$.... the difference will be, that at that point, it will cost even MORE in the short and long term.

Pigsonic never does anything in favor of the players, theres always a grift afoot.

I read that this is part of a general Ag Economy rework that includes increased Ag battle rewards

The amount of bonus Silver will depend on your league:
Bronze: +5%
Silver: +10%
Gold: +15%
Diamond: +20%
Expert: +25%
Master: +30%
Champion: +50%

I'm guessing that Champions League numbers are down, big spending clans are down. This system is trying to incentivize players to reach higher leagues which goes back to my "krill for whales" statement earlier.

It also seems more than likely the 40% discounts will disappear to further encourage more players into Master and Champs leagues for their silver rewards.

OP. Good post and great to discuss these aspects. The phycology and business aspects of these games are fascinating.

However, in my opinion there is something more going on here. Pix is doing all this to make more money.

In my opinion, Pix has reduced the cost if individual items/actions in the game while at the same time switching between what they charge a lot for and what is relatively cheap to acquire. Upgrade costs are being nerfed, and thats not the main source of revenue at this time. Cost is with microchips and pilots. Seems like an upgrade rework is in the works and some further change to the value of silver.
By reducing the cost of items, and by removing grind ability, they broadened the revenue base. The guys low in the leagues can buy a MK2 mars with MK2 weapons and they pulverise others who dont and at the same time they move up the leagues much faster. few weeks ago they changed the points system to push people up the leagues. Now they changed it again by even awarding +29 points for a top of the table win and +7 for a bottom of the table win. Thats gone from +17/+2 to +29/+7 respectively. That is an insane upward push.

At a guess, there is trouble in higher leagues by players opting out of the new one shoot to kill meta and indestructible bots. They need people from lower in the leagues to progress up in order to maintain a healthy number of players. Big spenders wont pay for facing off against big spenders. They want to appreciate the power they derived from investing in the game and for the belief that others are marvelling at them. Similar to buying a $500K track car for road use where such gear is not bought for its intended track use. I dont want to see this game fold and as a result this is really concerning. The numbers on steam charts seem to be tanking considerably during the last couple of months.


Tankers - the whole game is full of tankers. Ones who pay and ones who drop leagues. Including match making, there is no difference between people who pay and ones who drop leagues. Unless players are in the lower leagues and actually play against tankers as far as I am concerned the impact of tankers is mostly hearsay mainly expressed in rants. The changed points system will also resolve the tanking problem bc most players will be in the Champions League MM-ing zone very soon. I really dont think people understand the impact of $5 MK2 marses with MK weapons (and other similar equipment) facing off against lesser bots.

Change is afoot. What are the chances that that the change will be for the benefit of the playability of the game noting Pixonic's past behaviour!

So this is just during an event? And then it reverts?
I don't know, but the old price spike at the end of mk1 never made much sense to me.
I just run it through my filter.
"Should I give them money?" =
"Are they doing the right thing?"
The answer is always the same.

This is it in a nutshell. 

For those that pursue gear that is higher 2.4, Champions League comes out ahead, BL gets screwed and somewhere around EL is the crossover.

So, all those tankalicious jackasses that Mk3 their Meta gear to beat up lower leagues, it’s about to get more expensive. 

Queue Simpson’s Nelson: Hah hah!

Completely agree. Great thread. 

Lately I just buy PCs and the odd thing here and there. I’ll let the current whales have at each other.

No upgrades today for Me , continue to Hoard 

Well said. Don’t forget LD, added to all those Bendies, for the trifecta of fakakta!

And yeah, the new stuff is so ridiculous that it’s comical. At least I get a piñata-bungee ride before I die. That’s much better than the LD-Suppressed-shut-up-and-take-it-like-a-man crap of yesteryear.