Feedback from a returning player
To give some context, I was very active in the PTCGO from 2016 to 2018, so that's what my experience with the previous game was. I just returned to playing about 5 days ago and found out about PTCGL, and so far I've been enjoying it and feel like Live is an overall improvement over Online. With that said, I would like to point out some specific points where I feel like the game could improve, as well as the strong points that I've been enjoying.
Aspects that could improve:
Buying single cards (location of the "card shop"):
I think that right now it's not very clear how to buy single cards. The way it works now is that you must go to your decks, edit a deck set the filters to either "All" or "Not Owned" if you're looking for cards that you don't own any copies of, click on the card and press "Exchange". While this isn't complex to do and I personally already got used to it, it's counterintuitive for a number of reasons. When it comes to obtaining new things, I believe most players would expect to be able to buy them in the "Shop" tab. However, when you go to the shop what you'll find is everything except single cards, which leaves the player to explore the different menus until they somehow figure out on their own the method of buying single cards. Another problem, although this one is more minor, is that "Exchange" could cause clarity issues. When clicking on a card that you don't currently own the only logical possibility is that you're exchanging something for the card, but players are far more likely to first encounter the "Exchange" button when they click on cards that they already own which potentially gives the impression that they are exchanging the cards that they own for something.
Suggestion: Under the shop tab include a new tab called either "singles" or "single cards". This tab could open a menu with cards organized in a similar fashion to what you currently see when you open the deck editor, but for each card clearly mark the price of each card. I think that players will have an easier time figuring out how to buy single cards this way. If it's not possible to mark the number of credits before clicking on the card, I would suggest changing the "Exchange" button for a "Buy" button, which conveys in a more clear fashion that you're using credits to obtain cards.
Viewing your collection:
Currently, there is no way of viewing your collection. The closest thing to this is, once again, going to your decks and choosing to edit one of them, and then setting the filters to what you want to see. While this does allow the player to view their collection in practice, it is somewhat counterintuitive.
Suggestion: This has been brought up by other players as well, but I would like to also express my desire for a proper collection tab. I think that a good part of the player base would appreciate such a change.
Ranked ladder clarity (Ladder End Rewards):
It's very fun to have a competitive incentive within the game, but I think that the ranked rewards and the point system would benefit from being more clear. These are both aspects that the player can figure out on their own through playing, but it would be better if this information were readily available from the beginning. Something that the game does not tell the player is that the "Ladder End Rewards" upgrade once you reach a higher tier; when you press this button at the start of your climb, all you see is a single pack. This gives the impression that the only rewards players get by advancing in the ladder are the boxes at the start of each League + the one at the end of the Arceus League. However, if the player checks the "Ladder End Rewards" button after entering a new League, they will realize that the reward has upgraded (I'm currently in the Poke League and now the reward is 1 pack + 50 of each type of currency).
Suggestion: One possibility is to add an extra line of text to the textbox that appears when you click on the button (the one that tells you that you must play at least 5 ranked games to receive the rewards). This text could say something along the lines of "these rewards improve based on the League on which you finish the ranked ladder". The other possibility that I can think of is to straight up show all of the possible tiers of rewards somewhere in the ladder.
Ranked ladder clarity (point system):
I haven't gotten very far into the ladder (I'm at 380 points at the time of writing this), but my initial impression is that I like how it works: you win points for every victory and lose points for every loss, but victories give more points than what you lose on a loss. However, the point system isn't explained in-game and the player is left to figure it out on their own, which could cause a few issues. The amount of points that you win and lose change based on your current League, which can cause some expectation problems. The ladder effectively ends at 2,660 points, but when you begin you only earn 10 points per game, which could lead players to assume that it's impossible to reach much higher than the Poke League or the Great League without investing a significant amount into the game (this may turn out to be true for a different reason, but the lack of information at the star could lead the player to think that it's solely a problem of time). The other potential problem is that starting in the Poke League you begin losing points on every loss. To reiterate, this is a good thing in a competitive environment because if losses come at no cost then there is no competition of skill and it simply becomes a matter of who can dump the most amount of time into grinding the ladder. However, the fact that the first few dozens of ranked games do not come with a loss of points on defeat creates a player expectation that there is no pressure to win. Some players will come to terms with the fact that losses matter pretty quickly despite the expectation that the Quick League creates (such as myself, who found the point loss on defeat much more logical). However, there are others who will not take it the same way. IIRC, there is already at least one feedback post complaining about the point loss in Ranked; I don't agree with them, but I understand where they're coming from.
Suggestion: I believe it would be for the best if the point system in Ranked were explained in-game with at least a moderate amount of detail. This includes stating that point gains increase when you reach a new League and stating in no uncertain terms that you WILL lose points when you take a loss, as well as making it clear that the Quick League is the only exception.
Basis for point gains and losses in ranked:
Currently, the points that you gain or lose in ranked games is bases solely on your current League. This isn't necessarily bad; as long as you're facing opponents of a similar skill level and visible rank it feels about right. However, there are times when you face opponents with whom you have a significant skill gap and the points are the same regardless. This is harder to notice when you're facing a a significantly weaker opponent, but it feels bad when you're facing an opponent that's 2 leagues higher, lose the match, and then lose the same amount of points that you would have lost against a player of your own level. Ideally the matchmaking would always give you a perfect match, but this isn't realistic so it becomes inevitable that every now and then you will face opponents who are either significantly weaker or stronger.
Suggestion: I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to introduce a point multiplier (for losses as well as for wins) when the gap between you and your opponent is more than X amount (which could be measured either en MMR or in points/League). I don't know how feasible this suggestion is, but I think that it's worth considering.
Aspects that I have enjoyed:
Default decks and accessibility to good decks in general:
For as much as others may complain about facing Lugia in every other game, I think this is one of the largest strong points of Live. On Online you didn't get any good starting decks; the closest thing to this was the game providing you some Theme Decks that were very strong when they were first released, and even that limited you to the Theme Format for a long time. If you wanted to start making decks you had no base from which to start; while Theme Decks did improve over time, for a long time they were pretty terrible (they were fine playing against each other but taught new players essentially nothing about how to make a proper deck that they could use in Standard), and even when they started getting better they couldn't realistically be taken to Standard (some of them worked when upgraded, but even upgrading them could prove to be a challenge at times).
The fact that Live provides every player with a wide variety of decks, which range anywhere between decent and great (with potential to become amazing with a few upgrades), makes the new player experience significantly better. It's also great for a returning player such as myself, since I haven't obtained new cards in years and it would take a lot of time and effort to build a semi-decent deck if I were still playing on Online. Now, it only took me around 3 days of playing to have a completed Lugia VSTAR deck that I can use to comfortably play ranked games and I still have a good selection of other decks that I can tinker around with in Casual Mode. I also really like that the pass rewards help you complete this deck. I don't know what TPCi's policy will be going forward, but if they keep providing good, up-to-date decks in some way or form (be it default decks or accessible bundles) and then putting in the pass upgrades for those decks, I think that they will have established a very solid model. This would ensure that anyone can play the game without having to worry about not being able to build proper decks because they either don't have the money to buy a large amount of codes or because they don't have the time and energy to endlessly grind to obtain tradable packs in-game, learn about the economy and make good trades for what they need.
In-Game currency system completely replacing trading:
I will be honest about this one. From an emotional point of view, I have very mixed feelings about the complete removal of trading. I was extremely active in the forums during the time that Trading Companies were at their peak, and participating of them is something that I have fond memories of. Once I had amassed a sizable collection, I helped many new players by gifting them cards or packs to help them get started (by trading for an energy or a random common, or even for a Pikachu box). I think that the economy of the game and the whole trading system had a certain charm to it, and regardless of whether it was objectively good or not I think that I will miss it.
However, if I leave my emotions out of this, I think that removing trading and establishing Coins, Crystals and Credits as the only way of obtaining cards and cosmetics is overall a win for the game. This has made acquiring cards significantly easier: if I ever need anything, I just go to the shop and spend my in-game currency to immediately obtain what I need. I don't need to deal with price bubbles, prices inflated by speculation, scarcity, and it's straight up impossible to be scammed. This also significantly increases the availability of SRs and Full Arts for those who are already happy with their decks and just want to make them look nicer; obtaining 2000 credits is far easier (or at the very least, cheaper) than obtaining 250 packs of the most in-demand kind and then finding someone willing to trade.
Battle Pass:
I really like the battle pass. I feel like it provides a lot of value; I haven't compared it to the ladder rewards on Online, but at the very least it feels like it gives more rewards. It's probably too early to tell because I've only been playing for 5 days and I've had a good amount of time to play several games a day, but so far it doesn't feel like completing it will be a grind. The premium pass is also very accessible; by the time you complete it, you will have earned almost as many Crystals as it costs to purchase it from the premium pass alone. I really like that the pass gives you several key pieces of a good deck (Lugia in this case, but I'm assuming that they intend to make this a trend going forward). Overall, I'm very happy with it.
These are some of my initial impressions of the game. If I think of anything else I will make sure to add it though. I hope that they devs find this feedback to be useful.
-Sakura150612
Comments
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Two things I'd like to point out:
The reason that you get cards from the deck editor in this and every other TCG/CCG app is because it simplifies completing a decklist. Having the store be the only way to do it would be extremely unintuitive. At best, the option to get from the store could be there. I would personally never use that option though.
Also, you only gain more points than you lose at low ranks. Once you get up to Great Ball, that will change. That makes the lack of scaling feel even worse honestly. You don't really get anyone more than one league above you now that there are a lot of players though.
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