User blog:DutchRits/Character Card Comparison, Part 8b

Okay, I just had to add something about the current episode, Thin Blue Line, so I'm posting about this rather than my rebalancing plan. Bear with me.

First, Mobage got it right with this one. The Ruby Medals earned with boss defeats scale with the difficulty of the boss (i.e., you only get 2x medals for participation/MVP Drag Strip, but three for Dead End, etc.), and their use as currency for Space Bridge Raid Cards is pure genius. Not only are casual players rewarded for putting in a bit of effort, but collectors/hardcore players have a better chance of drawing the cards they need without breaking the bank. I believe in giving recognition where it is due, and this is the best thing I think Mobage could have done for the game to address the "pay for play" aspect of the game. Players now have the option of paying to complete cards or to put in the effort, but in both instances the results are random. That said...

...I would have liked to see an alternation pattern to the Ruby card draws. There is nothing more frustrating than spending all that time to get a draw (particularly for Prowl) only to get the same mode you got the first time. Start with the robot mode, then have the next draw be the alt form. Or at least increase the odds that the next pull will be the matching mode. Apply the same algorithm to the SB pulls, too. And how 'bout implementing that change BEFORE I attempt my second Prowl pull? Pretty please?

Thirdly, I'm glad to see the return of the "???" bosses. Let's face it...as many BC's as players are throwing at bosses to get the MVP bonus, giving them an occasional 3-4 BCs for beating a "???" boss is a nice way of keeping the event going while having an absolutely minimal impact on purchases of BCs. Well done again, Mobage, and props for announcing their return on your blog, too. Then again, you could think of the "???'s" as the "Lotus Flowers" from the Lotus Casino in Percy Jackson, too...

Finally, the card stats. Let me apologize up front for the incomplete nature of the attached chart, but the event is ongoing, I don't have all the cards, the wiki isn't updated, and things needed to be said. Also, I've compared these cards soley to the cards from War Dawn, since the tiers don't translate well to the Campaign Event evolution cards.

Episode Red Alert 2 is a big upgrade over his Countdown to Extinction incarnation (Episode Red Alert), and is a hefty 7.1k upgrade over Episode Vortex. By my count, he's also the first Tier 3 Raid Card to have an ATK rating over 20k. I'll admit that I haven't checked out his weapon yet, but the implications are interesting, to say the least.

Episode Autobot Tracks is a 516-point downgrade from Episode Swindle and is particularly disappointing in his ATK rating. However, he has a well-above-average defense rating (third best in the game, behind Hotspot, and UR Mirage). His weapon is a bit middle-of-the-road, however.

Episode Prowl 2 apparantly stopped using Performance Enhancing Drugs, becoming a shadow of his Covert Operations SR self (Episode Prowl). Adding insult to injury, Prowl is a 957-point downgrade from Episode Blastoff, who was himself a downgrade from Episode Rampage. I'm sensing a trend. Still, for context his overall MTM stat total puts him more than 500 points ahead of Episode Omega Supreme, with a much better defense score. Food for thought. And I have no data on his weapon, yet.

I was never a Stunicons fan, so I'm not overly thrilled by their inclusion in this event. Personal opinions aside, the Tier 2-4 Reward Cards are actually on-par with the previous event, or are downgrades, with the obvious exception of Wildrider. Episode Drag Strip is a 1.2k downgrade from Trailcutter(!) despite a 3.5k increase in ATK. Episode Dead End actually has a worse ATK rating than Drag Strip, but is a 155-point upgrade over Blurr...in other words, he's a wash. Episode Breakdown is a 5.5k downgrade from Episode Cliffjumper 2, mostly due to a cut in Health, which was almost the biggest surprise of this event. However, the "WTF" award for this event goes to Episode Wildrider who, as the event UR card, has a whopping 133,579 MTM total points, or 24,367 more than UR Mirage and 15,089 more than UR Bombshock. That's a ~13% stat increase over Bombshock, for those keeping score. And he's not even the leader of the Stunticons!

Summary

In short, well done Mobage. You've injected new life into the game after so much Space Bridge heartache. You still need to address the overall deck creep and the need for Raid Cards to properly damage episode bosses, thus forcing Tier 2 decks and below into a "DPS Wall", and you also desperately need to rebalance the SR & UR cards (more on that in my next post).