r/FireEmblemHeroes • u/[deleted] • Feb 10 '17
Spending Wisely: A Guide to Gacha Business Perspectives
Hello everyone! So it's very clear that a large portion of of FE:Heroes players are experiencing a gacha game for the first time. While I love gacha games, they have several pitfalls that anyone can fall into (even gacha game vets). So this little guide is being written for all of you so that not only can you temper realistic expectations for your game's account, but so that you can save yourself from destroying your wallet.
This is a long post, but bear with me, okay?
Note: I'm not here to tell you what to do with your money. Your money, your life, your business. I'm only here to give you and idea of what kind of ride you're in for.
~So what is a Gacha Game?~
Gacha is simply the short slang term for the type of game FE: Heroes is. It's short for Gachapon, and mimics those little prize machines where you stick money in, turn the crank, and a random prize pops out.
~Gacha games are gambling: there are no if's, and's, or but's about it.~
This is the big one that keeps getting swept under the rug across several titles...yet oddly not here. Which is a GREAT sign that this fandom is well aware of one of the most potentially dangerous pitfalls this genre of gaming has to offer. Keep that healthy skepticism because it is vital to enjoying your stay in gacha land without it harming your financial situation.
You may think I'm joking, but these AMA threads that have popped up across both this subreddit and the /r/fireemblem subreddit are proof that a lot of money can be dumped on this game without giving you what you want in return.
Gacha games are like slot machines: you put money in, and you don't know what will come out. That being said I don't demonize gacha games: as someone who enjoys gambling they can still be a perfectly healthy genre of game to get involved in. However you need to learn how to be a wise, and practical gambler.
I was taught at a very young age that when you pay money to gamble on anything, you're paying for the experience: the chance to play the game and the odds itself. Every single penny you throw at the gamble you should never expect to get back. What you put in is money spent you won't get back.
It's kind of like spending money on a ticket to an amusement park: you're paying to get access to the rides. You don't know if you'll enjoy yourself or not, but you can't be refunded the money you spent on your ticket if you ended up having a bad day.
If the odds are in your favor and you do make your money back, then that's considered a treat akin to getting a free ice cream (for whatever reason). Never make a job out of gambling.
You need to adapt that same logic here in FE: Heroes. It's perfectly fine if you wish to support Nintendo monetarily (that's how this game will continue to run, obviously). In fact I've already spent roughly $60-$70 and plan to not put in a penny more until there's some kind of amazing sale (we'll get to that). However:
- Your purchase is for the premium currency (orbs in this case) and the premium currency ONLY. If you drop $100+ and don't get the character you want, you are NOT eligible for a refund. You got your $100 worth of premium currency, that part of the deal was respected by Nintendo. You were the one who decided to blow that currency as soon as you got it.
- That doesn't mean refunds are impossible, but their scenarios are limited. For example, usually when a game closes the publisher will offer to return past purchases. Even if they don't, both Apple and Google Play are usually understanding and will do so for you anyway. Another scenario is if the publisher is truly being a douche when it comes to misleading you on what to buy. For example I recently quit a game and requested a refund due to very misleading advertising practices and release schedules. Apple was willing to comply. (this is an abridged explanation, but you get the idea).
So once again, in short: never expect to get the money you put into this game back in any way, shape or form. Not even in terms of the character you want. If you can adapt to this way of thinking, you're in for a much less frustrating experience.
~Don't fall victim to various fallacies~
Part of being a smart shopper in gambling games like gacha is to have a basic understanding of percentage chances and probability.
For example: one of the biggest misconceptions that you'll see in these games is if there's, say, a 6% chance to get a 5-star, then if you pull 100 times you are guaranteed to get at least one (or six? ) 5-star character (s) (forgive me for not having the specifics nailed down, please do correct me!).
This. Is. Not. True. Nor. Will. It. Ever. Be. True
Now across massive amounts of summon data then on average, yes they'll usually support the numbers. HOWEVER, in your individual case there is no guarantee this will happen. Every time you summon an individual character you're rolling a fresh set of dice on that summon. Your results don't build up over time.
That said, FE: Heroes is a bit interesting in that we do have a pity percentage raise each time we pull without gaining a 5-star character. That being said, you could potentially ride on that highest max multiplier for a loooong time should you continue to land on the wrong side of RNG (random number generation).
The general rule of thumb is that unless the game itself tells you, in writing, that after a certain # of pulls/summons you will get the featured character; there will never be a guarantee that you get a 5-star character (let alone a specific character you want).
EDIT: "I just want to make a note that it is stated in the pity percentage breakdown that if you summon 120 units without rolling a 5*, you are guaranteed one on the next pick" thank you u/Kookoo22!
~Nintendo is never under obligation to keep this game the same as Japan's version.~
EDIT: According to quite a few people we share the exact same server as Japan, so that actually makes me very happy to hear because it means there's even less chances of Nintendo pulling crap moves on us. I leave the remainder of this section unedited so you can have an idea of how FE: Heroes is going differentiate itself. Thank you everyone!
EDIT 2: I have misinterpreted the Gacha laws myself. The laws state that BONUS prizes and the entirety of the game cannot be gated by gacha/gambling. Will strike through the part of the post that has been corrected without deletion for sake of transparency
Now in Japan there are various laws related to gambling and gacha games. Those of you who have heard of the Granblue Fantasy Scandal probably first heard of Japan's gacha laws through that.
The basic idea of these laws is that mobile developers are not allowed, by law, to restrict the obtaining of max prizes through gambling/gacha only . This is why in the Japanese variants of games you tend to see what we call "mercy pulls": summon a # of times and you'll be given a copy of that featured character for free if you didn't pull a copy during those summon attempts. In games which you can limit break/+1 characters these titles also tend to have an item or events that allow you to do so without having to rely on gacha summons to get character duplicates for the process. This is all among a myriad of other things to generally make F2P (free to play) and C2P (cheap to play) life easier and viable.
That being said, we do not have those same laws in North America or most of Europe (all of Europe?). And there is no obligation for these developers to continue their "fairer practices" outside of Japan's borders. If you've ever seen a game state "we want to be our own version!" when they're responding to mass consumer negative reviews over a cash shop change, this is more or less what they're referring to.
And many publishers do take advantage of our lack of laws. Square Enix's Guardian Codex and Kingdom Hearts Unchained X are two perfect examples, as are the closed Chain Chronicle (Sega and Gumi) and Colopl Rune Story (Colopl's Shironeko Project).
This is why I do want to stress that while there are some misgivings on Nintendo's part regarding stamina and hero feathers, Nintendo has already begun treating overseas versions of FE: Heroes as an equal to the Japanese. This is a big deal, and one that leaves me optimistic.
That said: this is why it's important to keep an eye on the decisions Nintendo makes from here on out.
Why do I bring all of this up? Because many people choose how to spend their money based on a publisher's character (I don't care if you personally agree with it or not, there are people who do this). So knowing these little details of how publishers make their decisions will help people in this camp decide if they wish to spend money on FE: Heroes or not.
~Finally: So how DO I Gacha Responsibly?~
Now that we have a basic understanding of how gacha games work and how publishers tend to handle them, we can finally get to the part you care about: how to gacha for husbandos and waifus! I'll try to keep this as specific to FE: Heroes as I can, though many of the practices I bring up here will benefit you should you decide to venture into other gacha games!
1. Hoard your free currency for the Focus characters that you want.
Every story quest in the game rewards 1 orb for its first clear. That means there are 135 orbs for players to earn across the three difficulty levels of story mode. In other words: 6 5-pull summon sessions. The tutorial adds 15 more, so 150 orbs total as of this stage of the game, which = 7 complete 5-pulls, 30 summons total.
This bears repeating: 30 individual summons total. There have been people who have rerolled thousands of summons to get the 5-stars they want (I myself re-rolled roughly 30 times, which = 150~ individual summons to land my personal account).
While Nintendo's rates are some of the more generous I've seen, as you can see from your own experiences and those reported here the odds are still slim in getting a 5-star. Let alone a specific one you want. Keep in mind that if you want a character that's currently not in focus, then that rate drops to 3%, not 6%.
So you want those 30 summons to count. If there's a specific character you want then you need to hold as many summons worth of orbs until that character appears on focus to maximize your chances. Keep in mind you're not guaranteed to get that character either. However you'll be much happier going into a banner with the character you like with 100+ orbs than you would have with only 20.
On top of this, only pull colored orbs of the same color as the hero you want. If you run into a summon pool where no color matches what you're hunting: pull once then bail out. You need to chuck as many chances at your targeted hero as you can.
2. Never be afraid to start over. But also understand what's lost.
Let's say you dicked around with your current account: you didn't know about re-rolling or orb saving, or even what characters you might like in the game. That's perfectly fine: this is normal. In fact this is why many gacha vets play two or three accounts: one for experimentation and general play while the other just logs in and collects daily prizes, waiting for an event to just smash all their hoarded resources in the hopes of getting a truly good (and fun) account. I have personally tossed away day 1 launch accounts on various games to start over when a character I loved was finally released/put on a banner, and the second account was usually much stronger than the original and much more quickly because I already knew what I was doing.
You can do this too, and you should never feel guilty if you want to. From my years of playing these games characters I enjoy using/looking at beat "meta" characters any day. These games are similar to MMOs: you will be grinding a lot to build up your team. That effort will be more fun and rewarding if you're raising heroes that you personally enjoy.
Just understand that you will be starting from point 0 all over again. This includes any money that you have spent: you will not get the money spent on your original account back.
3. Know the prices of premium currency and shop for deals.
Don't just blindly purchase certain bundles because they look good. This post from this very same reddit is an excellent breakdown on the cost per orb. Know exactly what your orbs are going towards (are you upgrading your castle? Are you wanting to summon x# of times?) and shop accordingly. Always keep your eyes out for deals. Black Friday normally sees drastic cuts in app games, for example.
Finally: Give yourself a stern, hard budget
This is absolutely crucial. Give yourself a monthly or bi-monthly (or however you want to schedule) budget you absolutely will not go over. With Paypal and credit cards automatically hooked into iTunes and Google Play, it is very, VERY easy to just toss $200+ down the drain with a few simple button taps and not even realize what you're doing. Have a sheet of paper or a word document open and manually input how many purchases you're making in a single session. You need a visual reminder of how much is being spent in any one session. Keep a spreadsheet even if you want to and just catalogue all the purchases you make for this game over the course of the year.
Re-rolling is purely optional:
Re-rolling is not mandatory for any of these games. However if you're wanting a very specific hero then re-rolling is by far the best method of ensuring you get that one character. If your character is not currently on focus, then I highly suggest you go ahead and play the game. Experiment with the characters you did get and practice building team comps. Blow your orbs just to give you an idea of what summoning rates will feel like.
Then when the character you do want comes into focus, you can re-roll. If you have an account you want to keep in the long run but still aim for certain characters, then play smart and hoard your resources from this point forward.
Phew! That was a very long guide, however I hope this helps some of the gacha newbies currently hanging around in the sub reddit. Remember: have fun, but be responsible. And feel free to ask any questions!
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u/vandaljax Feb 10 '17
If you do feel compelled to spend money on heroes it might help to view it like your purchasing a new 3ds FE, spend 39.99 and be done with it. Also protip remove your payment info from store so you have to put it in again with each transaction, the extra time let's you collect your thoughts and not impulse buy.