The Battle Pass - Just Things I Want to Say

Vainglory Discussion Skins, Collectibles, & In-Game Rewards
#1

This more of something I wanted to make to gather people’s and express my own opinions.

For me, the first two patches where the current Battle Pass (BP No.3) was introduced and in effect were not as enticing for me.

Reasons:

  • The higher requirement of Sunlight required to reach level 100.
  • The highly specific Talent rewards in it - some of which are seriously annoying and should have their distribution limited if they are not nerfed.
  • Krul skin - I don’t really like Krul, be it playing him, as him, or with him.
  • The higher level to break even with the ICE spent.
  • The lack of a hero unlock in it.

In relation to that, I recall a statement made by one of the devs that sparked annoyance and distrust towards the Battle Pass and the changes they’ve made to it from the previous ones.

That made it less appealing as well. I play Vainglory way too often, and even I was skeptical whether I’ll make it to the end when I first saw the Battle Pass at that time.

To me, SEMC communication is flawed, as we’ve tended to expect out of them nowadays.

After seeing the Events that have passed just recently passed in the ‘Sunlight for Darkening Days’ schedule, I feel that this was:

  • a mix of flawed communication that could have garnered more buyers early on (which would, in turn, lead to them convincing others to buy the Battle Pass),
  • a missed opportunity for player retention throughout the period the Battle Pass is valid (by making the players pace themselves so they don’t miss out on the rewards from Events),
  • a sign of their generosity, flawed as it may be for they are too generous, and
  • a missed opportunity at avoiding more salt and slander being thrown at them.

Sure, the current Battle Pass isn’t to everyone’s liking because it stripped the Free Pass out of a good chunk of its rewards and its own rewards are riddled with Talents that most players like to complain on and on about.

For me right now at the time of the writing of this post, I think the Battle Pass is ok. Always thought it was, but I had my reservations whether I’ll make it to 100 or not.

Now I’m at level 95 Sunlight and near the end of the Battle Pass. Can’t believe that my impulse purchase of it when I was at level 49 Sunlight at the start of Patch 3.8 turned out ok.

I still have 15 days on my Double Sunlight booster and 8 days on my Double Glory booster.

TL;DR: Current Battle Pass is ok, SEMC’s communication has much left to be desired and I’m confused by SEMC’s generosity at times.

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#2

If i knew that at the end of the season they were going to give that much sunlight, i would had consider buying it as it wouldnt have been that difficult to complete, but right now, nope.

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#3

Fair enough. I recall that you’ve played very little of the past few patches, no?

Hopefully (highly unlikely), SEMC schedules things more properly next time.

#4

This patch i played 2 matches, so yes, very little.

#5

I have made a firm decision regarding battle pass.
Especially after claiming 15k sunlight to waste from events.
I wont buy the battle pass blindly like i did last time. Ill just play without the pass and probably a week before season ends, Ill see if i m lvl 100, or if they are giving some 50 levels worth free sunlight, then ill get it.

#6

How are you making profit from the battlepass if you’re making it so easy to gain back the ice?

1 of the many questions I have for VG

#7

I suspected that was the case. You really stick around even though you don’t have much to gain eh? By that I mean you keep track of things even though you don’t experience the game in it’s entirety for the patch.

#8

Ouch.

I was doubting the Battle Pass, so I really, really just wanted to wait for my Sunlight Level to reach a high enough level where buying the Battle Pass wouldn’t need me to go all grindy to break even in the one patch before the Battle Pass renews/Season turns.

#9

Yep, I enjoy the community and just because I don’t like this current patch doesn’t mean I won’t like the next one (though it seems extremely likely).

#10

That’s one question I’d like to know too.

I think they are making a profit somewhat from the Battle Pass and skin sales they’ve been making in 3.8.

They’re probably getting stuff together with all the new stuff so that people spend all their accumulated ICE.

To me, the Battle Pass benefits mainly new players and players with not as much stuff collected.

Veterans and Collectors I think benefit from the Battle Pass less than the aforementioned groups. They get mainly duplicates after all. They do get some neat stuff though if they’re lucky.

Why I think the Battle Pass exist:

  • To have a sink for ICE for players that have lots but have spent none.
  • Keep players playing at an almost constant rate (i.e. player retention method).
  • To give players a way to get stuff for free a bit more with less ICE spent. An incentive for them to spend a little. Combined with the temptation of skipping Sunlight Levels for ICE, I think the Battle Pass slowly gets some players to use their ICE.
  • To have something that gates Events slightly and also encourage them to the spend ICE to get more stuff from Events by buying the Battle Pass.

What I think Battle Passes should have to make them extremely tempting:

  • The current Sunlight and Glory Boosters.
  • A guaranteed unowned hero unlock.
  • A guaranteed unowned Legendary skin.
  • A good Legendary skin at the end (like now) for a hero that appeals to the masses and is not annoying. Cough, cough, Krul is a pain in the beep.

We’ll see how they’ll handle the Battle Pass in the next Season.

My hopes at least is that the skin that’s attached to it is for a hero I truly love and play (meaning - must be either Ardan, Flicker, Fortress, Yates or Vox).

Extra: Yates has been good for me, especially in Battle Royale. I love hooking enemies into the turret, it’s so cheesy! The Rare Talent is only at level 6 too to boot, lol. Now, if only I can get his skin…

#11

I wouldn’t hold my breath. If I don’t really like a patch, I usually play it only for the Quests Chests and the Daily 5 Talent Chest to stock up Glory.

How I evaluate the likeability of a patch for me is:

  • the viability of heroes I like,
  • the presence and strength of very annoying heroes,
  • the new hero (if any),
  • skins introduced (if any), and
  • the changes that affect how I perform (in mid lane and Captain roles for 5v5, and Captain for 3v3).

My habit is to stock and build up a reserve to fulfil my desires when the need arises.

Sure, the stocking is mainly Glory due to the Chests mainly giving Glory, but I think it’s worth with what I do with it (i.e. I use it to level up Talents for heroes I use ~ my main five).

#12

The thing is, they include a lot of double sunlight for the battlepass owners, either via events or battlepass rewards. I play every single day for about 2-3h, only 5vs5 ranked and reached only level 55. Will not get even to the “better” free awards that are in place vs the good sunlight dial + end of season ones.

The free stuff in this game is A LOT less and they (as always) change how some system works to mask it.

#13

That’s the thing, you already missed a lot of sunlinght from events in the past + bonuses. Also a lot of days of sunlight boost are in the battlepass. More than will be left if you buy it.

Tl:dr the system benefits only the people that buy it at start or blitz players that plays a lot and level up fast. Ranked players are leaved without even reaching level 100. How it’s fair for a 2-3h per day player to not get even the free awards in the end, awards that are 1/4 of the previous seasons ones that I reached every time? :slight_smile:

#14

I mean, level 81 isn’t exactly easy to reach. The point of the Battle Pass isn’t to deplete your ICE immediately; it’s to give you enough to buy something else so that when you do spend your ICE, you won’t have enough to buy next season’s Battle Pass and will need to make another purchase. If they removed the ability to get more ICE, they’d have to include some seriously good rewards, twice as much as the second Battle Pass, if we’re assuming that 100 levels is the new norm.

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#15

I agree that the system is a bit underhanded in the changes.

Granted, most don’t r can’t really say what has changed from the Sunlight Dial to the Free Pass because no one recorded each reward at each stage.

However, I say ‘free stuff’ in the game is still roughly the same, but locked behind a good amount of RNG (cause Metal Chests and their corresponding Keys drop on occasion and at the oddest of times).

It’s one of my regrets, cause I really love archiving information and spreading it to the community. At least I have Talents Compilation, lol; but that’s not really liked because players don’t like Talents in general.

I’m surprised you aren’t further ahead in Sunlight Levels. I barely scrape by to Level 49 Sunlight before I bought the Battle Pass (with leftover ICE accumulated for free).

Even when losing in Ranked, as long as the game went long enough and you use the highest tier of skin possible (Legendary or Limited Edition); the Sunlight should be more than enough to bypass at least till 60 to 65.

I may have missed a lot of Sunlight from past Events, but I don’t quite feel the impact due to the high acceleration of Sunlight gains from stacking Events, Events bonuses from having the Battle Pass, using heroes I like with high tier skins (which I have quite a good number that has Legendaries), and Sunlight Boosters.

I don’t think the system really benefits any group of players specifically. It’s more like whoever plays a lot (and I mean a lot) of games and wins most of them while using the highest tier skins can get the most out of the Battle Pass and related Events.

Ranked players can get roughly the same if not more by doing fewer games, but they really have to win a lot.

To me, the fairness of SEMC’s ‘free rewards’ is subjective.
It all rides on the capacity of the player to work for those rewards and maybe spend a little bit of ICE to perpetuate the endless cycle of the Battle Pass (together with the dedication to break even with what have been spent).

#16

I agree Level 81 Sunlight is hard to reach, especially if one does not have the benefits provided by owning the Battle Pass in the first place.

If they do decide to make so that Battle Pass can get one close to but not break even with the cost invested, they seriously have to consider the items they included in the Battle Pass.

Because if they modify the ICE values and retain what we have now, I can for sure say that a lot are not going to be happy because Talents and Materials chests, plus Essence (which most players tend to accumulate in excess) are not exactly appealing.

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#17

Agree, personally, those rewards are for me, equal to 0. So for me when looking at the BP the value i calculate to see if its worth It is by deleting all talent, material and essence, and pings. So for me this new BP is worth nothing.

#18

I have 95% of the skins, got ICE to buy the rest I think + even 5 epic keys. It’s not about me or if I want free stuff… it’s about how I feel about the reward system. I guarantee you the rewards are less, there are people that actually calculated things about sunlight dial (also the old dial) + I got quite a lot of chests in the end of every season (blueprints and what not ) that will benefit a new player massively. Right now those chests if you don’t know are removed and in their words put among the free pass and that’s just not true. I had like 10 blueprint chest, where are those in the free pass? Where are the 4 rare chests keys?

I play only ranked and that takes time to finish the game + as it’s 5vs5 it’s easier to lose because of teammates. As for the skins, I play with different ones… after all why I paid so much money for them if I will never use them? The sunlight bonus should had been tied to the highest tier you got, not the one you use as this way they force you to play with one skin even if you have 8 and like them all or you like less sunlight bonus one more. Still, most of my games is with high tier skin and still here I am, level 57 currently. No battlepass heavily restricted me, I would be for sure atleast level 75 if I had battlepass for all the bonuses with it and the events. :slight_smile:

#19

From my own records and recollection, yes, the rewards in the Free Pass are quite less than before.

I think the only rewards that really left an impression to me as being quite useful and good were the Rare and Epic keys. They offer a small chance at something big after all.

Blueprint Chests to me, be it free or purchased; are always finicky. I can’t tell you how many duplicates I got out of them. However, since I also got quite good skins out of them, I can’t really complain much.

As for Ranked, I dislike it. People in my tiers ban the right stuff, that’s good; but oh boy they suck at picking the right heroes and have no sense of using the swapping tool in Draft. Tier 5 to 6 by the way, because I don’t play ranked much.

My performance in 5v5 is best on supports that are meta (at least) and Skaarf (I can only do midlane with him cause the sides are just a pain in the ass to me).

In 3v3, I’m generally versatile; though I go Captain or Jungler.

If you have a look in VGpro (my ign is Starfarer) and you’ll see my highest rank being Silver 5 and Bronze 6 in 5v5 and 3v3 respectively.

However, I do have a 2200+ rank in Blitz, lol. I don’t even abuse the broken Talents anyway!
My team mates do, cough cough, and I back up them with synergistic hero and Talent picks.

In the end, I think what SEMC want to do is make players get the Battle Pass to experience a lot more rewards. This is dubious because older players have amassed enough of the collectables to make more of a net loss (in their eyes at least) when it comes to rewards.

Newer players and those that play a lot but have very little in terms of collection will the ones to benefit from the Battle Pass.

This is the clear cut opinion I think everyone has at this point.

#20

The epic ones aren’t just a chance, they are guaranteed to give a hero and a skin. That’s why it lost hurts that match (plus the unowned hero and legendary skin in the ice pass).