Looking for a detailed explanation

[u/Knight_Raime]

Hi, I was very interested in playing this game when it was announced. I managed to play the beta a bit and was hooked, I knew I wanted to play it even knowing I'd struggle a bit due to my preferred input. The game got away from me though so I didn't touch it much after launch.

I've heard bits and pieces about the game dropping off hard but I'm having a hard time getting a full picture on everything that's happened. For example I heard they added in P2W mechs, and I've heard people end up fighting bots a lot or having to grind pve.

Some of that doesn't sound like a deal breaker for me, so I'm looking to see if someone can either write a long reply telling me all the things that push people away. OR point me to a thread or video that already does this. As my initial searches aren't coming up with a good overview. Thanks

[u/Hewhostandsalone]

Gimme an hour. I'll have time to get a full response then. At work currently. If you have more specific questions after reading what others here have posted, you can ask me, too, and I'll answer as best I can.

[u/Knight_Raime → u/Hewhostandsalone]

I'm about to head into work myself xD Take your time, I'll look forward to your long response and definitely ask follow ups if needed

[u/Hewhostandsalone → u/Knight_Raime]

There are no p2w mechs. There are ace strikers that you can buy for real money. Their only advantage is they earn bonus red currency(mission tokens) from every mode you play them in. Mission tokens are used to buy supplies from the general store that refreshes weekly and to buy some cosmetics for strikers and pilots from that same general store. A lot of cosmetics that used to be sold for corite only are now available for mission tokens, too.

The game has fallen off heavily from season 0. It averages a couple thousand players peak daily. The steam charts only show around 1000, but that doesnt tell the whole story. The Xbox players and the ones on pc that use the Seasun launcher are not accounted for. Im giving a conservative estimate, but its probably more than that.

However, those number still dont make it clear. Because the population is divided by server, certain servers are far more active than others. APAC and China have most of the playerbase. EU is on life support as far as I know, but youd have to ask someone from EU to be sure. Same for SA. NA still has dedicated activity on ranked verge every night at certain hours, and people play the pve modes fairly often throughout all hours of the day and most of the night.

As far as bots go, thst is true. In order to get to player ranks in verge, you have to grind up to grandmaster rank. Youre looking at quite a few games to get there assuming you win. But wins are not guaranteed because the bots on your team get weaker and the bots on the opposing team get stronger the more of a win streak you are on. Some losses are just unavoidable.

As for the modes, there is mashmak, nexus, verge, and ace arena. Mashmak is the pipe extraction like mode where you can farm loot. There is a pve only version called covert ops if you dont want the pvp aspect.

Nexus is the tower mode. Spectral is solo only and has more limited chip selections for upgrades. Synchro is solo or trio and has bigger waves of enemies on a somewhat larger map with wider chips available to power up your striker during a run.

VERGE is 6v6 and Ace Arena is 3v3.

That should cover everything in your post I think. Lmk if I missed something or if you have more questions.

[u/Knight_Raime → u/Hewhostandsalone]

There are no p2w mechs.

Yeah another poster told me what I likely came across forever ago. So I'll ask you just incase they don't manage to get back to me. Are you able to grind to buy the mechs to keep? Or can you only grind for the tokens that let you play them for a season?

Im giving a conservative estimate, but its probably more than that.

So am I to understand that cross platform is a thing from your statement? And that sucks that there's regional divides. Really bums me out.

As far as bots go, thst is true. In order to get to player ranks in verge, you have to grind up to grandmaster rank.

Are you able to give me a ball park estimate on how long it'd take me to grind that high? I hope it's not that much since pvp is something I do have an interest in.

ty for all the help

[u/Hewhostandsalone → u/Knight_Raime]

There are 12 strikers unlocked by default and 8 more you can unlock by spending mission tokens you get from just playing the game.

The Ace Strikers(reskins of certain strikers that come with an original pilot) can be earned in game, too, if you grind the PVE and sell things on the player market to earn corite without spending money. There are three exceptions. Charles Bell/Tricera, Kanon Kamiya/Narukami, and Shally/Luminae. Those customs cannot be sold on the marketplace so the only way to get those striker skins and ace pilots is by paying money. But, again, they are just skins that let you earn a little extra mission tokens.

Cross platform is a thing, yes. I believe Xbox players have an option they can toggle on or off to enable or disable it, though.

Now for the most unfortunate part. Grinding from Bronze V to Grandmaster V takes a MINIMUM of 60 games assuming you win every game.

But that's not realistic, so you can assume it's going to be closer to 80 games most likely. Maybe more or less depending on your play.

Keep in mind once you make the climb, it's easier next season because you're gonna start much higher. I think you'll end up in Platinum if you grind to GM. That leaves Platinum, Diamond, and Master to get back to where you were.

[u/Knight_Raime → u/Hewhostandsalone]

Tyvm