Best chapter to at which to stop

[Jaxom]

In one of my live world fellowships there has been some discussion about how long and 'hard' the later chapters get. Some players are getting frustrated with the amount of goods, mana, seeds needed to get through the research and upgrades. They are good players, active in Spire and tournaments. They work on FAs and do trades and help other members on wonders. But they aren't going after ranking.

This got me to wondering. Is there a point beyond which moving forward makes little sense for such players? Should they stop after getting all the 3-star unit upgrades and focus on wonders? Yes, I know, one can argue that adding levels to wonders makes tournaments harder.

So if you had it to do over again would you stop at some point. Where and why?
Maybe this will be a fun discussion for end of year.
If there is any consensus I will pass it on to my live world fellowships.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I only have one active Live city, so as long as new chapters are added, I will never stop there. Here on Beta I am in chapter 15 and the lack of players offering or accepting trades for tier 3 sentient goods is getting frustrating enough that I am not sure how much longer I can deal with that. But if there was not a shortage of goods, I would keep going here too. Probably.

 

[The Fairy]

I don't know if this helps, but here is my input. I want to keep progressing, but have too many cities, so I don't progressing in all at the same time. And I want my cities to be able to do well in tourney, spire, FA, events,...

I have some milestones I try to reach and usually pause here:

Start chapter 3: so I can play spire.

Start chapter 6: residences shrinks, I will catch up on building upgrades before progressing. And somewhere in chapter 6 I will make sure all my boosts are maxed. In start chapter 6 I can do top spire and 1600+ in tourney without too much struggle. But I can't stay in chapter 6 forever if I want to keep playing events as I will reach the orc wall at some point if I continue doing map provinces.

Start chapter 9 (I hate orcs, so don't want to stop there - and I want HF+Shrooms too): so I can keep doing map provinces.

Start chapter 15 or start chapter 16: 15 so I have Timewarp! 16 if I also want all 3 star troops.

My biggest city is start chapter 16 right now, so I can't relate to later chapters.

 

[Alcaro]

I didn't stop in any of my 6 cities, I just abandoned 4 of them too much unpaid work.

I do not understand why I should stop advancing through chapters. Yes, some aspects of the game changed dramatically and I can't do in ch.19 what I did several chapters back. Sad but this is the game. Instead I changed my priorities and take all those changes as challenges. If now my tournament scores are lame, I excel in Spire, I do not strive to be among the best in every aspect of the game I just try to be the best I can be considering the changes brought by new chapters.

I know that there are so called "sweet spots" where tournaments are easier but for what purpose? If I don't advance why should I excel in tourny or Spire? What am I supposed to do with all those KPs? Upgrading wonders which eventually would kick me out from that sweet spot? What am I supposed to do with all time instants and other stuff from Spire? Staying in a spot it means you have nothing left to upgrade ... I will not continue, to me it seems absurd to stop at a certain stage in a game and not evolving.

 

[Bor de Wolf 1965]

There is only 1 place I will wait for w while.
And that is the end wall when I have finished what is currently the last chapter.
That gives me no choice.

I just keep up my basic rule.
I don't have to be number 1, I only don't want to have any one walking in front of me.
So I over take who ever I can and if you are running in front of me I am happy, for you are not walking.

 

[benroq2]

2 years ago I stopped one of my 2 cities at the start of the orcs (in order to be able to make orcs but without needing them for the tournament) and during a few months I greatly improved my tournament results and my wonders of combat …………… then I got bored because not enough interest in this city and I stopped this city to concentrate only on my main city.

I have absolutely no regrets about my choice, well-chosen wonders allow everything to be produced in sufficient quantity so as not to miss anything (I even have a lot of extra things )

i am currently in the last era and i can do the gold dungeon every week and an average of 13k every tournament

to be most effective in the game I don't think it stuck in an era but rather use the possibilities that the game offers to get around obstacles

 

[Killy]

I would stop after all 3star units in ch 15. I am playing around with a trading only city, not sure where I will stop with that one.

 

[Karvest]

Trading only city should stop at 7 expansions (6 base + 1 premium) and Orc's Main Hall + BTG.

 

[Killy]

Trading only city should stop at 7 expansions (6 base + 1 premium) and Orc's Main Hall + BTG.

How many tournament points would that be? I think my city will end differently.

 

[Karvest]

10k+, I think. But that will take a lot of time to open enough provinces in such city.

 

[Alcaro]

I only have one active Live city, so as long as new chapters are added, I will never stop there. Here on Beta I am in chapter 15 and the lack of players offering or accepting trades for tier 3 sentient goods is getting frustrating enough that I am not sure how much longer I can deal with that. But if there was not a shortage of goods, I would keep going here too. Probably.

I have this problem and it starts to step on my nerves. Because of this it took me almost double time for ch.17 than I needed in live server.

Beta server should have some regulations. People having small cities but not advancing at all are not making any service to a testing server, neither those sleeping in some other chapter. I thought we are here to test new features, new chapters.
How am I supposed to reach last chapter(s) and test it in real time if I can't advance? My trades for sentient are rotting in trader even though are 3 stars.

 

[The Fairy]

People having small cities but not advancing at all are not making any service to a testing server, neither those sleeping in some other chapter. I thought we are here to test new features, new chapters.

I am in beta to test out new features, so I know what to expect when they hit live. I don't have the time to advance through chapters though to hit the latest chapter, so I have decided to stop earlier and test out the features from a smaller city's point of view. And yes, I won't be able to test new chapters before they hit live, so once my biggest live city catch up with the chapters she will have to be my guinea pig for new chapters. But I am perfectly able to test tourney changes, perks, FA changes,... in my beta city.

 

[Alcaro]

But I am perfectly able to test tourney changes, perks, FA changes,... in my beta city.

yes, testing for your level but I think they need more than some data for ch.3 or whatever. No wonder that they used En. servers and now De. servers as guinea pigs. They need REAL data, from the whole range of players, not just from players in lower chapters, from players who are actually playing the game and are encountering all kind of problems, difficulties. This game is just a bit more than tourny, perks and ... omg ... let me laugh ... FA! FA where nothing changed in the past several adventures Beside new features there are some new chapters which have to be tested, you know?!
Just explain me, if people like me and like @Enevhar Aldarion will stop playing and more players like you are starting new cities and stop advancing somewhere on a low chapter, how is this a testing server?

 

[The Fairy]

@Alcaro it takes years (at least for me) to reach the latest chapter, my big city in live has played for close to 3 years and are in start chapter 16. And the chapters take a long time now, so how am I ever going to catch up on chapters in beta even if I started progressing again?

 

[Alcaro]

@Alcaro it takes years (at least for me) to reach the latest chapter, my big city in live has played for close to 3 years and are in start chapter 16. And the chapters take a long time now, so how am I ever going to catch up on chapters in beta even if I started progressing again?

Of course it would take years to reach end chapters but in the mean time you would experience next chapter and next and so on, providing data to Inno about possible bugs, difficulties aso. Small cities will always be in every server, including Beta.
In my opinion the first purpose of a Beta server is to provide data to the developers and only after that for us, to know earlier than live servers what new features are implemented. But this is just my opinion.

 

[Killy]

Well give out endgame accounts if you want to get data and don't expect players to spend years to do the work for Inno.

 

[Brummbaer]

Why stopping the game? Beta is a playground to test new things.

 

[SoggyShorts]

Why stopping the game? Beta is a playground to test new things.

Perhaps testing stopping the game?
I'm stopped on Live at 16 and on beta at 16.
So I'm in the perfect position to test on beta what it's like to be stopped at 16.

To be honest though the fact that anything is better for you if you stop advancing is the single most retarded aspect of this game and I've finally given up hope of inno addressing the issue.
I'll still hang out on the forums a few minutes once in a while but I'm quitting 2/3 accounts this weekend.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

@Alcaro Yep. I am starting to think I need to blame the lack of tier 3 sentient goods in the Trader on chapter 19. I had no problem at all with them when I did chapter 14, but I finished that chapter before 19 was added. So now having to take multiple weeks just to get enough sentient goods for a single research is frustrating, frustrating in a way that makes me want to quit my Beta city.

 

[Lovec Krys]

Well, Inno devs makes those new chapters*, so it's entirely their fault that many players are in one of these groups:
- They have to choose if they make sentient or ascended, thx to the enourmous costs of everything in the latest chapter(s), so they just do what they need for next research and that means worse market.
- They stop advancing in their beta city due to enormous costs of everything and chapters which takes ages at the best circumstances (=>worse market).
- Or they just quit their beta city (less players => worse market)
- Or they just quit all of their cities and go play something more funny

* And sice they don't play those latest chapters themself, they have no real idea how much costly, tournament counterproductive, boring, irritating and frustrating those chapters realy are.