strategy is simply the tactical path you take. addressing the elephant in the room: a tactical path should be through actual gameplay. having multiple paths, one within gameplay and one without, is the unbalance of strategy. that is where the main issue lies. a player who wants actual success in a game will do so through actual gameplay. tactical paths that exist through gameplay. this regardless of their bank account, small or large.
as exxxe stated in #5 why should someone playing 10 minutes a day gain an advantage over someone playing 3 or 4 hrs. a day. that is if someone wants to rate their success through gameplay. highscores are meaningless if simply purchased. on the subject of time. the way many games are developed, a player is wasting their time actually playing the game. many players make more money irl. {this being the value of the player's time, energy, focus and effort}. it is better efficiency for a "player" to get a part time second job and buy success in a game than it is to play the game.
when a game is an unsatisfying full time job, players devoting their time, focus, energy and effort, and then the game company does not value that time, focus, energy and effort; it is a slap in the face of the player. this slap in the face is a stronger source of anger than the initial unbalance.
most console games here in the states are usually 40 to 60 usd when new and recently released. i keep my old consoles and games i like. i can go back to them after 2, 5, or even 10 years and ENJOY them again and again. the appeal of online games is the continued building of the game account. this takes alot of time. even the best games can become a grind, but, they do have something to offer. real success through gameplay. and some players can f2p and still beat coiners at building their account. i could pay 20 years subscription in a certain game with game resources. i have no desire to do so, but i could.
a game that has value is worthy of a subscription: 10 to 15 usd. this game is not worth a subscription for a player who wants to succeed through gameplay. i would not pay 1 usd per month. that is what plarium needs to work on.
i am a lone wolf. " anti-social". i created my own league of one. it is the best 2k sapphires i have spent in the game.
strategy: gaining ground through gameplay. is losing troops in bgs strategy? is not building your castle walls with true game resources strategy? is putting your troops on a hamlet as sitting ducks for a pker. strategy? is not defending your castle because coin players are like kids in a candy store when they see 10m defense. strategy? is resource raiding 3 hrs a day to build an army that the only purpose is to destroy those troops in order to gain fewer troops. strategy?
it may look like isolated complaints from a handful of players, but, most of it stems from a common source. A STRATEGY GAME?
online games are like restaurants, most people don't complain...............they just don't come back.