Season Two: Dark Star kicked off in RollerCoin last night after an intolerably long down-time (advertised as 4-6 hours, more like 12+ hours in the end). And that sort of anticlimactic feeling extends for me into season two. First, let's walk through the basics of what is going on this season.
Season 2: Dark Star has a science-fiction space theme. I love the originality of the developers in their tying of a theme to the new miners. And truly, the new miners look cool! The season will once more run for ~60 days. Note that this time the season started in "the middle" of a quest week, so there are fewer days this round to get all the available quest points. More below on that.
Unlike last season in which you were automatically a part of the event, this time you have to opt in by selecting "Get Season Pass for Free" - which I admit threw me off before my first cup of coffee. I thought it was asking for the RLT up front, it was not - it just wanted to open up the season for you.
Once you "purchase" the free event pass then you have the option of upgrading it. There are two plans this round; Upgrade and Premium.
Upgrade: Unlocks premium rewards BUT you have to earn them throughout the season.
Premium: Unlocks the premium rewards AND gives you all of them on the spot - no playing or questing required.
Price difference: 199.99 RLT for the Upgrade and 799.99 for the Premium.
STEEP price difference - you decide it if it is for you. This post will continue with the deliberation of FREE vs Upgrade and leave out Premium considerations since it is intuitively extrapolated from the upgrade conversation.
Well, what do you get from this season. Unlike last season's 20 levels, this season there are only 15 but they did remove 2 symbolic and worthless trophy level rewards, so really it's only a 3 level/reward difference in my eyes. (Unless you live for decorating your mining room - you be you). This round, you have the opportunity to earn 5 free level rewards:
Level 3: 300,000 GH/s 1-day boost
Level 6: 500,000 GH/s 3-day boost
Level 8: Chupacabra miner
Level 11: 20 RLT
Level 13: El Monstro miner
Now, if you purchase the Upgrade you stand to earn 9 miners, to include the five space-themed ones (which, I again return to - are pretty cool). You also get 60 RLT back (again assuming you complete quests through level 11), putting your net purchase/investment at around 139.99 RLT (not counting time).
Here is where we start to see some major differences from last season. The quests and daily bonuses. In the first season the daily bonus started at 5 points and went up from there. This season the first bonus was only TWO points.... already we sense that it will be far more difficult to gather the points needed for each level. Also, now it seems it is going to take 140 points to gain a level.
Then we see the weekly tasks. This time the team is asking you to play specific games, and LOTS of them. 80 wins per game. Putting you at more than DOUBLE the required playing than last season (as a reminder, last season you received rewards at 25 games, 50 games, and 150 games). This season you will have to play 320 games (and win!) for the points.
UPDATE!!!! They adjusted the amount of games to 40 per type bringing you to 160 games for max points.
Additionally, there is a new quest which to me is just the team not even trying to hide the fact that they are trying to make money off us us. If you scroll down, there is a "Spend 40 RLT" quest. $40! PER WEEK! Come on guys... that's a bit too obvious, no? Also, that means you lose out on the chance for 100 points every week... 800 points by the end of the season. ~6 LEVELS' WORTH OF POINTS.
But, its not all bad news. We have some fun updates that have come through - like the lootboxes.
The team is offering the chance to "gamble" your Rollertoken on a lootbox... Each lootbox has a different set of possible rewards/loot inside and at different possibilities/risk. Let's look more at them below.
The below are two different depictions of the same information. Basically: what the available rewards are, and what are the chance that you can get them. As a reminder that for example, a 1% chance means that STATISTICALLY (not actually), if you opened 100 boxes, 1 SHOULD be the reward. But it does not mean in aggregate. It is important to note that it doesn't appear to have any EMPTY options, which means you walk away with something every time. But, dropping 10 RLT and only receiving 3 RLT back can be discouraging. If you feel like the cost is worth the risk, ENJOY! (And please post how that went - ideally on publish0x so we all can see it).
Other new items from this season...
In the Miners market, you will find the Icarus - which was previously a "collectible" miner.
They have also set up a place for the upcoming Marketplace that is scheduled to open with Season 3 in ~60 days.
Last, and certainly not least is the introduction of another cryptocurrency you can mine within the simulation. Binance, BNB, BEP-20! At this moment, you can direct up to 100% of your mining power towards this currency, but you cannot withdraw or purchase/transfer with it. That is a functionality that I assume will roll out later in this season.
New or not, since it is double RLT week - very few people are in this currency - so you have the opportunity to gain more for your processing power at the moment. Remember to keep an eye out on the shifts in the balance of power within the simulation to smartly invest your time/money/hashrate.
Now for a not so good change. Previously, if you lost a game, you could still "gain" the appropriately earned power. Now, it's win or exit. No in-between. Seems they are cutting down on power they are handing out.
All in all, some cool changes and I like the general direction the platform continues to go in. BUT, Season Two does NOT look like a worthwhile purchase. ~$200 may be a lot for what we get back. But, that is personal preference. I am not sold on it and will once again play for free but see what appears of value later in the season. For sure though, I will keep with it. I am excited for Marketplace and the options that it brings.
As a note on perseverance, like many things, the payoffs get faster, bigger, and easier the longer you stay with it. Rollercoin seems to move slowly in the beginning, but then the benefits come quickly. Do not give up quickly. Give it a month to see if it's worth it to you and your own internal calculus.
PLEASE remember to play at least once every 24 hours to maintain you current mining level/computer status.
