Marvel Snap’sdeveloper Second Dinner recently went totally independent recently, and if the game’s latest limited time mode is any indication, there’s going to be some growing pains.
For example, the fan-favorite mode High Voltage just went live in the card battler with a twist this afternoon. High Voltage Overdrive puts a wrinkle on the fast-paced, shorter mode by adding a bunch of random cards and effects into the equation, causing pure chaos and RNG.
The reception on the mode itself is mixed, but there has been universal anger in response to the game mode’s shop prices. Players can purchase a couple of new, powerful cards using a currency earned in the mode (Volts), but the prices in the shop are astronomically high. And of course, the grind can be skipped entirely by using real world money to purchase the currency needed.
One of the new cards, Kid Omega, costs a whopping 50,000 Volts. Players can complete bounties every eight hours to earn 875 Volts for free, but bounties can be refreshed for 300 Gold (about $3), and there are some Volts on the event’s reward track too.
The math is complex, but for now, it seems as though the new card cannot be earned without spending real currency, which is something the game elsewhere avoids. Avid players of the game are pretty upset by the development, withSnap’sannouncement about High Voltage Overdrive onTwitter/Xbeing met with a lot of anger.
“I’ve been playing this for years but the corp greed is getting extreme and really off-putting,” one playersaid.
“I truly want to know how you guys reach the decisions that get approved to get put out into the public, like who sees this shop and says ‘YUP’ this makes sense,”saidanother gamer. “Went from hyped to absolutely not caring about the new cards.”
I’ve played a whole heck of a lot ofSnapmyself over the past few years, and the seemingly insurmountable price of Volts for Kid Omega makes it seem not worth the grind, on top of the fact that I really do not like the randomness of Overdrive and miss the original High Voltage.
Kid Omega grind is insane! Logistically, 50k volts =Mission rewards (875 Volts/8 hrs, 8 days) = 21,000 + 9,500 track rewards = 30,500 VoltsRemaining: 19,500 Volts ÷ 20 Volts/win = 975 wins.50% win rate: 1,950 games * 1.5 min = ~49 hoursWTF
Unfortunately, it seems as though Second Dinner is standing its ground on the prices.
“Our ongoing goal with Limited Time Game Mode (LTGM) Shop rewards is to give players more control and flexibility over how they spend their earned currencies,” said Second Dinner community manager Griffin Bennett in the game’s official Discord. “Most rewards in the LTGM Shop will be fully earnable using LTGM currencies alone. However, some top-tier items may require additional gameplay in other modes to earn enough Gold to make up the difference. For example, Kid Omega from HV:O is priced in the Shop at a premium to that of a standard Series 5 card. Players who want to acquire it can use their earned Volts to reduce the cost by buying it directly and supplementing with Gold. Alternatively, players can use Gold to purchase bonus Mission Refreshes that help them earn more Volts.”
Second Dinner is usually pretty receptive to feedback, so I’m hoping that a change or two will be made since the mode is only here until next Tuesday. Otherwise, I think I’ll spend my time in another game for the time being.
