I'm creating a new thread for this post/reply I made a bit earlier because, apparently, if I respond to old threads that I find via web search, they get closed. Mods, you might want to re-think that policy, by the way, as people find threads relevant to this way all the time.
A quote from a few months ago, one that is still -- perhaps even more -- relevant:
I would just like to point out that: a) this statement is utter nonsense with regard to CoC players, as obtaining loot to build upgrades is one of the foremost reasons we play the game (it isn't a good thing to SC from a profit standpoint, I will give you that) and b) regardless of the aforementioned, we are now so incredibly far from having "too much loot" in the game that to use such an argument is uncalled for.Originally Posted by zachUVA
If I found a 200+/200+ base on a single search every time, sure, we'd be at that point. Even if I found a great base to raid after only 5-10 searches every time, I suppose one could argue that we'd be in a "too much loot" situation, although it should certainly be noted that a good/loot-rich base *appearing* is not the same as a player obtaining all of said loot.
Where we stand right now, however, is nowhere near the above low-search-time hypothetical. So many clanmates and fellow forum posters I see are regularly spending 100+K gold and upwards of 10+ minutes per search to find a single base with 200/200 and/or a setup viable for attack by their army compositions. To me, a search of 10-20 "nexts", perhaps even passing a base or two with good loot but a strong defense (or one not easily defeated by the attacker's army) during that time, seems completely reasonable and should be the goal.
The fact of the matter is that the insanely long and costly search times, most notably for TH10 by far, are killing interest in the game. If players can't farm at a reasonable rate, many will stop playing. I understand -- essentially everyone who posts here does, too -- that SC wants people to buy gems, but sucking the game dry of any loot and making progression slow to molasses is not the way to do it. I have numerous IRL friends who have quit playing CoC largely for this reason. Know how much money SC is making off them? ZILCH.
Two simple ways to encourage gem-spending would be: 1) make farming more reasonable again which would increase game morale/interest and allow more players to achieve competitive trophy levels where gem-spending to fill clan castles, heal heroes, and train troops actually becomes relevant and 2) decrease boost costs to reasonable rates and/or continue doing "boost discounts," like over the holidays, more frequently. I, for one, spent more gems during the December/January boost discount than during the previous 3-4 months combined because it actually provided substantial cost:benefit value.
In short, however, the extreme time and gold commitment required by the new loot system is simply ludicrous. It must be fixed if SC wishes for CoC to remain relevant and popular in the long-term.
