I really like the aggressiveness of the new Clash of Clans update, but I'm really sad at how it leaves TH9 and below in the dark. Here's what I detail below: first, a description of the current situation nearly all below TH10 (myself included) face; then, why that's a problem; then, 4 solutions people throw around rudely that simply don't work; and finally 1 solution that really would win for everybody.
Situation:
I'm an upper end TH9 and am at the point where all of my remaining builds (except for walls) are 3.2-7.0 million a piece in either gold or elixir.
Having six Level 12 Gold Mines, six Level 12 Elixir Collectors, and two Level 6 Dark Elixir drills will net me, in a 16.5 hour span, 346,500 gold, 346,500 elixir, and 3,300 dark elixir. (16hr is my maximum shield time for 90%+ destruction, and as a guy in Masters 1 I get a 30 minute personal guard on the end of that. Very common in Clash.)
Problem:
Suppose I have a busy day and can only pop in for a quick 30 seconds here or there to farm but cannot attack. At the point my shield runs out, all of my loot is in my storages, with nothing in collectors. I get raided in the new era where farming is dead and my TH is inside, so I suffer a 100% 3-star raid to a ridiculous Golem-based attack type from a far higher leveled player. This means, as a TH9, that I lose:
>> 14% of my gold storage assets (up to 350,000 gold)
>> 14% of my elixir storage assets (up to 350,000 elixir)
>> 6% of my dark storage assets (up to 2,500 DE)
>> 14% of my town hall assets (accounted in 3 max caps above)
So, in total, on an immaculately farmed base with anything more than 2.5M/2.5M/42K, I lose up to 350,000 / 350,000 / 2,500. (Granted, if I get hit by a TH10, they only get 80% of this, or 280,000 / 280,000 / 2,000, but that's still a devastating loss if I need to reach 3.2M-7.0M.) I have effectively lost everything I have raised, meaning my Clash of Clans experience comes to a complete halt unless I can raid; this discourages my growth and encouraging me to quit.
What's worse is that if I run an attack I need to make more in loot profit (total loot gained minus what I lost in cooking the army) than I forfeited my giving up several hours of letting my collectors run under shielding - a profit of 63K/63K/600 for attack #1, 84K/84K/800 for attack #2, etc. THIS ACTUALLY DISCOURAGES BEING AN ACTIVE PLAYER.
Finally - heaven forbid - if my base doesn't get farmed in time, I can lose 50% of my gold mines' assets, 50# of my elixir collectors' assets, and 75% of my dark elixir drills' assets. I can actually go backwards in resources held. This is beyond discouraging; this makes players get up and flood the exit doors of Clash.
So... What do we do? I've heard four common "solutions" thrown around in conversations by Clashers, and they simply don't work; I've listed those below and why each fails. THEN - I've listed what WOULD work as #5.
#1: BOOST NON-STOP. (...and farm immaculately.) I still suffer huge, demoralizing losses, but I'm at least gaining more than I'm losing. This takes gems most don't have. I have Christmas 1-gem boosts for now to help, and after a push to Champions I have 2,000 gems to burn, but after a month or two that will be gone, and most players don't even have that. I have already accomplished most of the achievements in the game other than the ones that will take years to meet, and for most players this is true. Apart from spending huge cash on the game, as a player who puts in a few attacks a day, this option fails.
#2: GEM A LOT. The key to a successful "freemium" game is a desirable and economic pull for both the free and premium crowds; divorcing one or the other kills the game. This divorces the former and would be a failure. For me, as a casual player with a budget in the real world, this option is out.
#3: PLAYERS JUST HAVE TO ATTACK A LOT NOW. The cultural blend of casual and professional players gave Clash its legendary word-of-mouth marketing explosion; this kills all but the heavily committed and professionally paid players. Most players, like it or not, simply can't guarantee getting in 4-5 attacks every shield to outgain the losses without boosting (see #1) or gemming (see #2); it is a huge life demand that most cannot give. I can usually get in an attack or two, but this new update forces me to always get an attack in every single day, every single time I have my shield drops. Shoot, how many people don't even brush their teeth twice a day?!
#4: WAR AND WIN ALL THE TIME. War armies are expensive, and if you lose a war you take a big loss on elixir and dark elixir. Heck, if you donate for your team's clan castles, you even usually lose resources on a win. For this to be the only viable option will cause lots of casual clans, and players, to leave.
#5: THEN WHAT WORKS?! SC reduces the amount of loot available to gain/lose on a raid and instead increases the league bonus, with heavy weighting toward successful attacks. (Cheap 1-2 star, low percentage runs don't get awarded as much for TH9 and below; high percentage runs and 3 star runs get the full reward.) There is already a loot cap and a league bonus in place, so this is a minimal code shift. The ratio change in gold, elixir, and dark elixir game-injected rather than farm-earned will not throw off the economy since the spend rate of players holds the same, keeping demand the same, and with a forced kick-out time after personal guard the ability to abuse the system and flood attacks has a hard ceiling, so supply also holds roughly the same. This continues to reward players who are fast-paced, high traffic attackers yet reduces the penalty on those trying to advance through defense and farming; it continues to reward gemmers but doesn't penalize those who play free. This wins all the way around.
This is why I upgraded backwards. I did all the 7mil upgrades first, and I am down to my very last cannon, then one level of my air sweepers, then onto walls.
Before the update, my clanmates laughed at me. Now... I am a prophet of doom! They all did cannons first, and are now stuck upgrading xbows and such heh.
