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FTM
Mururoa
✭✭✭
in The Bridge
Hi there,
I want to know, talking to Tilting Point here, how, the hell, some players can Max a crew that is not yet available ??
I mean not available by event, giveaway, pack, ...
Some examples :
Scorpion Tendi -> FTM by =GBP= Frank on Jan 19, 2024
Mr Homm -> FTM by Andrew (GH) on Jan 21, 2024
I want to know, talking to Tilting Point here, how, the hell, some players can Max a crew that is not yet available ??
I mean not available by event, giveaway, pack, ...
Some examples :
Scorpion Tendi -> FTM by =GBP= Frank on Jan 19, 2024
Mr Homm -> FTM by Andrew (GH) on Jan 21, 2024
1
Comments
Once Crew are in the Vault, they can be "pulled" by the Dabo Wheel Rewards generator. I've seen "following week" Event Rewards a few times ahead of the Packs being alive.
It costs 15,490 to run the wheel (spin it until you get all rewards).
It costs 11,490 to run it using an ad-spin for the final spin.
Apparently it is more economical to do the ad-spin on the penultimate spin, and risk having to spend an extra 1000 dil for the final spin.
I have been playing this game for six and a half years, I have wanted a FTM for a long time.
Running the wheel is the best opportunity most players will have to get a FTM.
To some it might seem like a waste of money and dil, but for me it was worth the investment to get my player name into the game in this way. It also supports the game.
I play for several hours a week, every week. sometimes I compete in events to gain the gold. I enjoy playing this, so why not spend a bit of money occasionally to support the game and TP.
To some it may seem a waste, but I know people who spend far more going to sporting events, the cinema or music events.
I estimate my FTM cost me £6, as the dil was on special offer, and the wheel was half price.
This will be a backdrop to the discussion, with numbers to support.
Hi!
I'll respond as I'm called out in the OP.
Over the 8 years of this game, there have been roughly 438 unique accounts that have gotten a 'First to Max' credit on a crew, and as you can see in the vault, we are just short of 1500 crew in the game. Right now, as i type this, there is only 1 crew that has not been maxed yet, and that's the new Dream Alien Leader that premiers in the new Campaign at 11pm CST tonight.
Also to note - of those 438 unique players, 151 of them have gotten 2 or more.
Things start to get a little 'top heavy' as you go further up the leaderboard however....
Those top 10 FTMers account for half the cards in the game alone.
Let's look at the history. When the game first started in beta and then proper launch in January of 2016, there was no 'First to Max' field on the cards. It was something that was talked about and then tracked on the old forums (RIP) via a spreadsheet and the honor system. A player would simply post on the forum that they maxed a card, with a screenshot. It was primitive, but it worked. When May rolled around, an update was made where this was tracked officially in game with the spot on the back of the card. Also cards that had been manually tracked were updated with the official name of the maxer. To note, several cards were reported by Player X (insert name here) only to find that a different player silently maxed them some weeks or days earlier.
Also in the early days, it took WEEKS to get materials to max a card, few did it. It was a different game and meta.
Fast forward to today. Paladin has and still remains the gold standard, 50 ahead of Sisko at #2, who nearly doubles me at #3.
Why do we do it?
I won't speak for anyone else, but several of the names on that list have completed the ultimate whale goal, which is to have every single card available in the game immortalized...not counting event cards for upcoming events. TPG can run a script and give the real answer, but I'd bet there are less than 20 people active today that can claim such an accomplishment. I am one, but I don't claim it on my resume anymore due to the voyage exclusive golds, which are near impossible to get and quickly becoming an evergrowing reason I want to quit the game.
At the end of the day, it's a card collecting game. I am here to collect and max cards. I have the resources to win any event of my choice, at any time, as long as I have the hours over the weekend to do it. I choose not to, as I have done it already, the achievement is gone. Hopefully someone new can win instead. Currently I have about 790k-805k Dilithium - that's 6 figures of Dilithium - so I can buy multiples of any Tuesday pack, no matter how bad the odds, until the new card drops. At any given time, I have between 120-150 gold citations just sitting in my inventory. If a new card shows up on Dabo, which refreshes daily, I can buy it without thinking. Note also, Dabo refreshes with a new board once a day - and players on iOS or Android devices have a once-a-day, not more, option to refresh to a new wheel. It's not unlimited.
Bottom line - it's the only thing left in the game outside of the people I've met and the community that I enjoy and continue to do. I have the resources to max a new card in less than 2.5 minutes from the point of acquiring it, which only Sisko is faster than me as we have raced and he beats me every time.
None of this is a brag, this is just a whales perspective for a game mechanic that a lot of people don't understand or know the ins-and outs of.
Feel free to ask anything you like and I'll answer.
Thats how I got my 2 (1 5* and 1 4* - both from Dabo).
For those who have just 1 (like me) how does it rank them?
is it how long it took to FTM since they were released in the vault?
No rhyme or reason the way it sorts when you get into 'tie' values (2 or 1). It's not by alphabetical captain, it's not by alphabetical crew, nor is it by any sort of date. I'll ask NoNameNamer the method to his madness.
Ditto. I never thought I'd get a FTM and never actively pursued it as an in-game goal, but I lucked into a 5* crew the day it was released and managed to get it at about the halfway point of clearing the Dabo table.
Note, any future 2 and 3 star crew that may get added won't be available on dabo.
I FTMed a 4* crew & no, I don't think it was money wasted/done on something stupid.
It's an achievement in the game that at least for me gives me some satisfaction & a bit of pride
Your name will always be shown with that crew
would I do it again? Doubtful unless it was a crew I really cared about
Ironically, the 5* crew I got before the new crew * was one I did not need
Sod's law!
Hey, if it gets your rocks off to see your name as FTM for a crew that is already or will soon be power crept out of relevancy, you will not see me argue with you about it.
Im just saying that it dosnt mean anything when it can be accomplished 100% through spending. To me, Its kind of like raffle tickets. Sure, you might buy one ticket and get lucky, but more than likely the “winner” is the person that bought 60% of the tickets just to hear their name called.
Again, I have no argument for or against how your FTM has influenced your life. In the confines of my own perspective, FTM means about as much as a kid getting a participation trophy in a spelling bee.
10% is accomplished through perseverance and tenacity.
13% is accomplished through sheer luck.
and 22% is accomplished through time.
I think.
Also 7% holding your mouth the right way while clicking the button.
they have to qualify to get to the spelling bee competitions & if you have seen the nationals for any country 😱😱 They definitely deserve some sort of trophy
To get to Scripps, a kid has to go through multiple competitions, starting in their classroom.
It's more like getting a Bronze at Paris than it is "showing up".
The whole reason it is displayed on the Crew is because it encourages people to try for it, to get their name in the game.
With encourages engagement. Which is beneficial for any game.
My tricorder detects no errors.
The methods are this
1. Dabo/Faction Exclusive... Getting lucky + a S ton of money
2. Getting lucky on Gauntlet (Gauntlet exclusive)
3. Getting lucky on Voyages (Voyage Exclusive)
4. Getting lucky on the timing for Honor hall
5. Getting lucky like I did.
Fantastic answer, I hope TP listen to you and Sisko for future additions to the game, ideally fixing the bugs 1st rather than adding features, the game is becoming more of a Job, complete dailies, objectives, events, player retention should be TP's focus. 30k players registered on Admiral Arena, when a few years ago it was over 120k players the top 1% reward was for achieving top 1200, now it's top 300.
Is this you?!
Sorry, the timing was too perfect, I had to do it!
My hope is you did this on purpose and were waiting for somebody to point it out, and I will conclude by saying I have tremendous respect for the bit!
I'm Frank?
That comes across like you're not sure?
Right, the one on the screenshot indicates you are expressed in terms of the British currency unit.