Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius players were in for a surprise on August 1st, where they opened the game to not-so-exciting changes – in addition to updated content and items to buy.
First off, the new login boxes were decreased, dropping from 21000 Gil to 8000 while summoning tickets were reduced from 4 to 1. Not only were players greeted with the liquidated login gift box, but the rewards were not realistic, making new bundles unnecessary.
The event, titled “Demons Unleashed” is something that never happened in the Japanese version of the game. This rewards players with recipes for the “Void Vessel” and the “Rod of Gravity”. Along with the recipes, drops are obtained playing the event to craft each one, but players aren’t falling for the long-winded playtime required for a rod that is only slightly better than the current best available rod. While the recipes are easy to obtain, the list of crafting materials is considered to be almost masochistic. Rightfully so, the earlier ingredients are easier to retrieve, but demon hearts are only available in the ADV area through the boss’ guaranteed drop. To play this area, you need to spend 15 energy and make your way through 4 battles and a boss.
I decided to do the math for demon heart collecting exclusively:
- The event period lasts for 15 days, or in total 336 hours.
- 80 Demon hearts are required for crafting one rod, and there is at least 1 guaranteed heart per ADV run using 15 energy per play: in total 1200 energy.
- Every 5 minutes, 1 energy is restored. 1200 energy multiplied by 5 minutes is 6000 minutes or 100 hours of play.
In short, beginners and veteran players alike are treating the event as unnecessary. The spoils aren’t corresponding to the time spent to get only one of the five items needed to complete the crafting request. There is no reason to play for 100 hours when you can just wait a month for a better item, of course.
In the meanwhile, the update also contained the addition of a new bundle called the “Silver Chest of Awakening” and contains 5 Heaven’s Ash, 10 Beast Meat, and 10 Allure Powder all for $6.99 USD ($9.99 CAD). Yet, the fanbase is considering the new bundle to feed on the ignorance of beginner players. I am a beginner player, and have only made it to the end of the Grandshelt Isles, but I have almost 30 of each of the latter items. Now while I may not be the most active player, it’s pretty easy to tell that I wouldn’t be looking into buying the bundle because those items are far, far too easy to get. Some users are coining this practice as predatory due to the high drop rate of all these items in the first two maps, not to mention the fact that these items are purchasable in-game with non-premium currency. The Brave Exvius Subreddit exploded with threads about the bundles and the disappointment in GUMI’s choices with how they are treating their newer, naive players.
May it be the curse of the mobile game market, unfortunate decisions from the developers, or just plain scummy cash grabbing tactics, fans are not enjoying the changes from Brave Exvius. Perhaps these choices will incentivize players to move over to FF Mobius exclusively. With the release date as of two days ago, only time will tell.
This article was written by a past writer, Stefie Simms.
