Full Disclosure: How Much Money I Spent Gacha Gaming
Let me begin by saying how surprised I was at the final amount. Of course, the Gacha Game is Empires and Puzzles. I will share a lot in this post and provide a timeline so that we can mark up how it correlates with my blog posts and success in the game.
I’m writing this post because it’s a fun and fascinating topic.
My intention is not to preach to you about Gacha spending; that’s between you and your maker. My goal is to offer some disclosure for entertainment’s sake and because it might help somebody somehow.
For the record, I was going to write this post regardless of the total amount… although I was expecting/hoping for a more modest figure. I always considered myself Cheap to Play (C2P).
Looking back, I really deserved better Heroes for all that cash!
This is going to be fun…
Hold Up! First, please help me by telling the world that the OC is spilling the beans on his spending!
And for those interested, here’s the definition of a Gacha game [Wiki].
This post may contain speculation, personal opinion, and comedy. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.
How Much Did the Old Cynic Spend on Empires & Puzzles? (Gacha!)
Let’s begin with the total sum:
£707.49 (US $913.90)
Seeing that figure makes me need an ad…
Before tallying up the total spend, I had speculated that I had only spent somewhere in the region of £250-£300, so £707.49 was completely unexpected.
That’s more money than I’ve ever spent on any single game, and I can’t imagine doing it again.
The first £200 or so was completely accidental. -I never intended to spend anywhere near that amount of money. I wasn’t really aware of how quickly it was mounting up.
Even though I could afford the expenditure at the time, the poor child within me would never have condoned it.
One small purchase simply bled into another, and before I knew it, I had spent more money than I would have done on a PlayStation title (and I’m the type who waits for them to go on Sale).
This post represents the first time I have ever worked out how much money I spent, and that early spending period is more than I remember or anticipated.
I differentiate between the “early” spend and the rest because, for a short time, I purposely spent money for the blog.
-In an attempt to obtain Heroes for review and experience.
As you will know, if you followed me, I never did get the monster Heroes. However, I frequently enjoyed backhanding them in battle! 😁
…Until one day, when I could no longer reach them as my Defense Team fell away due to the power creep.
My Monthly Gacha Game Spending History
Here we go, the juicy stuff!
Cash conversion from UK £ to US $ was completed on 21/07/2024… or 07/21/2024 for my American friends.
2020
Key date – January 2020: I began my E&P journey
Jan: £7.99 Feb: £22.95 Mar: £15.93 Apr: £11.98
May: £14.98 Jun: £11.95 Jul: £2.99 Aug: £8.98
Sep: £1.99 Oct: £22.97 Nov: £0 Dec: £12.98
2020 TOTAL: £135.69 (US$ 175.28)
Commentary: That Initial £7.99 in January must represent a ridiculously good offer. I’m very surprised, on reflection, to see such an early purchase. Let me check….
Yes, it was the “Back from the dead” returning player offer. -I had previously downloaded the app but then deleted it before really playing. I downloaded E&P again in Jan 2020, hence the offer.
2021
Key date – July 1st 2021: I wrote my first post about E&P
Jan: £7.96 Feb: £63.75 Mar: £39.88 Apr: £0
May: £4.99 Jun: £1.99 Jul: £2.99 Aug: £1.78
Sep: £11.48 Oct: £31.88 Nov: £44.23 Dec: £22.92
2021 TOTAL: £233.85 (US$ 302.08)
Commentary: £63.75 (Feb’s spend) is a lot to see on paper. I wonder who I was chasing. Does £63.75 constitute “chasing”? Valhalla Forever? Looking at the raw data, that 63.75 is actually a bunch of small purchases (£1.99, 2.99, 4.99, etc).
2022
Key date – March 26th 2022: My Underwild Summoning Post
Key date – June 3rd 2022: I reached #1 on the World Leaderboard
Jan: £0 Feb: £0 Mar: £49.87 Apr: £52.90
May: £25.99 Jun: £3.49 Jul: £0 Aug: £25.99
Sep: £73.41 Oct: £0 Nov: £25.99 Dec: £43.42
2022 TOTAL: £301.06 (US$ 388.89)
Commentary: Jan, Feb, July, and Oct = £0. For nearly 2 years prior, I was spending money like I was supporting a family of endangered penguins in the Antarctic.
2023
Key date – December 27th 2023: I concluded active coverage of E&P
Jan: £8.99 Feb: £9.93 Mar: £7.98 Apr: £9.99
May: £0 Jun: £0 Jul: £0 Aug: £0
Sep: £0 Oct: £0 Nov: £0 Dec: £0
2023 TOTAL: £36.89 (US$ 47.65)
Commentary: So it was April when I finally decided that I wasn’t gonna pull any monster Heroes so I might as well save myself the aggro. Funny thing is, I did pull some very good Heroes after I stopped spending… Go figure.
2024
2024: Nil
Jan: £0 Feb: £0 Mar: £0 Apr: £0
May: £0 Jun: £0 Jul: £0
2024 TOTAL: £0 (US$ 0)
Commentary: Yes, by 2024, my wallet was well and truly zipped closed.
GRAND TOTAL: £CRAZY CASH!
I stopped spending money in the end because I never pulled the great Heroes. Maybe I wasn’t spending enough… -In my opinion, I was!
Later, we had a surge in the power creep, and at that point, I knew I’d never be able to keep up.
For me, Empires and Puzzles has always been about Raiding, Tournaments, and War (the PvP stuff), and the power creep was extremely detrimental to my ability to compete (which is what I enjoyed doing most).
That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy those parts of the game and get by as F2P or C2P, it’s just that I couldn’t.
My roster couldn’t withstand the HP barrage, and I couldn’t mindfully throw cash at the game to tilt the balance back in my favour.
Empires and Puzzles
My final thoughts:
Empires and Puzzles managed to merge several great elements into one masterful gaming experience.
It was an easy game to get into, and even without “Meta” Heroes, you could compete (as my #1 spot illustrates).
I’m not sure what it would take to achieve a similar feat today.
Of course, there will be those who have spent significantly more than me and those who haven’t spent at all. -I always considered myself very C2P (Cheap to Play), but these things are only properly measured by the yardstick you use.
Now you have mine, maybe you can better understand your own.
Ps. I’m not asking you to share your Total Spend; this was done of my own accord, and I just hope you found it interesting!
[Please always check in-game Hero Cards to confirm details and never chase Heroes]
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Copyright: oldcynic.com
Images used by way of review/tutorial – Screenshots by Old Cynic
Empires & Puzzles is owned by Small Giant Games/Zynga Games
Information believed to be correct, although is subject to human error
Lol man I was spending between 1500 to 2500 a month on that stupid game so don’t feel bad.
Thanks for sharing Daryl. It mounts up so easily!
Wow that is some serious cash – were you top in the world with that spending? Always wanted to know what it takes to be at the top, I am assuming it takes quite a bit of spending!
I’m retired so spending on limited income isn’t happening. I get most of my money from apps like playwell, reward play, dailygift, etc. Which is usually $20 a month. No gift cards no spending.
I need to look into that, I’ve seen it about. Thanks for sharing, H G!
If you play a lot You can make a few bucks 10 to $20 a month, that’s several hrs a week of play time. Never seen the $1000’s that some claim I’m playing playwell and dailygift both appear to be same company just different formats.
Maybe if you had stayed with it and wrote a book on how 2PC, and about the continuing flow of heroes, you could still be playing. :>)
😁 ‘continuing flow of heroes’ ~ There’s too many to keep up!
Thanks Leslie!
I don’t know how much I spent; I’d probably only have ranked as C2P in the whole scheme of things, but I’d still get frustrated because of the sense of ‘entitlement’… when you spend money but get nothing in return! I gave up the game altogether then re-started three months ago. Since then I’ve spent absolutely nothing, so I don’t feel entitled or disappointed, but instead am excited to get the freebies and even the occasional ascension item or fab 5*. Oddly, I win as much now as I did before plus I found my happy 🙂
Yes! The portal can be a lonely place 😁. Thanks Karen.
I couldn’t replicate your arithmetic for 2023. I get 28.91.
Right you are. It was missing March’s £7.98 (and instead showing April’s as March’s). Hopefully that all works now; was copying it by eye from a spreadsheet.
Thanks, SCB!
Good for you OC. I’m amazed at how little you spent over the years. Since January 2020 I’ve probably spent ten times as much as you. A few months into this year I decided to stop spending on E&P. So far I’ve spent about $10. I think that not spending will make it easier for me to quit the game. It isn’t easy keeping up with all the new heroes and I get little enjoyment out of competing in wars, tournaments, and bashing titans. I’ve moved on to Hunting Sniper where, so far, I’ve only spent $10 and I find the gameplay more rewarding, and I spend a lot less time on my phone.
Hey Agonizer, as someone mentioned on Reddit, you get a lot of playing hours out of it (and more when you f2p at the end). I’m glad that you found a fun place to chill. Thanks for stopping by, as always!
I just realised Hunting Sniper is a game and not an Alliance! I will download it and try it out.
First 18 months about 20 – 50 quid a months
Next 3 years £100 a month.
Now, more guess 300 a month. And I don’t mind, I enjoy the game, I enjoy my owls, Goblins and elves.
Thanks for sharing Sam!
What is the limit to be C2P?
I think your number is pretty big, but I know people who spends that every month. Where would you draw the line?
I think the biggest problem, other than the power creep, is you do not pay to win, but to gamble. Games that depends on odds and luck usually have some feature that grants you some result. In E&P it should be the x30. If you pull x30 you should have a Legendary hero for sure. (I have never pulled x30 because I have never had that many gems).
Anyway, as long as you do not feel bad, it is great.
Thanks for sharing, OC
Hey Mig-El, it’s interesting, some players think my number is high, others, low. I was expecting half that number so higher than I would have liked.
Yes, the x30 pull bonus is a good idea but it would have to be a real, relevant Hero. Not Season 1!
To me, for C2P players the line could be around 10 USD/Euros/pounds each month. Starting with the VIP Pass to the Valor Pass as maximum. It is 120 of your favourite currency pear year. Does it make sense?
And yes, that would be the point. If you pull x30 a hero from that specific summon portal should be guaranteed.
Thnx for sharing OC, I think we (my wife and I) spent on E&P the last six years also more than we think, even as we consider us as quite C2P. 🤨🤨 Perhaps we’ll do the maths too someday.
Kind regards
Capagi
Hey Capagi, good to see you!
I’ve been really lucky. 7 years of empire and puzzles and it has not cost me any money at all. I password protected in-app purchases years ago to prevent my kids spending money on my phone, then forgot the password. So, never feel let down by not getting great heroes, enjoy the gameplay and let the whales do as they wish. Save gems for 30x pulls at the portals without classic heroes, sometimes works, sometimes not, not too fussed either way.