We all know about the poor player retention rate, and that the arduous grind plays a part in it. In an effort to increase new player retention, I was thinking it would be helpful to expand the clan benefits to include swapping badges for standard (non-fused) modules, weapons, et. al. between clan members. This would be a boon for the newer players; advanced players could more easily craft and give stuff to the newer ones to speed up their progression, and the newer players could pay for it using badges.
I’d like to think this would encourage players to:
- want to be in clan,
- be more active in their clan,
- make the game feel more “alive”,
- encourage them to play more badge-oriented weekly challenges, such as raids, brawls, etc.,
- help them advance a little quicker by giving them a second route to better equipment.
There would be benefits for intermediate players as well. Maybe they want to fuse some module; if they needed an extra Hot Red (for instance) to complete a fusing project, they could swap badges for it with someone who maybe has some duplicates in storage. Senior players could also have something else to occupy themselves by crafting stuff the newer/poorer players need.
I’d envision a “Clan Swap Board” advertising which equipment you’re looking to acquire, or what stuff you have to offer to anyone who needs it. Of course, there would need to be set rates that all players would have to abide by; for instance “A KA-2 Reloader can be swapped for minimum of XXX badges”; otherwise someone might agree to swap a reloader to a friend for 1 badge (which would inevitably lead to people “clan jumping” to find the more generous clans).
I think this system would ease the grind by giving people an alternate way to get what they need instead of relying solely on the nickel-and-diming marketplace experience. As long as the devs don’t make the badges taxable in some form or other, at least when you spend 100 badges, you get 100 badges worth of something without the detestable 10% loss. I’ve spoken with a few people about this, and all thought it would be a great idea.
