#gatchas

New video out! I talk about my obsession with gatchas T-T 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7zxUMhve20

Looking More In Depth at a Gatcha Game:  Fate Grand Order

I've been playing a lot of Fate Grand Order (a gatcha game based on the Fate anime series) in the past few months.  Gatcha - the term - is sort of an onomatopoeia based on a Japanese vending machines.  It basically means that you'll be gambling for the characters you get in the game (either through free tickets or by spending money).  But I'll get more into that later.  For the casual player, this is a nice free game you can waste a few minutes on while on the bus or hanging out.

I started playing this game for several reasons.  For one, I'm really into the Fate anime series (which were based on visual novel games).  Yeah; it's not a perfect anime series, but it got it's hooks into me from the concept (of heroic spirits joining adolescent wizards - coming back to life to battle for the Holy Grail so they can fulfill what they weren't able to in life).  There's a lot of fan service and lore in the anime and that comes through into the game.  I also like the Type-Moon art style (although I do agree that all the characters look the same in the face).

The mobile app is a free to play (freemium) game (like most of these are) where you can just play normally without spending any money (there's a catch though of course).  You only get so many points to expend daily (they recharge) and must purchase additional points (action points).  On top of that - while you do get free characters (servants) in the form of free daily summons (which include other types of enhancement cards), these characters are limited in power level compared to those requiring money to gamble for.  That being said, the story (chapters release nearly every month) is all there for all players and the game is quite generous with how it does special holiday events.  The events usually give away cool and useful servants (more powerful than those of the daily summons).  And if you just play the events casually you will gradually acquire the same gems that you can purchase to gamble for characters (so people that refuse to spend money on the game hoard these up and use them during special events).

The game (like the original games) is nearly all combat (in the form of action cards you play on your turn) gameplay-wise and the dialog options (visual novel style) aren't really choose-your-own adventure, but instead kind of just let you get an interesting conversation (the end result is already set).  There's a lot of fan service in this game and so a lot of people just write it off as a waifu/husbando simulator.  That's true to an extent (you can see their lore unfold and get dialog as you spend time playing them), but I honestly do enjoy the tactics in the game as well.  Combat nuances are presented in a multitude of ways: from the order of your cards (or matching colors), to the servants in your front line, to the timing of the skills, selection of first enemy, etc etc.  Despite it seeming like a simple game, it's actually got a decent amount of complexity built into it (to keep you playing of course).  And later on the bosses have a huge amount of HP and crazy powerful attacks (so you’re forced to either dispatch them early or survive the onslaught).

Games like FGO do have their grind sessions.  In this game, you need to acquire materials to level up your servants and their skills.  You also need game points in addition to these materials.  This means that you'll be spending a lot of time visiting the same locations with certain enemies (drops) over and over as you progress your favorite servants.  If you're trying to get a character leveled up in preparation for a special event, you will be tempted to spend money to get more action points for more play time.  Otherwise, you'll just casually use your daily points while watching a TV show.  My favorite time to play is either on a treadmill or walking where I don't need to watch in front of me (it makes a few miles walk go by really fast).

So on to the gambling aspect to the game.  Yes this game is really addicting and constantly tempts you to spend money to roll for new servants or craft essenses to equip them with.  Now, before we get into it, you do get 10 free summons daily, but these are capped at 3-star (common) cards (some of which are actually really good staples).  Right now in the US (for the paid roll) you will need 3 saint quartz to get one card (about $2-3 at the worst exchange rate).  But if you get 10 cards at a time you're guaranteed at least one high level card (so that's $30).  You can buy about 160 saint quartz for $80 (so that's a lot better rate of exchange).  The high-rarity (5-star) servants are about a 1% drop (and that's just for one random five-star servant.. not the one you might want).  So that means if you're rolling for a particular rare character, you can be spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars.  And there's no marketplace or exchange for servants, so it's all on you to randomly get them.  There are banners (times) where particular servants are "rate-up" - meaning that if you get that 1% 5-star servant, there's a higher probability that it'll be the servant in the banner.  But it's still a very slim chance that you'll get that far unless you spend a lot of money.  That's just the way it is.  So if you are prone to gambling addition, I'd warn to you stay away.  

The way I see this gambling issue; it's the same as M:TG or other collectible games (boxed AD&D miniatures) where you buy game pieces online or physically.  If you get back the enjoyment and entertainment time for your investment, it's money well spent.  There is - of course - the opportunity for you to spend too much, so you must weigh that against your financial constraints.  You must also understand that this is an online game with no guarantee.  While for Fate Grand Order - based on it's run in Japan - we have another two years of content for the game, it will eventually come to and end and all that money you spend will basically be for nothing.

While the game is gambling-centric (assuming you really want particular characters), there is enough substance and it can be really fun for a casual player that has no intention of spending money.  And there are a lot of those people out there to be sure.  I actually like that the game supports all tiers of play (with the free servants helping you progress through the story).  And besides offering free characters, the story being free, and the game giving you free stuff just for playing, the game also lets you borrow from other players.  So if you don't have the fancy/powerful character you wanted to try (say before rolling for your own) you totally can.  You get one support servant added to every battle (and you get an interface letting you pick categorized servants from friends or strangers, allowing a sort by different stats/levels).