Trove: slow progression can be rewarding when done properly

I bought the $20 pack that gave me 5 empowered gem boxes. Lovely. Me at the time was first being introduced to the whole “gem system” and i got 3, 3 star emp gems, 2 with md and each being a different colour. If only i knew at the time what i had just done. From that moment onward, i never got another gem that had any purpose to me (Health regen, health regen, health regen. Like seriously health regen, just piss off!). Oh wait, that stellar. Yes, that stellar. I found a stellar with magic damage and i was really exited because it meant all my emp gems would have MD. so, in a rush i levelled up my chars trying to get all the empowered gems i had on it. I put my emp water gem on, then went for the Trove Flux and my stellar air gem. After spending approximately 9 months grinding the levels this message came up – Allready have that ability- (or something similar). I nearly jumped out of my window head first…..
This brings me to my next topic. Gem dust. I need to say little about this because everyone should know what im about to say. “Boop, Boop, Boop, Boop, Boop…” 5000 gem dust later the gem is the same level. Let me bring you back to my “head first out of my window with a fork sticking out of my brain crisis.”

And we sum it up with a happy ending. Well, it can be a happy ending if the trove developers fix gems. At the very least, make them tradeable and STOP MAKING US WASTE 5000000 gem dust on no level ups. Also how long do you expect us to wait to get a shapers star. This is a game where the rich people get richer and the poor people, well the poor people are just there.

Sarcasm aside I agree with the sentiment. However, I believe there are degrees of rare. There’s farming for a day and not leveling your gem once rare and then there are less punishing forms of rare. I think they’re asking for a common-sense adjustment to what “rare” is.

But slow progression is not punishment… It’s designed so you don’t get to the end of the game quickly, get bored and quit. Too many players see playing the game as punishment and not the point of the game. They don’t want to PLAY the game, they want to win the game, which is ironic in an MMORPG because the game has no clearly defined end. So you can’t really win… but players do everything in their power to somehow win as quickly as they can and then find themselves bored. So play the game. Know that getting rare gear is a matter of a few months work, not a few days work, and you’ll be fine.

Slow progression can be rewarding when done properly. What do you get from slow progression in this game? Better gems? The ability to clear Ultra a little faster? I don’t see compelling reasons to bother with the Cheap Trove Flux if there is no pot of gold on the other side of it. Either make the grind compelling (give incremental rewards for incremental effort) or reduce the grind. What they have now is slow progression with a disproportionate lack of reward for the effort.