A message to anyone still not convinced you can compete

[captainbuttercream]

I still see some grumbling that you need to become a massive whale to field a competitive team. Look, there are always going to be people willing to dump a bunch of money in to get their favorite players, and there will always be a team that is better than you. But it's entirely possible to field a competitive team without loading up on Perfects and Diamonds.

My team is currently leading my division in a Diamond league and I have a grand total of 1 Diamond player, Blake Treinen. He's not even my best bullpen arm this year. I have 3 Bronze players still on my roster, 2 are full time. Of course, I'm wanting to upgrade them but they are filling their roll for now.

I don't have a 'gimmick park.' I've increased my doubles and triples rate because I like base running, but I have not juiced or nerfed any average or home run ratings.

My advise is stick to a plan. If you want to make a gimmick park to exploit a weakness, go for it! But what seems to work really well is prioritize defense up the middle and to build a starting rotation that keeps the ball in the park. I've also never had an issue building a great bullpen, there are so many great options available at Gold and even Silver.

[Socali]

I started out “no money” and got lucky with bronze WS win but have spent money since with success too. I really love to see post like this...congrats to you for your success and example....<applause>.

[chazzycat]

I generally agree, there are loads of quality silver & gold cards to build a solid team. I had bronze players all the way up to perfect.

But it does also kinda depend on your definition of "competitive". Perfect league is on a different level from diamond in my experience. In perfect, if your starting rotation is anything less than historical diamonds they will get chewed up pretty bad. And even then, they will sometimes suck...facing Trout-Bonds-Ruth lineups will do that.

I think generally if you want to hang around in perfect, you should be prepared to spend at least a little bit of real money (or have some real nice pack luck). Not saying you need to be a whale, just spending a little on specific targeted upgrades was enough for me (with no pack luck).

Lastly...I don't think "gimmick park" is the right term for that. Utilizing park effects is just another way for a small budget team to squeeze every ounce of value out of their cards. And is honestly a big part of your goal of "sticking to a plan".

[captainbuttercream]

I would say if your definition of competitive is expecting to permanently hang around Perfect level without spending any money, you probably have an unreasonable expectation. That's like expecting to always make Legend in Hearthstone as F2P or make the Magic Pro Tour with a starter deck.

[chazzycat]

I agree with that. It seems to be a reasonable balance. I wasn't trying to say otherwise, just relaying my experience. If I can compete in the top level with only a moderate investment, while supporting a great game and dev team, that's a win-win.

[zrog2000]

Originally Posted by captainbuttercream

I would say if your definition of competitive is expecting to permanently hang around Perfect level without spending any money, you probably have an unreasonable expectation. That's like expecting to always make Legend in Hearthstone as F2P or make the Magic Pro Tour with a starter deck.

The problem is when you're too good for diamond but nowhere near good enough for perfect. It's like there is a missing league level between those two.

[traylor45]

Originally Posted by zrog2000

The problem is when you're too good for diamond but nowhere near good enough for perfect. It's like there is a missing league level between those two.

Unless they're willing to add more levels, this is where the biggest discrepency will always be. Bronze-Diamond all promote and have the same general talent levels (with the exception of the guys that spend big or get lucky with packs, but they move up each week til they hit perfect, so that works itself out).

But on perfect, you have the guys that are too good for diamond all the way up to the guys that have dropped a couple thousand and have a team that is 100% Perfects and historical diamonds.

As I've said multiple times, they should keep promoting people until they get a single league of 30 teams and make that the "MLB" league. This will keep all the levels on a much more even playing field, so that you're usually playing against teams close to you talent level.

[omniart]

Originally Posted by captainbuttercream

I would say if your definition of competitive is expecting to permanently hang around Perfect level without spending any money, you probably have an unreasonable expectation. That's like expecting to always make Legend in Hearthstone as F2P or make the Magic Pro Tour with a starter deck.

I'm in my fourth season of Perfect League without having spent one cent. I may not be one of the better teams in Perfect League, but I'm holding my own. Might even make a Wild Card spot this season. That said, I do like the suggestion to have one Perfectest League at the apex of the pyramid.

[Elektranaut]

yea,football in england is based on a pyramid structure with the Premier League at the top featuring 20 elite teams,beneath them the teams spread out down through approximately 28 levels.In theory you can go all the way up from top to bottom or in reverse!

[Kushiel]

My gosh! Will this more leagues wanted garbage never die down. In life you have to adapt to the situation; the situation does not adapt to you because the going got tough. Perfect League level is hard for everybody. Is that not the idea? Maybe we should skip playing and every Sunday night sing around the campfire and celebrate that everybody gets a trophy. We will not need any leagues or any games all week. Just show up to collect your PP(that you will not need in this scenario) and trophy.