Hope for the penniless (in General)

Quick message of hope from someone who doesn't post much.

I've heard people talk that there isn't a lot of hope to make it very far in this game unless you are willing to spend USD to get there. I wanted to share quickly, from my own experience, that the game is loads of fun and you can get quite far even if you do not have the USD to spend. Aside from supportership (which I strongly recommend), I've spent no USD on this game and have been able to get into the top 15 standings. In addition, I get 8 hours of sleep each night. ;)

1. You can do just fine if you are creative with making cb cash and spending it wisely.
2. Persistance and patience go far, use them.
3. I don't know how long I'll hold out with NUB's and NCB's biting constantly at my heals, but I feel good about how I've done, and you should to.
4. Don't let the mis-perception that you need to invest USD ruin your fun, the game is just as great without it.

Best of luck. =]

Very inspirational.

Scratch out the American Dream and replace it with the CB dream.

Its not true at all. There are many many very strong cheap NW strategies. Also, with the NUB, and also NCB possibilities anyone can reach for the top. You may not be able to topple the 500+mil NW characters (though who knows?), but you can certainly get to that level.

"3. I don't know how long I'll hold out with NUB's and NCB's biting constantly at my heals, but I feel good about how I've done, and you should to."

I backed off :)

Just look at Shadowsparkle.

A top 10 character, never used USD except to perhaps buy the supporter items.

A very smart player who buys low and sells high.

Only buys what he needs.

So, of course it can be done. You just have to play smart.

G, as well, before he took a break, had a very successful character with low NW and no USD.

I think Failure is the character and Dolphin, Poison haven't used any

I think you're all looking at the people who have played consistently since the start of the game.

There is no hope for anyone else, sure anyone could be at the top if they played since CB opened, but we didn't stumble upon CB that early.

lol thats why we have NUB/NCB

Actually, my latest char was a NCB. You don't have to have a char from the opening day. If people can find a solid strat, and play smart, they can climb to the top pretty quick. I think that's why I put #2 in there, on persistance and patience. The temptation is to give up when your NUB or NCB are done, when really, I think that's just the beginning. That's where it gets more fun and more challenging. And there's plenty of non-USD strats better than mine that are above me. It's just worth it all the way around.

I think your message is right on. Even after I sold out of everything I owned on here (excluding my unsellable BoNE), I just kept tinkering around, tried a casual NCB, and have just haunted the hallways of chat. I've already amassed a couple million, as well as a respectable 400k MPR char, and a full heavy tank gear set. Not too shabby.

I guess my message is that it can seem slow restarting, or starting for that matter, this game. But with just a little time each day you can easily make cash and MPR.

See you back near the top, after I get a little forging and cash saving completed.

Don't forget, Vaynard, that there's inflation on CB as well as in real life. 1 XP and 1 CBD don't go as far as they used to.

That said, I think there are tools available for a non-spender to get enough cash to compete well. PM actually had the idea -- start an NCB, never buy BA, fight all you can, and maintain a 100% challenge bonus to maximize your cash rewards. You can make a massive amount of cash doing that, especially if you fight all during money time (160 entering, 0 leaving). You can get several million a week doing that.

I was a NUB. Had a top ten character for a little while. On average I was ranked number 13 and still climbing before I finally went away from CB. It can be done.

Truth is, that once you start playing, you slowly but surely gravitate to your true ranking in CB. Well after the four mouths of crazy time. I've seen slothy players buy a huge character, aim to be the best and just fall further and further behind until they were right back where they started. I've seen determined players take a pathetic farm and just play it until they easily surpassed most of the main characters out there.

You see it all the time when someone gets above PM in MPR. In the end the person who plays more consistently, more frequently, and who maximizes his/her wins is the one who ends up on top.

What matters most is not where you start from, but simply what speed you are going. There is only one catch. The longer CB goes on, the longer this gravitation takes, but hey, that is what the NUB and NCB is for.

"start an NCB, never buy BA, fight all you can, and maintain a 100% challenge bonus to maximize your cash rewards. You can make a massive amount of cash doing that, especially if you fight all during money time (160 entering, 0 leaving). You can get several million a week doing that." - NightStrike.

I've been playing like that since last summer (the only difference being that I actually leave CB alone a lot in the evenings), and as a non USD player who never had the NUB, I can honestly say I've owned more equipment during this period than I ever owed before. And, amusingly enough for me, the first NCB I played like that with, my char The Clash is ranked number 18 in the standings right now, which is where it was when I retired it back in September. So even without buying BA you can be competitive, nevermind USD spend.

You can get up into the top 20 pretty easily. The top 10 is hard and takes some dedication but can be done. But, there's no reason you have to get there. In some ways its more fun fighting at the lower levels. The way the experience points work it gets REALLY hard to get decent bonuses at the higher ranks anyway.