Creation Crystals to Lock Imaginator Battle Class

[1ofWiisdom]

I caught wind of this awhile back, but this past week it has really started to gain momentum. I had several people contact me and reference a thread on DarkSpyro. I actually made a post there the other night, but the video ad kept crashing shockwave and my post was lost. That said, for time's sake I'll just copy and paste what I posted there with a slight addition. The main issue here is that your Creation Crystals are set to lock the Battle Class. So on Day 1 when you drop that Fire Crystal on the Portal and opt for the Smasher Battle Class, that particular Fire Creation Crystal will forever be tied to the Smasher Battle Class...you can reset everything about it except for the Battle Class. Here is what I posted on the other forum:

"I had a fairly long post on this a few days ago (Page 2) and got timed out...Since then I've had several people messaging me about the issue and wanting me to step up and make videos highlighting possible combos and creations. A lot has been mentioned since then, so I'll try to make this a bit more concise (try, lol).

While I would love to do this, I, just like many of you, honestly don't have the means to finance it. My initial plan was to have 1 Crystal per Element and utilize it as follows:

I would basically make 10 Imaginators per Crystal, resetting each time to change out, and the once all 10 had been showcased, run polls on YouTube to let viewers pick which one we stick with for that Crystal with the ultimate goal of having each Battle Class represented. In the event I had one I really liked and people didn't vote for, I might go out for a 2nd Crystal to keep my personal favorite combo. I thought it was a pretty good idea to showcase what was available and have a lot of interaction to see what folks did and didn't tend to like.

Obviously, that can't happen now without a really big investment in Crystals. Again, I sadly can't finance that at this point...especially when the characters themselves look promising.

In terms of trying to showcase all the combos, you will literally have to progress thru the game to acquire gear that might sway your opinion. So, the bottom line is that until you've collected everything, you don't really know what you will like best. That was one of my big points...I might unlock a weapon in Ch 2 that makes me think, "Oh yeah, Earth Element is definitely a Brawler!" only to later acquire gear I like better and would like to set up as an Earth Element Smasher.
Similarly, unlike some other folks on YouTube, I work a job with 8-15 hour days and any gaming takes place afterwards. I like to progress thru the game at a pace that makes it enjoyable, not simply blazing thru to get the chapter up first. I also like to be thorough and that would mean putting off creating Imaginators until the end of the game, which would make said videos not quite as useful for fellow Portal Masters (I still fear the game may prompt you to make one during an early cut-scene..it will also suck if we need Imaginators to access certain areas, thus forcing creation to acquire early chests etc.). I ultimately stand with the majority here that I would like to see freedom in Creation. I totally get the Elemental alignment, but can't support the Battle Class being locked-in...maybe in-game menus will have previews of the weapons/gear to help make initial decisions, but that is bittersweet as it would spoil some fun in acquiring items. A strategy guide might honestly be the best recourse for making educated, early decisions.

The game still looks great and I'm very excited about getting proper figures for some of the villains...I think the crux of this issue will be on the uninformed parents and casual gamers who will be blindsided and quite perturbed. With Traps, players could at least go back to the Villain Vault and switch them around if funds were tight. At the current price point, the Crystals don't lend themselves well to full sets of 100. It is sad to see the reception of the game take a hit like this, especially to the main selling point. It seemed Imaginators was carrying a bit higher of a hype than recent releases.

I am still very excited and will probably be content enough with some of the new cast, especially villains, that it won't be a big impact overall, but it definitely tempers expectations for creating Skylanders.

But hey, more playtime for Kaos and Wolfgang...sorry if it disappoints anyone, but as things stand now I simply can't finance 10x and thorough videos likely wouldn't be possible until around New Years with my schedule. Maybe a work around like Skylander Tutor could be implemented moving forward. As others have mentioned, perhaps we can catch some solid discounts on Creation Crystals."

I hate revealing my plan as I thought it was really good, but with things as they stand I couldn't finance it anyway. I would still like 1 CC per Element, but I don't know that I can justify much more than that...I'm also really, really hoping that in-game menus will show the gear and items sets so we can make educated decisions...if not there, I'd hope the Strategy Guide does because it will otherwise almost mandate you to wait until acquiring 100% of all the items to make your best choice.

So what are your thoughts? Does locking the Battle Class change your views towards Imaginators? Will you be buying more Crystals to compensate as hoped, simply researching Imaginators before hand to proceed accordingly, or will you be scaling back your investment in Crystals? Will this issue make you focus more on the Sensei Skylanders? Let me know your thoughts down below!

[Omenix]

This is a difficult situation. It's hard to know what I will or won't want to do before I do it, but i think 1 crystal per element would be ideal. I wonder if similar to Villsin Vault they could do an "Imaginator Vault" which holds all details about a character and you can make any new ones when you want. I think it's a bad idea to limit the amount of imagination one can have in a game where the sole premise is imagination, and this what it ultimately comes down to.

[Orion's Islands]

I am just getting a handle on this.

Bottom line: I would understand the limitation if it were technical based. Given the available information, there is nothing to support that conclusion.
Therefore it is a memory limitation imposed by choice.
If my above logic is correct....
Its a stupid move. Stupid because it comes across as, and is likely, a transparent money grab: It is not technically necessary and provides no in game benefit or added value and, in fact, would seem to reduce value.

Omenix stated it well. The idea of limiting the creative play of a game packaged and marketed specifically around the idea of fully exploring the imagination without limits...for....an unreasonable profit?!?
The sad part is...they have a winner here (If they would leave it alone). Its a great idea, seemingly well realized, and fun. Just the thing to re-energize the brand and extend its marketable life. Perfect. Cut, Print. Walk away...take the win!
And then they tack on this...

It will annoy the casual player, diminish the immediate fun, diminish the long term re-playability and further alienate the serious collector. (I AM a serious collector and I will NOT follow them down this road.)
Heck, even the SSA figures could be re-set if you were willing to start from scratch at rebuilding the character. I kinda liked that even.

If these creation crystals are truly un-reset-able....Bleecch!!

Talk about screwing up a good thing.

[Orion's Islands]

I have been posting up my feelings about the battleclass lock on the Imaginator crystals on the Facebook Skylanders page, @SkylandersGame.
Here is a quick recent back and forth:


Orion's Islands:
Very disappointed with Activision. Locking Imaginator Crystal battle class choice KILLS an extraordiany idea for me and my family. We were intending on purchasing 10 imaginator crystals (1 for each element) and then extras to store permanently any Favorites we created. If they don't change this, we will use our imaginations to bypass the crystals completely. Sad. Its the best idea they have had in years and transparent greed is rendering it useless.
Like · Reply · September 12 at 2:03am

Riley Murphy:
You are just making too big a deal of this. It's not that bad.
Like · Reply · September 26 at 4:51pm

Orion's Islands:
It's a line in the sand kinda thing, Riley. You won't find anyone on the planet who enjoys Skylanders more than I do. I can honestly say that we own every standard Skylander (except standard blue Pet-Vac--lol-he got by us!?!)

The whole concept of Toys-to-Life accepts the fact that you will be paying extra to unlock aspects of a game you already own. But they give you something...a cool figurine and a cool in-game character with new moves. I accept that as value added and its worth the money. It is expensive but not out of reach. The locked battleclass crystals represent a second level of restriction and cost...sorta like the Trap Team Traps but far worse: Ten Traps and you could do everything, but it would take $1000 in crystals in Imaginators to achieve the same goal. I was willing to buy 10 crystals but not 100. Its not critical that my family and I play every aspect but this is the first time its so outlandishly out of reach. Its a bad trend for a franchise I love so much. And if I don't give them feedback, then how can i expect them to change? I hope they do.

All I can do is politely tell them that I think they have gone too far and that I will not be financially following them down this path. Additionally, I think there are a considerable number of people who feel, and will act, similarly.

[Orion's Islands]

Link for #resetthe battleclass facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/resett ... cation=ufi

[1ofWiisdom]

I'm still hopeful they remedy this...but haven't heard any developments.

My biggest issue is that Traps put a sour taste in people's mouth...you needed them to play as villains...they were priced higher than they should have been...and then the next game rolls around and they are limited to a speed boost on a racecar. The real slap though is that people who bought them all can't even complete their set! Locking the CCs will recreate that same situation, but to an already disgruntled fan base...

I'd love to showcase everything, but the price is too high (literally).

You can always count on facebook for someone to argue with you, lol.

[Omenix]

I think part of it is that you can put a little sticker on the base of it which symbolises your battle class, so they don't want this whole system to get messed up. I still think it's a poor decision, but I'm beginning to understand why.

[Orion's Islands]

Yeah, I know I'm bashing them pretty solidly about the head and shoulders with this one. I'm not looking for pointless, verbal Facebook slugfests either- I WANT them to reconsider. I think its bad for the rank an file players, bad for the collectors, bad for the brand and, ultimately, a financially bad move for them. I don't think they will make more money this way.
Come to think of it, Wiisdom: I think the heart of their mistake may be that they are treating these just like TRAPS. From the point of view that the Traps were a closed system: get and store these limited number of villians. The Imaginator Crystals are based on an open system: new creations, every day, ongoing...
They should make them cheaper, plentiful...
The Traps were limited. Once you had that villian stored in a trap...bang...that's it...you don't need anymore...people wanted one for each villain but once you had that, you were done-Hence the Massive glut of wall hanging water traps. I think intrinsically the Imaginite Crystals are a different animal but they are applying a tactic to sell more based on the Trap model. Bottom line, I think they would sell far more and make more money if they dropped them to five bucks, unlocked them and make them that thing that people would always want a few extra of.


As to their reasoning...hmmm. (Had to think about my response here.) Upon reflection, I would have to say:
I can shove a fork in my eye, if I wanted to. I would, likely, even have reasons for doing it. But it would still be a bad idea.
(Thanks Omenix!--That was FUN!! Sometimes I really enjoy painting a thought with colorful phrasing. And eye-gouging metaphors are always a WIN!)
Its funny...This release has such promise, soo much realized qualities that this one bad move is sorta like a single blaring sour note in the middle of a perfect rendition of Beethoven's 9th symphony. They got soo much right...How did they miss this one?!?

Whatever the answer, I not cutting them any slack on this one.

[Omenix]

I think if you wait long enough they will eventually have sales to be closer to trap prices, you can start with just a few and then get a larger collection on sale. These will likely have more demand than traps, so a higher price limits how many each person would buy, so this could be to prevent them going out of stock. I can understand your frustration 100%, and I love your fork in the eye analogy, but the issue is that a fork in the eye only affects you, the person sticking the fork in your eye. I think the analagy you're looking for is if you go around sticking forks in everyone else's eyes. Something to bear in mind is that after a while you start to lose energy and run out of forks so your not doing it as effectively, just the same way after a while these will go on sale and bulk buy them should you so desire.

[Orion's Islands]

ok...its official.
Fork metaphors have replaced eye-gouging metaphors as my favorite.