TOPIC: combo tokens from previous years

For our group, we are much more "casual" about TD than (clearly) a lot of folks here. I've amassed quite the collection of tokens (to my eyes), but I'm sure it pales in comparison to the collections of people who buy the $8,000 "pallet o' tokens" packages.<br /><br />So, that said, it's really only when GenCon starts to get close that the binders of tokens are pulled out of the closet, the token guide is examined, and thoughts of TD dance through little boys' heads.<br /><br />So my question is: if I wanted to turn in some of my "junk" to get Combo tokens that are listed as "2009", am I S.O.L. for that, and I should've done it in 2009? Or is "2009" just "the year this combo token was introduced", and it's available at later years' combo-token turn-ins?<br /><br />I'm just trying to plan accordingly, because I've got enough stuff for some 2009 Combo Tokens, but don't know where/when I'd be able (if at all) to turn in for those (and, for us casual folks, it'd be helpful if the 2010 guide listed what the recipes were for the combo tokens, so we could plan ahead to see if we have everything we need for them).<br /><br />Yeah, I know the Token Collectors are the bread-n-butter of what keeps TD "running", but us casual folks are important, too.

combo tokens are only available for that year<br />here are the times for this year<br /> http://truedungeon.com/trueforum/index.php?topic=6446.0

Blerg. That sucks.  If you aren't willing to schedule your entire weekend around "combo trading times" then you're completely boned in terms of ever converting "tons of crap useless stuff" into something useful.<br /><br />In all honesty, this will probably mark my last year of TD. It's just too abundantly clear to me that the "casual" player has no place in the event. If you're not willing to dump tons of coin on tokens, OR schedule your entire weekend around specific time-slots (when were those times announced, BTW, well after event pre-reg I imagine...) then you just can't be on the same playing field as anyone else.<br /><br />So, if anyone sees me there this year (I'll be running through on Saturday), I might have a collection of tokens for sale, en toto, if anyone wants to talk about it.

<br />Blerg. That sucks.  If you aren't willing to schedule your entire weekend around "combo trading times" then you're completely boned in terms of ever converting "tons of crap useless stuff" into something useful.<br /><br />In all honesty, this will probably mark my last year of TD. It's just too abundantly clear to me that the "casual" player has no place in the event. If you're not willing to dump tons of coin on tokens, OR schedule your entire weekend around specific time-slots (when were those times announced, BTW, well after event pre-reg I imagine...) then you just can't be on the same playing field as anyone else.<br /><br />So, if anyone sees me there this year (I'll be running through on Saturday), I might have a collection of tokens for sale, en toto, if anyone wants to talk about it. <br />

<br />nope, it is usually that time. with a little Reading and searching on the forum you would have seen all of this.<br />it is later at night on Thurs and friday because there is usually less going on.<br />Sorry you are bitter

the only real complaints this year were from people who wanted certain combo items earlier so they could use them on this years run (they were running on thursday and the item is not available until friday)

maybe, but you're still talking about carving out HUGE chunks of time for TD when there's a crapton of other stuff going on at GenCon. And "casual" players generally speaking don't skulk about the TD forums they just show up around the time of their event.<br /><br />ie, if you're "casual" about TD, then you can't really fully enjoy it. Only if you turn GenCon into "that thing you to go because TD is there".<br /><br />And that's fine, I get that there are (apparently) enough people for whom that is true to make it worthwhile and make tons of people happy. But this is - for me at any rate - sort of the straw that breaks the camel's back. Rising costs, increasing difficulty in getting tickets, the huge chunk of GenCon time it already takes out of our schedule just to do the two different event runs (essentially burning all of Saturday for us), the "you'll DESPERATELY NEED these tokens from last year to be able to have a fighting chance of survival in the final room" mentality that forces people to keep trying to buy more tokens.... that's not my thing. <br /><br />I think it became clear for me when I realized that TD is, really, at its heart, a very large convoluted CCG which has some trappings of RPGness to suck in a different market-segment ... that is when I realized it wasn't for me.  But, operationally, it works the same way as a CCG, forcing/enticing you to try and keep getting the (cards,tokens) from the next (expansion-set,year's-issue) in order to be able to compete well in upcoming (tournaments,years'-events).<br /><br />It's just so cleverly disguised that it took me four years to notice....  =D

<br />It's just so cleverly disguised that it took me four years to notice....  =D<br />

<br /><br />Or you just ain't too bright. The randomized distribution would have given your average chimp a hint.

<br />Or you just ain't too bright. The randomized distribution would have given your average chimp a hint.<br />

<br /><br />I think it was willful-negligence on my part. I wanted so much to enjoy it that my subconscious mind blocked out all processing of the knowledge that I knew I would eventually come to despise it as I do every other CCG out there.  =D

CCGs are tons of fun when you're in the thick of it. It only becomes problematic when 1) Deciding whether or not to get on the train when it left the station without you, 2) Deciding whether to stick with it when you feel other people are hugely outspending you, and 3) Deciding when to bail and sell everything at the top of the market price before it all becomes worthless.

<br />CCGs are tons of fun when you're in the thick of it. It only becomes problematic when 1) Deciding whether or not to get on the train when it left the station without you, 2) Deciding whether to stick with it when you feel other people are hugely outspending you, and 3) Deciding when to bail and sell everything at the top of the market price before it all becomes worthless.<br />

<br /><br />Yeah, see, I've *never* been that sort of player. CCGs, on general principle, don't appeal to me. I don't want to have to "outspend" other players just to have fun. I get that there's folks who enjoy it (WotC wouldn't be what it is without them, after all), but to say that it has "less than zero" appeal to me is an epic understatement. <br /><br />Now the trick is to see if I can put together a list of my "stuff" in time for the con to try and dump it while I'm there... that and find a decent pricing guide for what I've got so I don't screw myself too badly (since I'm sure i've got *some* stuff that folks consider cash-valuable).

Buying tokens can add to the flavor of True Dungeon, but it is very easy to play and have fun with only the bag of tokens that you are given at the start of your adventure. This is the whole reason for the difference between normal and nightmare mode in True Dungeon-- the normal mode has been balanced in favor of the casual player who does not have a lot of tokens, and the nightmare mode is for the more dedicated fan who is willing to spend extra money on tokens and dedicate large chunks of time to True Dungeon. <br /><br />In fact, the reason that Smoak the dragon has many of the special abilities that he has is to negate the benefit of many tokens--- this is a very deliberate leveling mechanism that Jeff & Co. have implemented so that the player with few tokens has just as good a chance of defeating the dragon as the player who has a ton of tokens. The talk on the forum boards is the planning of the veteran players with lots of tokens trying to figure out how to 'game' around Jeff's diabolical mechanisms. Its just part of the fun (and probably futile). <br /><br />Even though my friends and I have tons of powerful tokens, every year we do a 'sealed bag' run where we use only the tokens that we receive as part of the admission price to True Dungeon. We have yet to fail to beat the dungeon using only that handful of tokens. And, of course, there is the infamous commando dagger run- where every player went into the dungeon armed only with a dagger. <br /><br />As a side note, the coaches always have extra tokens to help new players out if they don't get anything usable in their pack of random tokens. The coaches go to great lengths to make sure that the casual player can enter and have fun. <br /><br />The combo tokens are offered as a way for people who have bought a lot of tokens to get rid of the ones that they don't want. Most of the combo tokens aren't extremely powerful, in fact-- very few get used on a regular basis. <br /><br /><br /><br />

DrUnknown said it reall well.  I've had my own thoughts about token collecting as I've become more and more aware of how I spend my money and what is worthwhile.  I've made an educated decision that having some good tokens to run nightmare is fun for me, as is figuring out the best way to equip myself from a vast array of options.  But, I also strongly believe that regular mode (for the "casual" player) is the norm, and that does not require more than a few common tokens.  I don't see that design principle changing.<br /><br />So, I would just urge taking a step back for a moment and decide which way you want to have fun. On nightmare I am pretty purped-out for my class.  On normal, I usually play a class I'm considerably less equipped for to make it a challenge.  Since there are both normal and nightmare options, you really can have it both ways.