Some very depressing maths
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Hi guys,
this is my second year playing The Show. I am not very good, even though, last year, while I only start the game in May, I end up finishing all of the big collections (Rolen, Williams, Bautista, Donaldson).
It was my goal to do the same this year. And after doing some very depressing maths, it seems that it is an impossible mission.
First, let say that I have played more than 150 hours in The Show 2026, all offline. I finish all the programs, all Conquest maps and all Showdowns. I have 40% of the Jolt Cards. I only have three Storylines cards left to unlock. And I played a lot of mini-season games, winning seven or eight championships along the way.
Playing a nine innings game take me about 40 minutes. Add ten minutes to prepare my lineups, for a total of 50 minutes. A game gives me between 1000 and 2000 XP (on rookie or veteran level).
I did not finish the 2nd inning Path (far from it). I am a little bit more than halfway in the 3rd inning program. I tought I was going well, until I realized that I still need 190 000 XP. At, at best, 2000 XP a 50 minutes game, it will take me about 80 hours to get all the XP I need. I have about 14 days to do so. And a familly and a full time job...
But this is not the worse.
I am good with spreadsheets. So I build one to follow my progress in my goal to unlock Cabrera 99.
After more than 150 hours of game play, I still need 93 cards to do so. Total value of these cards: 980 000 stubs - wich do not include the time it will take me to unlock the 7 Jolts cards I still need, the 3 Storylines and four that are hidden in the very frustrating Diamond Quest mode.
The game have been released two months ago. I kept all my stubs, except to buy ONE card: the second boss from the 1st inning path.
How many stubs do I have in my account? 200 000. In two months.
It means that I still need 780 000 stubs to unlock Cabrera 99.
I know. I might unlock some free cards along the way to help me in my Cabrera quest, wich will drop the total value of what I am missing.
But with my pack luck, I would not count on it.
I don't know how many Diamond cards there is in the Live Serie. What I know, is that I still need 35. The best I pulled are Raleigh, Lindor and Skene. All the other are 85 or 86.
It becomes clear to me that I will never achieve my goals. I feel like a hamster in his spining wheel, running without any chance to get somewhere.
I will take a pause in the next few days. But the urge to just give up is stronger than ever.
I know what you will say: play the game for fun, just enjoy it the way it is, change your goals, don't bother about objectives or collections.
I will do my very best to change my mind set. Not sure I will be able to.
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I’m just more impressed you consistently said “wich” - almost wonder if you’re a bot. Good with spreadsheets, bad with words?
Or it’s the ultimate chat GPT troll. Kudos, it’s basically an amalgamation of the forum threads.
Well played
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Not a bot. Just a guy whose English is not his first language.
But thanks for your input. I thought this community was more respectful than that. My bad.
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Not a bot. Just a guy whose English is not his first language.
But thanks for your input. I thought this community was more respectful than that. My bad.
Fair enough - no insult intended. Everything you said is pretty spot on
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To an extent this is always how it is pre-all star break. Have to milk people early, then the game gets more player friendly post all star break. Its likely you will have no issue completing everything by the end of the year if that is your goal.
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The biggest thing is not rush anything. Collections and such aren’t supposed to be completed in certain amount of hours, they’re just there.
The FOMO, the desire to get good cards in packs etc just let it happen naturally. Their predatory model is to help the executives sleep in nice hotels.
You don’t need or want to play with most of the cards they dangle in front of you, just play the game mode you like and don’t feel [censored] about anything
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@pacadie09_NSW Why are you playing 9 inning games offline? The only reason to ever play 9 is ranked. If you aren’t going to play online, it’s going to be very hard for you without flipping or generating stubs outside of gameplay.
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That’s good advice considering FOMO is their business model. The biggest issue is that letting cards slide too long and they are completely obsolete or simply collection fodder. So I agree with your approach but it shouldn’t be that way to begin with. Way too many cards to be purchased in packs and not nearly enough earned thru gameplay.
That balance has shifted dramatically over the past couple of years and this year is the worst yet. Coupled with the slashed rewards, stub payouts, flipping killed off, and increased card prices and this game isn’t really even fun to play anymore.
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That’s good advice considering FOMO is their business model. The biggest issue is that letting cards slide too long and they are completely obsolete or simply collection fodder. So I agree with your approach but it shouldn’t be that way to begin with. Way too many cards to be purchased in packs and not nearly enough earned thru gameplay.
That balance has shifted dramatically over the past couple of years and this year is the worst yet. Coupled with the slashed rewards, stub payouts, flipping killed off, and increased card prices and this game isn’t really even fun to play anymore.
Their model is predatory but the least predatory of most online games
You can start this game at any time of year and have a competitive chance and a good team within a couple of hours.
They’ve actually done really well at that
It’s just the fact that the GAMEPLAY is so stale and boring, the sinker cutter meta, the bunts, the cheese. They have to fix the [censored] gameplay
I saw some Cricket game on PSN or the Konami baseball, if the gameplay is good I’ll learn to play cricket. SDS has me wanting to play cricket sometimes, that’s how good their baseball is
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I think its important to keep in mind that big collections like the Cabrera one are not meant to be completed quickly. Don't let some streamer that spends $1000 to unlock him day one fool you in to thinking that the average player should be able to do the same. Just play the game, have fun, and there will be plenty of free cards released eventually to get the collections done.
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@GoozeFn_PSN Help me please. Tell me wich advantages you see at playing 3 inning games instead of 9.
Before choosing to play 9 inning games, I put a little reflexion in it. Did not find there was a significative advantage to play 3 or 9 innings. I went with 9, with no real reasons.
Really interested to read what you (or the others) think.
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@pacadie09_NSW 3-inning games get you through the mini seasons way faster is really all it is
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I think you have the perfect attitude. Wish I had that wisdom before ordering an old Zelda game earlier today
I guess that what frustrate me the most, is the fact that offline play is SO MUCH less rewarding this year.
Grinding have always been a pain (kind of), but in the past, at least, you got something of value out of it.
Pack luck was also better. And not that many good cards were hidden in packs.
So now, you have to play more to get an equivalent (to the past years) amount of stubs. And you have to buy more packs to get an equivalent (again, to the past years) amount of good cards. Come on!
If you serve me steak in the past, SDS, don't assume that I would now enjoy eating hot dog sausage...
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Grinding have always been a pain (kind of), but in the past, at least, you got something of value out of it.
Time = money. The problem is us as consumers thinking we need a reward or a shiny thing for our time
The time spent is this game is not worthless because of stubs, it’s worthless because any card reward you do get isn’t better than what you’ve already got. Schwarber WBC plays no different than 74 Schwarber (just guessing he’s a bronze) which means the stats don’t matter and everyone is trying to get a new version of a card that plays the exact same as their bronze counterparts
Were chasing carrots that look cool and don’t affect much. Most of the stats are meaningless
I want to see a “speed” test where we watch a 0 speed guy vs a 99 speed guy get out of the box and run to first
You’ll find most likely that there’s very little difference it’s all tied to animations
It’s like a yo-yo effect - the batted ball is predetermined and they will slow the runner to fit into the fielder
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Don’t open packs! I just did ten bundles last night and best pull was Bobby Witt, who I sold for another bundle of trash.
What are the odds of pulling Santana in the Chase pick? Holy [censored].
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Don’t open packs! I just did ten bundles last night and best pull was Bobby Witt, who I sold for another bundle of trash.
What are the odds of pulling Santana in the Chase pick? Holy [censored].
Yeah never buy packs, buy players. Odds for Santana in the Chase pack are 4.058%.
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I went with 9, with no real reasons.
I play this game a lot. I've been playing DD since 2020. And... I do most of my mini-season games on 9 innings. I load up a team where I need to complete a goal. For example, to complete the Jolt series, I'd set my offense to one team only, and pitching to another. Same goes for Topps Now/Spotlight goals.
I know someone will take my head off, but... "Play your way"
I'm still way off from the Live Series and Cabrerra. This year is definitely harder to complete collections. I feel the "hamster wheel" as well.
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That’s good advice considering FOMO is their business model. The biggest issue is that letting cards slide too long and they are completely obsolete or simply collection fodder.
There is no such thing as a card that is obsolete in offline play.
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@pacadie09_NSW Are you playing vs CPU? There’s really no reason to play vs the cpu. Do a mini season. I still think classic is best. Look at the goals. Make sure you are repeating all the goals that don’t carry over. This is better than just playing vs cpu games because you’re earning lots of packs. While you are doing this, look at the program missions to knock those out at the same time. If you those are done work on team affinity. If you have all the jolt cards, work on the number 1 fan missions. Lots of packs to be had.
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@pacadie09_NSW 3-inning games get you through the mini seasons way faster is really all it is
Exactly. There’s no reason to do 9 innings or 28 games. It just takes longer for the same amount of packs.
