I'm also not a fan and its methods are still predatory. My sister said she could still feel the psychological tug to spend a little on the premium currency for the tempting "just one more" so she could have Dr. Baby Luigi. There's the existence of a timer to prevent grinding too. But the game doesn't feel as gross as Mario Kart Tour probably because you can start with one of three doctors and getting three stars isn't as horribly tied to whatever doctor you use. The assistants are still garbage pulls most of the time, but I don't know how stacking assistants enough times affect the pvp gameplay or what doctors are better than others (Fire Dr. Mario seems to have significantly better stats overall than Dr. Yoshi). I just know Tour clearly promotes advantages for having the "right" one and it offers skin packs for a hefty price between 20-40 US dollars.
Super Mario Boards
LeftyGreenMario
winstein
I can see your point. This game is pretty much "standard" in terms of a free-to-play game, and it's not as hounding (at least compared to Mario Kart Tour), even if the notifications do get in the way sometimes. The game also has less to draw from the pool compared to Tour, so I guess it's not so bad for now. I like how in VS, if you rank up, there is a one-time offer where diamonds have a higher diamonds-per-dollar value compared to the standard ones, although it's temporary (lasts for 3 days since ranking up). It's a bit tempting to take advantage of them (I ended up waiting them out though), although the lower-tier ones were already expired and I am not fond of spending too much.
I want to point out that Dr. Mario World occasionally have character packs, where you can purchase diamonds + a certain Doctor. Recently there was a Dr. Daisy sale, for example, and the two most recent ones were Dr. Dry Bowser and Dr. Wario. They aren't necessarily "right", but the two of them are decently useful (Daisy, not as much even though she has her uses).
At least for me, I have Dr. Mario which is (fortunately) a starting doctor, and while a lot of doctors are secondary, I can appreciate that they are there for the variety and occasional usefulness. For example, Dr. Daisy's not bad, but it's marred by her small area of effect, but it's useful in one level. There are just certain doctors that I would love to have for their usefulness, like Dr. Wario, Dr. Wendy and Dr. Fire Luigi, even though no such luck so far.
As for Dr. Baby Luigi, unfortunately I didn't get 3 stars on one of the Challenge levels (which are timed and are overall more difficult) so I can't unlock Dr. Baby Luigi normally. I guess I have that Luigi curse because the challenges that unlock Luigi and Baby Luigi were locked behind getting 2 stars on a particular level. Later on I drew Dr. Luigi normally, though. That Dr. Baby Luigi tale kind of reminds me of a certain Daisy fan, and also when I got Dr. Daisy very early (she's my first naturally-drawn Doctor, and second overall after Dr. Toad who was a reward for a challenge), I can't help but feel a sense of irony on what I managed to get.
Thank you for reading.
I want to point out that Dr. Mario World occasionally have character packs, where you can purchase diamonds + a certain Doctor. Recently there was a Dr. Daisy sale, for example, and the two most recent ones were Dr. Dry Bowser and Dr. Wario. They aren't necessarily "right", but the two of them are decently useful (Daisy, not as much even though she has her uses).
At least for me, I have Dr. Mario which is (fortunately) a starting doctor, and while a lot of doctors are secondary, I can appreciate that they are there for the variety and occasional usefulness. For example, Dr. Daisy's not bad, but it's marred by her small area of effect, but it's useful in one level. There are just certain doctors that I would love to have for their usefulness, like Dr. Wario, Dr. Wendy and Dr. Fire Luigi, even though no such luck so far.
As for Dr. Baby Luigi, unfortunately I didn't get 3 stars on one of the Challenge levels (which are timed and are overall more difficult) so I can't unlock Dr. Baby Luigi normally. I guess I have that Luigi curse because the challenges that unlock Luigi and Baby Luigi were locked behind getting 2 stars on a particular level. Later on I drew Dr. Luigi normally, though. That Dr. Baby Luigi tale kind of reminds me of a certain Daisy fan, and also when I got Dr. Daisy very early (she's my first naturally-drawn Doctor, and second overall after Dr. Toad who was a reward for a challenge), I can't help but feel a sense of irony on what I managed to get.
Thank you for reading.
Ray Trace
My first draw was Dr. Yoshi which absolutely sucked for me. At least I got Dr. Toad later on, I like him a lot.
LeftyGreenMario
Oh, none of these offers are good at all. I don't know why I'm not as mad at World as I am at Tour maybe because the gameplay isn't all that terrible compared to Tour. That, and Dr. Mario just doesn't have a huge, wide appeal that Mario Kart has, and it shows when Dr. Mario World has made the least revenue of all the free-to-start Nintendo offerings.
That's unfortunate, but it's expected from a gambling system. My sister wants to like Dr. Mario World but the convoluted free-to-start economy and the gambling mechanics, the intentional poor design of timers and inflated prices, they all wear down her patience and she ultimately put off the game. She said she'd rather spend a small price (5 bucks maybe) to get a character in such games or at least pay an upfront 10 dollars even as long as the game is complete and has none/significantly less of the trashy mobile economy and grind. She did get Dr. Toad, who's one of her favorites, but she doesn't want deal with the disappointment after disappointment the lootboxes are insidiously designed to hand out.
As for the Daisy fan, I heard about him shelling 700 or more dollars only to not get his characters. While others ridicule him, all I feel is disgust for the gacha system that made a victim out of someone that likely has impulse problems and I feel a lot of sympathy despite his history.
That's unfortunate, but it's expected from a gambling system. My sister wants to like Dr. Mario World but the convoluted free-to-start economy and the gambling mechanics, the intentional poor design of timers and inflated prices, they all wear down her patience and she ultimately put off the game. She said she'd rather spend a small price (5 bucks maybe) to get a character in such games or at least pay an upfront 10 dollars even as long as the game is complete and has none/significantly less of the trashy mobile economy and grind. She did get Dr. Toad, who's one of her favorites, but she doesn't want deal with the disappointment after disappointment the lootboxes are insidiously designed to hand out.
As for the Daisy fan, I heard about him shelling 700 or more dollars only to not get his characters. While others ridicule him, all I feel is disgust for the gacha system that made a victim out of someone that likely has impulse problems and I feel a lot of sympathy despite his history.
winstein
I was fortunate to get Dr. Kamek as my second drawn doctor, since his ability is quite useful and I used him a lot, until I used Dr. Yoshi as my secondary.
One day I will get Dr. Luigi or Dr. Baby Luigi though... I am hoping for the right circumstances to pop up to be able to reliably beat that Challenge level for that to happen.
Thank you for reading.
One day I will get Dr. Luigi or Dr. Baby Luigi though... I am hoping for the right circumstances to pop up to be able to reliably beat that Challenge level for that to happen.
Thank you for reading.