Introduction

IAP or In App Purchases is a short hand way to describe purchasing magic stones with real life money. This can become a touchy subject for many people as the range of players vary from non-IAP to those who spend large amounts of money. For the record, I do not work for GungHo and have an average life in terms of income and expenditures. In essence, going IAP is a means to make your PAD journey go faster. It is a way to save time for those who do not wish to wait for the trickle of free stones given out every event.

Reasons to IAP

What people need to understand is that purchasing stones is a form of entertainment. Most people set aside money every month to spend on something they enjoy whether it be going out for dinner, the movies, or shopping. Everyone deserves to be happy and as long as what they decide to do is not harming anyone (or themselves), they should be free to do as they please. As such, you should refrain from bashing players who spend money on PAD as they are the players who continue to push the game forward and allows us to have the option of playing for free.

One of the first things I did when first purchasing some magic stones was to increase my box space and friend list capacity. This guaranteed my money had a direct benefit and I did not need to gamble with the REM and risk disappointment. Because of this, I was able to use the free stones given out to roll in godfests and even though I still spent the same number of stones, I was mentally happier. I go into a longer rant of why increasing your friends list early is a beneficial investment in another article HERE. My overall spending has been quite low considering I have played PAD for 1,000+ days and over rank 600 on Mantastic. I like to think I manage my PAD life and stone expenditure well and am grateful for being able to play at my own pace.

Other benefits of IAP

Going IAP to any degree has benefits beyond giving you additional magic stones:

• Supports GungHo who can then release content faster
• With more financial player support, we will get more freebie gifts and events
• Peace of mind knowing you contributed back to the game you have been playing for X number of months/years
• Faster customer support for account issues (there is a section asking  if you have IAP)

I know I may sound a little ridiculous with that list, but it is good to keep in mind that you are supporting PAD. I am not saying you should go out and spend more than you can afford; but instead, spend a little bit here and there as you have probably gleamed countless hours of play time in your PAD journey and showing some support goes a long way.

Moving forward

North America has made significant progress in closing the gap between the Japanese server and content being released. I feel this is largely due to the expansion of the North American player base along the support of its players. We will most likely never get content at the same time, but over the course of this past year, we have had to wait significantly less for a lot of content.

Everything in PAD can be acquired or farmed over time and players only need a few cards to clear most of the content. Sometimes rolling in godfests becomes a greed over need issue and you need to exercise some patience and skip the bad ones. Just try to keep everything in perspective and don’t get swept away by what you see posted on the Facebook groups or forums of what other players are doing. Puzzle and Dragons is an individual game and how fast someone else progresses has no bearings or implications on your own journey.

Lastly, whenever you see someone bragging about their rolls or monster box, just be happy for them. We play PAD as a form of entertainment and in the end we wish to enjoy ourselves. So instead of questioning their spending habits, congratulate them on their luck and just be happy for them. Just remember, they are supporting the game you love to play and allowing you to enjoy it regardless of your own spending habits.

Conclusion

In App Purchases is a way to both support GungHo and your own happiness. It is possible to enjoy Puzzle and Dragons on a free-to-play basis and with  the introduction of a top tier farmable leader such as Myr , anything is possible.  However, by purchasing Magic Stones, you are able to hasten your own progress which is always enjoyable. It would allow you to roll more in certain Godfests/Collabs as well as helping you achieve your PAD goals faster.

Happy Puzzling!