Thread:Merrimack/@comment-30184170-20161120060008/@comment-32738051-20161120142339

You're very welcome, Grace. Glad it all helps. As for buying crystals and other stuff, I used to do the same thing too. I swore I wouldn't ever but then there was a challenge in 2015, Spring if I remember correctly, and I really wanted the avatar but hadn't been able to get it in a challenge so I shelled out some money...about $150 total I think (it just sort of added up)...and I still didn't get the avatar. I didn't even have the problem of losing stuff I'd paid for but that's when I decided it just wasn't worth it to spend a dime on the game. Even if I had to miss stuff during the challenges.

Since then I discovered this Wiki. For the most part, the friends I've garnered here have been better to me than most of my game only ones and they have made more of a difference than that $150 did. And I've altered my strategies over time, including adding time travel, so I stand a better chance of winning challenges, including the avatar ones (I've won 2 so far and those were the only ones I tried for). In short, I think it is good for at least some of us to shell out a little money - no more than $20-$50 each - at some point because that helps keep the game developers in business and the game not only available but updated regularly (imagine the labor hours!). But that's it, just a small amount one time and nothing more. We don't actually need to spend any money on the game for gameplay if we have good friends, adjust our strategies, go after only what we really want instead of every challenge, and remember that it's only a game (well, and maybe do a little cheating, like time travel 😉).

As for the issues that made you want to quit playing, I get that but just remember this Wiki is a great support system. If you need to start over, your friends here will help you (I've even supported and coordinated third party gifting here...you can get in game help from someone even if you're not friends in game), no matter how many times you have to start over. And some of our members may be able to help you retrieve your game when you lose it plus we have all kinds of helpful info about backing up the game, etc.

You could say that we are the game's backup and I daresay we're better at it than G5 and MyTona. There are some things they can't fix - like if we make a purchase, it will be up to our platform's store to recompense us, not G5 or MyTona, because the store gets our money not them. I think they have some sort of separate arrangement with the stores for compensation so it's only the stores that get compensated directly based on purchases we make. And if a glitch occurs in an update, it might not be possible to fix it during the current event but only afterwards before the next event update comes out (like the triggering date glitch during Harvest). But there are some things they've been known to do before, like they occasionally have been known to issue some crystals to a player as an apology and to help compensate them for a game loss or to issue a patch during an event to fix specific issues related to normal gameplay like gifting and visiting issues. If nothing else, it helps the blood pressure to not expect anything from them that they're known not to help with. 😉

Anyway, we're glad you found us too. This is a really great community...perhaps the best I've ever seen online. Just remember it's just a game and don't ever let anything about it ever get to you. And before you give up, check with all of us here first. Chances are we have an answer and can help you out. Happy gaming! 😍