User blog:Xikhuang/Make Do With What I Have

Over the past 8 or so months playing Dokkan Battle, there are several cards that I've always wanted, but have never been able to get. Some of these cards are,

Golden Emperor Golden Frieza AGL; Flare of Death Perfect Cell TEQ; Enigmatic Power Whis TEQ; Origin of Despair Buu (Kid) AGL; Uncontrollable Instinct Buu (Kid); Farewell, Proud Warrior Majin Vegeta TEQ.

The Supreme Warrior Super Gogeta STR used to be in that list, but I got lucky with a single summon 3 weeks back, and the card has made farming/grinding or completing events easier and less stressful.

But that is not the point of this entry.

I started this game having real sucky list of cards. Serious, real sucky! The best card I owned right from the beginning was Dangerous Cyborg Fighter Cacao AGL. I even got a Hercule! I didn't stop playing the game or hide my Saiyan Ape tail between my legs to play the JP version of this game even though I started with a sucky deck of cards. No siree! Like any good Saiyans, I held my head up high with aloof posture, I tightened my Saiyan tail around my waist, and I kept on.

The first 2-3 months playing Dokkan Battle, I noticed there were a few gamers posting game tips commenting how very easy it was to complete an event, or defeat a certain boss, with such and such cards in the team.

Thing is, not everybody own those exact same cards.

Some of those great cards that can make the game easier or much easier are not obtainable by all, cannot be obtained by all, and/or have not been obtained by everybody. Who are you kidding? For example, Leader Buu (Kid) AGL? I have played this game for 8 or so months, I never have that card. Ever.

Take me for example, the 6 cards (out of several) that I've always wanted, I never could get a single one even to this day. Imagine other gamers who've played longer than me who also don't have those exact same cards, or other great cards!

So it made me wonder, were these "few gamers" sharing game tips just to flaunt or show-off, or were they trying to help? IF they were trying to help, who were they trying to help? Why did they keep assuming that everybody owned the same cards they have, or the same deck of cards as they owned?

Initially, I didn't feel I was being helped, or their game tips were much help at all. Were these "few gamers" sharing game tips only for themselves and to themselves? If they were sharing tips for others, didn't they realize that not everybody owned those exact same cards?

However, during the same period, I also began to notice that there were others gamers that posted game tips without some/many/all of those great cards that made completing an event or defeating a boss "very easy." I also noticed that my earlier assessment was faulty (ref. the previous paragraph), and might not necessarily be true/valid. That's where and when I hit that "aha!" moment.

And, not least of all, I began to learn the old proverb can be applied in this case, "All roads lead to Rome." Which can mean, there is more than 1 way to do the same thing. It just depends on whether or not we can see beyond that invisible wall, and how creative we can be. That's what I learned from gamers who posted game tips without some/many/all of those great cards. Then, it so happened somewhere along the line that a friend of mine said this, "It doesn't matter if the cat is brown or yellow, as long as the cat can catch the mouse, that's a good cat." Hey, it fits! It doesn't matter too much whether or not I have a great card/s.

The objectives are to complete the event, beat the boss(es), get the stuffs I am supposed to get, enjoy and have fun.

But how do I go about that objectives without some/many/all of those great cards I do not own???

I make do.

I began paying a bit more attention as I became more interested with Dokkan Battle. I wanted to improve and become better. So I began looking for clues/patterns on what made certain cards in a team that others had shared. I began asking questions, like, "what made these cards so special that they could make beating a level or a boss very easy or easier?"

I began reading past game tips shared. I began re-reading game tips. I began jotting things down in a sticky note. I began making Spreadsheet charts/tables. I began comparing team setup suggestion or shared by others, to find if there were any related connections between the two.

I began to learn to pay more attention on link skills, passive skills, additional effects of a card's Super Attack, bringing support items that fit the cards in the team I picked, etc. I also learned incrementally how to increase the odd to my favor after grasping the full comprehension, for example, that Stun/KO is not always a guarantee. I began paying attention to patterns. For example, one of the patterns I observed was the frequency of gamers sharing tips on SA Sealing, and KO/Stun. Another example would be, what made Super Gogeta "super."

I play this game manually. Meaning, I don't do script/s, I don't do mod/s, I don't do DS and zeni generators, I don't do reroll, I don't do hacks, I don't do cheat/s, etc. Started that way, never swayed, still that way to this day, and will continue to stay that way until I quit this game. But, 4-5 months in into this game, I did a bit of credit card once every now and then. But heck, just 'coz I don't own certain cards, ain't mean it's the end of the world.

Sometimes, there is more than 1 way to achieve an objective. What works for you, may not work for all. What applies to you, may not apply to all. What works well in one context, may not work as well in other contexts. Sometimes, things are a-relative.

But I make do.