The typical argument I have heard is you earn less now in 12v12 matches than you did in 8v8 matches. Of course, no one has actually backed up their position with any real data. So, this is how I have used Premium Time to affect my ability to earn C-bills...
I have been tracking my daily C-bill earning since MechWarrior Online entered Open Beta on December 4, 2012. On December 28, 2012 I activated my Founder's Premium Time and purchased 30 days of Premium Time three times.
In order to see how playing without Premium Time affected my ability to earn C-bills, I let my Premium Time run out on June 30, 2013. So, I had Premium Time for about 6 months and I have now been running without Premium Time for about two and half months.
The C-bill earnings changes introduced with 12v12 matches occurred on August 6, 2013. So, not a lot of data to work with since then, but it will have to do for now and I am continuing to gather data. Below is a link to a copy of the spreadsheet I have been using to track my earnings, significant events, and costs through March 7, 2016.
Gimpy's C-bill Earnings Spreadsheet
A few things to keep in mind are major purchases like mechs and engines affect my earnings on some days (i.e. huge C-bill losses) and I do use consumables like cool shots and UAVs from time to time (i.e. not huge costs, but costs none the less).
Also, before my Premium Time ran out, I played almost every day because I did not want the Time to be wasted. Since then, I do not feel I HAVE to play every day and don't play quite as much. I play as often as I do because I really enjoy playing the game.
Keep in mind, the data sample size for my Premium Time usage is at least three times as large as the non-Premium Time usage (6 months versus 2 months) and 12v12 matches have only been out for less than 60 days. So, the data is not conclusive, but I think is still useful.
Note (November 18, 2013): 30 Days of Premium Time was available at 40% off the normal MC cost this weekend. I feel this is one of the best deals they offer and this is only the second time they have had this sale. So, I bought 60 days of Premium Time thinking to add to my current Premium Time in the bank (120 days). However, it activated immediately because it was purchased normally. The Premium Time I have in the bank is from purchasing the Phoenix Overlord package and has to be activated by pressing an "Activate" button in the MWO client. So, I added a new section to the Analysis section of my spreadsheet to account for the change in my ability to earn C-bills. I ran without Premium Time for 135 days.
Note (April 30, 2014): I activated my bank of approximately 173 days of Premium Time so I could customize Private Matches as needed.
If you do not want to dig through the numbers, here's the short version of my C-bills earnings (check out the spreadsheet link above for the most up-to-date numbers).
| Since Open Beta Started on Dec. 4, 2012 | |
| Average per day played | 708586 |
| High | 7,816,076 |
| Low | -25,333,822 |
| With Premium Time | |
| Average per day played | 869898 |
| High | 7,816,076 |
| Low | -25,333,822 |
| No Premium Time June 30, 2013 to Aug. 5, 2013 | |
| Average per day played | 107,332 |
| High | 2,224,964 |
| Low | -9,638,248 |
| No Premium Time - 12v12 since Aug. 6, 2013 | |
| Average per day played | 745,831 |
| High | 2,745,524 |
| Low | -14,347,758 |
Conclusion in regards to MechWarrior Online being Pay To Win:
Premium Time definitely lets you earn more C-bills over time, but this is not Pay To Win. Premium Time allows you to earn C-bills faster to purchase the mechs and weapons you want. It does not allow you to purchase superior mechs and weapons because there are no such things in MechWarrior Online. Everyone has access to the same mechs and equipment. Only your personal experience and skill will make you a better pilot. And, those can not be bought with C-bills or real world money.
Conclusion in regards to earning less C-bills in 12v12 matches:
It's hard to say with only about 60 days worth of data (I have a couple of days between June 30 and Aug. 6 where I only played 2-3 games that are throwing things off), but the 12v12 earnings appear to be slightly superior even when compared to Premium Time. For instance, my average C-bills per day played for 12v12 would be 932,288 after the 25 percent Premium Time bonus. That's 62,390 more C-bills per day than what I earned with Premium Time running.
The reason for the increase is because with more mechs on the field, your chances to earn bonuses for destroying components, getting savior kills, spotting assists, kill assists, and kills are all increased. Yes, your chances of getting killed faster are also increased, but, with some practice, you will learn to avoid those situations. :D
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