6 PAD UI overhauls I want in 2020

Introduction

Gacha games are user interface design nightmares. With each new content update comes a mandatory change in UI to accommodate their functionalities and features. Navigating through menu and selection screens must be as functional and intuitive as possible, both for new users trying to take in the breadth of the game’s features, and endgame users who must perform an endless amount of repetitive menu tasks.

It’s no surprise then, that PAD’s soon-to-be-8-year-old UI leaves much to be desired, despite several much-needed and overall beneficial overhauls. Reni’s 2019 rewind post reminded and inspired me to compile this list together. I hope PAD’s UI will improve in these six places, over the next year.

1. Introduction of an EXP Bank

EXP still remains one of the most frustrating parts about PAD in the “Monster” tab. Whereas you can fully awaken, feed latents, roll for super awakenings, and plus monsters very effortlessly and with minimal taps now, Power-Up Fusion is still a frustrating, time-wasting, resource-wasting, RNG-riddled experience. For ages now, I’ve hardwired my brain to compute the math and feed enough EXP to get to 2/3rds of my intended goal, as if I’m expecting a “Great!” every time (since it is more likely than a Good). I’m sure many other people do the same thing.

My proposal for an EXP Bank would include the following functionalities:

• When you sell a monster, its EXP value is added to the bank.
  • Great and Super chances happen here, indicated by fancier-sounding cash register kachings (rather than an extra time-wasting dialogue box).
  • Or just ditch the stupid Great/Super chance altogether and have events give a flat multiplier for EXP fodder.
• The EXP Bank would keep a running total of fodder EXP for each color.
• You can exchange EXP within your bank between colors at a 1/3 loss.
• (Optional) When clearing dungeons in solo mode you’d get a small amount of EXP sent to your EXP Bank based on how much fodder XP you would’ve gained from it by leveling cards in your team (distributed evenly across all colors)
• (Optional) Evolutions requiring Jewel Dragons or other EXP-focused enhance mats would have their evo materials change.

This feature’s introduction would also be a great time to equalize Snowglobe XP Fodder values (which is more of a game design improvement over a purely UI one). It’s rather absurd that they’re still based on the results of server-wide challenges done over 3 years ago and have never been updated since.

2. Trade UI

The latest improvement to the trading post allows users to request for multiple cards while offering multiple cards up for trade, and create up to 3 trade requests at once. However, this feature came with an annoying drawback for me: the game asks that you request the monster that you want first rather than offering what you have up for trade. Furthermore, you have to click an extra time after your first request to differentiate between proceeding to offering cards or requesting additional cards, which is rather clumsy. Perhaps this was the easiest way to code the stipulation that extra requested cards must be the same rarity, but it’s a rather inelegant solution.

Furthermore, searching the monster book is challenging without using the search by name functionality; when navigating the monster book, there is no other way to filter cards, only ways to sort them. However, since the search by name filter is saved between all card or box selection screens, it becomes even more of a hassle if you’re trying to trade 2 cards without a common string between them, as you have to clear your search by name filter every time you change between requesting and offering. When doing a large quantity of trades between accounts this turns into a nuisance very quickly.

I’m aware that Gungho may have intentionally designed the trading UI to be more annoying to freeload a large amount of valuable materials off of alt or burner accounts. It’s easier to instantiate “fair” trades between similar cards than “unfair” or one-sided trades of different cards. For example, you can name-filter “killer” or “py” to offer and request latent killers for other latent killers and pys for other color pys). But currently, to instantiate a “scam” trade like a pixelit for a killer you’d have to constantly swap between name filters.

I’m leaning towards this being an inconvenience that Gungho didn’t entirely plan out, but isn’t bothering to fix. I will say that if they really wanted to discourage mass scam trading and draining alt or burner accounts, then they should take a more active approach in dealing with this practice.

I propose the following changes to the trading UI:

• Upon trade initialization, the game prompts the rarity of the trade first, and then filters your monster box and monster book with only cards of that rarity.
• When selecting cards for offering in a trade, sort cards that aren’t tradable only because they’re favorited directly below cards that are immediately tradable, rather than bunching them up with cards that are untradable even if they are unfavorited.
• In settings, you should be able to toggle whether you want to request cards first and offer cards in your box second, or vice versa.
• The game should save separate name filters for offering, requesting, and in general every menu for selecting monsters for different purposes. 
• (Optional) A fast “duplicate existing trade” button would also be greatly appreciated.

Furthermore (once again not a pure UI improvement), it is still not possible to request for plus egg fodders; I hope this functionality will be added in eventually.

3. Monster Exchange UI

This point has been brought to my attention by Fether and UPC, but I agree that the Monster Exchange could use an overhaul. The list of unique evo gems keeps on growing, and trades which are vastly different in nature are lumped together in the “Event” and “Collab” submenus.

I propose the following changes to the monster exchange UI:

• Add search by name functionality for the monster exchange UI.
• Toggle between filtering/searching for monsters that you need to trade in or monsters that you can receive.
• Make the following categories and subcategories, creating a horizontal sliding menu or replacing descriptions with icons if necessary:
  • Token Farming (trades requesting event tokens, separated into sub-categories for each event going on)
  • Rare Monster Exchange (trades requesting REM or Collab pulls, separated into sub-categories for each event going on)
  • Premium Monster Exchange (trades requesting rainbow/black/appreciation tokens)
  • Evo Mats (separated into Non-Unique, Non-Boss, Mythical, Legend Plus, Annihilation, and Collab subcategories, depending on the highest difficulty of the descended dungeon they debuted in)
  • Enhance Mats (This tab is fine.)

Subcategories can either be implemented with submenus or even differently color-coded menu items.

4. Friend List

The friend list is still archaic and the Best Friend system is entirely unfair to newcomers and people without alt accounts. Constant new flavor-of-the-month leads from collabs and special REMs, myriad customization options for each leader, and the increasing necessity of specific loadouts to clear hard content have brought us to this crisis. It’s now more important than ever for friend leaders to stick around after using them, especially when tackling this game’s hardest content. I’m aware that in JP you can use PAD Radar to find friend leaders that will stick around longer, although this is a very bandaid solution; furthermore, PAD Radar is slowly being phased out for PAD Gold and I’m not sure how much longer it will last.

I propose the following changes to the Friend system:

• Make Best Friend reset much more frequent (say once every 2 months), or make normal friend leaders not disappear until they have been used several times (say 3 to 5 times).
• Let players tag their friends with notes.
• Let players search their friend list by name.
• Let players refresh their friends list without having to exit to title screen and “logging in” again.

5. 3-Player Multiplayer Mode

I could write a whole article on how neglected of a mode 3P coop is, and my personal scathing opinions on it, but I’ll leave that for another time. This is a list of all the negative interface issues I have with this mode, without spilling too much into gameplay:

• It’s still very clumsy to join or create a 3P room as opposed to a 2P room.
• 15 seconds is usually not enough time to find partners for a random queue room, especially in NA and especially if you’re not doing the highest difficulty of a dungeon with multiple difficulties.
• 15 seconds is usually not enough time to make the optimal tactical decision, especially considering that the timer doesn’t freeze during skill animations.
• Lack of communication besides the Nice! button.

Overall, if you look at 3P from its inception to its current state…not much has changed. This is a 2 and a half year old mode, yet it’s received little to no changes, additions, or improvements in functionality, let alone new dungeons that aren’t copy-pasted from their 2P and solo counterparts. It was fun for a hot minute, and I have fond memories of running dungeons like 3P Descended Rush and Arena with my friends, but it just fell flat too soon. Even though I know a few people who swear by 3P mode and enjoy it to this day, I can’t bring myself to view it as more than a failed experiment. Maybe 2020 will breathe new life into 3P coop…

6. Adding an extra confirmation when stoning for continues

I haven’t played too many other mobile games but every one of them prompts an extra dialogue window to confirm using premium currency as a one-time restart after a “Game Over”. Gungho doesn’t really have an obligation to fix this but I still view this as intentionally left in as a cheap way to nickel and dime players rather than an oversight.

Conclusion

This list covers my pick for the worst offenders among PAD’s sprawling user interface; these are instances where it feels like I’m wrestling against the game’s UI rather than using it as a tool of convenience. Some of these suggestions might be unrealistic or go against Gungho’s vision for the game, but I do hope that they have their eye on fixing at least a few of these right now.

What UI improvements not listed here would you like Gungho to address?