Its been a rough week all around for all the Bunters out there, with two major programming issues impacting the game’s economy and spending. Starting with the release of Gypsy Queen last Friday, and a bad situation with Purple Boost cards yesterday, the app has been left in the fetal position. A make good yesterday on the Gypsy Queen situation has calmed the masses some on the collecting side, but as for the purples, that’s a whole different story all together.

The question now becomes not how the team fixes the issues, but what it means when the ripples from the situation start becoming tidal waves on the economy. For those that are unfamiliar, yesterday afternoon, free purple packs were accidentally made available, where users could open 10 at a time for free. With some users having hundreds of powerful cards in their collections, obtained at no cost, the contest system is compromised for all users who didnt get in on the action. Similarly, as more people start to upgrade their plundered treasure, the impact of the glitch becomes more and more diversified and widespread.

With Gypsy Queen, a fix is much more easy to execute, as the impact of one set isnt as huge. VIPs were given a make good on free boxes they were supposed to receive, and most seemed happy with what they got. More boxloaders were added to the pool, including some great names, and that helped to give new life to the program and people diving in again.

Value on the individual GQ base cards is severely impacted, however, although not entirely worthless. With set rewards still theoretically in place, the cards still have need for the people that didnt have access to the programming error spoils.

The new boxloaders are as good, if not better than the originals, as the checklist has some very big names on it. The issue is that there arent as many people willing to buy a box if they already have all the base. Its the equivalent of paying $74.99 for one card, knowing that it could be a relic with very little value.

In terms of what comes next, that isnt as clear. We could see the return of boost limits in contest decks, or even the exclusion of purple cards all together. I could also see them trying to lower boost levels on the purple cards, knowing that it might equalize the playing field a bit more. Even doing something like increasing the cost of black equipment or increasing odds on those packs could be another situation. VIP rewards will also have to change, as purples are no longer a perk worth giving out.

As for GQ, I dont see another fix in the works, and that is fine. They offered an apology and took care of the more important people of the app. Although its not a party for all those that got in on the fun, they did enough for people to calm down a bit. Some of the individual VIPs likely didnt get everything they deserved, but I know time was of the essence.

Its also worth discussing the impact to contest prizes now that Purples are so common. Competing in contests where they purples are prizes no longer is worth the effort. There needs to be an all around adjustment in that respect, at least to give a bit more incentive to people who want to compete.

There will be good things to come of this, trust me. Because most of these issues seem to be rooted in the programming behind the packs themselves, I can see a much greater attention being paid to the complex structures. Not that it shouldnt have been that way since the beginning, but now it is absolutely essential and required. Because they cant afford another issue, hopefully this will be it. That is a very good thing, albeit one that should have been a given.

Additionally, if you are a team collector or a player collector, and want to get your cards upgraded to the higher levels, it just got a whole lot cheaper to do it. Purples are much more easy to get in trade, and that means your collection can get better with decreased cost. Not everyone plays for points, and I am definitely enjoying getting purples of my collecting targets for upgrade purposes. Same thing goes for your team’s or player’s cards from the box, which normally would have been much tougher to get.

More information is likely on the way as the team sorts out the different issues and how to continue forward from this point. I hope that they have a way to make this right, especially when you consider how much impact there is on the points side of this. I understand that this was not done intentionally, but its something that needs a response as quickly as possible.

All in all, my best advice is to wait to see what happens. See if there is something in the works before trying to offload or load up. If some sort of fix is on the way, you do not want to be someone that loses out because you acted without patience.

These times will pass, and I hope its quickly rather than not. Either way, its going to be an interesting couple of days leading up to Sunday’s First Class Challenge. Stay tuned for further updates.

UPDATE 1: All purples are untradeable and unusuable for the contests, refunds will be provided for those that participated yesterday.