Is 1.5 just a pure cash grab?

1.5 requires more thought/planning and you need to be aware of the + and - of your doctrine.

It is more aimed for cash but I agree that it does allow for more thought and planning.

To prove the cash grab point, games go faster meaning more chances to spend. Also, construction of level 1 buildings takes a while so it means that impatient noobs will be more likely to speed up the process.

And you need to manage rss usage. ( can’t waste it on anything not super important)

Hanz Gunvor wrote:

Upon returning to CoW after a year of absence, I was excited to see new buildings added with the 1.5 update. On the one hand, it sounds like a good idea and potentially making it more interesting but then, on the other hand, I can't stop to think that this is just done purely with money on the mind, and has no regard to enjoyable gameplay. So far I'm day 1 into my new game and noticed that I had to use more gold to buy rare resources for the extra buildings which I didn't have to do so early in the game back in 1.0.

For those who have played both 1.0 and 1.5, has the new update made it better? Or if not how did it ruin the experience? Was it that it forced you to use more gold?

I never really use/d gold for both versions, so therefore that aspect did not change much for me.

So after playing for over 2 weeks and winning a game, I have to say that I really enjoyed the 1.5 update afterall. I didn't find any urge to use gold, besides to buy more manpower towards the middle of the game (was playing as Algeria), which you can always get for free on the mobile app. The update made me change my playstyle and use units that I previously didn't consider given their time/cost. Overall I like the direction Bytro is taking with the game and will continue to play for the time being. My experience so far certainly didn't feel like CoW became a cash grab with 1.5, and if anything made me not regret returning to the game after more than a year of absence.