The Secret Santa Gift Exchange

By Chaz Hamilton

ID#: 22349

It is the season. A season of surprises.

This past Halloween, we all had a hauntingly good time trick-or-treating. Going from house to house with the hopes of collecting some sweet loot in our tiny plastic buckets. Even some familiar faces, both villains and heroes, packed their houses with special Power Cards, free Morphon points, and baggies of candy which grant extraordinary boosts.

Then came Thanksgiving and we hunted down giant turkeys across the world. I’m still full from those turkey dinners I got. How about you?

Now, it is nearing the closing of the year 2020, and boy are we ready to do that. This is now that special time where we should celebrate good will and peace on Earth. We need to celebrate each other.

We have an opportunity to do that with the new Secret Santa Gift Exchange currently going on.

Is it better to give than receive? That is the question.

With a few changes from the Trick-or-Treating event, this Gift exchange uses a similar procedure. Choose items from your inventory and submit them to your Exchange Pool. Every few days, the gifts will be randomly dispersed to the participants who have also put gifts into their Exchange Pool. (You can find the official Rules by tapping Secret Santa Gift Exchange on the main Heroes Rising game screen.)

Gifts will be exchanged every few days, with the first round being distributed on December 10th at 5p.m. EST. If this process repeats ever third day, there may potentially be six gift exchanges taking place before it ends on December 24th.

One gift can be anything from your Power Card inventory, gear collection, or 50/200 MP options. Further gifted items must be an item of Morphon value or 50/200 MP gifts.

If you are a new, free, or budget players, this is a great opportunity. You can put a single Power Card you have gained in as a gift and receive one in return that is most likely of better value.

For everyone else, it on the surface may seem to be more of a gamble. You might get a windfall of a great item, break even, or catch a piece of coal in comparison to what you gave. Because of this, it might not seem like a good idea to risk-it-for-the-biscuit.

Again, this is the season of giving. Give because it is in your heart and mind to do so. Give because you want to, not because you have been asked. Give because the more we participate and support other players in our community, the more likely it is they will remain active in the community.

Personally, I hope that everyone finds it in their heart to offer something up. Remember, this is the season of giving, despite each of our own selfish desires to receive. Think of the smile on someone’s face who cannot hope to purchase that high-level Power card or piece of gear without spending months of time grinding?

While it would be nice if we could choose who we are secretly gifting, choosing friends, fellow league-mates, or even our own alts, it is for those very reasons that the Secret Santa Gift Exchange is being done randomly. It isn’t meant to help by giving an advantage to some, but an exchange between all members of the community at large.

And if you didn’t notice it, if you gift over five items in the first round of the Secret Santa Gift Exchange, there is going to be something special in it for you as well.

A few great gift ideas I would like to suggest that could really knock some players socks off are:

• · Duplicates you might have of Tug of War cards. There are many players who like to collect a copy of each offered card, but with the Tug of War events, they can only access one of the two. I’m certain they would squeal with joy if they opened their gift and found a Power Card they could not possibly get for themselves.

• · Shuffle gear that is sitting in your inventory, unused and unloved. As Marie Kondo has said, “It’s about having gratitude for the objects you choose to be in your life. So, if something (or someone) doesn’t bring you joy, don’t try to justify its place in your world. Just say thank you and move on.” I think that works for online clutter as well, doesn’t it? Yes, eventually you possibly might want to use it again, but if you are honest with yourself, nah. You will more than likely get new shuffle gear that you will use before you reuse anything that has gone out of fashion.

• · A Power Card accessible to you that lower-level players cannot purchase. There are some Power Cards that open at levels 50 and above. You might not purchase them for yourself, but you can gift them aiming for lower-level budget players. Imagine how thrilled you would be to find an Angelic Wings or Nightmare Orb Power Card in your stocking at level 10.

• · Gear or Power Cards from missions that could give players that haven’t made it that far in the game an edge. (Let's say gear or Power Cards from missions ABOVE New Amsterdam and Planet X, so nobody gets called Scrooge, OK? New players can get those easily enough.)

• Think of what would make you happy if you were to receive it. That should be the test of a good gift. Is it something you would want?

I’m sure you have your own ideas on what you want to give. I only suggesting some gift ideas that could help spread the enthusiasm for the event. At this time of year, we should all try to help the community grow closer, in my opinion. At least through the holiday season, or hopefully until the next League War. Then it can go back to blood-sports and trash-talk like usual.

Think about how the game was a year ago when many first started. New players are in that place now, looking up at the highest ranks thinking “I’ll never get there.” There are many budget and free players who have climbed the ladder on their own, but if a generous helping hand had gifted some choice goodies to them on occasion, perhaps more of these type players would still be active.

No matter how you gift-give, I hope that everyone does participate and share in the festivities. I wish every one of you a Happy Holiday season. My glass is risen to each and every one of you. Cheers!!

Chaz Hamilton

P.S. Please consider after opening your Secret Santa Gifts to take a moment and say thank you to your gift-giver. Honest gratitude is never unwelcomed.