Reporter Toon ID: 10950
Just want to throw a bit of respect on a name.
Javee Veilleux and I have been rivals, teammates, and friends for many years. When he started playing just a few months ago, I knew he was going to be good. I actually asked him to start playing. So he did and I'm glad he stayed. When I asked him to join the game, he told me he would but only as a free player. Being who I know him to be, I knew with the right tools and information, he would make the most of what is available. I directed him to the Hanzo Ninja Clan School articles and great players like Ray Randell, Dana Greene, and Daryl Danforth to help get him on some good footing. I didn't know if he would stay with them or join me. It really didn't matter to me. What mattered was that he enjoyed himself, grew well, and injected the community with solid new blood.
Well, Javee did eventually find his way back to me and the VI squadron of teams, and I couldn't be happier. Despite being a free player, he has consistently over performed, winning event after event. I believe this is his 1st lws, he was still too new on the last one to get in on a team. He continues to over perform, beating toons that have spent a ton on the game, both in time and money, and are higher level. And while he still can't beat big $ toons 200 levels above him, he definitely gets his licks in on them.
Now, it's a bit of a source of pride for me at how well he is doing. His 1st couple months I would name drop him and hear back, "But he's a free player. He can't make it up to caliber." This same sentiment is held by many free players in the game. "They can't win. The disparity between free and pay player is too great!" Hell, we all have heard that time and again. Many of you may remember saying similar, yourselves. I always disagreed, but being one of the bigger spenders, I didn't have any footing to argue that anyone would listen to. But Javee does. And he isn't expressing my belief with words. He's doing it with action. He isn't telling us. He's showing us.
Now, I like to use Javee's example often to argue my point that free players do indeed have a shot at winning. And while he does garner respect for what he's accomplished in such a short time, what I always hear back is, "Oh, he's not a free toon. There's no way he's a free toon. There's definitely, at least, some money in that toon."
Well, Javee is my friend, and in the many years I have known him, he has never given me reason to doubt his word. But my word on his word isn't good enough for most people to believe the hype. I needed proof to show the masses. So I went to the Devs and asked. Turns out I was right. So, to all you free and budget players getting discouraged as you look at the uphill climb in front of you, the hype is real. A free player is taking on the big money players and succeeding. And you know what that means? It means so can you.
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