So this is probably a silly question, but I was wondering if anyone had any input, and didn't come across it as I lurked my way through these forums.

I've been reading up and there's one thing that seems really true of battling: It's wicked expensive. "Cheap" end-game items start at 20ish million and shoot up into the billions pretty darn fast. Staple scrolls like GotF seem to run at about 300ish mil, and then you need multiples!

This isn't a complaint, exactly, but I am curious as a T9 baby-battler- is it the battling itself that eventually starts to earn you the kind of money to invest in these things? Or is battling something y'all have been able to take more seriously because you had the SP to invest. Is the battling it's own reward? Do you spend USD (or the like) to keep investing?

I make most of my SP through questing and selling off the rewards, so most of the end-game goals are gonna be a major work-towards goal for me, but I do regularly see folks here discussing dropping 2-300 mill like that's reasonable, and know I'm out of my depth, haha. That doesn't stop me from having fun, but I do wonder if there's an aspect of battling I don't understand that makes these prices more attainable for seasoned battlers? Or is that just a side effect of economy?

Anyway, that's my ramble-y question.

Battling can be an expensive hobby depending on what the end goal is for you. The faster you want to tier up, the more expensive it becomes. There are end game weapons you can earn on your own, but it's hard to do if you don't invest in better weapons or can have good weapons loaned out to you. You can raise multiple pets to win multiple loot like forj scrolls to add to your set or sell off duplicate loot. You won't earn back what you invest in battling through battle loot alone.

In the beginning, I was broke. I started out with nothing like everyone else. Even now I make most of my sP through quests and selling non battle items in my shop. On occasion, I will sell earned loot that goes for a lot of sP. I don't spend real USD, but the sP I earn goes towards boosting my pets. At one point, it used to go towards weapons and scrolls. Once you have everything you think you need, you can focus on the other aspects like intel and multiple battle pets.

Battling is generally not profitable, its something that a lot of people find to be enjoyable so they put the time/effort to make sP through other things and then go on to battle. There are a few people that over the course of years of grinding have probably made a profit, but I think they are the exceptions not the rule.

I think you have a very common perception about battling that its super expensive, but I think the reality is very different from the perception. For example, in probably the most common endgame set 3 of the weapons are won from battling (Recycle Blaster, Volatile Energized Mecha, Intricate Energized Helmet), 1 is in the MC for 8mil and is used forever (Phoenix Quill). Then Soma Tablets and Revier of the Lion are in the Antique Shop for 60million each, but if you were on a super tight budget they could easily be skipped too. Then for constants, there are Malaria's Cursed Arm Bangle, which is loot and Paintbursh Blades which is 12mil (or you can fight Sophie for about 250CSC). So over the course of several years a very viable endgame set is going to run you a total of about 140mil, and I could definately still get it cheaper without making it too crazy. Then you can also still win several of the god weapons Manifesting Weapon, the 2 Gelatin War Prizes, Cronus Blade (750 CSC), Dark Goddess Rod, and any future war prizes.

The same thing is true for the lower and middle tiers too though. You could build a 2bil+ Teir 1 set or use a 300K set and youll probably have the same outcome in 90% of battles.

Battle is not profitable. You will be able to get your hand on certain cool battle loot items, but I assure you it will most likely be cheaper to just buy those.