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The XYZ Festival in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is the very first event in the game, and it’s been immediately set upon with controversy. Players who take part in the event are rewarded even when they lose, and that’s where the problem lies.
Since gems (real-money currency) are one of the rewards players can earn with medals, players have decided to self-destruct and get matches out of the way faster.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel players are winning even when they lose
Players who surrender gain nothing, but what about those who build decks that deal damage to the owner of the deck? It turns out, those do not count as surrenders, and the player can basically force themselves to lose.
Since these players are losing games faster than they would win, they ultimately unlock the medals faster, and thus, farm real-money currency at a greater rate than people who legitimately try to defeat other players the normal way.
It’s not difficult to build a deck that is only designed to lose, since several cards have a Life Point cost. These players racked up losses in order to rack up medals and ultimately win at farming currency.
Konami responded to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel controversy quickly
Thankfully, Konami has very quickly responded to this trend of players who are going to force themselves to lose. They don't punish these players, but are rewarding those who actually win matches more.
Perhaps this will lead to them playing matches with the intent to win, and if not, they will instead just reward the winners of duels with a much larger amount of medals, which will help.
The feedback about Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel players throwing matches just to farm medals was very quickly addressed and done in a way that was sensible. Instead of punishing players senselessly, the people who are winning are going to get serious rewards.
Now, when a player uses their own deck and wins, they now receive 500 medals (up from 100), and when using a Loaner Deck, they gain 250 medals (up from 50). Players who lost saw no change - 50 medals for a self-built deck and 25 medals for a losing deck.
A smart move by Konami will keep the community happy on both sides of the fence and allow the event to continue to be a success.
