User blog comment:Master Sima Yi/Assassinews 05-08-'14 – Assassin's Creed: Rogue announced/@comment-24760042-20140821165753/@comment-1888015-20140823012029

The game is free, yeah, but that's the hook. When you do missions, you can pick up encrypted data which you can exchange for a card, but it's very rare that you'd get something like an SR (Super-Rare) card, with you mostly getting C (Common) cards.

Then, with the Stamina packs, Animus hacks, and Premium exchanges costing Abstergo credits, that's when most people are drawn to get their wallets out and pay fuck-loads to even have a chance at an UR (Ultra-Rare) card, with the advertisement of how some lucky sap has gotten one and when the extra motivator to compel you to do the same.

Personally I think it's an exploitative marketing method which favors the "pay-to-win" ideology. I should know, I spent some for a couple of hacks and stamina boosts - just to make the progression faster, even though you're not likely get a R (Rare) card from 10+ screens in the time period setting (damn tap-based chasing, I'm there speed-tapping with my right index and ring finger and still fail) - and 2 pot luck chances at the premium 12x mixed cards, getting only blue SR cards at best - 1 from starter pack, another on a whim. At least I managed to get all three of Niccolo Machiavelli's card evolution artworks.

The game could do with a coin to Abstergo credit exchange function (a generous one, mind you), so players who stick to the free-to-play method can still get a chance at good cards through regular progression.