P2W - Pay to get screwed.
It is either you pay all the way to the highest prestige level or you don't pay at all. If you are in the middle like me at level 8. You are completely swindled and scammed as the rewards do not give you an ounce of advantage over non-paying players. The equip rewards are a joke as they can never match up to heirloom sets.
Well, let me first inform that i'm a lv 7 prestige. so maybe I can reply for this. saying that you get scammed is really wrong. most likely you buy something (either monthly gems or some bundle) which means you already get something out of it and they even reward you with this prestige level as a bonus. don't see any point why you complain about this.
Valiant Hero - Lucille
The MVP for being the most useless hero ever. Lets be honest, the only time the skill is useful is when you want to fight against a difficult boss. Capitol Legendary Stage boss comes out on round 8 when Lucille can only use the skill on round 8.
Seriously? I would Kill to get Luclille, lol. don't blame one instance of mismatch for the whole character build. it's just unfair. She's still one of the most useful valiant out there. which i can only hope to get T.T
Worst RNG System
Well, I don't know there's any Good RNG or any Bad RNG. but hey look there's valianite. surely it's better than draw 10x summon and gets nothing at all.
Lack of usable equips
Either you get sets or you are screwed. You can make 5* weapons but not 5* equips that complete the set. This is a joke to be honest. Basically, if I cannot farm equip sets or heirloom sets, I am stuck in a loop. I can't clear legendary events or complete those seasonal events. Even if you happen to get an equip set (e.g. from prestige), you are still screwed if the suffix is wrong. If the suffix of the equip is wrong, there is no point in upgrading them as the stats are useless if they are mismatched.
Non-existent Mid Progression
I joined at a bad time which the heirloom sets for damage dealers were over. The past events were for assassins/clerics/defenders/guardians. Well, I do try to get those sets as well but the RNG was such a joke as well. It became even better with the increased cost and the ever shit RNG. Lets be honest, so what if there are increased rates of 3* equips being dropped? They are food for enhancement right? What good is fodder when there is not even any equips available to enhance?
Well, they do mention past heirloom set will be returning. and they also already implement partial bonus set instead of the old full set bonus. we also now have reforge and restore function. and don't forget there's a equipment selector in valianite store. Sure they cost a lot. but like any other game. either you pay a lot to get instant access or wait and take your time to collect it piece by piece.
Summoner Heroes
The arrival of these heroes just made my hard work go down the drain. While people are farming for those heroes, I am stuck at lower stages which I can barely complete.
I'm not sure which lower stage you're mentioning. In Keep? Watchtower? you can just bring some strong stranger summoner to clear those stage. suicide with your guild mate to lower the difficulty if necessary.
People nowadays say that summoner is OP. but is it really so?
if we're talking about arena, then yes, maybe they are strong because of the
added turn with each summon, it's not like the character itself is really broken. even Berserker Sven need RNG to trigger, same like other Archer team. Talissa? by herself it's not much a threat i think. what really OP is the combination of Sven + Talissa + Ronan and maybe add in aden/faye/lucille. which means it takes more than 1 character to be OP. and outside of arena? not sure summoner will help with story or other thing.
< just my opinion ok, you may or may not disagree
Runes
Even heroic drop 3* rune you know. which should be enough until you strong enough to beat legendary. again it does need time to get strong.
some suggestion: I Use ninja kai to refresh and swap at legendary capitol and it help a lot, add some stunner if you have.
Conclusion
Well, sure VF have it's good and bad move. but IMO it still one of the most interesting game out there. with the unique game play with aura and active/passive skill. which let you play around and demand your creativity to make a good team to overcome some stage/situation.
I don't know your current situation. but I just would like to guess that maybe you need a better guild. I'm one of the victim of the new guild raid and tower event. I feel like i was forced to find a better guild out there. but hey I can say finding the right one is totally worth it. I learn a lot in my new guild.
Sorry for the long post