The introduction of the Coliseum game mode has marked the biggest shift in the Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (SWGOH) landscape in years. Designed as the first official “Era” mode for the game’s tenth anniversary, Coliseum unlocks at Player Level 10 and challenges players to take on powerful rotating bosses using specially-designated Era units. While meant to reignite daily competition and test new strategies, what lies beneath the surface raises questions about fairness, transparency, and the real cost of staying on top.
Understanding Coliseum: The Basics
Coliseum is structured around daily runs against rotating bosses, with each attempt setting your high score for that day. Only Era units—unique characters specific to the current cycle, beginning with Stormtrooper Luke—can be used, and progression in this mode is tracked both by milestone rewards (which reset each Era) and a highly competitive daily leaderboard. Rewards scale sharply for top leaderboard ranks, incentivizing frequent engagement and big investments in the right units.
Confusion Around Upgrades and Long-Term Value
For both new and veteran players, the long-term strategy for Era characters is opaque and confusing. Investing heavily in a new unit, like Stormtrooper Luke, can have consequences that aren’t clear until weeks later. The upgrade system is layered and the rewards for current investment may not pay off in subsequent modes or Eras, leaving players with little clarity about whether resources spent today will remain relevant or effective tomorrow. This uncertainty makes each upgrade feel like a gamble rather than a targeted improvement.
The Forced “Start Over” and Real-World Cost
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Coliseum is that it compels even longtime, endgame accounts to “start over” every Era cycle. Veteran squads, relics, and years of investment in classic heroes provide no advantage here; to compete, you must pour resources into the present cycle’s Era units. Testing this first-hand, significant real-world spending—between $150 and $200—was required just to promote Stormtrooper Luke to 6-stars and Level 50 in the hopes of leaderboard relevance. Raising him to the next star tier required even more, with gains feeling incremental compared to the cost.
| Character Level | Approximate Cost (USD) | |
|---|---|---|
| 4-star unlock | ~$30-50 | |
| 6-star | ~$150-200 | |
| 7-star | $200+ |
Early Spending Dominates Leaderboard Strategy
Through direct playtesting, it’s clear that those who spend quickly on these units get a near-insurmountable edge on daily leaderboards. The combination of a fresh leaderboard every day and scores that hinge directly on star level and investment means that early whales (big spenders) can lock in top 10 finishes for an entire cycle. Players who wait or try to compete as free-to-play (F2P) will find it almost impossible to catch up without suddenly investing heavily themselves.
First-Hand Testing: Does Star Upgrading Beat Strategy?
To see how this plays out in action, Stormtrooper Luke was tested in Coliseum’s Tier 3 Dryax boss fight after being upgraded to 6-stars and Level 50. With a focused “swarm attack” on the opening move (Luke’s strongest opener), followed by minimal damage with the remaining moves, the score reached 7971 using this specific, repetitive tactic. Upgrading Luke to 7-stars without any further enhancements and repeating the identical approach immediately bumped the score to 8321—a very small increase considering the investment level.
| Attempt | Stormtrooper Luke | Strategy Used | Tier 3 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | 6-star, Level 50 | Swarm attack; minimal follow-up | 7971 |
| Upgrade | 7-star, Level 50 | Identical strategy, more stars | 8321 |
The Gameplay Experience: More Grind Than Game
This dynamic makes for a lackluster play experience. The optimal route—swarming on the first move and tiptoeing through the rest—feels repetitive and unsatisfying, reducing the game to mathematical optimization rather than active fun. Investing more does deliver higher scores, but it isn’t the result of deeper mastery or innovative approaches—just more money spent. As AhnaldT101 has said, make a fun game mode and then figure out how to monetize it… This is not what we have received.
Personal Thoughts and Community Sentiment
Grappling with Coliseum’s high spending threshold, confusing long-term strategy, and underwhelming gameplay, it’s easy to share in community frustrations. The system is built for those willing to pay early, and the marginal returns for strategic gameplay are overshadowed by the brute force of star upgrades. It feels less like a fresh challenge for veterans and more like a method to keep everyone starting anew, at a substantial cost, every few months. As a whale myself, while I will surely engage in it daily, the urge to spend now that I have a better grasp on how it works, will dissipate significantly.
Conclusion
Coliseum is a bold new direction for SWGOH, but it comes with deep tradeoffs: real investment trumps in-game innovation, and the rewards of clever strategy are overshadowed by whoever pays most quickly. For those determined to compete—and willing to pay the cost—Coliseum offers a new frontier. But for the rest, it’s a cautionary tale about the evolving economics of mobile gaming and the ever-higher cost of chasing the leaderboard.