With the news/confirmation that the Eternal Winter event has a second part with better Candy Cane rates that will get unlocked after we hit Chapter 5 of the story (separate from the Gingerbread Man Trial), I'm actually even less motivated to farm right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled at the prospect of the second part giving a better return on NRG investment ^{even if it is just 50%...}, but at least for me, it puts the first part of the event in a weird place.

By acknowledging that there is a second part with better drop rates, we have to concede that the first part is an objectively inefficient use of NRG. It's hard to justify spending 25 NRG for ~500 Candy Canes when there will eventually be a means of spending 25 NRG for ~750 Candy Canes. And that inefficiency hurts. Unless you're constantly refilling, NRG consumption comes with a considerable opportunity cost (and if you are refilling, that comes at a different cost).

And I already hear you, "If nobody farms the first part, nobody even gets the second part." And you're right. That's what makes it such a conundrum. The fewer people farm the first part, the less time we get to enjoy increased rates - also meaning we have less time to actually get rewards from the MK shop and unlock the final bits of the story. By that logic, I want to farm the first part to help contribute to reaching that milestone, but at the same time, to farm the first part is to knowingly and willing choose to waste your NRG.

It's a really confusing design, so I'm asking the question to you guys and girls: Are you farming to help reach part 2, are you waiting until the reward/cost increases, or does the knowledge that - at least for now - it's only going to see a 50% increase deter you from even participating during part 2 - deciding that there are better NRG investments to be made? I'm just curious to see what everyone else is thinking.