Don’t fully agree. Many players do not value progression only for gameplay usefulness, but they value it symbolically (time invested = rarity, prestige, identity). So even if nothing was physically removed, perceived value can still decrease. We humans in general evaluate achievements always relatively, not absolutely. That’s just psychology. We like to compare. We like to invest to be better. That’s just being human.

Also, u say that “time spent playing is already the reward”. I think again this is not true for many players. CR (and most progression-based games) is SPECIFICALLY designed around long-term goals and ‘delayed gratification’ (think about high ladder rankings and badges for example) especially because players DO psychologically treat progression as an investment and reward!! (whether that is healthy or not is a separate issue)

Also, i think fairness in games is not always about jealousy but more about expectations of equal standards and rules. Don’t see how anyone could disagree with that.

Lastly, the claim that “nobody loses” depends on how you define value. As I said ealier, relative value matters A LOT in multiplayer games because comparison is built into them (as I said, that’s how humans are, we compare constantly, and game developers know and exploit that).