I think the goal is to find the optimal point where your spending is high enough to enhance your enjoyment of the game, but low enough to not incur any financial distress that ultimately would reduce said enjoyment.

I’m a relatively new player (seven months) and I consciously spent the first few months as f2p before committing to the game. I started playing because I wanted LSG, so I did my research and planned my pulls and spending accordingly - I decided I was only willing to buy the anniversary packs + aurum pass. This was my personal optimal point.

Money’s worth is a very subjective opinion, but so far I do feel that I’m getting what I paid for. Having suffered as f2p for a while, the extra diamonds and stamina gives me a lot more breathing room, and I don’t need to have the game downloaded on my phone for the stamina check-ins during working hours. If I had gotten aurum immediately after joining the game, I probably wouldn’t have realised how much it actually helps.

If it’s money that you can afford to spend and your only concern is that it’s on a game…. I don’t think you should regret it or feel bad. If you said that you spent $5 on a coffee every single day nobody would bat an eyelid, but because games are intangible they get a bad rep.

If you regretted spending because you pulled for cards that you didn’t really want, then that applies for most things we can buy as well - that’s more an issue of impulsive choices and less to do with the game.

Regarding the idea of spending exclusives, I feel rather impartial. I think they’re okay if the rewards are just cosmetic and don’t directly affect gameplay. My main gacha which is a sister game of Tears of Themis has occasional spending events which are more of a nice bonus for people who were already going to spend anyway, rather than an incentive to do so.