If I’m reading the rules right, you can only raise your MRCZ flow by a maximum of 5 per session (four for the players, 1, for all the other members, if you draw right.) However, the mid-to high level MRCZ tiers require a minimum investment of 62 to 298 flow to even attempt to reach them. Also, since the group challenge rebate rules are not in effect for MRCZ tier challenges, every challenge you attempt will result in you losing 100%-25% of your invested flow, setting you back even further.
Given that most people can’t play RPGs more than once per week, it looks like it’s impossible to reach tier 7 without investing 6+ years (edit: I rechecked my math, and it looks like it would take about 2 years of perfect optimal play to reach tier 7. Taking into account screw-ups and setbacks, it would really take 4+ years) of real-time play, every week. Am I missing something? Or are mid-to-high level MRCZ tiers just supposed to be out of reach for most players?
It also seems odd that even if your MRCZ is at tier 6, a misstep during the MRCZ tier 7 challenge can wipe you out instantly, causing you to lose so much flow that there’s no way to recover. It looks like the only way to play it safe would be to make sure that your MRCZ had double the amount of flow that it needed to risk, but playing this way would probably double the time needed to raise your tier.
Is the tier progression process just supposed to be really harrowing and brutal?