As it stands, the level cap is unpopular with everyone. Free players hate it because they can’t ever catch up to it. Whales hate it because the XP they earn from spending stamina goes to waste when they hit it. But there’s an easy solution to both.
Once players hit their server’s level cap, the progress bar to the next level should remain. Then whenever the player fills it, instead of leveling up they’re given the choice between 40 chips for a random hero, stamina items equal to 40% of their level (Eg, 74 at 185), or 5.5k Memory Market tokens. Once chosen, there is a 36-hour cooldown before the player can fill the bar again.
PerBlue benefits because players are motivated to keep spending resources after they hit the caps, whales/top players benefit because a lot less of the XP they gain is wasted, and new/free players benefit because PB won’t have to raise the caps as often for whales to keep spending. It’s a win for everyone. 