I genuinely respect and resonate with a lot of what you’ve shared here. The grind, the long hours, the internal motivation, and the personal wins — that pride of moving from Ranger to Champion is something only those who’ve been through the Arcade can truly understand. 
You’re absolutely right about one thing:
The real value of Arcade lies in learning.
The free credits, hands-on labs, and exposure to real cloud infrastructure are far more valuable than most people realize. If we calculate the actual cost of those labs, the learning we’ve redeemed is indeed many times higher than the cost of any swag.
At the same time, I feel both thoughts can coexist.
Acknowledging learning as the primary goal doesn’t mean fairness in recognition should be ignored. Swags may be symbolic, but symbols matter — especially when tiers, milestones, and rewards are officially defined and showcased. For many students, those milestones are not about materialism, but about closure and validation after sustained effort.
Most of the feedback you’re seeing isn’t anger for the sake of anger — it’s disappointment coming from people who genuinely showed up, stayed consistent, and expected proportional acknowledgment across tiers. That feeling is human too.
I truly appreciate your perspective of doing things unconditionally and letting life reward us in its own way — that mindset takes maturity and experience. And you’re right: knowledge will pay dividends far beyond this season.
That said, your final wish is perhaps the most important part of your message —
that the #ArcadeTeam hears the community sentiment and considers adding a few more practical, useful swags, especially for higher tiers, so everyone can walk away feeling complete.
Learning was achieved.
Growth happened.
Now a little balance in appreciation would make this season memorable for everyone.
Happy learning, happy arcading — and wishing the best for all of us in the cloud journey ahead 
for champion tire? 
tire