The Fallacy of Raids

Discussion in 'Gotham City (General Gameplay)' started by Kimone, Feb 22, 2015.

  1. Kimone Luthor Genetech Clone


    I'm hoping this isn't the way they're planning on doing things from now on -

    To be frank, Replay Badges will still be sold regardless of whether or not the Raid Gear has a higher CR - but making the decision to screw up progression to 'improve content longevity', then the craptastic ******** festival that followed, pretty much screams 'we're catering to a handful of complaint-filled elitist trolls on the Forum because we know this will help sell replay badges'.

    But the last Raid before this also sold a ton of Replay Badges, out of the gate, simply because the same people are going to try to burn through content on Day One of the DLC just to be able to say 'ERMAHGERD I GOT THERE FIRST GAIZ'. Quite simply, it wasn;t necessary to do it this way - but doing it this way has pissed... everyone ... off.
    • Like x 2
  2. Trial 1 New Player



    What I wonder is, is this game financially truly resting on the shoulders of said handful of complaint-filled elitist trolls?
    If so, that sends a cold shiver up my spine. I literally shudder to think it.



    AAACK I need a distraction before I spiral downward anymore!

    I know...I'll make an alt.
    He'll be a sidekick, I'll name him Vendor Boy!

    [IMG]
    • Like x 3
  3. Kimone Luthor Genetech Clone



    ..... Dude. that's... wow. That's the best picture ever. At any rate...

    I dunno, I mean realistically, I think those of us who continue paying the subs and et cetera on a monthly basis are probably a larger overall financial contributor than the dedicated 'Day One Completionist' Replay Badge Junkies. After all, a million people bitched at the glitch and there WAS an actual developer response - maybe not a huge one, maybe not a quick one, but there was something. Which is a new precedent.

    But it does seem like no actual discouragement for that mentality exists otherwise.

    Instead of looking at the complaint 'Oh I'm out of stuff to do too fast in this DLC!' and adding extra stuff to do, the developer response was 'Make the rare EQ nearly impossible to get and put a stumbling block in the way of comparable progression, then hit the beehive with a stick and stand back and watch the frenzy ensue'.

    And while I've noticed a lot of the 'RAIDS RAIDS RAIDS' people are like 'This should be this way!', we're also seeing a lot of 'Well the Elite Raid Is Super Waaay Too Hard' coming from the same people now that the glitch has been addressed. Even the standard load rate for 100 Gear is universally panned.

    So which is it?

    And I mean, from a basic observation standpoint coming from a long-term Video Game RPG player, Character Progression is always part of the trip in a game like this. To artificially restrict that capacity at this point by deliberately making these changes - which didn't go over well BEFORE - for these reasons, and to produce these results? Seems like forcing the concept of monetizing progress, instead of providing that comparable option to the patient player and the Day One guys.

    And considering the arguable evidence that they were just bought by an investment firm who already went through the Everquest staff with an axe, it just coincides too well for money not to be the motivator behind this decision, if not the rationale used to enforce this decision.
    • Like x 1
  4. Trial 1 New Player

    Love the whole response, answering to the highlighted portions.

    We're the minority now. In answer to my own question earlier, I think this game rests on the shoulders of a particular consumer type. I'll struggle to leave ad hominem out of this but, when you've been playing MMO's as long as we have.... we know the sort.

    Rush to the end. Now now now. Step over or on you to get to their fixated superficial goal and willing to spend money to get there. Any

    Any discussions counter to this behavior will be viewed as coming from the wild haired conspiracy theorist that comes to town down from the mountains every spring for supplies. Most of the townsfolk tolerate him for awhile but, eventually they mass together and run him out of town... tar, chicken feathers, and all.

    I don't see this DLC progression trend working long term. Actually, if done in the same manner again for the next DLC I predict a mass exodus... myself included.

    I've completed this DLC already and am... bored. I'm now using my extremely OP gear to solo raids for kicks. Every modern MMO I've played before this, when I get to this stage, it's not long before I take that hop over to something else.

    I mean how long will the average player last if their "game day" consists of a precise agenda that they completed the day before, and before that, and before that, and so on... Zzzzz.

    At least I'll always have PvP? I hope?

    To put the cookie on top of this poo poo sandwich of a post I've made, I do love this game. I'm in love with the developers' frame of mind during it's original concept. THAT's the game I came to play and the talent to keep it moving is still here.

    I just have to remind myself that said talent is employed to meet an objective that I'm not focused on as a player.

    Monetary means.

    ps. I did try to make that alt. Name taken. . . of course. I will NOT use x's... I... WILL... NOT!
    • Like x 1
  5. Kimone Luthor Genetech Clone

    Yeah, this actually reflects the response I got directly from Mepps earlier today in a thread where I comment on why people are pissed right now.

    Direct quote - since the thread was locked -

    I said this -

    "This - combined with some of your OWN commentary (Mepps), combined with the awareness beforehand that there was a large playerbase in the community who disliked the idea of RNG / 'Replay Badge Grab' Loot Structure, combined with blunt mismanagement of the glitch in the Elite Raid that was implemented to 'promote longevity', has left a terrible taste in people's mouths.

    You want to sell a ton of Replay Badges, just release regular content with a regular Vendor progression and some comparable Raid Gear - when HOP and WOTL2 came out the same 'Day One' completion B.S. was still happening, but it wasn't pissing a bunch of other people off to anywhere NEAR the degree that this has. And this DLC HAS fun Raids.

    To paraphrase the inimitable John Q. Zoidberg - This idea was bad and you should feel bad."

    He said this -

    "The conspiracy in this kind of opinion is so far removed from reality, I'm not even sure where to begin trying to understand or address your concerns.

    That said, if your concerns are about runs of extreme bad luck, we're right there with you. If your concerns require the removal of all randomness from the game, we're just not. It's a tried and true part of virtually all games with a ton of upside, and we've already made it essentially optional."

    Which, after all of the back and forth on the issue -

    I've seen responses where Mepps was saying they're addressing the issue of drops and gear, responses where he says the developers aren't changing anything about the issue of drops or gear, others entirely where he says, directly, that they're encouraging jealousy and ill will in the community. And throughout it all there's this snide insistence that 'bad luck' is the deciding factor here, instead of bad decision making... So it's like...

    Yeah, dude, we can read, lying to us isn't helping your case, changing your story mid-stride to try and remain on both sides of the fence has actually cost you the ability to remain on either side of this particular fence. You pissed off all the regular players by making this decision in the first place and then you pissed off all the Replay Gamblers by taking their ill-gotten crap away and saying 'no refunds'.

    We know Daybreak is currently being divvied up and filet'd because they got sold to an investment firm and no longer have the same financial support that they did this time three months ago. This isn't a secret. Pretending like this is a bold new day for a bold new company is laughable, at best. This is 'Developers are told to make money and engage in ridiculous squeeze play of loyal player base'. You need help?

    Sell people something worthwhile. I'll lay money they sold as many Replay Badges in the last DLC as they did in this one. What they didn't do was alienate their player base in doing so.
    • Like x 1
  6. Trial 1 New Player


    I made a post awhile back. I felt like the "hermit" at that point from the responses so I backed away slowly.

    DCUO Live: Census

    21,962,107 = total characters all servers

    1,896,241 = total characters > lvl 29 all servers

    39,932 = total characters > 110 CR all servers

    9,534 = total characters > 113 CR all servers

    8 = total characters = 116 CR

    I'll offer no opinion this time and leave you to your own conclusions.
    • Like x 1