I have played this game since beta. I have some toons with a lot of status, but I swapped raid mains last year. I was happy to do so, I enjoy multiple classes and I'm flexible when it comes to the needs of the forces I raid with. But, as a result of swapping to a newer toon, I am crippled by a lack of status. The sudden and inappropriate use of status as a current currency where everything from shinies to mounts to literally everything sells for millions upon hundreds of millions (billions??) of status rendered my raid main constantly 'behind' due to lack of status. Me and everyone else who swapped, just returned, or are a new player. As a personalized financial punishment for being flexible, Daybreak now seems to expect me to make cash purchases of status in these new ' 'Darkpaw Hero Bundle/ Darkpaw Heroic Boost Bundle' bundle, which include a predictable number of predictable-amount status clickies. Since the ones from heritage crates are RNG and almost always give the least amount of status, these 'bundles' are the only guaranteed way to build up any functional amount of status. The required amount of status needed for upgrades and items in current game content is not at all possible to earn while playing normally. The status bounties are tiny amounts that don't even come close to what we need. The status amount rewarded for missions and quests is a joke compared to the cost of everything. This seems shameless and unbelievable. There was a lesson in the 'heritage crate P2W fiasco' of last year, and that seems to have been lost and forgotten. Please, pass these ideas by someone who will think critically and give feedback that they are not good ideas before things get released that look like blatant cash grabs and unfair costs put on very specific players. (If you want to punish and drive away new and returning players and those who swapped raid mains, I have to ask you: Why??) There must be better ways of earning money as a company if that's the main objective. THEN TO TOP IT OFF...you can also get chrono coins this way. So to clarify that point...they introduced YET ANOTHER currency (chronos) to gate functionality behind. Then they took out all reasonable methods of earning that currency, while also increasing the cost of everything purchased with that currency. Now they are SELLING that currency for actual cash money? Does that sound like a move that respects and values the players? It doesn't to me. It's gross. This all displays an astounding lack of respect for those who play this game, especially new/returning players and people who switched raid mains within the past couple of years. I have almost a whole year of grouping and raiding on my new raid main, and I'm not even close to the status it will take to keep her functional. This is not okay.
Completely agree, its taken me this long just to get the chronos for Juxt and Glory and yet now spend the money and hey dont bother doing the work
You know at the same time we learn that DarkPaw recycles old stuff instead of coming up with new ideas and Game Design. "Money Sinks" Part II just entered the game. This is all a bad timing and doesn't bod well with the player.
The problem with that is that with bundles like this, it literally effects how everyone else gets to play the game whether they buy it or not. Chrono dungeons - for most people - are not soloable. Getting groups to run them was *already* difficult for people who wanted to actually farm the coins and now I've not seen a single one formed since the bundle went live. Pretending things like this don't effect the game because people can make their own decisions whether or not to buy is just turning a blind eye to reality. Think about the Donkey Kong run in the instance a few expansions ago. As soon as the skip portal was added, nearly no one actually ran the path - so in heroics, nearly no one was capable of actually doing it. Think about the clicky in Sanum's room that unlocked the whole thing, skipping the puzzle - once that was unlocked, no one did the puzzle any more, so new players didn't get the achievement unless they were lucky and got a nice group willing to do it. Sure, it doesn't completely remove your ability to do it, but it makes it a whole heck of a lot harder than it was a week ago to do something that is intended to be done.
You got 2 groups of players here. The ones that defend these actions are the ones that can for the most part, afford the money sink. And those who can't afford it, and won't be able to keep up with their paying counterparts. The ones that can afford it, most of the time just tell the other folks to go pound sand, cry in the corner or to quit. The ones that can't afford it just want a level playing field, and to keep playing, even if they have to earn it the old fashioned way. I am in the 2nd group and have already deleted 10 alt characters. (DBG can check that I did) I have been here from the beginning, and have seen a lot of stuff over the years, but this takes the cake. I can't do it any more. I gave away all my stuff, all my money on those characters. I got 5 characters left, that were just my favs. I am not looking for pity, or sympathy. I am just stating factually what I have done, myself. It was my decision, and I just can't afford it. Since this began I have logged in one time, will most likely be withdrawing from my raid guild, and just log in from time to time to see what's going on and say hi to everyone. Once DarkPaw gets their initial swell of Cash, and everyone has gotten what they want and sales wane off, what's next? What Cash gimmick will follow, hoping everyone will blindly follow them to the bank. I am all for people making a profit, but this is just plain uncalled for and ridiculous. After being here since 2004, this is the thanks we all get for sticking by them thru thick and thin. I will always love Everquest II, but I don't have to love the things they have done to it.
I do chrono runs everyday (sometimes 2 groups in a day along with H1's for the that maybe avatar turn in item). But with Umbral Halls fixed - PUGs disappeared. Heroics are still too many scripts (imho) - so you don't see hardly any H1 Pugs and I don't see any h2 PUGs. (And when I say PUGs, I mean people you don't know). Did the Donkey Run a lot, and I was ok with not having to spend a few mins doing the puzzle in Sanctum. But just not getting the impact on the game per se, other than top raid guild folks don't like it.
Getting groups to run them became difficult after they nerfed the ability to get 130 coins via the weekly. This bundle being 600 is a bigger slap in the face, especially since your max coins now is only 40. Pay $40 dollars to get 600 in a swoop or run a TON of weeklies and daily runs in chrono dungeons to get 600 lol. @devs, this is far worse than the personal loot you put in two expacs ago. FAR WORSE. This needs to be undone, just like that was. You already had 5 pages of complaints on the chrono dungeons as is and now you do this.
Heroics are not too scripty. Most of the H2s alone are one script on each name. How is that too scripty. The most you have is maybe do an HO and cure a curse. OR cure a curse and remember who it was when more get put on. Tank intercepts. NONE of the heroics scripts are hard or too indept, which is what everyone asked for. You said one for sure thing, PUGS disappeared with Umbral Halls fix. 100%. The impact on game is, you now are going to be buying chronos, instead of farming like they wanted us to. The number of chronos we were gaining via umbral halls was acceptable. To prove that, they give you 600 for $40 dollars lol. You could run 4 toons through weekly chronos at 130 a piece and still not get that for simply plopping down a credit card. The status thing is a real problem that needs fixed ASAP now. They've known about it since start and have fixed some things, but this is the kicker especially for OP who swapped mains. Again, this decision is worse than personal loot unlockers 2 expacs ago.
There is always going to be controversy over the thoughts of adding anything to the game that can be purchased. There are pro's and cons to both sides of the discussion, but the underlying point that needs to be understood is that this is a retail game, and the company expects to make money and profit from it. This game is ever evolving, as one should expect, the project teams have to find ways to increase the revenue that's captured from it. With the player base divided between free to play and paying players, increasing the subscription cost is less likely to bring in new players. Making itemization purchases is something that's very common pretty much in any game out there. No one is twisting anyone's arm to make the purchase; any talk of imbalance is a personal opinion only. Many of us have spent many a day and night grinding the for chrono coins, but I'm relieved to see a chance for players that don't have the time to grind. On the same page, just about every solo player out there that also would like the chrono adorns will never have the chance to adequately build up a usable amount trying too only solo, this provides them an opportunity if they choose. The bundles are a good idea and can bring some balance to the players that also benefits the retail side of things. No one is forcing anyone to buy them, at the same time, if players feel they are at a disadvantage, then what's the difference to the new player that can't get groups or seldomly groups, are they just never supposed to be able to afford the adorns? Doesn't seem fair that way does it? Just my thoughts, but I would expect to see more of this in the future moving forward through expansions.
boy do I ever agree -- it's killing my old heroic toons -- until I gave in and bought the status -- hated to do it, not my thing, but -- no recipe books till I did -- and I love to craft, so this was mandatory for me to have fun
I understand that this is a business that needs to make money. I think it is wrong to make money specifically on the backs of new, returning, and players who swapped raid mains. To the tune of charging them many times more just to function as a heroic or raid level player. I disagree that money should specifically be made by creating an artificial deficit of a currency and then selling that currency. Just like there shouldn't be a big deficit of loot created and designed into the game and then crates sold to get people access to loot...which they eventually decided wasn't the right look for them. There are honest ways of making money as a game that do not specifically charge one set of people far more than everyone else just to function. This 'create a lack and then cash in on specific players' is sneaky, underhanded, and unfair. It's also pretty 'bait and switch' really, having us preorder a fancy level of expac to get 'the best' mount, merc, familiar...and then adding ones in that require mountains of status instead of being able to use the one we already paid our money for thinking we would be ready to go and 'caught up', for example. Don't sell me some mid-level garbage for big money and then ask me to buy a ton of status for more and more real money to get the actual good stuff. If they raised the subscription price to reflect what they require to make from each player to function, that would at least be honest and clear.
