Message from the CM
Hey Everyone, It’s been a while since I’ve posted a message to you all that is directly from me, one that isn’t patch notes :) I know that a number of you are upset with the latest series of upd...
Forum Discussion
@EA_Jesse, several questions (in several parts):
1. Are you able to address the nerf to Teebo and other TM reduction characters? I spent a lot of time and effort leveling them (pre-mods only to have them now (post-mods) almost never hit their tm reduction on the Pig Captain. After spending a significant amount of time and crystals to get there, they are clearly not as effective as they were. From the post the other day, I understood the potency changes to be cosmetic only (i.e. it's easier to understand when it goes to 100% rather than exceed that). What gives? Is potency currently working as intended? Did the Devs make changes to tenacity in raids that weren't mentioned?
2. Stealth changes to raid rewards are unacceptable. My guild just finished a T7 raid, I got my rewards, and 20 minutes later the client restarted and changed the rewards to include 6 and 7 level mods. That was never announced and it should have been. In fact, EA never announced at all how and when those would become available. Again, this is like Pre-Crafting in that some people start out ahead of others. Will this be addressed? Can we get a promise from EA that it will stop doing stealth updates that work to the detriment of unsuspecting players? Or just detailed patch notes a few days before that include ALL the changes?
3. The problem with Mods. I know everyone is posting about it and I mostly agree. I've played a lot of games where, either by patches or expansions, the game radically changes (e.g. Diablo III). Although the community often took it hard, it was generally accepted because the payment for the game was one time (or twice with an expansion pack). People were not making in-game purchases to gain an advantage (basically creating a second-tier of competition among paying players). The difference in game-breaking mechanics is that, if I've paid a lot of money to get an advantage and then you wipe out my investment and make me start over, it doesn't feel (and isn't) fair. You want me to start a new chromium character? Fine. You want me to level from 70 to 80? Fine. You want me to spend money to gear and crush T7 raids? Fine. But don't have me do all that and then hit the reset button. I think that's where some of the angst from this. What exactly is being discussed about fixing mods going forward and what is being discussed to fix the problems that have occurred since the update? Is this going to be like Pre-Crafting where you don't do anything for a long time? And if you somehow roll things back (or whatever), will those of us who spent credits and crystals get compensated?
4. Maybe in addition to the weekly community update, you should consider having a community chat with the developers. To be sure, there will be a LOT of trolling. But it would be nice to have a real-time discussion with the developers about the communities concerns and get real answers. Part of the problem here is that an update drops, people complain on the forums, and then there is radio-silence for extremely long periods of time. Other times, it is that there has been griping about a particular issue not related to updates that goes unaddressed. For example, AGI challenge rewards that don't make sense. When the little things like that aren't fixed or addressed on the forums, it leaves the community with little confidence that the big things, like updates, will be handled correctly. On an even more frustrating point, it is really annoying to have to search through a post to find a developer comment or to have to switch over to reddit. How about a banner at the top of forums with all (or at least the important) developer/mod comments (again, I direct you to Diablo III's forums). Any chance for either of these things?
5. Finally, you all really need to consider beta-testing by the community or some other means of testing each update. I cannot recall a single major update that hasn't introduced some controversy. It's really a shame that on the one hand I look forward to new content with each update but on the other I steel myself for the inevitable problems with it. Its very, very frustrating. No question for #5, just my $0.02.
1. Are you able to address the nerf to Teebo and other TM reduction characters? I spent a lot of time and effort leveling them (pre-mods only to have them now (post-mods) almost never hit their tm reduction on the Pig Captain. After spending a significant amount of time and crystals to get there, they are clearly not as effective as they were. From the post the other day, I understood the potency changes to be cosmetic only (i.e. it's easier to understand when it goes to 100% rather than exceed that). What gives? Is potency currently working as intended? Did the Devs make changes to tenacity in raids that weren't mentioned?
2. Stealth changes to raid rewards are unacceptable. My guild just finished a T7 raid, I got my rewards, and 20 minutes later the client restarted and changed the rewards to include 6 and 7 level mods. That was never announced and it should have been. In fact, EA never announced at all how and when those would become available. Again, this is like Pre-Crafting in that some people start out ahead of others. Will this be addressed? Can we get a promise from EA that it will stop doing stealth updates that work to the detriment of unsuspecting players? Or just detailed patch notes a few days before that include ALL the changes?
3. The problem with Mods. I know everyone is posting about it and I mostly agree. I've played a lot of games where, either by patches or expansions, the game radically changes (e.g. Diablo III). Although the community often took it hard, it was generally accepted because the payment for the game was one time (or twice with an expansion pack). People were not making in-game purchases to gain an advantage (basically creating a second-tier of competition among paying players). The difference in game-breaking mechanics is that, if I've paid a lot of money to get an advantage and then you wipe out my investment and make me start over, it doesn't feel (and isn't) fair. You want me to start a new chromium character? Fine. You want me to level from 70 to 80? Fine. You want me to spend money to gear and crush T7 raids? Fine. But don't have me do all that and then hit the reset button. I think that's where some of the angst from this. What exactly is being discussed about fixing mods going forward and what is being discussed to fix the problems that have occurred since the update? Is this going to be like Pre-Crafting where you don't do anything for a long time? And if you somehow roll things back (or whatever), will those of us who spent credits and crystals get compensated?
4. Maybe in addition to the weekly community update, you should consider having a community chat with the developers. To be sure, there will be a LOT of trolling. But it would be nice to have a real-time discussion with the developers about the communities concerns and get real answers. Part of the problem here is that an update drops, people complain on the forums, and then there is radio-silence for extremely long periods of time. Other times, it is that there has been griping about a particular issue not related to updates that goes unaddressed. For example, AGI challenge rewards that don't make sense. When the little things like that aren't fixed or addressed on the forums, it leaves the community with little confidence that the big things, like updates, will be handled correctly. On an even more frustrating point, it is really annoying to have to search through a post to find a developer comment or to have to switch over to reddit. How about a banner at the top of forums with all (or at least the important) developer/mod comments (again, I direct you to Diablo III's forums). Any chance for either of these things?
5. Finally, you all really need to consider beta-testing by the community or some other means of testing each update. I cannot recall a single major update that hasn't introduced some controversy. It's really a shame that on the one hand I look forward to new content with each update but on the other I steel myself for the inevitable problems with it. Its very, very frustrating. No question for #5, just my $0.02.
