Changes to Gearing through Galactic Command

[Soljin]

Good deal! This is sounds like great news and I can't wait to watch the stream for details..

[doelow]

Speaking of narrative, I read your post.

 

No one is disputing BW has produced things that are, by strict definition, content.

 

The point you are missing is they are not producing content (and have not now for years) that is in and of itself a retention mechanism.

 

Ergo we have these lame cash-grabby bolt-on mini treadmills.

 

If you truly think this is the best possible swtor that could have been, you need your head examined. This is a *********** train wreck.

 

How do you know Flashpoints aren't serving to retain players along with the GxC system?

[Wayshuba]

How do you know Flashpoints aren't serving to retain players along with the GxC system?

 

Hehe. This stream you are replying in is proof it is not retaining players. BW would not be doing an LS less than two weeks after expansion launch if it was. They didn't do this with 4.0 because they didn't have these problems. With 5.0 we will soon have two LSs on the CxP system within two weeks of launch. BW only does this stuff when they are in fact losing subs. It has been their modus operandi since the guild summit.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Wayshuba

[Tsetso]

Hehe. This stream you are replying in is proof it is not retaining players. BW would not be doing an LS less than two weeks after expansion launch if it was. They didn't do this with 4.0 because they didn't have these problems. With 5.0 we will soon have two LSs on the CxP system within two weeks of launch. BW only does this stuff when they are in fact losing subs. It has been their modus operandi since the guild summit.

 

Well, technically they are still not losing subs, cause i think many players subbed to play the story so have some time until sub lapses. The biggest drops would be probably january and march.

[doelow]

Hehe. This stream you are replying in is proof it is not retaining players. BW would not be doing an LS less than two weeks after expansion launch if it was. They didn't do this with 4.0 because they didn't have these problems. With 5.0 we will soon have two LSs on the CxP system within two weeks of launch. BW only does this stuff when they are in fact losing subs. It has been their modus operandi since the guild summit.

 

Or... maybe it's just them doing their job and listening to player feedback? It's controversial. I never debated that. I also never said the system was perfect... I never even said it was -good-. But do you know what your post still is? Speculation. Possibly you are correct. Possible you are just experiencing confirmation bias.

 

I've never defended the Command grind in its entirety. I completely understand some of the very valid complaints. I also understand that it's not going to magically go away, and that the only way to move forward for us is to give realistic feedback instead of endlessly @#%%posting about how we need to boycott Uprisings and hold the game hostage.

[Soljin]

Just a reminder, they had this "retention mechanic" in the v1.0-v1.6 days. It retained 25% of the players that were there on launch and cost them 75% of the players and caused the game to go F2P to save it. By BW's own admission, the game was in very serious trouble only six months after launch and very much in danger of going completely bust. Only F2P saved it.

 

So, taking that past lesson, we implement a system that is worse than that that caused the massive exodus AND we shut F2P/Preferred players out of it.

 

Knowing that, how great do you think the retention is going to be with the CxP system? Any human being with a mediocre of common sense would have avoided implementing this like the plague knowing what it did to the game in the past.

 

RnG is straight exploitation of addictive tendencies which many people have to a degree especially MMO players for whatever reason.

 

That said developers with profit on the brain are always going to try and find a way to implement RnG into their games...

 

I think many companies are just having a tough time figuring out why RnG is so popular in some regions while in others it is an instant uninstall...

 

Basically my advice to Bioware is avoid design choices that you are unable to describe without using the words luck, Lucky, Chance, Random etc...

 

Go sit through an AA or NA meeting and then ask yourselves if the RnG design could be substituted for drugs/Alcohol in some of the stories you hear... I can tell you right now it surely could.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Soljin

[doelow]

RnG is straight exploitation of addictive tendencies which many people have to a degree especially MMO players for whatever reason.

 

That said developers with profit on the brain are always going to try and find a way to implement RnG into their games...

 

I think many companies are just having a tough time figuring out why RnG is so popular in some regions while in others it is an instant uninstall...

 

Basically my advice to Bioware is avoid design choices that you are unable to describe without using the words luck, Lucky, Chance, Random etc...

 

Go sit through an AA or NA meeting and then ask yourselves if the RnG design could be substituted for drugs/Alcohol in some of the stories you hear... I can tell you right now it surely could.

 

Grinding is too, and usually MMO's have some mixture of both. I think it's just a matter of dressing the grind and RNG up so that it's attractive and doesn't -seem- like you're grinding or being a slave to RNG. People don't like it when it's in their face.

 

I have no evidence to support this, and I don't go to casinos myself, but maybe that's why slot machines are so loud, colorful, and animated. Maybe it's a why to distract you from the "RNG grind" you are doing while you constantly feed money into the machine.

 

Regardless, MMO's have been doing this for a long time. It won't stop because people like it when it is presented to them in an attractive manner. It's all about tricking people into grinding.

[Soljin]

Grinding is too, and usually MMO's have some mixture of both. I think it's just a matter of dressing the grind and RNG up so that it's attractive and doesn't -seem- like you're grinding or being a slave to RNG. People don't like it when it's in their face.

 

I have no evidence to support this, and I don't go to casinos myself, but maybe that's why slot machines are so loud, colorful, and animated. Maybe it's a why to distract you from the "RNG grind" you are doing while you constantly feed money into the machine.

 

Regardless, MMO's have been doing this for a long time. It won't stop because people like it when it is presented to them in an attractive manner. It's all about tricking people into grinding.

 

Agreed, but I like to remind everyone that its exploiting something considered a Disease by many....regardless if its widely accepted in MMOs...

[StarkHelsing]

To be honest, not every single player is on these forums. Most players are happy to simply play without coming onto the forums. Those who are likely to be on the forums are the loud minority who kick up a fuss regardless of what is happening.

 

I make a point to ignore every single 'raider' post that says fixing this situation is doable by adding in tokens into their raid drops. As soon as you step into that territory where you believe 'you' are the only people who are suffering, your opinion becomes moot. It's still an opinion, and you're entitled too it, but it's still moot. Will say it again, it's not just bloody raiders who are suffering. Stop acting like you're the centre of the maelstrom - I think you can all agree that you haven't been catered too for years. You are not their target audience. It's the sad truth.

 

This system needs tweaking. And the points I slapped down before are the step in the right direction to get it sorted. Points that benefit ALL players. Not just Extreme Raiders.

 

RNG sucks, yes, we hate it. But it's doubtful it's going to leave. What can be done is making it possible where we control the rate for which purples drop by increasing our levels. A small percentage increase with each level to the point that hitting level 300 will give you almost a 10-30% chance of getting a purple set bonus item with each crate. This is also on TOP of my idea of being able to purchase unlocked tier set items with the DvL tokens.

Edited December 14, 2016 by StarkHelsing

[Wayshuba]

Regardless, MMO's have been doing this for a long time. It won't stop because people like it when it is presented to them in an attractive manner. It's all about tricking people into grinding.

 

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but it is not about tricking people into the grind, it is about making it worth it. Typically, you adopt either a time-based grind with a known reward (or at least a chance at a KNOWN reward), or a full RNG grind. This system is two distinct grind mechanics stacked on one another.

 

If we want to go RNG, like most action RPGs, fine, they crates should be dropping like candy throughout the game. Sure, 95% of the stuff you get will be trash, but there is always the 5% chance at something decent, and when they are dropping like candy, you keep pushing for the roll of the dice.

 

If you want time-based, fine. But make the reward you are investing the time in known. We call it a carrot on a stick for a reason - the horse is chasing the carrot. Now imagine putting a box on the end of that stick and, after ten times the horse gets the box, the RNG doesn't work in his favor and he gets no carrot. How long after that do you think he is going to keep chasing for a chance at the carrot?

 

This is why this system will NEVER work... while both these systems can be in the game, they should not sit on top of one another. It just leads everyone to frustration and eventually that frustration will just lead them to other games.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Wayshuba

[doelow]

Agreed, but I like to remind everyone that its exploiting something considered a Disease by many....regardless if its widely accepted in MMOs...

 

I have mixed feelings about it I guess. I enjoy grinding. It's probably why I'm so neutral about the Command system. Yeah, they need to release new content a lot more often, but grinding? Eh, I can get down with it. And yes, I will be the first to admit that I get sucked into grinding.

 

What I -don't- tend to get sucked into is cash shop stuff. So, gamble crates and whatnot. It's fun to open a few every now and then, but mostly it's harming games in my view, and it probably has put a lot of people in a bad situation. I'll spend money on crates and feel guilty about it because it's like I'm perpetuating something unethical and shady. I'm not really cool with that. But a game that is grindy? Sign me up. I was a Diablo -fiend-. I was one of the few who liked Vanilla D3 because the expansion wasn't grindy enough for me. I felt I was able to gear up too quickly, and it took a lot of the "thrill of the hunt" away for me.

 

I'd be playing Black Desert Online or ArcheAge right now easily if they didn't have such abusive cash shops. I'm a sucker for grinding. I loved my time in BDO just sitting in a field endlessly mowing down mobs and watching that bar climb. It's probably why I play these games tbh... to grind. If anything, most modern MMO's aren't nearly grindy enough for me.

 

It's not healthy, but I figure there are worse things I could be doing.

[Wayshuba]

To be honest, not every single player is on these forums. Most players are happy to simply play without coming onto the forums. Those who are likely to be on the forums are the loud minority who kick up a fuss regardless of what is happening.

 

I make a point to ignore every single 'raider' post that says fixing this situation is doable by adding in tokens into their raid drops. As soon as you step into that territory where you believe 'you' are the only people who are suffering, your opinion becomes moot. It's still an opinion, and you're entitled too it, but it's still moot. Will say it again, it's not just bloody raiders who are suffering. Stop acting like you're the centre of the maelstrom - I think you can all agree that you haven't been catered too for years. You are not their target audience. It's the sad truth.

 

This system needs tweaking. And the points I slapped down before are the step in the right direction to get it sorted. Points that benefit ALL players. Not just Extreme Raiders.

 

You need to spend some time reading developer threads on that very large MMO that shall not be named. They made a point, at one time of pointing out that there is NO majority in an MMO, it is a group of minorities and the intent is to cater to all the groups so they, together, make a majority.

 

They also pointed out the complete falicy that players believe the forums represent a vocal minority and gave a lot of examples to prove that was a complete falsehood. One of the things mentioned, that they learned, was for every one person discussing something detrimental to the game, there were another 9 people who just leave the game without saying anything. So this is why the ended up taking feedback very seriously when numerous people were complaining/commenting/giving negative feedback on something, because they learned the power of that "multiplier effect".

 

Unsurprisingly, this happened in this very game after launch. Losing almost 1.5 million players... But do you think 1.5 million were on these forums complaining... no. There were maybe a few hundred at best. Yet, had BW listened to that "vocal minority" they may have saved themselves from losing so many customers.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Wayshuba

[StarkHelsing]

You need to spend some time reading developer threads on that very large MMO that shall not be named. They made a point, at one time of pointing out that there is NO majority in an MMO, it is a group of minorities and the intent is to cater to all the groups so they, together, make a majority.

 

They also pointed out the complete falicy that players believe the forums represent a vocal minority and gave a lot of examples to prove that was a complete falsehood. One of the things mentioned, that they learned, was for every one person discussing something detrimental to the game, there were another 9 people who just leave the game without saying anything. So this is why the ended up taking feedback very seriously when numerous people were complaining/commenting/giving negative feedback on something, because they learned the power of that "multiplier effect".

 

Unsurprisingly, this happened in this very game after launch. Losing almost 1.5 million players... But do you think 1.5 million were on these forums complaining... no. There were maybe a few hundred at best. Yet, had BW listened to that "vocal minority" they may have saved themselves from losing so many customers.

 

And yet this does not debunk my point that it's not just raiders that are suffering and simply catering to 'only' the HC Raiders will do nothing but stop them complaining for a little while until they're reminded that they're repeating three+ year old content. For which, the cycle repeats itself.

 

If they do need to listen to a 'vocal minority' then they need to listen to those who are coming up with ideas that benefits all. Like these; i'll post again for convenience;-

 

• There needs to be a major boost in the gaining of all Galactic Command Experience; the hardest content giving the most Galactic Command Points. Veteran, Ranked, OPs
  
• To aid the solo players, there should be an increase in Heroics/Dailys GCXP with how many missions are chained thy the Galactic Command Planet Missions. Example; one mission completion gives a base of 600 points, the next mission gives 650, onwards.
  
• With each increase in level the chances of getting purple quality gear increases by a small percentage.
  
• Command Grates should drop DvL tokens. Op/Veteran/Flashpoint bosses should drop DvL tokens. DvL tokens should be used to purchase gear. In order to stop people just spamming easy street Ops or something, there should be a cool down with the vendor in buying purple set bonus gear. One a week. Of course you have to be at a certain Command Level to even unlock the sets for purchase.
  
• Winning PvP Ranked matches should give you DvL tokens. Loses should only give command points. Winning unranked matches should give DvL tokens – but only if you earn a certain amount of medals and there should be a repeatable mission, five wins = 1 token. The same goes for Galactic Space Pewpew.
  
• Command stash needs to be legacy wide.
  
• There should be Legacy unlocks to up the rate of galactic command experience earned. If you’re worried about this eating into your profit margin, have one that boosts the benefits of the galactic command boosts.
  
• The Command levels should be legacy wide.
  
• Resting experience should apply albeit at a much reduced rate to command level experience.
  

Edited December 14, 2016 by StarkHelsing

[keimox]

To be honest, not every single player is on these forums. Most players are happy to simply play without coming onto the forums. Those who are likely to be on the forums are the loud minority who kick up a fuss regardless of what is happening.

 

I make a point to ignore every single 'raider' post that says fixing this situation is doable by adding in tokens into their raid drops. As soon as you step into that territory where you believe 'you' are the only people who are suffering, your opinion becomes moot. It's still an opinion, and you're entitled too it, but it's still moot. Will say it again, it's not just bloody raiders who are suffering. Stop acting like you're the centre of the maelstrom - I think you can all agree that you haven't been catered too for years. You are not their target audience. It's the sad truth.

 

This system needs tweaking. And the points I slapped down before are the step in the right direction to get it sorted. Points that benefit ALL players. Not just Extreme Raiders.

 

RNG sucks, yes, we hate it. But it's doubtful it's going to leave. What can be done is making it possible where we control the rate for which purples drop by increasing our levels. A small percentage increase with each level to the point that hitting level 300 will give you almost a 10-30% chance of getting a purple set bonus item with each crate. This is also on TOP of my idea of being able to purchase unlocked tier set items with the DvL tokens.

 

Minority of players come to forums yes but there are lots of players who who doesn't post @ forums and hate this rng gearing. This can be easily seen in different chats in game.

 

If the rng is here to stay (at least until 6.0 given BW record of bringing new systems and then ignoring them later) they need to remove a lot of stuff from that loot table and up the % of set piece drops.

And tying set vendor to DvL tokens is almost as bad as this rng stuff we have now.

[doelow]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but it is not about tricking people into the grind, it is about making it worth it. Typically, you adopt either a time-based grind with a known reward (or at least a chance at a KNOWN reward), or a full RNG grind. This system is two distinct grind mechanics stacked on one another.

 

If we want to go RNG, like most action RPGs, fine, they crates should be dropping like candy throughout the game. Sure, 95% of the stuff you get will be trash, but there is always the 5% chance at something decent, and when they are dropping like candy, you keep pushing for the roll of the dice.

 

If you want time-based, fine. But make the reward you are investing the time in known. We call it a carrot on a stick for a reason - the horse is chasing the carrot. Now imagine putting a box on the end of that stick and, after ten times the horse gets the box, the RNG doesn't work in his favor and he gets no carrot. How long after that do you think he is going to keep chasing for a chance at the carrot?

 

This is why this system will NEVER work... while both these systems can be in the game, they should not sit on top of one another. It just leads everyone to frustration and eventually that frustration will just lead them to other games.

 

Making it seem worth it is part of the trick. There is no definitive point where something becomes "worth it" for people regarding this stuff. Like I just said in another post I enjoy grinding, so it's not hard to "trick me". In fact, the more punitive a grind is, the more likely I will buy into it because I'll think, "Yeah, I can spend a lot of time on this. I can settle in with this for a long time. Cool." whereas a system that I perceive to be something I can quickly "beat" I won't be interested in. Everyone here begging for tokens? To me that's not interesting because I perceive (accurately or not) that it wouldn't last me a long time, therefore, why bother? But what I just said you would probably totally disagree with, so there is no moment where it definitely becomes "worth it" for all people.

 

The "worth it" factor shifts between people. Some people think it is "worth it" to spend thousands of dollars on Hypercrates or w/e. Some think it's worth it to grind some tokens for a vendor. People like me think it's worth it to sit in a field full of monsters in a Korean game and grind until we get carpal tunnel. There is no catch all, really. It's just about finding what your core demographic thinks is worth it.

 

If TOR reverted to a token system I'd probably just do some stories (because that really is a good part of the game) and then leave again. I think that's what the majority of players have always done with this game. Pop in for a few months then leave. It's clear Bioware is pushing for long term engagement. It seems churning out content like Blizzard isn't an option so grinding it is.

 

They just need to figure out what is worth it to the core audience of the game.

[StarkHelsing]

Minority of players come to forums yes but there are lots of players who who doesn't post @ forums and hate this rng gearing. This can be easily seen in different chats in game.

 

If the rng is here to stay (at least until 6.0 given BW record of bringing new systems and then ignoring them later) they need to remove a lot of stuff from that loot table and up the % of set piece drops.

And tying set vendor to DvL tokens is almost as bad as this rng stuff we have now.[/QUOte]

 

 

A lot does needs to be removed from the loot table, yes or at least they should be given as an added 'reward' on top of the command grates themselves.

 

Trying a set vendor with DvL tokens in theory would work easily, different activities earn different amounts of tokens. By the time you've hit tier 3 just by doing ops you'll have enough tokens to buy any set items you're missing. This is of course is if you get a considerable amount of tokens for each OP run and the set pieces were 50-100 tokens a piece. And running, let's say a NiM op gave you 10-20 tokens a run.

Edited December 14, 2016 by StarkHelsing

[Wayshuba]

And yet this does not debunk my point that it's not just raiders that are suffering and simply catering to 'only' the HC Raiders will do nothing but stop them complaining for a little while until they're reminded that they're repeating three+ year old content. For which, the cycle repeats itself.

 

If they do need to listen to a 'vocal minority' then they need to listen to those who are coming up with ideas that benefits all.

 

No it doesn't but it's not just the raiders who are complaining. This system has a detrimental effect on all parts of the game except for solo story players... who really don't need the gear from this system.

 

The complaints before, from all groups except story (since we were at least getting that) was that there was little "end game" content being introduced for anyone. In two years, we have got two new WZs, and one of those was a simple arena introduced for an already existing format. There have been no new raids, no new FPs, really nothing in terms of group content.

 

Now we have Uprisings, but they are a joke. Quick 15 minutes battles with no system or anything attached to them. LOTRO did these in the form of skirmishes, that had it own unique gameplay and rewards. GW2 did something similar with fractals, again with its own gameplay and rewards. These Uprisings have nothing.

 

When you think about some of the things they have spent precious development time on - new pack opening experiences, DvL crate interface, and now the CxP system - wouldn't it have been better to spend that time on producing group content?

[Sshodan]

And tying set vendor to DvL tokens is almost as bad as this rng stuff we have now.

This - the whole DvL system is a separate thing that has nothing to do with gearing - if we tie it to DvL than grinding the loosing side bosses is the optimal way to gear. Imagine how "fun" THAT is going to be - not only you have to do it with a full group of people who are GOOD, thous are not easy to drop and you can't wipe, but they are althou open world and contested. It would be HELL.

That and timing your CXP game to the period when YOUR side wins so you get the token on lvl up... Just NO.

If we need gear tokens, make them separate and non related to DvL in ANY way shape or form.

[StarkHelsing]

No it doesn't but it's not just the raiders who are complaining. This system has a detrimental effect on all parts of the game except for solo story players... who really don't need the gear from this system.

 

The complaints before, from all groups except story (since we were at least getting that) was that there was little "end game" content being introduced for anyone. In two years, we have got two new WZs, and one of those was a simple arena introduced for an already existing format. There have been no new raids, no new FPs, really nothing in terms of group content.

 

Now we have Uprisings, but they are a joke. Quick 15 minutes battles with no system or anything attached to them. LOTRO did these in the form of skirmishes, that had it own unique gameplay and rewards. GW2 did something similar with fractals, again with its own gameplay and rewards. These Uprisings have nothing.

 

When you think about some of the things they have spent precious development time on - new pack opening experiences, DvL crate interface, and now the CxP system - wouldn't it have been better to spend that time on producing group content?

 

It certainly would be. I am behind this 100% that there needs to be more group content. I am not denying this. I am however against anyone complaining that people who simply do solo story shouldn't also be able to work towards getting that gear; it shouldn't matter.

 

Regardless, everyone should have access to it. Right now people have limited access due to the system being a mess. There's too little gain, not enough consideration for alts, etc. This needs to be changed, including the amount of content and just who it's catered for. Hopefully this January we will see this change.

[keimox]

A lot does needs to be removed from the loot table, yes or at least they should be given as an added 'reward' on top of the command grates themselves.

 

Trying a set vendor with DvL tokens in theory would work easily, different activities earn different amounts of tokens. By the time you've hit tier 3 just by doing ops you'll have enough tokens to buy any set items you're missing. This is of course is if you get a considerable amount of tokens for each OP run and the set pieces were 50-100 tokens a piece. And running, let's say a NiM op gave you 10-20 tokens a run.

 

If those DvL tokens come from everywhere then yea. But not like they are earned now. But they could just make a GC tokens that come from every 5 box or so. Then you can turn those in to gear.

Or make it lake those reputation grinds. Get it to certain rank and you can buy gear from vendor. But the way I see this is that no matter what kind of grind they set up for this, they still will lose veteran players. We have been doing same stuff for 2 years now waiting for new Ops/FP's/etc. Few 15-20 minute uprising don't hold that much.

[keimox]

It certainly would be. I am behind this 100% that there needs to be more group content. I am not denying this. I am however against anyone complaining that people who simply do solo story shouldn't also be able to work towards getting that gear; it shouldn't matter.

 

Regardless, everyone should have access to it. Right now people have limited access due to the system being a mess. There's too little gain, not enough consideration for alts, etc. This needs to be changed, including the amount of content and just who it's catered for. Hopefully this January we will see this change.

 

I have seen lots of comment that suggest restoring token drops for gear in hm/nim and maybe some kinda tokens you earn from RWZ but they all have said that keep GC a way for solo players to earn gear also. It just will be slower route.

[StarkHelsing]

This - the whole DvL system is a separate thing that has nothing to do with gearing - if we tie it to DvL than grinding the loosing side bosses is the optimal way to gear. Imagine how "fun" THAT is going to be - not only you have to do it with a full group of people who are GOOD, thous are not easy to drop and you can't wipe, but they are althou open world and contested. It would be HELL.

That and timing your CXP game to the period when YOUR side wins so you get the token on lvl up... Just NO.

If we need gear tokens, make them separate and non related to DvL in ANY way shape or form.

 

Yes it would be bad if only the DvL tokens dropped from the mess that is the DvL system. I'm suggesting that OPs/Heroics/PvP/FPs/Uprisings etc drop DvL tokens. And the number that drops is in accordance to the difficulty of the task completed.

NiM OP = 20

HM OP = 10

Story OP = 5

Etc. This of course is with the option to buy tiered gear that you have unlocked for certain prices. Examples below.

Tier 1 = 10 - 20

Tier 2 = 30 - 40

Tier 3 = 40 - 60

 

Of course these are all examples and random numbers. But I will repeat that to purchase tier 2 / tier 3 you must have unlocked it by hitting a certain command level. This interlinks with my other ideas with the increase of experience gained from each activity, the bonuses, the resting experience, etc.

Edited December 14, 2016 by StarkHelsing

[Ryenke]

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but it is not about tricking people into the grind, it is about making it worth it. Typically, you adopt either a time-based grind with a known reward (or at least a chance at a KNOWN reward), or a full RNG grind. This system is two distinct grind mechanics stacked on one another.

 

If we want to go RNG, like most action RPGs, fine, they crates should be dropping like candy throughout the game. Sure, 95% of the stuff you get will be trash, but there is always the 5% chance at something decent, and when they are dropping like candy, you keep pushing for the roll of the dice.

 

If you want time-based, fine. But make the reward you are investing the time in known. We call it a carrot on a stick for a reason - the horse is chasing the carrot. Now imagine putting a box on the end of that stick and, after ten times the horse gets the box, the RNG doesn't work in his favor and he gets no carrot. How long after that do you think he is going to keep chasing for a chance at the carrot?

 

This is why this system will NEVER work... while both these systems can be in the game, they should not sit on top of one another. It just leads everyone to frustration and eventually that frustration will just lead them to other games.

 

Thank you for your posts. I could not articulate why the game went from fun to frustrating and depressing and you hit the nail on the head. The time grind to get a mere (and lousy%) CHANCE to get something combination is awful. You might think of one thing to add to this. The Galactic Command Bonus and DVL win state bonus. Not only is there an RNG gate hiding behind a Time gate - but you can't even play what you want to play when you want to play it. Don't forget the weekly lockouts impede the progress toward the time gate as well.

 

In order to minimize the Time gate you must play what Bioware wants you to play when Bioware wants you to play. Have extra time to play the game on Wednesday - well don't run any heroics or an op, or you will lose the bonus because its on a different day. Oh, and don't do those heroics NOW, or you will lose the bonus when your side wins the server for that hour (forget even trying to get the op bonus at the proper hour). So if you *do* play what you want when you want (or are able to) you know you are losing ground on the bad combination system anyway. So, the lockouts and limited 'bonus' times add a hidden 2nd and 3rd time gate on top of the first.

 

So instead of playing I've been looking at my toons frozen, knowing whatever I do it won't be at the right time to maximize my opportunities and think, eh, I'll go mow the lawn and then I log out.

[Transcendent]

Well, technically they are still not losing subs, cause i think many players subbed to play the story so have some time until sub lapses. The biggest drops would be probably january and march.

 

December for me. They got the good grace of one month, and from watching the constant nerfs on CXP gains they're blowing that good grace, as per usual. This livestream is purely smoke and mirrors.

 

They'll say they'll increase CXP gains, introduce a vendor once you've grinded 250 levels (or some stupid extreme that forces you to still have to grind), pretend they're listening to players and then keep the insane grind they wanted to implement regardless of player feedback. The RNG will still be there, regardless of the vendor they'll introduce, and they'll tweak that RNG so you NEVER get a set bonus piece and have to rely purely on that vendor they locked behind hundreds of levels of CXP grind.

 

Did I miss any part here? Pretty sure that'll be the usual response. Pretend they're listening and then completely ignore the feedback they're getting about RNG gearing being useless. Remember, we already worked out the odds were ~3% for getting a set bonus piece before we even learned they were including green / blues and puffing out the crates with other stuff. So we already have a fair idea that the chances of even getting a set bonus piece is ~1% per crate.

 

Stop trying to hoodwink your customers BioWare. You're damaging your brand pretty badly, I'm sure the ME:A developers will love you doing that for them.

[PlasmaJohn]

Well, technically they are still not losing subs, cause i think many players subbed to play the story so have some time until sub lapses. The biggest drops would be probably january and march.

Well they certainly have metrics on the number of folks that have cancelled their automatic renewals. Those that use time cards won't show up in that metric of course. I guess the count of those that cancelled their recurring was a significant enough number to make somebody in Receivables scream bloody murder.