Why are the forums so dead?

[dr_mike]

swtorista shut down awhile back but just to mention it as well.

 

Look how many servers have flat-lined and even the populated ones have dropped more than 40 points in traffic.

 

Shadowlands used to be 4th in population usually on TorStatus. We're down to 7th now last time I checked.

 

I'm actually just back from a ........ vacation

 

I would be amiss if I didn;t point out section 15 of the ToS. Linked to at the bottom of this page.

[FerkWork]

Gen forums are mostly worthless filled with funposting and bridge dwellers, more saddening is the class forums and other ingame sub forums have been quiet since 3.0 as most of the people who cared about classes and theorycrafting quit. Now a lot don't care about that anymore and even Dulfy guides receive very few comments besides the normal thanks. In March/April 2015 the Ops forum threads moved by the hour. Now it moves once a day at most. Hopefully the refocus on MP content can fix that. Edited February 12, 2017 by FerkWork

[DarthZaul]

Cos most of the people who play the game are really really really really casual.

[Lunafox]

Why are the forums so dead now, they used to be so active that you had to go back 3-4 pages just to read the posts from that day. Now they don't even seem to fill the first page.

I was still reading them while I was playing WoW and up until a few months ago they still had at least 2 full pages per day. Where has everyone gone?

 

Well, there is the event, which has kept me on here less...plus been struggling with a coldish-flu buggish thing for most of the week.

 

But I think the event is keeping most people busy.

[Rankyn]

Well, there is the event, which has kept me on here less.

Me, too.

Today is the first time I've looked at much more than the Dev Tracker since the event started.

[cagthehack]

I came back to this game (after a 1 1/2 break) just as KOTFE hit. I rerolled a sith, leveled, and did the content. When I was on DK I joined a guild that had 165 members.

 

Now, the guild is less than 15 people. Of that 15 5 are active. The rest log maybe once a week. I know the GL is only hanging around until MEA hits. That''s been discussed in gchat already. He offered the guild to other members, but no one wanted it (including me). Most are planning to leave the game as soon as their sub runs out.

 

I'm with the GL, when MEA hits I'm gone.

 

It's sad really. How could any company ruin a Star Wars game? I mean, my god - all they had to do was release regular content. That's what the players have been asking for for years. A new gearing system wasn't the most pressing issue with the game. Content was/is.

 

Anyway to answer the OP's question: there are less posts because people have left (and are leaving) the game.

 

In all my years of playing this game (off and on - since launch) I've ignored every post that predicted the death of this game. Now I truly believe this game is dying. It's finally gotten to that point. And it's a damn shame.

Edited February 12, 2017 by cagthehack

[Costello]

I suspect most people playing at the moment can't post on the forums.

 

And those that can know that its pointless. At this point its hard to tell if the development team don't know what they are doing, purposely want to free up the MMO market for a new Star Wars title or just don't have the resources to offer an MMO that can compete with the other AAA MMO's so are doing the only thing they can rehashing old content in a massive grind.

 

Ultimately whats the point of posting anymore, even if your here for the story its fully of plot holes yet the creative team don't wish to engage the community to show how it makes sense.

[dr_mike]

Cos most of the people who play the game are really really really really casual.

 

I think it;s the direct opposite actually with most of the current player base being the diehards who will leave on the last day.

[AmadanNaBrona]

You can only point out what's broken and be ignored so much, eventually you just give up. i.e. crates full of crap.

[MajorJam]

To the OPs question it is simple. A lot of people, who were very active on these forums, said they were unsubbing over the GC system and they have. Many of those subscriptions run out last week or this week.

[CrazyCT]

I still log on every so often just to see what's happening, but I'm posting much less these days because there's no point. Haters gonna hate, whether it's hating on Bioware, or hating on the people who hate on Bioware. You can try giving well structured arguments, and good points, but you're never going to change anyone's mind. It's weird why no-one ever wants to admit they were wrong. Nobody is going to think any less of you, and would actually probably respect you more if you did, but I'm getting off the point.

 

If the arguments and discussions were better, I wouldn't mind, but as other people have said, there's too much trolling and baiting/reporting to even bother anymore.

[Aeneas_Falco]

I think it is two reasons.

 

The changes in 5.0 were unpopular, and followed on the heels of some other decisions from Bioware that have not gone over well with many fans. There is also the perception (correct in my opinion) that Bioware is ignoring fan feedback. 5.0 (or more specifically, the new and extremely grindy RNG gearing system) was getting a lot of criticism before it rolled out but Bioware went forward with it anyway. A lot of people are unsubbing because of it.

 

The other issue is that the game is currently between expansions. Even if 5.0 was a hit with fans it's likely the forums would have seen a dip in activity anyway, since many players come back for an expansion, and then move on to other games until the next content release. All MMOs see spikes and dips in population related to whether or not an expansion has just released, or the game is between expansions.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Aeneas_Falco

[Hoplop]

Well positive people can't post anything g because they'll be attacked. Negative people probably feel similar or cannot be bothered or the post gets moved to off topic or deleted. I'm still playing but I don't post much anymore. The community can be rather toxic here and it's not fun posting.

 

 

Tl;Dr no one is allowed to have an opinion other than the "right one" in 2017.

 

^

Very much this. These forums are among the most toxic I've seen, with vitriolic rants burying positive or constructive posts.

[light_senshi]

To the OPs question it is simple. A lot of people, who were very active on these forums, said they were unsubbing over the GC system and they have. Many of those subscriptions run out last week or this week.

 

It's by and large this. My sub runs out in three weeks or so and I suspect that many people who don't post regularly or at all are also turning off their subs. As for me, GC is the reason that I'm going to let it lapse and play as preferred for a while (and I've been a sub pretty consistently since the 2.0 days).

[Totemdancer]

I think it;s the direct opposite actually with most of the current player base being the diehards who will leave on the last day.

 

I know 2 die hards who said they would probably do that. They unsubbed in December/January respectively.

These people are some of the biggest SW fans I've ever met. One is part of the 101st Legion and builds full size R2D2s. The other is a massive SW collector. Both have loved this game immensely and played since launch. If Bioware can drive people like that away, there is something wrong.

[americanaussie]

It's by and large this. My sub runs out in three weeks or so and I suspect that many people who don't post regularly or at all are also turning off their subs. As for me, GC is the reason that I'm going to let it lapse and play as preferred for a while (and I've been a sub pretty consistently since the 2.0 days).

 

Nah. I don't think it's one sole reason. I've not posted much and I'm still subbed. I think there are several reasons.

 

The unsubbing may be one but some who unsubbed are back.

 

People are inherently negative on here and some of us get tired of it. Also 2017 is if your opinion differs from others then it's wrong. And no one likes that.

 

It's between expansions and it does get quieter due to that.

 

People may be off grinding the cxp. I saw a few posts from people who indicated they'd be focused on that.

 

The holidays are over and people are back to work and school.

 

So I don't think it's any one particular issue but all of these are to blame.

[AlienEyeTX]

It's by and large this. My sub runs out in three weeks or so and I suspect that many people who don't post regularly or at all are also turning off their subs. As for me, GC is the reason that I'm going to let it lapse and play as preferred for a while (and I've been a sub pretty consistently since the 2.0 days).

 

I think you're right. I thought I'd be here until the end, but... haven't played in a couple of weeks and my sub runs out in less than two weeks now. I won't play preferred, so no posting and no playing. Sad what they've done to this game. Or, rather, what they haven't done for it.

[Totemdancer]

It's between expansions and it does get quieter due to that.

 

The holidays are over and people are back to work and school.

.

 

Wait, what?? Between expansions, sorry but, lol, the expansion only just launched and the game started bleeding players almost instantly. We are only just going on 2 full months since release, so I certainly wouldn't classify it being between expansions yet. Maybe in another 2 months, but not yet.

 

Holidays, work and school can affect some participation, but not this bad.

 

I do agree it's probably a compounding of all reasons, but the one that stands out the most is the RNG/CXP gearing and the removal of the old gearing system, especially for parts of the game like pvp who don't grind RNG/CXP because all they want to do is play skill vs skill.

[Totemdancer]

I think you're right. I thought I'd be here until the end, but... haven't played in a couple of weeks and my sub runs out in less than two weeks now. I won't play preferred, so no posting and no playing. Sad what they've done to this game. Or, rather, what they haven't done for it.

 

Be sad to see you go. I know you've been here for a long time

But I can't really blame you. I'm probably going to follow soon because I'm sick of waiting 10-20 mins for a pvp pop.

[CKNORTH]

you know something is wrong when you have more fun from Tython to Taris then reroll because you cant stomach much more...

[RedBaronYale]

Lets imagine a world where you give out a new system that keeps getting more levels, and less and less gear. Then when you roll it out suddenly the 120 levels becomes 300. Now your most active players grind it out and find that after 700 crates they still have yet to get one 230 234 236 240 or 243 set of legs, 2 pieces of 242 gear and 5 duplicates of those 2 pieces, 1 relic they can use and 8 others that are use or duplicates or never used. Then you give the most dedicated players a system to fill in the holes and they simply need to do 600 pvp matches and get random drops of some hm bosses.

 

Then in this imaginary world just as they have done al they were asked and are close to a full set of 242. You inform them that in a month a new system of gear will be out and it has 3 more levels and to help everyone catch up everyone else will get three times the reward you got for the same effort.

 

Now ask yourself why the forums are so quiet, the most dedicated players are moving on.

[CKNORTH]

Lets imagine a world where you give out a new system that keeps getting more levels, and less and less gear. Then when you roll it out suddenly the 120 levels becomes 300. Now your most active players grind it out and find that after 700 crates they still have yet to get one 230 234 236 240 or 243 set of legs, 2 pieces of 242 gear and 5 duplicates of those 2 pieces, 1 relic they can use and 8 others that are use or duplicates or never used. Then you give the most dedicated players a system to fill in the holes and they simply need to do 600 pvp matches and get random drops of some hm bosses.

 

Then in this imaginary world just as they have done al they were asked and are close to a full set of 242. You inform them that in a month a new system of gear will be out and it has 3 more levels and to help everyone catch up everyone else will get three times the reward you got for the same effort.

 

Now ask yourself why the forums are so quiet, the most dedicated players are moving on.

 

pretty much how I felt when Burning Crusade hit in WoW. after 3 months of grinding pvp day in and out, I "Almost" Had my first set of gear. then two weeks later Boom it was all useless because tier 2 came out...

 

After that I never took gear too seriously in any MMO...

[Aeneas_Falco]

Wait, what?? Between expansions, sorry but, lol, the expansion only just launched and the game started bleeding players almost instantly. We are only just going on 2 full months since release, so I certainly wouldn't classify it being between expansions yet. Maybe in another 2 months, but not yet.

 

Holidays, work and school can affect some participation, but not this bad.

 

I do agree it's probably a compounding of all reasons, but the one that stands out the most is the RNG/CXP gearing and the removal of the old gearing system, especially for parts of the game like pvp who don't grind RNG/CXP because all they want to do is play skill vs skill.

 

It only takes a couple days at most to blow through all of the content in KOTET. It can also of course be done in much less time.

 

There probably are players who intend to return but who are now not actively playing, because they've done everything they wanted to do in the expansion. They won't be back until the next expansion. It also doesn't help that KOTFE and KOTET's story is one-size-fits-all, so there isn't much incentive to running multiple characters through the expansion. Plenty of people go the one-and-done route.

 

That isn't to say that the game isn't losing people because of the gearing changes, just that it even if 5.0 was popular the game would still be entering a bit of a lull population wise.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Aeneas_Falco

[Torvai]

Why are the forums so dead? Easy, all the people who voiced their critcism left. So the white knights have noone to lecture left=dead forum since there's not much more left to do here

[cagthehack]

So what game is everyone moving too?

 

I played WOW from 2004 to 2012 - am not going back to that game. I know MEA hits in March. So that will keep me busy for a month or two (I hope - it's a BW games so who knows).

 

Is ESO it now?

 

 

// edited: corrected "frame" to "game"

Edited February 14, 2017 by cagthehack