Devs, The game will be dying

[Arterra]

I wasn't referring to you Aterra, and I agree. I think that challenge and a requirement for teamwork is a great way to go, but I think some serious tweaking is in order. Currently the best team would be entirely composed of Str characters, mostly tanks and paladins. We need a game where Int mages, at least, have a place.

(apart from the neutrality i tried putting into that first post, im glad. double posting makes me nervous...)
int characters seem to have the most trouble...
1)even when all i do is heal and rez with my pally, not even attack ANYONE, i still get mega aggro and get crippled out. horrible when only elf in group.
2)personally saw a group of birds march in and murder pl'othozz numerous times, but haven't even heard of any mage runs lol
3)they just get 1 hit ko since lack of both hp and armor. cannot even enter overlord's room (lol even birds cannot)

[flaimdude]

Wow, I'm really late to this party. But even though I'm late, this:

is brilliant. I mean seriously.

And believe it or not, I'm going to side with the devs on this. There was such a community response in the past that PL needed to be harder that the devs gave the community what it wanted - something harder. And now, casual players are complaining. So I mean, if there aren't people complaining, those are the people that are happy. Sadly, from what I've seen, a fair portion of new people only join the forums to complain about the most recent update, which shouldn't be. But it is how it is. So from what I've seen, I would say good job STS on making a more difficult, group and strategy-oriented campaign. I'm sorry that now casual people are complaining, but be sure that there is a huge userbase of more leaning-towards hardcore people that are very happy.

[Azrael]

I still dont get why the casual are in such a tiff. Yes at first there wasnt enough gear coming off the lower level bosses to help with harder bosses, but obviously the devs will be added more gear, and they did so today. I said it in my post on page ten that there are ways to improve gameplay without nerfing everything and making the game dull again, and again if casuals can beat 4/5 bosses, thats perfectly fair, experienced players deserve harder content just as much as casual players deserve easy content.

[Snakespeare]

They keep changing the topic into something it's not, then they argue what they changed it into.

[Gaabob]

I don't understand.... Ao3 is set up just fine for regular casual players... The levels aren't actually hard to get through, it just takes a while. Casual players are casual because they don't play alot, and they don't expect much from the game. A casual player that thinks they can do everything the hardcores can do, while still only playing casual is redonclulous.

I like playing PL hardcore myself, but school has made me take a more casual approach. Therefore I am just focusing on playing, rather than leveling quickly or farming a boss. Leveling quickly and farming bosses is for hardcores. As I see it the bosses that are in level 1 and 3 aren't all that difficult.

I dont know if I make sense, but in conclusion it doesn't make sense for casual players to expect from the game what hardcores get from it. Ao3 is set up so that it favors hardcores, but it is still playable by casual gamers.

The bosses/balance do need to be tweaked even for hardcores, but other than that there isn't much to complain about from a difficulty perspective.

P.S. I'm kinda tired so not waxing all that eloquent, I hope this helps the discussion

[Krimm]

Honestly, games on an IPhone or iPad are generally aimed at the casual player. If you get too far away from that, you will make the hardcore player happier, but could lose a much bigger percentage of other players.

[Arterra]

Honestly, games on an IPhone or iPad are generally aimed at the casual player. If you get too far away from that, you will make the hardcore player happier, but could lose a much bigger percentage of other players.

I would think that a goal for a company would be to hook a consumer to them, and for this it would be turning casual players at least semi-hardcore. who says the iphone cannot be made for hardcore gamers? spacetime took this up and made a mmo!

[Krimm]

Any companies goal is to make money, therefore keeping the masses happy over the few unhappy people. So, since casual players are much more prevalent, the "harcore" player will probably get the short end of the stick.

Example: the swamps nerf

[pooop]

well
i loves it! devs well done on something entertaining! you guys have to admit, ao3 will keep your attention when playing

[Azrael]

Any companies goal is to make money, therefore keeping the masses happy over the few unhappy people. So, since casual players are much more prevalent, the "harcore" player will probably get the short end of the stick.

Example: the swamps nerf

Or they can serve the needs of both player bases. And ao3 doea just that.

[vulgarstrike]

i think ao3 is fine.

all the complaining "casual" players are actually mynas noobs who want to be 50 and have awesome items but they cant. by being casual, you sacrifice skill and intuitive power for easy gameplay. if youre gonna be lazy you get what yoou work for. and i think ao3 brings just that. cant defeat the last bosS? as a casual, take your time. one day you will be level 50 (couple months from now, since youre CASUAL RIGHT) and it will all work out fine.
take your time, no ones rushing but the hardcores.

[Arjun]

One Hit Kill - Impossible Bosses - Non-Extant Loot - Is All Good.

But CAN WE GET CHECKPOINTS FOR RE-SPAWN? Would it Be Too Much To Ask For?

[TheLaw]

It would be boring then Arjun. No running about.

[Arjun]

Running about just takes up me time - was supposed to be pick up and play. ..

I prefer chilling in the hot-tubs spread around AO3.

But here's the thing see - I tries to un-equip my armor and I found tht I can't get Nekked. For to chill in hot-tub properly. Got a default silver armor underneath my uber lvl 45 gear - What gives!??

RESPAWN AT CHECKPOINT FOR MAGES ONLY - HOW'S THAT !?!

[Fyrce]

I also think Ao3 is fine. Please please do not touch it until more time has passed.

I have gone through the area with 3 of my players, only one of whom is a tank. And I have been with both an almost all bird group and an all mage group. I would say the mage group died the most but then in all my previous all-mage groups, it's our mutual rezs that save us. Same thing in Ao3. I would say Ao3 is a pleasure to play. Yes, the overlord is impossibly hard, but I expected him to be, particularly for non-tank groups. The all-mage group completed him when a couple mages quit and we acquired ONE level 48 tank and some strategy. Besides the Overlord, whom I expect to be hard, I did not find any need to use elixirs unless I wanted to. And I only used elixirs when I figured out some runs/rushes/farming things to do. Again that was by choice and I still only did that occasionally.

I do not find Ao3 to be a massive death mill. Yes there was some dying, but nothing extraordinary. The highest number of deaths I would say occurred the 1st time through, but I expected that since most of it was unknown. Until the Overlord, I did not acquire any overwhelming number of deaths on any of my chars. Heck, even after him, because at some point, you have to realize it helps to be higher level. After the 1st time, I knew the Overlord was going to be extremely difficult; I racked up deaths and spent money because I wanted to learn about him, not that I was expecting a magic bullet just because I was chugging elixirs. I think the gold and time I had to spend on him were a pleasure. He is still extremely difficult and takes some commitment, which makes him a great final boss. If we could kill him easily, please everyone would complain of boredom again. I would like to see geared level 50s run him over some time to make sure some of the best strategists have had a chance at him before he is changed, if even then. If birds and mages cannot enter his room EVER, then maybe that's not the greatest, but I think that should be a decision for a later time.

For the players who complain about gold, I would suggest you do what you did before to acquire gold. Or if you do not know how, just run through Ao2 a few times. You'll find you can level AND acquire gold and items. Also consider running with other players and watch how they play. You'll notice many people do not pop those elixirs to level. Well, unless they WANT to.

For the casual players, considering hardcore players leveled to 50 in a day (or a little over a day?), it seems completely possible to level up casually. Remember the level cap has been removed and you can level in Ao2. You might need a bit of help with a boss (Overlord) or two (Gurgox) in Ao3, but Ao3 can definitely be played by people who can only play a few minutes, go work/whatever, then come back. There is no reason you could not join a pick-up game or run a few of the levels yourself. And when you get stuck at a boss, you can call for help. There are plenty of tanks willing to help out, particularly if, as a casual player, it takes you awhile to get to a point where you are stuck. There is no reason you need to complete the area on your first run.

For the person who said you cannot farm in Ao3 unless you have epic gear + elixirs, etc, etc., I believe you will discover that that view is FAR from reality. Farming and powerleveling is already occurring and probably occurred as quickly as it took for there to be level 50 players. There are parts of Ao3 for every type of player, from hardcore requiring time and strategy (a boss or two or three) to the casual gamer in for a few minutes between meetings/classes (particularly true in the first few levels).

I love going into Ao3 pick-up games and seeing the difference in the playing, from "Ao3 is hell in gaming and there's no way we can go anywhere without elixirs; everybody elixir up" to "Let's run through the halls, get the combos going, and boy, is this fun!" (And there ARE certain levels I like better than others, depending on what I want to play.) I do wonder how the people who found/find Ao2 extremely difficult find Ao3, but I'd imagine they'd say it's somewhere close to impossible. I AM very happy to NOT be reminding people how to use their skills in Ao3, though probably more could remember their buffing/debuffing/stunning skills. Well, most of Ao3. I did have to remind a few players of their skills a few times in Ao3:1, but hey, that's the beginning. It's nice to see strategy (pull this mob, keep this one stunned, target this one, etc.) and see fewer of the players who will not listen. I suppose death is a good teacher. Not a perfect teacher, but a good teacher. The non-participating player (why does it seem there is one in many groups?) is much more noticeable in Ao3 since it's a great help to have all hands on deck in this area. Again, there is a lesser occurrence of this in the higher level(s).

Lastly, I love the new gear: Their names, their graphics. A few of the former Ao2 items seem a bit underpowered, but I'd imagine those will get fixed. A couple of the level 50 items are exactly the same as their level 45 counterparts except for the level. I can't remember which right now, but I'd imagine people are already noting those. I would say, overall, Ao3 is very entertaining.

[Slush]

One Hit Kill - Impossible Bosses - Non-Extant Loot - Is All Good.

But CAN WE GET CHECKPOINTS FOR RE-SPAWN? Would it Be Too Much To Ask For?

No way man. After losing a boss fight it is mandatory to take the walk of shame.

[Arjun]

No way man. After losing a boss fight it is mandatory to take the walk of shame.

Fair Nuff - But is not right on the mages what had been rezing others who should also be in on walk of shame. Mage to Get Checkpoint. And Warriors to go topless for Hot-tub.

[gizerbeam]

Or you could, you know, gear up on the lower bosses while you level to 50, rather than complain about doing content above your level and needing elixirs to do it.

Regarding Futumsh's comment, I would say this is true. We complain because A02 was too easy, then we complain because A03 is too hard. We had 3 months or w/e amount of time to accumulate gold. Fighting a boss should be a reward. If performed properly, any boss can be defeated. Your forced to work together, to communicate and to become strategic. Something that we haven't had in the past. Thus some individuals have been over-reacting.

There is always a way around it. Keep it up Dev's. My only suggestion would be to perhaps increase the gold input for minons/boss' in A03. That would perhaps make elixirs much more affordable for the casual player.

[Thyrant]

I have not so much Time to play every Day many Hours.
i Have one Tank Warrior on Lv 46, leveld up on the normal way. 3 Weeks playing, a few hours a day.
Yesterday i played Ao3, crazy.

i didnt have the best Weapon, in never spend time in farming.
i have just 65k Gold, i only selled 1 Weapon for 20k. i didnt have the time, to Sell pinks in the Game.

When i hearded that Peoples spend 200k and more Gold to play Ao3, iam wired.
i dindt have so much MOney, i think, i never will.

Most of my Pinks, i spend it for new Players. i thought its the right way.

Now i have to farm, and Sell Items, against my nature.
Just to beat AO3.

Yesterday we need 2 Hours, to beat the seceond Map.
Cause, the Players allways leave the Game.
You cant get a strong Party. Every People does what he wants, rushes directly into the death.

We need Guilds! Were i can Trade Weapons, not sell. And play together.



soryy for my English, iam German

[Raxie]

i completely understand how you feel, thyrant.