1.7.1 Content Update (57007)

[darkerelf]

I must be new, because I can Shatter scream, drop a thorn wall, then blast shot, and it says 'combo', and I can do that with GCD. So I must be confused on what a combo is, can you please explain?

Great great you are just too awesome, but on my end using an htc evo I'm not able to do that. No no you like GCD and there must be a reason, but I don't. I believe it does not help any.

[Kindread]

I must be new, because I can Shatter scream, drop a thorn wall, then blast shot, and it says 'combo', and I can do that with GCD. So I must be confused on what a combo is, can you please explain?

A combo is all that plus large fries and a coke. You sir did not have a combo.

[SUPAPRODIGY]

i think GCD should be removed plz i begg u plz remove it

[Moogerfooger]

Great great you are just too awesome, but on my end using an htc evo I'm not able to do that. No no you like GCD and there must be a reason, but I don't. I believe it does not help any.

Actually, I don't like the GCD, or at least the 0.5 sec delay (I still think it needs to be tweaked down to about 0.25-0.35 secs personally), but like Fluff...I am finding I can land my combo even easier now. The GCD forces me to wait to do Blast Shot after Shattering Scream the right amount of time in order for the combo to register.

And when I am on my mage, I can pull off Hot Flash every single time for the same reason.

Saying "I can't land combos" is a matter of skill, not the GCD making it impossible. I don't believe this "I can't do it on my phone" either because I just borrowed a buddy's HTC Evo, downloaded PL and ran 30 seconds of Plasma Pyramid and could hit my combos. Practice makes perfect

p.s. this is not a pro-GCD post, before you start yelling that. I don't like it as is...makes gameplay too choppy in PvE, but I have not been able to test this latest patch yet for more than 30 seconds to see if it is "snappier"

[darkerelf]

I must be new, because I can Shatter scream, drop a thorn wall, then blast shot, and it says 'combo', and I can do that with GCD. So I must be confused on what a combo is, can you please explain?

By casting that it may pop up combo, but I will tell you previously before this (annoying) GCD, you would be dead before you knew it.

[cynic]

first of all good job on the quick respond and another patch!
i still dont like the gcd concept, its givin me a headache, just watching the skills.
that makes the game less fun, i look at my char then skills then char then skills
so what time it gets 0.5 ,0.25 whatever its still the same.

Ill wait for an update that brings back the fun i had playing this game, cu u guys when that happens!

[Hullukko]

Tried it. I still hate it. I'm sorry, but there's little to be constructive about that. I mean, I'd like to help and make suggestions that could be useful, but in this topic all I can just say is that everything about it is a step in the wrong direction for me. I like fast games, I like that skill factor that speed offers. This game was just that, there was nothing wrong for me and now it's broken. Selecting my moves at that pace a skill factor? I don't think so, I move faster and snappier in nethack.

I don't mean to sound like a whining kid, I have two such of my own, but what else can I do but wait, hope and voice my resentment towards this change in here?

It's definitely a little less awful than it was yesterday, but nowhere near enough to make it playable for me. Cinco said he wanted to force us to choose which spells to use and so that all of them can't be used all the time. I get that, it's their call. The spell selection probably might need a little touch. I told him it's a good idea for a new game and a dangerous move for one with an existing user base. Sadly, that forcing implies a gcd longer than what I'm after or what I might be willing to adjust to.

Thanks for all the enjoyment and that goes out equally to STS and all those other players that also in their part made the game for me for what it was. Crossing my fingers for further update, but until then I gotta find something else. Good suggestions are welcome.

[darkerelf]

Actually, I don't like the GCD, or at least the 0.5 sec delay (I still think it needs to be tweaked down to about 0.25-0.35 secs personally), but like Fluff...I am finding I can land my combo even easier now. The GCD forces me to wait to do Blast Shot after Shattering Scream the right amount of time in order for the combo to register.

And when I am on my mage, I can pull off Hot Flash every single time for the same reason.

Saying "I can't land combos" is a matter of skill, not the GCD making it impossible. I don't believe this "I can't do it on my phone" either because I just borrowed a buddy's HTC Evo, downloaded PL and ran 30 seconds of Plasma Pyramid and could hit my combos. Practice makes perfect

p.s. this is not a pro-GCD post, before you start yelling that. I don't like it as is...makes gameplay too choppy in PvE, but I have not been able to test this latest patch yet for more than 30 seconds to see if it is "snappier"

Timing, I guess with more practice I can pull it off and it does sounds good, but there was nothing wrong before GCD came out.

[LordEspe]

Ok just played after today's update! Have not commented yet because I was waiting for updated patches!!
I LOVE IT NOW!!! Gcd is great, if it helps the server!! Very smooth play and did two runs in Hideout, one had pink drop(not mine tho) in the time it took to play three before this update!! Plus I didn't die once! Played on bear than bird!!
Great job and thanks for fast updates!!!!!!

Edit- and a big thanks for the added icons in main screen!! For all the negative ppl, see they do listen and they fix things fast! Get in the game, learn to adapt and the game is back to where it was!!

[Suntv]

So this evening I hosted about 30+ Hideout games with the .5 GCD. Gameplay was great and the players actually worked more together. Depending on the situation you actually needed to think what combination of skills would work best and then time your own combo (scream/blast). Because gameplay was a bit slower, mages and birds actually worked together on Nature Strike. And more important: there was actually time to look at what the boss was doing. Dodge? Ok, I throw in a Thorn Root and immediately the crit comes through. You actually saw the results of your actions.

But was it that much slower?

After a few runs our team managed to kill Goldfever within the 5 minute elixer window... and that didn't even happen very often before GCD. Hideout was our only map, so I can't judge on other maps.

But this topic is about the newer patch, shortening the .5 sec GCD.

I didn't think I'd say this but I actually think that the .5 GDC was better :/ After this patch it was like playing like before GCD. Again it's like pressing the buttons in a frenzy. Few thoughts...

What's good is being able to access menus without being in a map/town again.

[FluffNStuff]

By casting that it may pop up combo, but I will tell you previously before this (annoying) GCD, you would be dead before you knew it.

I have been doing some solo runs on Bayou Boss Brawl with my level 55 bird getting use to this, and I can tell you each run gets faster then the last. And not only that, it is getting to point where I am killing more efficiently. The reason is before GCD, I would 'combo' by using shattering scream, roots, pumping in all my damage shots, then blast shot. Now I only use the scream, roots and blast shot, and it is killing groups very well. That leaves the individual damage shots to kill the stragglers, which I would not have been able to do before GCD. Point is, practice it. I know that sounds silly, but by mastering the new system while others are complaining about it, you will have a serious advantage over them.

[Lesrider]

Just to give some examples of other iDevice games that utilize both regular weapon attacks and skills/spells.
They all have regular weapon attacks as the primary damage dealer. You only really use your skills if you're in a pinch (ie. Bosses, swarms of enemies surrounding you). All of these games limit the players to about 3 active skills. Some have passive skills as well.
PL has always been very different from these other games, in that it has 12 active skills and they're meant to be used all the time, not just in a pinch. Bc if you just use your weapons, you won't get very far.*
This has kept PL unique from other games. But if this has to change with things like GCD, then other changes must be strongly considered to balance it out. If you want active spells to take the backseat (for lag or whatever other reasons), give us passive skills and stronger weapons to make up for it. Or whatever other ways you can come up with.*
Anyway, here are some screenshots of other games:

Dungeon Hunter 2:*

You get a number of passive/active skills to choose from, but only three actives can be on the screen at once. So you must choose wisely. But again, skills are used mostly for bosses. The passive skills help you with the rest of the mobs.

Braveheart:

Again, three skills with longish cooldowns. You rely primarily on your attacks and other bonuses/perks.

Solomon's Boneyard:


You get mainly two skills -- one that activates with the attack button (shoots from your wand), and the other is activated by tapping a button. You can get other skills, but you have to sacrifice the strength of other skills to make room for variety. The secondary skills is mainly for strong aoe attacks when you get surrounded, or teleportation, healing circle, etc. The secondary skills usually require a lot of mana and have long cooldowns. Again, not meant to be used on a constant basis. You focus mostly on the primary skill.

And of course I didn't forget Dungeon Defenders:



You have one primary attack button that does not use mana. Then you have two skills/spells that do require mana, and the catch is that they use an increasing amount of mana the longer they're activated. So again, you can't really use them all the time. You must be selective. (I'm ignoring the whole tower defense part here, bc it's not really related.)

And even Infinity Blade makes use of special attacks and magic spells. But they have HUGE cooldowns. They're meant to save you in a pinch. If you really need them in order to win, you have to bide your time until they're ready.*

Didn't mean for this to be so long. My main point is that PL chose its identity a year ago. Players got addicted to it for what it was. Lots of skills/spells and button mashing. But since then, it seems to be having an identity crisis every few months. Choose how you'd like this game to be played, and then stick to it. But if you really absolutely MUST go through this identity change, then look at other games for inspiration on how to make up for what you're taking away.*

[Stephnee]

so yesterday i really tried to give the GCD a chance i played numerous runs and just did not like it..so i was hopeful for today's new update with the "snappier" feel to it, but i really don't see a change at all. In fact, i don't know if anyone else has had this problem..but twice I've had it where my 'blessing of might' button didn't work at all. I would press it and it would stay lit every time and not work( and trying so desperately to make it work pressing it over and over i would lose track of my health and die). Also it seems like I am waiting longer than .5 sec. I will press my skill then i wait for it to work then i have to wait for the CD after that..is anyone else having this problem besides me?

[Major]

Thanks devs you rule. Glad to see the Faded spell issue for the ipad was fixed

[Kalielle]

We just did several Stronghold runs, a Catacombs and a Shadow Cave map 5. Skills feel a little more responsive but not significantly faster.

What can I say, I'm still very much not a fan of the concept. Yes the game feels more rhythmic but so does my grandmother's rocking chair. It's rhythmic in a monotonous, puts-you-to-sleep sort of way. I liked the pacing before where you would hold on your skills until, say, the mobs were gathered, then quickly do buffs then dive in with some debuffs and then the spells - then a more quiet period while the spells recharged. Sure there was some button mashing, especially with the damage skills, but it's supposed to be a fun casual game after all, and tapping on all those skills kept us feeling busy while playing.

If the idea was to make us choose between skills then I think it should be done in a different way - maybe completely revamp the skills and make it so that mastery in some areas could take, say, 10 points to accomplish so people would have to choose whether to specialize in just a few skills or have many weak skills instead. This would avoid the whole experience of slowly watching the cool down meter refill.

King and Queen definitely need some re-balancing if GCD is to stay in its current form. We separated them by having two different party members get aggro, so it wasn't very difficult to fight them after that but it just took forever. We were never in any danger of being killed, not even the mages, but we all potted and even so it was very, very slow. A weapon damage increase could be one way to fix it.

Shadow Caves went fine, although many people double potted for it - but then they usually do so it's hard to judge if there was much difference.

[skavenger216]

so yesterday i really tried to give the GCD a chance i played numerous runs and just did not like it..so i was hopeful for today's new update with the "snappier" feel to it, but i really don't see a change at all. In fact, i don't know if anyone else has had this problem..but twice I've had it where my 'blessing of might' button didn't work at all. I would press it and it would stay lit every time and not work( and trying so desperately to make it work pressing it over and over i would lose track of my health and die). Also it seems like I am waiting longer than .5 sec. I will press my skill then i wait for it to work then i have to wait for the CD after that..is anyone else having this problem besides me?

I'm having the same problem.

I gotta say when I logged in and it started patching, I got excited thinking maybe they shortened the gcd. I was disappointed to see that its still essentially the same. I tried it for a few runs, and logged out.

Devs, the problem is NOT the gcd itself, but the length of it. As has been stated before, dropping it to .15-.25 of a second would fix the multitouching problem, and give us back the game we all know and love.

Oh, and I noticed boot reasons are shown to the group now, nice! Also thanks for putting world map and friends back on the main screen, definitely appreciated.

So in closing, I would like to say, devs, please try shortening the gcd, even if only for a day, just to at least try it and see if it works! You never know, this could help appease the masses, while still keeping the gcd. Worth a shot IMO.

[darkerelf]

so yesterday i really tried to give the GCD a chance i played numerous runs and just did not like it..so i was hopeful for today's new update with the "snappier" feel to it, but i really don't see a change at all. In fact, i don't know if anyone else has had this problem..but twice I've had it where my 'blessing of might' button didn't work at all. I would press it and it would stay lit every time and not work( and trying so desperately to make it work pressing it over and over i would lose track of my health and die). Also it seems like I am waiting longer than .5 sec. I will press my skill then i wait for it to work then i have to wait for the CD after that..is anyone else having this problem besides me?

I have the same problem too, every other dmg spells seem to work except the bless and sometimes the rev button does not work either..

[sAurol]

Nope, still broken in my opinion. Playing as a warrior, one example could be to beckon an enemy in between you and a wall, then vs-cs-sms-stomp combo which was probably one of the most effective ways for bears to kill enemies. Now, I cant even beckon + stomp fast enough to make a difference, not to mention other and more random tapping when tanking a boss. To me GCD takes away the versatility when fighting in pve, you can no longer make combos, and as a result ANY coolness of a bear fighting is gone as all you can do is tap-----tap------tap------tap potion-----tap and so on. I can only imagine this feels worse on bird or mage......

GCD breaks this game for me, I really wish it would just be ditched ASAP so I can get back to actually playing and having fun. GCD is annoying, mostly because it destroys the FEEL of this game which is pretty much the reason why I am playing it. I mostly play pc games and should care less about this small game for my phone, but until now pocket legends has been stealing more and more of my time due to its feel and coolness.

To me it feels like what you have taken away what really made this game stand out.

I know its hard criticism, but I hope its somewhat constructive too.

[Stephnee]

I have the same problem too, every other dmg spells seem to work except the bless and sometimes the rev button does not work either..

yes ive had this problem now with both the 'blessing of might' and the 'rev' buttons not working..its like when you click them it goes dark while your finger is on them then they light back up after you take your finger off..and no matter how many times you try to press it it doesnt work..frustrating

[darkerelf]

I really don't like the GCD, the purpose of this was to resolve the spammers, I believe you really pissed more people off. About 1/3 of people that usually play are not on anymore, won't you reconsider taking it off. I mean 8/10 of everyone that complains is complaining about GCD. What if you just push it for .05 of a second and add a different color for GCD so we can differentiate the spell cool time from GCD. Making it barely noticeable so people can't spam, in addition timing would still be required. If you want my opinion just take it off it does not help any.