Why I do not enjoy this event. Why I still play.

[Blissfulgod]

What makes a great event fun for the players is an exciting bounty of loot and other rewards in exchange for our efforts. For example, the ancient druid armor was attainable for the average player who opened an appreciable amount of chests. The gear was useful, a solid reward for farming the Ursoth’s Assault event. Those who were interested in the elite rewards opened locked crates for new mythic items and some even won Shady and Surge eggs. The dovabear and little-bear eggs were a chance for every average player to have a great pet of his or her own. Another event, the Halloween event also had some heavy-hitters. There were grimm eggs galore, new mythic weapons and the coveted Paracelsus Soul Stones! Personally, I spent hundreds of platinum to boost additional characters to platinum tier. I still think it was worth it, the gems are a real game-changer for me and I can take on the more challenging maps in the game with the use of a Paracelsus soul stone and ancient druid gears. I also sport the wild talismans – another great reward from an event I spent plenty of platinum on.

I am currently a chemical engineering student. I spend almost all of my time studying and I also tutor for the better half of my weekends for spare money. Some of which, I spend on this game. I don’t have a problem with doing that because gaming is my hobby. It keeps me sane when all I have is engineering homework that has more letters and symbols than my ancient philosophy books. I assume many players are like me, students getting by, that occasionally manage to set aside a little money for this game. Others probably have families, some are even children who ask their parents to spend their hard-earned money on this game.

I assume I can speak for most of the AL community when I say that this game and other MMOs act as an outlet. We enjoy it so much that we spend our money in good faith that it will improve our gaming experience and support the company that provides us with this fun escape. I was planning on purchasing more platinum for this winter event, but sadly, the rewards do not seem worth it.

When I first heard the news that this winter event was going to be four weeks long I thought: “Great! That means I can farm the event and get even more out of it than the last event!” What one expects from playing more, farming more and/or paying more is, quite frankly, more! The change to a four-week event for the prospect of more in-game purchases will only come to fruition if the rewards are scaled with the amount of time and money invested. Instead, this event requires is a two-fold increase in time and money spent for little to no rewards. The drop rates of armor, recipes and other items of value in this event are too low. The tiered rewards are nowhere near as good as the ones in previous events.

The argument I hear in favor of the four-week event with slow tier advancement is that STS wishes to prevent players from becoming bored. Preventing boredom is accomplished by providing a steady flow of rewards, not halting it. Increasing the event to four weeks means players are running the same map with the same five bosses for a longer period of time than ever before. In the name of preventing boredom, STS has slowed progression to a painfully slow grind, and the fruits of our labor reduced to a pathetically low chance at mediocre gear or an ingredient to an underwhelming platinum tier item.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to explain what I believe to be disappointing about this winter event while also maintaining the message that I still enjoy this game and I am thankful to that staff of equally hard-working folks at STS. You all have built an outstanding game. I have made friends in game and have forced my friends at school to give it a try. That is why I have written this long post instead of deleting the game in a huff. I will not quit in response to one bad experience with an event. All others I have participated in up to this point have been a blast! I trust that the staff at STS chose to work in the gaming industry to make a living by making others happy.

Thank you for your time,

Nick