Originally Posted by
WhoIsThis
I'm currently on a train typing this, so I'm hoping I'll have more time later this weekend (or next week). So far though, I have refrained from participating, as I am more interested in seeing what people have to say.
Based on this conversation, I can conclude the following:
1. The general consensus is that the quality of the community is in general decline. The loss of many of the oldies has left a hole that nothing can fill. Compounding the situation immensely, the new generation is simply not in a position to pick up the losses. The issue isn't so much that there are a lack of new good players as it is the percentage of new good to bad players. From the new generation, we do not see a new Ellyidol, a new Royce, or a new Physiologic emerging.
2. The lack of content has taken it's toll on the game, which is somewhat related to part 1. The existing content is simply not enough to attract quality new players (most will end up in AL), nor will it attract back many of the old greats.
3. PvP is in need of a total revamp. There are major class imbalances. The nerf is likely only the tip of the scale of the magnitude of issues. All stats should be built with PvP in mind first, seeing that PvE has become severely elixir dominated.
The state of PvP balance is also another issue - good PvPers are not going to be attracted unless we can expect a reasonable degree of balance.
4. This brings me to the next point, which is the extent that elixir domination has taken hold. Skill is no longer rewarded in PvE, and indeed, skilled players are hard to find. For example, scatter bears have become the status quo. We now have 2 types of runs - first where there is at least 1 elixir user in which case the run has very little challenge, the second, where there are no elixirs, which becomes an exercise in frustration.
5. The rich-poor gap has become a severe issue. We now have the gap between a very wealthy population and a population that cannot afford the top end gear with little hope of upward mobility.
6. Perhaps the biggest issue of all (next to the lack of new content) is the overall attitude of new players. It's a mentality thing I guess. When you are dealing with a playerbase unwilling to learn to play their class effectively, and unwilling to learn from existing veterans, you have an environment that is well, problematic.
Ok, seeing this thread, I think we should address the issues one at a time. The easiest by far to ask for is reforms to existing gear so that will be the object of my first major thread.
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