Yes. I, as well as many other players, feel entirely neglected by Cinco and the developers. This isn't a single player issue, but rather one that has affected a great amount of players in our community. Oftentimes, Cinco reads what players want and does the exact opposite. It's no secret that the current PL business model is set up to generate the greatest amount of money even at the cost of player satisfaction. While this may be successful short-term because of buzz and hype, the current state of PL is not sustainable. This cold and harsh reality will be realized within the next year unless changes are made.
My guild Restoration is the fourth largest guild on the leaderboard according to players capped at endgame, yet it is entirely inactive. What was once a guild that had someone online at all times is now entirely devoid of any activity because the game is simply not fun in anyway whatsoever anymore for the vast majority of my guild.
First and foremost, it is my opinion that companies should strive to live and die by the most ethically sound business model that can make the most money. A good example of a game that does this is Fortnite. You can purchase vanities, emotes, banners, and other all-around really cool things in the game. None of these things give you a competitive advantage over other players though. A really bad example of a business model is EA's Star Wars Battlefront 2. The game was hyped up to be one of the best Star Wars games of all time, but instead it was quickly discovered by players that the fun in the game was blocked by a paywall. Standard characters that came in previous games like Darth Vader had to be earned through sixty hours of gameplay for each character. It was discovered that it was nearly impossible to be a top player in the game unless you put in around 3,000 hours of gameplay or six months of constant 24/7 gaming. As a result, there was a massive player backlash towards EA and now the company has one of the worst reputations of all time.
Second and most importantly, if you are going to go the way of making a game that gives players with money a competitive advantage, at least make the game fun. What's fun to a lot of players is gaining the skill and knowledge necessary in a game to compete at a top level, or at least at a moderate level. Players feel a sense of pride and accomplishment not through putting in their credit card information and buying platinum, but rather taking the time to learn the game mechanics, range, knowledge of what to do in certain team situations, etc. Right now, the game feels entirely skill less, both in PvP and PvE. The game certainly wasn't marketed towards toddlers when it first came out, but right now it feels like all you need is a thumb to press auto and maybe a skill or two without knowing anything else. If you have a stat gun in PvP, you can mindlessly auto your way through anything. If you have a pet in PvE, you can one shot the vast majority of any mob or boss regardless of level. On top of this, loot drops are so common that there's nothing worth farming except for season events and even then, the loot that drops quickly becomes worthless because the drop rate is entirely too high (i.e. 1k gold Crowns of Frost).
I'd like to close my thoughts by saying that I hope Cinco takes these ideas into consideration when implementing future content. If you do happen to reply to any of these posts, Cinco, I hope that you don't reply in a sarcastic and irreverent way to these genuine and heartfelt comments. Whether you realize it or not, some of your posts are snarky and off putting to a lot of players, especially when the comments are coming from a developer. I realize that some of us have different humour than others, but I ask that you take the time to try to be more self aware in the future, especially when replying to individuals who have taken the time to voice their heartfelt concerns, only for you to reply in a one word or one sentence that's imprudent and makes the player feel like they don't matter at all.
I also want to suggest that if you are open to the idea, you should assemble a team of players who have been playing the game for a long period of time and know what has worked in the past and what has not when it comes to balancing PvP and PvE, as well as other issues. You may discuss any ideas for implementation in a group chat in private. If you are, I'd like to nominate Ghost to be apart of the team. He's one player who's been here since the start, has a wide array of experience, and can offer significant input that will surely impact the game in a positive way. Thanks.
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