In lieu of the conversation with Cinco above, I went ahead and reposted Burntout's suggestions here so that we can have a more fruitful discussion.
Burnt's Suggestions:
1. Listen to the community you created.
It is home to some of the smartest people I have ever met. They know what they are talking about. More so than you might think as a developer. If we say there is a problem, there likely is one. I know consideration is given to a lot of what is posted here, but when good ideas are blatantly ignored in favour of bad ideas, it is insulting, to say the least.
2. Implement the changes that we suggest.
This one's simple: fix the things that we prove need fixing.
3. Remove Damage Modifiers in PvP.
Damage Modifiers can not, and will never be able to fix blatant imbalances that have literally spread to every single level of PvP. Having this many damage modifiers across level ranges, to the point where they overlap and create inconsistencies in damage and armor is such an awful "fix" to the rampant imbalance created by gear and some core mechanics of the game. They should be removed in their entirety, forever.
4. Fix the blatant imbalance between sets both at Endgame and Twinking levels.
I know this cap was meant to have items that are 'worth grinding for,' but it is simply not healthy for the game to achieve this by making the Mythics so ridiculously overpowered that skill is literally not even a factor in fights anymore.
In lower levels, the best gear is just unfair, I don't know how else to put it. I can literally 1v3 fully enchanted Level 30 Mages in elites on a Level 27 bird. That should not be possible. The toxicity that this has created in every single level outside of endgame is abhorrent, and only adds insult to injury. Low-Level Elites need to be removed entirely, or made PvE only.
If you are not sure how to approach this, just ask the community. I promise the feedback you would receive would not only be flawless, it would also gain you a lot of respect as a company, something I think was in parts lost over this game's lifetime.
5. Remove speed boosting rings and amulets from PvP entirely.
This one's insultingly easy to implement. Why should a rooted str-bear be able to easily catch up to a dex-bird? It's just flawed logic, really. Not only that, but speed rings create large ping-related anomalies in which you can be hit across the map, behind trees, and in places where you should literally not be able die in (behind 2 walls, for example). Speed rings and amulets need to have their effects removed from PvP. Simple.
6. Remove Enchantments from PvP entirely.
Do I even need to explain this? Adding higher stats to already overpowered gear is not the solution to fixing PvP, like I assume it was intended to be.
7. Fix the inconsistencies in PvE.
Ebonthrax should not randomly one-hit entire parties behind gold. The Mana-Shielding bosses should not be able to stack shields infinitely, to the point where birds + barrels cannot kill them.
8. Add farmable, campaign-specific vanities.
This not only a brilliant idea for farmers and PvPers alike, it would help every single new/casual player level-up, meet new friends, learn about the game, and maybe even stick around for the journey. There is literally no reason not to add this - and it's really simple to do, too.
9. Fix the economy.
There's lots to say here, but I guess it relates mostly to things that have been touched on before: the rate of gold obtainability, the black market, and loot-crates.
The first one makes it impossible for new players to obtain enough wealth to get to endgame. Literally impossible. Pets are pretty much a requirement, and sell for 8-figures, if not more. Besides that, there is also far too much artificial inflation in the game. Gold Events are not healthy for this game, and only add to the stupidly fast rate of inflation. Add some desirable gold sinks: gold-purchasable vanity packs, for example.
The second will always be an unfixable problem, but I guess it's worth mentioning (again).
And finally, loot crates. lol. Pocket Legends does not have the playerbase to support this feature in a way that is healthy for the f2p and p2w players alike. Locking necessary gear behind a paywall is absurd, and just a blatant cash-grab. Please tear down the pay-wall so that everyone can enjoy the game. Thanks!
10. Do Something About the Toxicity.
This game was almost too toxic for me to open some days. The report chat button seems almost useless, and /report somehow does less. I could dig and find a multitude of screenshots of conversations that are too toxic to even put on this forum.
Tradable vanities, unbalanced PvP, and awful PvE have all in one way or another contributed to the large, unescapable wave of toxicity that seems to sit in this game now.
Don't get me wrong, I've met some absolutely wonderful people on this game. Recently, apart from my friends, it seems that all there is in PL is toxicity.
The simple fix is to make chat-bans more frequent, and add new abbreviations to the banned-words list (I can PM any Mod or Dev the most in-depth list of all the filter-avoiding slurs and strings I have seen. Upon request, of course :])
If any, or all of these are implemented, I could see good things for game going forward. Right now, it's in a pretty bad spot.
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Thanks,
Ghost
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