The reason(s) I left this game...

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Fenrus MacRath, Oct 4, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Fenrus MacRath

    Fenrus MacRath Avatar

    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    749
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Out of the Blue and into the Black.
    Hi Everybody! I mentioned starting this thread in another topic and had a few people tell me they would like to join in. This isn't just about the reason that I left this game , its for everyone who has finally just decided its not worth it any more . With that said, I will start off with my personal reasons for quitting a game I backed in 2013 and spent the last 6 years defending and working to grow.

    I played an archer. I like playing an archer. I usually play an archer or a rogue in every game I play . Since there is no real system in place to play a rogue in this game, I played an archer.
    In SOTA, archers suck. They have always sucked. Their skill tiles are very weak , time consuming and not intuitive. For example, it takes about 40 minutes to charge up a rapid fire stack ,( not very rapid). I eventually found my way to charged shot and air shield. For a minute, things were FUN! I really enjoyed playing my archer for the first time ever. It wasn't a ridiculous grind. I thought, WOW, this must be what all the Fire/ Life spec'd mages feel like! All the pole arm and blade players! Now mind you I was an unbuffed bare naked adventure level 122. I had every point sunk into the skills that made me a very lethal single target killing machine. I would say, I was one of the top 25 archers in the game. It felt great that after 5 years of serious and dedicated gaming, I felt like a bad ass.
    I still had to keep a dozen short lived buffs going constantly and my character was always in motion to avoid life ending critical hits, but i was REALLY HAVING FUN!! Then some others who felt slighted, because they were used to being the strongest characters in the game got a touch butt hurt and started crying about how THEY were being out DPS'd by archers! That unless the unfairness directly benefited them , it had to be stopped! Tears were shed! Teeth were gnashed and @Chris was lobbied. Of course, he did the only thing he could do, and massively overreacted to the problem that could have been adjusted with some subtle tweaks.

    So my build was destroyed by a series of pretty big nerfs . I had seen it before, gone through it all before. I understand the need for balance , but this finally broke my spirit. I don't expect to play a game for 2 months and master it, but I have been at this for 5 years. Did I want to feel like some average crappy player again? I decided not. I weighed this all against some real danger signs I am seeing about the general health of this game and thought about all the great players who have moved on and are not playing any more. It makes me really sad, but if I stay here accept the situation I am missing out on the chance to find a great game that actually wants me as a player.

    As a post script, I still monitor the forums, because I don't want to lose touch with some pretty good friends I have made here and hope to game with them again on another platform some day.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2019
  2. Sentinel2

    Sentinel2 Avatar

    Messages:
    1,109
    Likes Received:
    1,811
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I know the feeling. I noticed one of my builds dropped a bit in power after the last couple releases. Nothing major. Felt like tweaks again. Sometimes it feels the stronger I get, the weaker I'm made after another series of tweaks. I dunno. How many years are we supposed to play before we're a badass again?

    I still play though I've been naughty. Looking at other MMO games I admit it.

    Looking at Black Desert Online. Yes I've heard it's a P2W. I'll try it for free and see. It's supposed to be decent I hear.

    Also checking out ESO. I understand they are decent. And for the new low price of $9.99, I can try it out and see how things look. Plus my testing of Ashes of Creation continues.

    No you still can't have my stuff. Stop touching it!!

    ;-)
     
  3. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

    Messages:
    5,884
    Likes Received:
    11,033
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    That must be a mis-type, right ?
     
    Chatele likes this.
  4. eli

    eli Avatar

    Messages:
    683
    Likes Received:
    1,192
    Trophy Points:
    93
    For me the thing that slowed my playing the most was UT.

    Since PvP development has been on permanent hold (and the engine basically incompatible), and multiboxing was effectively banned, the only thing fun left for me was trying to solo hard content on my bad (for PvE) build in order to get a slight advantage in the economy by not splitting my loot 4-8x.

    However, permanent double XP and the introduction of UT meant that the years I'd spent getting to 103 or whatever could be done by a 5 year old with a week off of school, and if they put their points into one of the many OP PvE builds, in contrast to my points almost entirely in PvP attunement/resistance, that 5 year old would now be able to faceroll content faster than me.

    Sure I could grind into one of those builds and do the same, but what is the point of being good at a game so easy to be good at? Like spending your time playing a rubix cube or tic tac toe, games with mathematically certain mastery once you learn a few basic concepts.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2019
  5. Curse2

    Curse2 Avatar

    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    88
    Trophy Points:
    8
    To have fun?
     
    eli and GMDavros like this.
  6. Mishikal

    Mishikal Avatar

    Messages:
    1,965
    Likes Received:
    2,834
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Brittany Estates
    That about sums it up. I realized that out of nearly 70 releases, there was exactly one release in which I had had fun. Now I spend my time playing other games that are fun the majority of the time.
     
  7. Aetrion

    Aetrion Avatar

    Messages:
    789
    Likes Received:
    1,725
    Trophy Points:
    93
    I understand that it's frustrating when the one thing that actually works for you gets nerfed, but the real problem with this game is that a tiny number of things are stupidly powerful and everything else sucks. The damage output of different builds is so all over the place that some people are having a pleasant stroll through the hardest content while others find even downing green enemies to be a grueling deathmarch. What we really need is a unified balance pass that touches everything, makes sure that damage is high enough for the game to be fun for every build, and not just a tiny few. These balance tweaks just don't ever come off as making any sense, because while the builds that work quibble over percentages of damage at the top there are plenty of builds that should be possible that literally produce DPS numbers an order of magnitude lower.
     
  8. Elrond

    Elrond Avatar

    Messages:
    1,277
    Likes Received:
    4,028
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Crafters Town
    Sorry to see you go Fenrus . Sometimes things need a scalpel to be fixed, sadly hammer gets used most of the time ...with a great disregard towards the consequences ..i dont see this trend going away any time soon ..but becoming more the usuall with each release ... more rage quit features , more rage quit nerfs . Sometimes i wish we could have just ONE release without any nerfs, tweaks , fixes or systems added...that make people cancel their subscriptions or quit .

    What do you say Port ? Can we start focusing on bringing back the players we lost , keep the ones we have and bring in new ones ?
     
  9. Jezebel Caerndow

    Jezebel Caerndow Avatar

    Messages:
    3,118
    Likes Received:
    7,912
    Trophy Points:
    153
    I guess we should have just left archers with the ability to do top damage at range and with 0 focus cost with only 4 passive skills from the ranged tree so you can feel like you having fun and screw anyone else, screw their build, screw balance, lets all be charged shot archers using 3-4 passives for all our damage. I have been nerfed so many times with so many different things. My alt archer is still crushing stuff, I just use skills now.
     
  10. Elrond

    Elrond Avatar

    Messages:
    1,277
    Likes Received:
    4,028
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Crafters Town
    I dont know about other people but i play as archer since i started the game , rapid fire was my bread and butter and it got nerfed into the ground ... from a kill all skill to a situational skill . I think sword users would be very upset if their main skill thrust would do 1-4 damage on ghosts for example . Bow is a physical damage weapon just like swords axes , polearms but somehow we got to feel the nerf hammer harder then any other weapon users . Of course i reported this ..got archived and nothing changed ... i adapted and was forced to change the skills i use...but i understand what Fenrus is feeling cause i had to face the same frustrations .

    So it wasnt just the charged shots .

    You can review a damage log here with rapid fire turned into rapid death if you dont ditch it and use other skills . https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/ghosts-are-too-op.158653/
     
  11. Jezebel Caerndow

    Jezebel Caerndow Avatar

    Messages:
    3,118
    Likes Received:
    7,912
    Trophy Points:
    153
    I did not ask for a nerf to all archery. I just found it absolutely ridiculous that charged shot, a 0 focus ability was better dps then actually using the skills of the tree. This allowed a person to skip the skills of the tree and just get the few passive to increase damage. Can you name me any other tree that can do that? Dont you think that would be a waste of the devs time even making those skills then? Even in the thread were this was being debated, I even said go ahead and buff the archery skills. The shield of air charged shot archer was OP as hell. Invincible, top single target dps in the game, can do it from range with 0 focus cost and the fewest skills needed to level.

    The whole damage resistance change that is effecting all physical, not just archery, is felt by rapid fire the most, as its not a high burst damage skill but many tiny damages that damage resistance really eats up. Maybe some buff on rapid fire?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 8, 2019
    Brass Knuckles and Elwyn like this.
  12. Katu

    Katu Avatar

    Messages:
    454
    Likes Received:
    777
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Finland
    We, the lurkers are here, because we hold tight on the dream, that one day, they have the balls to make full overhaul to core systems of the game. Capping skills, to get some balance ( for example ).
    If that change would come, I like to be first to hear from it. I don't like watching the world burn, but I do get a kick, when obvious fanbous and girls, blindly support every action Port takes.
    I don't play the game, because none else does either.

    Don't start with "My friend list has always atleast 100 online", yes, All the alts mining and crafting, or those who have burned 50k to this game.

    Soon the IGG price falls so low, that all the RMT is finally dead ( yay ) and maybe then, I peek inside the game again.
    I can't speak for all those are still here ( at the boards ), but atleast, this is how I feel.

    PS: It's great to see big names turn to forum players, maybe we can be heard someday, when we are more.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2019
  13. Elrond

    Elrond Avatar

    Messages:
    1,277
    Likes Received:
    4,028
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Crafters Town
    Well yea ...i was hoping this would be adressed/buffed but its been a month and..nothing .... so i guess Chris thinks its working just fine ...why i said in my first post ,some things need a scalpel but they get the hammer instead .... now ill wait years till it gets fixed.
     
    Jaesun and Rinaldi like this.
  14. Hemswal The Descended

    Hemswal The Descended Avatar

    Messages:
    734
    Likes Received:
    1,524
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Hope you find your way back.
     
  15. kaeshiva

    kaeshiva Avatar

    Messages:
    3,054
    Likes Received:
    11,752
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Female
    @Fenrus MacRath
    Many of us have been where you are a lot of times, I used to just go with it but got tired of completely redoing my character every time the nerf pendulum made its giant swing at this or that.
    For the last year or so I've been stubbornly clinging to the build I like to playeven though I know if I went "fire mage" I'd have a lot more versatility. As a mage of every flavor EXCEPT fire who doesn't want to have to carry a melee weapon or bow for half the content, I have been the target of the nerfbat pretty constantly since day 1. The thing is, even after the archery "nerfs" I'm still seeing archers dish out far more than I can with over 10 times to the total exp investment due to the imbalance in monster resistances and such. Even after the archery "nerfs" I'm still having to consider pulling out a bow to do stuff because even with significantly lower investment its performing better in many situations. I don't say this to anger you and I'm not saying "suck it up" because well, as I said, I've been there, a lot, and I know the last thing you want to do is just accept that you're weaker than you used to be, that yesterday you could do this bit of content and today you have no chance - regardless of how it compares to what other people can do. Until we have people testing this stuff that actually play the game as players - completely, from skills to deck to gearing - then the huge disaparities in build power will never be properly addressed. We get things "adjusted" based on what the 1% minmax are able to do and that's life. I don't blame you for looking elsewhere, combat in SotA definitely turns sour, and with the loot being as unrewarding as it is, its become part of the game that's a means to an end rather than a part I enjoy. I have to fight to get stuff to craft and that's about the only reason to fight anything.
     
  16. Cora Cuz'avich

    Cora Cuz'avich Avatar

    Messages:
    4,648
    Likes Received:
    7,614
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Location:
    Veritas Sanctuary
    The air ranger nerf wasn't all that bad. Combined with the DR "fix" it ruined the build. Before nerfs, the best crit I ever got was a little shy of 600. But the build meant I could do things like unicorns and daemons and Tartarus which I couldn't do as a "proper" ranged/light armor archer. For every top ranged guy who had his DPS reined in, five casual players had their entire experience ruined. In the span of two releases, endgame content was put pretty much out of reach for casual archers. Certainly, I could devote the time and eventually get back to that power level. Or re-spec to something that can do endgame content at AL106. But I don't have that kind of time, and I'm not interested in a different play style. So I left. For me, personally, the game is no longer fun.
     
  17. Mishikal

    Mishikal Avatar

    Messages:
    1,965
    Likes Received:
    2,834
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Brittany Estates
    I fully agree the /mechanism/ was broken. But to me it illustrated the overall problem with the archery tree in general. With light armor + ranged only, I could do some content well, but it wasn't fun. Fun is a hard thing to define, but you know when you're experiencing it. With the air archer build, I was able to (carefully) take down dragons in north blade pass or whatever it is. Was it easy? no. But it was doable and I was enjoying getting to do new content. Could I eventually get there with ranged+light armor? Perhaps, but it would involve a lot more time beyond the years I've already invested, and I'm just not interested in punishing myself further.
     
  18. Sketch_

    Sketch_ Avatar

    Messages:
    345
    Likes Received:
    618
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Gender:
    Male
  19. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

    Messages:
    2,649
    Likes Received:
    4,202
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Perennial Coast
    Most important message (for me):
    Reasons why HE left, are reasons, why others left before ...
    (And this isn't "just" about this bugfix ...)

    Reading all those postings before, I am
    1. Sorry, that Fenrus left the game - not because he don't like it at all! --> alot of people like(d) it, that's the key to focus on for a change! <--
    2. Sorry to see people taking it more personal and shooting "arrows" against others :(
    People I really appreciate, because of their creative posts over the time!
    Everybody has an important opinion - no doubt.
    What makes me sad: those things happen, because their callls aren't heard, their feelings get no attention! (@DarkStarr, @Lord British ?)


    I hope for the future:
    That important changes will be explained by:
    1. S h o r t(!) Announcements in forum (even I like to listen to Chris in his streams, but let's have a SUMMERY for changes ALSO in forum, please, for all the people who can't follow him all time)
    2. About WHAT changes
    3. WHY it changes
    4. Telling what the effect is and how the effect affects our combat deck (game play) and some information how we can make changes to do better (not like before, but better than doing nothing!)

    Well, for sure it is not easy to find the right answer every time - but I suppose it is the best thing to try ... and it is the least that investors expect ...

     
    Kara Brae, Spoon, Rinaldi and 3 others like this.
  20. CatherineRose

    CatherineRose Avatar

    Messages:
    1,069
    Likes Received:
    4,030
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Resting in Devil's Lair in Mistrendur
    It is just my opinion but when one loves someone or something, is apart of someone or something, knows that it changes at time goes by. When there is a game, when there is a weapon, when there is a person, when there is a family, when there is anything worth time out of your life there will be loyalty and sacrifice and acceptance that nothing is perfect.

    @Lord British, @Dark Starr @Chris I want this game to succeed. I want those that feel neglected to be heard. I am sad that so many have left. However, this is my family of friends. This is my game. Although, we can all point out the failures and disappointments we can also point out the triumphs, the fun, the important reasons for continuing to support this game. That is each of our choices. I choose this game to play. Period.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.