N.O.P. is a NOPE

andrewvanmarle

Nodes of power used to be the event where you put your best decks forward and clashed it out for the honour and glory of your coalition and a decent prize. it used to run a little longer and the rewards were the same as the weekend events.

These days you have to play, again, to a set of objectives and **** your decks while playing against non event decks, do 15 nodes in 22 hours and the end time is horrible for most US en EU players. Aussie and Asia player are in bed.

can we please have the old NOP back without objectives, a slightly more forgiving runtime and a reward worth grinding for?

buscemi

Here's a user poll from last month which shows a majority of people think the same way:

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57107


And here's some more relevant threads:

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57969
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57926
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=56070


It rather does seem like many people, even those who like the new NoP, would like to see *somewhere* in the game which behaved like old NoP. I certainly would.

bk1234

I miss old NOP -- I remember the excitement when it would pop up on Tuesday and spending the next 24 hours putting together the best decks I could come up with. They were always different and I played so many different PW -- including first Gen in Platinum.

When it would pop up in-game, the Slack messages would read "NOP tomorrow "

Now they read "NOP tomorrow:(" and my team members scramble for who can be first to volunteer to sit out -- or quit.

Then I get the same 5 decks together that I have been playing for 2 months -- because I know I can do ok with them -- there's no wiggle room, no creativity, no excitement over what I can put together. It's SSDW.

Here's the thing. I like the objectives in the new NOP -- I think it would make a FANTASTIC individual event -- I would play it -- give it another name and make this a thing.

I just really miss the old NOP -- I miss the spark and excitement we all had with an anything goes. I miss spending 24 hours bouncing decks off my team and other game friends.

Also as a team leader, the end time is ridiculous (this goes for IF too) -- it doesn't work into anyone's schedule.

I could go on about this for awhile, but I have to go put my boring, same New NOP decks together.

Mizzlets

NOP used to be an a event people looked forward to, we played our best most brutal decks against others for domination. We won for glory of our collation and for ourselves. However most definitely the timer and the restrictions works against us. We have many other events that restrict us even further and a challenge is fun...however there comes a time where it's just laboring and its not fun. Bring back the old NOP

andrewvanmarle

I took a back seat in my coalition and have let someone else in my place because I just can't'muster the enthusiasm for the event anymore...

khurram

andrewvanmarle wrote:

These days you have to play, again, to a set of objectives and **** your decks

Err.. lets see.

Lose 2 or less creatures
Win in 5
Take 10 damage
Win with 20 health
Play 2 creatures

Exactly which of these require you to "****" your deck? If anything you have to include your most powerful cards to meet these objectives.

bk1234

khurram wrote:

andrewvanmarle wrote:

These days you have to play, again, to a set of objectives and **** your decks

Err.. lets see.

Lose 2 or less creatures
Win in 5
Take 10 damage
Win with 20 health
Play 2 creatures

Exactly which of these require you to "****" your deck? If anything you have to include your most powerful cards to meet these objectives.

I'm definitely being held back by these. Anytime you have to build for something other than sheer force you're gimping your decks -- or at the very least your play experience. I'm not playing any of my favorite PW or favorite decks because of these objectives. My lineup is Kiora, Nahiri, Dovin, Ob and Aj.

If I could play with any PW I would probably be playing Koth, N2, J2, and Sarkhan, maybe G2 as well -- you know all the PW who never see events like this -- because they're fun.

My play experience is definitely **** by objectives -- the decks I'm playing are not using my best cards in order to meet objectives.

killwind

I am also losing interest in this game, and this event is yet another reason for it. I liked the old format where you could build as nasty a deck as possible and see who comes out on top. Now we have ludicrous objectives with no real bearing on how good you or your decks are.
.

buscemi

Plus, 3 games total in each node? And each node starts at 1? That's not a whole lot, is it? Why not start with a couple more games in each node (though not full, of course, thx!), and make the event last a couple of days? It'd mean you didn't have to hand out prizes after 24 hours, for one thing, and we know how much you hate doing that.

It takes nearly as long to rebuild my deck for each node as it does to actually play it.

andrewvanmarle

The objectives call for a very specific deck and playstyle.

@buscemi, why not all nodes filled and playable from the start, no more getting up in the middle of the night to play the last set.
Yeah I know that this requires a new way to handle player with the same amount of ribbons, but it's'high time that was done anyway

Mainloop25

The same old argument against it is always the 50-way ties... Well, fix the tie-breaking system instead of changing the event.

PastrySpider

Please do start all nodes fully charged on one day events. Gives everyone time to actually complete the event without needing to wake up at unreasonable times and having the race at the beginning is no less fair that having it 6 hours before the end.

buscemi

Mainloop25 wrote:

The same old argument against it is always the 50-way ties... Well, fix the tie-breaking system instead of changing the event.

Fixing the matchmaking and increasing the number of games in the event would also help to thin out ties without having to change the levels themselves.

PastrySpider wrote:

Please do start all nodes fully charged on one day events. Gives everyone time to actually complete the event without needing to wake up at unreasonable times and having the race at the beginning is no less fair that having it 6 hours before the end.

Well, no. There's a reason that the nodes don't start fully charged; it used to work like that, but it gives (another) unfair advantage to people who are able to play their games immediately when the event starts. However, the same effect could be achieved by starting with bigger, unfilled nodes.

Or, do you mean, just have the nodes start full, and never spawn them again for the duration of the event? It's an idea, but I doubt D3 would go for it; the reason behind the timed respawns is to keep you coming back to the game regularly... those **** 3 pack boosters just aren't enough incentive on their own.

bk1234

Mainloop25 wrote:

The same old argument against it is always the 50-way ties... Well, fix the tie-breaking system instead of changing the event.

YES! And that's what they did -- and the problem is still there -- all individual events have ridiculous ties. Objectives don't make the best less good.

buscemi

bken1234 wrote:

Mainloop25 wrote:

The same old argument against it is always the 50-way ties... Well, fix the tie-breaking system instead of changing the event.

YES! And that's what they did -- and the problem is still there -- all individual events have ridiculous ties. Objectives don't make the best less good.

Well maybe all events don't have ridiculous ties to the same degree... I've dropped 2 points in the current NoP and I'm in 156th place.

Sorin81

So glad I decided to skip events today. Really considering just not bothering with them for a while. I think I'll keep grinding out QB for a while.

jetnoctis

I like the new NoP. I think it deserves to exist because the objectives can be fun and, compared to other event objectives, they are not as restrictive. Contrary to some other voices here, I like the shorter and more frequent events. It generally means more chances to get some good cards and I don't have to be a slave to the game while still being able to enjoy it when I want.

Having said all this, I think this new version of NoP we have now should be called something else, and the old NoP should be brought back into the line up in addition to it. I did really love the freedom and creativity of putting together my best decks and using my most powerful cards. We have no avenue for expressing the full power of our libraries any more, even qb has restraints if you want any good prizes (I. E. Speed and longevity above all else.) I'd really like the opportunity to just go wild with everything I've got!

buscemi

jetnoctis wrote:

We have no avenue for expressing the full power of our libraries any more, even qb has restraints if you want any good prizes (I. E. Speed and longevity above all else.) I'd really like the opportunity to just go wild with everything I've got!

Sadly, card design is currently being weighted towards decks that deal 400 damage by turn 4 at the top level of the game.

This appalling case of affairs probably needs to be addressed before oldskool NoP could be reintroduced in it's original form.

gruntface

buscemi wrote:

jetnoctis wrote:

We have no avenue for expressing the full power of our libraries any more, even qb has restraints if you want any good prizes (I. E. Speed and longevity above all else.) I'd really like the opportunity to just go wild with everything I've got!

Sadly, card design is currently being weighted towards decks that deal 400 damage by turn 4 at the top level of the game.

This appalling case of affairs probably needs to be addressed before oldskool NoP could be reintroduced in it's original form.

This right here is the thing that baffles me most of all of the recent issues. It's not that we are expected to knock out 400 hp of damage in 4 turns given a combination of cards (which the devs confirm), it's that such a combination exists and is considered achievable on a semi regular basis!

We shouldn't be able to deliver on such an objective and the fact we can (at least in theory) points to brokenness. A 4 turn win should only be feasible against low hp opponents or in extreme circumstances and that it is not only being reworked as a broken ideal but encouraged through the award of ribbons sends a bad message. I'm sure it's fine for the whales or those who spend dozens of hours a week in qb (there are active opponents to any reasonable suggestions who fit this latter category and it's understandable why they resist changes for the 99.999%) but its not healthy for the future state.

Ohboy

gruntface wrote:

This right here is the thing that baffles me most of all of the recent issues. It's not that we are expected to knock out 400 hp of damage in 4 turns given a combination of cards (which the devs confirm), it's that such a combination exists and is considered achievable on a semi regular basis!

It's not considered achievable on a semi regular basis. Why does everyone think objectives are all by default easily achievable once solved?

Source : numerous complaints by players

buscemi

Ohboy wrote:

gruntface wrote:

This right here is the thing that baffles me most of all of the recent issues. It's not that we are expected to knock out 400 hp of damage in 4 turns given a combination of cards (which the devs confirm), it's that such a combination exists and is considered achievable on a semi regular basis!

It's not considered achievable on a semi regular basis. Why does everyone think objectives are all by default easily achievable once solved?

Source : numerous complaints by players

Seem like such a deck could deal 119 damage to an opponent on a much more reliable basis, tho, doesn't it?

The underlying point of my post was this: there are OP cards in the game which are unbalancing it. You and me are in agreement on that fact at least, aren't we?