Revolt Against the Update
Lagartha
Posts: 186 Tile Toppler
Perhaps you've noticed something strange happening to the leader board recently. With all of the changes happening, we felt it was time for a change of our own. Coalitions have changed their names to ones of protest to show that we as a community have banded together to try and express how against this recent update we all are. Some have stopped spending cash on the game. Some are sitting out events. This is our attempt to catch the attention of the development team and show them how much the entire player base LOVES this community and doesn't want to lose it because of the direction the game has taken recently. I'm BEGGING you all to listen.
To the Development Team of Hibernum!
I have taken it upon myself to act as representative to an ever-growing faction of players who take issue with some of the recent changes made to Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest. It is my hope that, in providing a concise overview of the perceived issues alongside suggestions for how the players might like to see them addressed, we may stem the tide of discontentment that has begun to fester amongst these groups of loyal players and consumers, and return the game to a state that is both enjoyable for its players and profitable for you, the developers.
Issue #1 -- Booster Packs and Duplicates
The recent update completely changed the way booster packs are purchased and distributed, as well as the card-to-mana crystal ratio. This is a significant change within the game’s economy - particularly when accompanied by the myriad other alterations that inherently tie into the value of each card pack (e.g. - dupe rates, frequency of rare-or-better cards, and the addition of the new ‘masterpiece’ cards).
The general consensus from those we have consulted seems to be that the changes made were not for the better. In coalition Discord and Slack channels, players are flooding the chats with complaints of duplicate cards, feeling betrayed after promises that steps were being taken to address that very issue. Others feel they are being slighted, since the cost efficiency per card is not all that was changed.
The Big Boxes that were previously offered provided a guaranteed ‘Rare or Better’ card, which meant that it was possible that a Mythic card could be received as a bonus for investing those 600 mana crystals. The new Premium Packs offer, very specifically, a guarantee of one Rare card. While this may seem like a small change in the grand scheme of the game’s economy, it is a noticeable one for players who spend mana crystals day after day, hoping they will get particular cards from a certain set that will help them complete their collection, or simply allow them to put together an interesting deck they thought up but have hitherto lacked necessary cards for.
Our suggestions are varied on this matter, as there are several ways this could be handled that would do much to appease the faction within the community that is displeased by the changes to the game’s economy. I have outlined two example solutions below, to be used as either inspiration or guidelines as you, the developers, see fit.
1) Return the potential for a Mythic from the bonus card when purchasing a Premium Pack. The number of card packs from Premium Packs (5) is roughly one-third the number of packs from the previous Big Box (14). However, the price (300 mana crystals) is a full one-half of the old Big Box price (600 mana crystals). At that price, the possibility that the bonus card will be a Mythic does not seem so great a request.
2) Reduce the cost of the Premium Packs, or increase the number of cards. Giving 71 cards, the Big Boxes provided a value of 1 card per 8.45 crystals. Premium Packs, at 26 cards, provide a value of 1 card per 11.53 crystals. That’s a roughly 35% increase in price. Quite simply, that is an egregious level of inflation over the course of a single day, and many players are left feeling uncertain about the future of the game if such sudden and drastic changes to the economy can happen without warning.
Issue #2 -- Event Rewards and Mana Jewels
This is a two-phased problem in dire need of a solution. Based on some preliminary research into the matter (via coalition discussion and cross-coalition inquiry), players feel that the rewards for event participation have been reduced to the point that their desire to participate in events has waned drastically, Similarly, they are finding the introduction of mana jewels to be equally mishandled, based on the perceived rate at which players can accrue enough of this new resource to purchase the new Elite Packs for which they are intended to be used.
Put simply, players have suddenly gone from being able to readily spend mana crystals on either card packs or planeswalkers, knowing that they could accumulate more throughout the coming events for the next wave of merchandise, to feeling that it will take months to make a single worthwhile purchase, and that that purchase may yield little more than a handful of duplicate or underwhelming cards. You, as developers, have effectively decreased the quantity of product you provide without, to the best of your consumers’ knowledge, improving the quality, despite prior claims that your intent was to do that very thing.
We feel the solution here is simple and straightforward. The previous model was sustainable, and it was one that kept your players happy while still, as best we could tell, yielding significant profitability. We would like you to increase the mana crystal rewards back to their previous levels. Furthermore, we would like mana jewels to be obtainable at a reasonable enough rate that it will not take months to open a single Elite Pack. While I cannot pretend to know exactly what would be considered “reasonable”, I can offer this: the community will always let you know when it is not reasonable. It is up to you, as developers, to strike a balance.
We thank you, sincerely, for the time and work you have put into the creation and upkeep of Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest. It is our dearest hope that these issues will be promptly addressed, and that this game, and its wonderfully diverse community, may continue to grow and prosper for a long time to come.
Sincerely,
Your Loyal Customers
To the Development Team of Hibernum!
I have taken it upon myself to act as representative to an ever-growing faction of players who take issue with some of the recent changes made to Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest. It is my hope that, in providing a concise overview of the perceived issues alongside suggestions for how the players might like to see them addressed, we may stem the tide of discontentment that has begun to fester amongst these groups of loyal players and consumers, and return the game to a state that is both enjoyable for its players and profitable for you, the developers.
Issue #1 -- Booster Packs and Duplicates
The recent update completely changed the way booster packs are purchased and distributed, as well as the card-to-mana crystal ratio. This is a significant change within the game’s economy - particularly when accompanied by the myriad other alterations that inherently tie into the value of each card pack (e.g. - dupe rates, frequency of rare-or-better cards, and the addition of the new ‘masterpiece’ cards).
The general consensus from those we have consulted seems to be that the changes made were not for the better. In coalition Discord and Slack channels, players are flooding the chats with complaints of duplicate cards, feeling betrayed after promises that steps were being taken to address that very issue. Others feel they are being slighted, since the cost efficiency per card is not all that was changed.
The Big Boxes that were previously offered provided a guaranteed ‘Rare or Better’ card, which meant that it was possible that a Mythic card could be received as a bonus for investing those 600 mana crystals. The new Premium Packs offer, very specifically, a guarantee of one Rare card. While this may seem like a small change in the grand scheme of the game’s economy, it is a noticeable one for players who spend mana crystals day after day, hoping they will get particular cards from a certain set that will help them complete their collection, or simply allow them to put together an interesting deck they thought up but have hitherto lacked necessary cards for.
Our suggestions are varied on this matter, as there are several ways this could be handled that would do much to appease the faction within the community that is displeased by the changes to the game’s economy. I have outlined two example solutions below, to be used as either inspiration or guidelines as you, the developers, see fit.
1) Return the potential for a Mythic from the bonus card when purchasing a Premium Pack. The number of card packs from Premium Packs (5) is roughly one-third the number of packs from the previous Big Box (14). However, the price (300 mana crystals) is a full one-half of the old Big Box price (600 mana crystals). At that price, the possibility that the bonus card will be a Mythic does not seem so great a request.
2) Reduce the cost of the Premium Packs, or increase the number of cards. Giving 71 cards, the Big Boxes provided a value of 1 card per 8.45 crystals. Premium Packs, at 26 cards, provide a value of 1 card per 11.53 crystals. That’s a roughly 35% increase in price. Quite simply, that is an egregious level of inflation over the course of a single day, and many players are left feeling uncertain about the future of the game if such sudden and drastic changes to the economy can happen without warning.
Issue #2 -- Event Rewards and Mana Jewels
This is a two-phased problem in dire need of a solution. Based on some preliminary research into the matter (via coalition discussion and cross-coalition inquiry), players feel that the rewards for event participation have been reduced to the point that their desire to participate in events has waned drastically, Similarly, they are finding the introduction of mana jewels to be equally mishandled, based on the perceived rate at which players can accrue enough of this new resource to purchase the new Elite Packs for which they are intended to be used.
Put simply, players have suddenly gone from being able to readily spend mana crystals on either card packs or planeswalkers, knowing that they could accumulate more throughout the coming events for the next wave of merchandise, to feeling that it will take months to make a single worthwhile purchase, and that that purchase may yield little more than a handful of duplicate or underwhelming cards. You, as developers, have effectively decreased the quantity of product you provide without, to the best of your consumers’ knowledge, improving the quality, despite prior claims that your intent was to do that very thing.
We feel the solution here is simple and straightforward. The previous model was sustainable, and it was one that kept your players happy while still, as best we could tell, yielding significant profitability. We would like you to increase the mana crystal rewards back to their previous levels. Furthermore, we would like mana jewels to be obtainable at a reasonable enough rate that it will not take months to open a single Elite Pack. While I cannot pretend to know exactly what would be considered “reasonable”, I can offer this: the community will always let you know when it is not reasonable. It is up to you, as developers, to strike a balance.
We thank you, sincerely, for the time and work you have put into the creation and upkeep of Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest. It is our dearest hope that these issues will be promptly addressed, and that this game, and its wonderfully diverse community, may continue to grow and prosper for a long time to come.
Sincerely,
Your Loyal Customers
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Comments
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Oops. Double post. Welp, since I can't delete it here's something:
I sent a screenshot and an explanation to tips@kotaku.com but perhaps my tip is lonely? Maybe you'd like to send a tip of your own to keep it company?
Seems fitting since I downloaded the game halfway through the first paragraph of an article about it in kotaku when the game was new. They wrote about its beginning, perhaps they'll also write about its end. Or perhaps it'll be a happy story about game designers and accountants uniting a community of players and listening to feedback and saving the day just in time?0 -
I am the leader of LiVIDMtG, we changed our name to D3HatesUs, because we feel the in general the players have not been heard. I know for one, I haven't been heard a single time I have presented an ongoing issue. Our issues as a team aren't even so much the new additions to the game. One is that D3 can't even figure out how to keep bugs out of current events, why are they asking this to now pay for events when they should be focused on testing and not letting new bugs into old parts of the game. Once that has been fixed for a while I would be happy for different concepts on events. Second is the "randomness" that cards are released in packs. Out of 6 packs I received 5 different rares, all of them being duplicatedultiple times throughout opening the packs. There is no randomness and it seems they have even made it less likely to get new rares/mythics with the new update. I also posted a video on our YouTube channel to highlight the problems.0
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Changed TheGrind to TheGreed because while I think it's OK that players have the option to spend money to catch up, I think the price of admission has been set too high.0
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I've posted multiple ideas to fix the update in other threads. Trying to decide whether to ask for a refund of the Baral I accidentally purchased.0 -
This is just amazing. Absolutely brilliant.
Cheers!0 -
The same goes for team reckless, we changed our name to D3moralised.
If you want our money, that is fine, but offer something we WANT to have and we will readily pay!
Id pay good money for my choice of a mythic. Id pay for deckslots. Id pay for an upgrade to the original 5 pws.
What you are doing now is closer to exthortion, and people will alway rebel or run away when exhorted.0 -
Updated top 11:
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It is up to you, as developers, to strike a balance.
Key word being balance. D3 needs to follow simple marketing/business ethics and find an economic balance. Your attempt to fix the problem with drop-rates and dupes somehow morphed into a way to squeeze the community for even more cash. The member of your team that keeps bringing up ways to make more money in the problem solving group discussion at D3 needs to go back to college. This game is at on a razors edge as it currently stands and needs a clear open discussion with the community with none of the double talk before any changes happen. The game needs balance on cards, financial transactions, and product distribution. The model before was better with all of its faults than the current forced fix with no community involvement.
D3 has one of the most intelligent communities available to help develop this game. Magic is a game that rewards critical thinking and deck building. Why would a developer not use this valuable resource? The resource D3 is paying for currently has only one goal in mind and its going to kill this game.
V/r
DaddyStyx
D3valued
Not. Another. Dime.0 -
Signing
Leader of 0blivion / D3flated
Not. Another. Dime.0 -
I am the leader of AHeroPath, we haven't changed names because:
A. No one would see it, (the coalition was made under a week ago)
B. I don't have enough crytals to change it back to AHeroesPath post-protest
(I used the gifted gems on the Trials event)
Even though we didn't change our name, we still fully support this protest and absolutely agree with it.
Not. Another. Dime/Cent.0 -
Urzas1egacy, part of the Phoenix Family has changed to D3ad1egacy in support of this protest!
Not another dime!0 -
The struggle is real. MTGGOLDFISH has changed their name to D3Greedyfish. Sorta sad it has come to this. I believe this game is at a tipping point...0
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I hate to disagree with you guys, but...
I disagree.
Top 150 coalition leader here
I know it's not much compared to some of you whales, but I don't think it's so bad..
Please remember that not all competitive/top 10 players can be defined as 'whales' and that not all 'whales' are in top 10 coalitions. Do not generalize or attach labels too hastily, as it can offend people. // Alve0 -
Apothecary wrote:I hate to disagree with you guys, but...
I disagree.
Top 150 coalition leader here
I know it's not much compared to some of you whales, but I don't think it's so bad..
As a top 10 coalition leader who is also a single mom and has spent hardly any money on this game -- I would like to refer you to this thread:
https://d3go.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61076
"Please, be kind and respectful to your fellow forumites..."
Please do not call names or assume you know why others are successful.0 -
In solidarity with the other top 11 coalitions -- TeamReckless voted this morning to change our name to D3moralised. We feel our new name accurately represents the effect of D3 / Hibernum’s recent actions on the MTGPQ community.
We not only changed our name to represent the sentiments of our team, but also to represent the impact these changes have on our fellow teams in The Power 9; who consist mostly of mid and low level players -- all of which have to work much harder to be successful at this game. It is our honor to play with each of you every week and share a community with you.
We did NOT make this change in response to adjustments to coalition rewards, as we show up and play every week because we like playing TOGETHER -- and we find the experience of sharing the game to be fun and rewarding on it's own. As a team, we have in the past, put a lot of money (and obviously time), into this game because we have always thought it was worth it. The past two updates have grossly changed our outlook on this and we have sustained tough losses of long-time and original members to our roster.
While we feel strongly that a solution needs to be reached to counter the growing gap between competitive and casual players and coalitions, it should be done in a way that doesn’t take away the enjoyment of the game from ANY players. We should be rewarded for time and money spent in-game and feel motivated to stay engaged. We'd like to see that D3 / Hibernum cares about product quality and player retention, respects us as customers and wants to cooperate with us to improve the game and create the best possible experience for current and future players regardless of their level. We oppose the lack of transparency, constant devaluation of real life money in this game, ever-increasing prices and switching focus to paying players instead of trying to find balance between rewarding engagement and allowing purchases.
In response to these changes the majority of our members have decided 1. To no longer spend money in this game and 2. To not participate in P2P events.
We STRONGLY ADVOCATE for D3 / Hibernum to reconsider these changes and work with the community to make meaningful and frequently requested improvements that will enhance the game for ALL players.
Finally, we would like to thank D3 / Hibernum for gifting our captain (and all of us) with the crystals to make our name change free, and the other top 11 leaders and players for standing together to make MTGPQ better for everyone.0 -
andrewvanmarle wrote:The same goes for team reckless, we changed our name to D3moralised.
Id pay good money for my choice of a mythic. Id pay for deckslots. Id pay for an upgrade to the original 5 pws.
I'm quite sure your opportunity to pay for those things is in the works. Did you really think you'd get that much value for FREE? We're talking tens of dollars here, AT LEAST.0 -
4pdaru has renamed to D3secrated.
There are many who play in spite of the terrible moves made by developers, they find the joy in working together as a team. Your current moves have hurt the most significant aspect of this game.
It is becoming an event on it's own, Revolt Against the Update, the devs and publishers taking on the role of Tezz in this one.
"Coalition Challenge" "Over when the boss dies" and yes it is an "Enraged" match.
Why did you guys put yourselves in this position?
Not another dime.0 -
I also support premium packs changing to have "rare or better" as the bonus card, even though the actual difference in number of mythics given out as a result would be tiny. (Assuming the chance of mythic in a bonus card is the usual drop rate of ~1%, the average number of mythics we could expect to get from each premium pack would go from around 0.22 to 0.23).Lagartha wrote:The Big Boxes that were previously offered provided a guaranteed ‘Rare or Better’ card, which meant that it was possible that a Mythic card could be received as a bonus for investing those 600 mana crystals. The new Premium Packs offer, very specifically, a guarantee of one Rare card. While this may seem like a small change in the grand scheme of the game’s economy, it is a noticeable one for players who spend mana crystals day after day, hoping they will get particular cards from a certain set that will help them complete their collection, or simply allow them to put together an interesting deck they thought up but have hitherto lacked necessary cards for.
I'd like to go further and suggest that changing event rewards which are "rare" to become "rare or better" would also be a good change for the game. It would add excitement and motivation for players, while incurring a very low "cost" for d3go (in terms of controlling the flow of mythics to players).0 -
Thank you all for all the support. It's so amazing to see this community band together. I know it's a shot in the dark, but I hope it makes a difference. We're on the cusp of losing so many good people.
And a special thanks to manaburn and mightykrakyn for writing the letter based on the numerous posts you all have been making about this update.0 -
Planewalkers prices should be reduced accordingly by 1/2 with the nerf in rewards. The current price is too high, you wont be able to collect enough
in a time manner to buy a PW before it rotates for another 2 weeks, even if you dont participate in 60 events. Previously you had slightly less than 2 weeks to collect 650 if you complete all progression rewards and all events.
I don't like this update0
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