Boosting MtG:PQ: Player Insights

Scydrex7

Thank you for taking the time to write and publish this very detailed and constructive post, Opperstamper. I agree with pretty much everything outlined here.

I would second the suggestion of allowing newer players catch up quicker with the more established players. Maybe you can give the 5 Origins PW for free (not just Nissa) and ramp up the rewards for the first 50 levels.

There are certain things that were part of the game's original design that have no useful function anymore. For example, health potions. I personally think all planeswalkers should be at full health outside of matches. Not having it be so punishes players with a really small collection of walkers. And it's annoying for vets who are simply testing a deck in training grounds or story mode or wherever else. Would this render useless PW levels where their regeneration is improved? Small price to pay, I'd say.

Blacktulip

Opperstamper, thank you for your post. I agree with most of the points you make.
I would like to add one thing I am experiencing as negative. I would like it very much for runes to be used for more than just PW up-leveling. They are very helpful for starting players, but at a certain point runes stop to be a useful reward and I think that is a shame.

greenmeanie1

@Opperstamper very well done. I agree with alit you said. The plainswalker specific node might one I wouldn’t like. I remember when they did that and some of those walkers were terrible. Haven’t played many of them lately. Occasionally I’ll play Elspeth in certain events but that’s it.

I would like to see more events like Seize the Day. I like the fact it’s set restrictive. Makes you play with cards you normally wouldn’t play. Also I would to see them have more legacy events. The ones like Rise of Adveture and such that were standard once. Just something different than AM or RtotGP.. Those events are just too long once you get progression done. Especially AM. I think it’s time for another new duel deck.

Now as for the Meta. It goes in cycles. Yes I’m tired of seeing the same walkers every event. But that is the current state. If everyone remembers during Zendikar. Red and Green were the dominant colors and you seen the same walkers and same cards in every event. Everyone was complaining then too.

Now I wish PQ would do the standard rotation this year instead of next year. Fir me personally I was looking forward to playing some different cards. What drew me to this game was its suttle differences between PQ and paper magic. I could go on but then it would turn more into a rant than what this is suppose to be

wraszowixuXuxi

@Scydrex7 said:

I would second the suggestion of allowing newer players catch up quicker with the more established players. Maybe you can give the 5 Origins PW for free (not just Nissa) and ramp up the rewards for the first 50 levels.

So something that Oktagon might be considering in relation to doing this: they do already sell the Origins Planeswalkers when a new account is starting out. If I remember correctly, there is a pack (maybe not the right word) of the 4 remaining ones all together, maybe with some resources, for $4.99. After finishing the first chapter of Story and unlocking the Events tab, that pack in Specials tab disappears and then there is instead individual packs of each Planeswalkers with one of the Origins rares for their color (Suppression Bonds for Gideon, Talent of the Telepath for Jace, that kill spell for Liliana, and one of the red burn spells for Chandra), each for like $2.99 or $3.99. I don't see them a day later though, so it's not like they are "deals" for long, but gives starting players an option rather than using their crystals on them. Not sure how long the have been doing these packs as don't remember with the first account back in 2017, but I think they were there briefly when I started the first alternate account last year. Granted, these days, Origins cards are a lot easier to get as one goes along these days, from the quests and ad reward packs and cheaper booster crafting as well - even the Standard non-dupe packs from each 10th leveling will go through them eventually. But that is eventually, if newer players stick around.

One idea that I saw, either here on the forum or in one of the discords, could be to have a free voucher for a newer player to get a tri-color walker. Gives said players a chance to try one out early on rather than having them have to grind just to get one in the first place. I wanna say Maybe don't have it leveled up fully though or else then the newer players will more likely be facing other players players with fuller collections and VIP and facing things at higher difficulties (looking at you lvl 60 Dakkons, pulling Kami Wars and Tef HoDs and Starfields with their A3/L3, and ramping up to it with first giving loyalty as well...) ... But then maybe I shouldn't say all of that. Facing some of that difficulty could draw some players in with the possibility of getting to that as well. So maybe it could be a trial period of having the tricolor at lvl 60 (kinda like how one sees in the tutorial with the lvl 60 Kiora facing Ulamog(?), and then give the new lore a spin and say "Desparking!" Your powerful walker is now down to level one, but here are some of the runes to build them back up with. A good tricolor can survive Platinum even just at lvl 39 or 40 - having all of its abilities unlocked to a degree to try out with, and about halfway to their max mana gains for a player to get the feel of prioritizing some color matches further. Hint at strategies like this in the game, and maybe newer players can learn how to deal with some frustrating situations but not being completely stuck with no way to go back when they later learn better. If that idea works, then maybe "Desparking" to a lower level could be an option unlocked also after a walker has gotten to lvl 60, to temporarily take one's walker back down to a desired lower level (... Kasmina lvl 39? Some of her "problems" get solved if not blowing up the board when she copies a spell).

Along with voucher-unlocking a triwalker of their choice to start out with as well, maybe there could be one for a vanguard - maybe a rare one from Standard and one from Legacy? When we initially got War of the Spark, I think there was once or twice where we were gifted a vanguard to try out. WotC moving to having just one Planeswalker per most sets going forward with Wilds of Eldraine, it is questionable how many more vanguards one can expect to see in the future, but there are still a number from the past that could be done, as well as maybe more coming in paper in maybe Masters sets. I'm not sure though. If not technically a vanguard to start out with, then maybe a free exclusive from BftAges, so they get a hint of what it is about - maybe with a tutorial hint coming up for a player the first time that BftA is available for them, which sometimes rewards Vanguards as well. There are a lot of them already to go through. I'm saying maybe a lot, but it's ideas.

TLDR: When a player starts out, maybe a free tricolor Planeswalker; maybe a free vanguard or two; maybe a free BftAges exclusive. Having goodies could help them get into it and stick around without making them think they have to pay to win. And maybe Desparking to temporarily lower a planeswalker's level to where they might have an easier time.

ShaarkBiite

Thanks for the post; i agree with most points in the thread. Also, want to note that I appreciate the semi-recent move to expand access to charges, but it would really fantastic if we just had all the coalition game charges right upfront and then a little longer window to play. I don't live to play this game, but I do (still) enjoy it. Sometimes I have time on Saturday, sometimes not until late Sunday night when the "new" events have ended.

Sarah

I’d like to see the enthusiasm about the game that we saw years ago. Whether it was healthy prizes that encouraged players to actually play, or targeted advertising to attract more players.

I’m so glad to see a big push for more community engagement and I do hope it leads to more positive changes. We all love this game and want it to thrive.

I found this fun blast-from-the-past on the back of an Embalmed Honored Hydra token!

Sarah

This is also a great point! More of this please!

@ShaarkBiite said:
Thanks for the post; i agree with most points in the thread. Also, want to note that I appreciate the semi-recent move to expand access to charges, but it would really fantastic if we just had all the coalition game charges right upfront and then a little longer window to play. I don't live to play this game, but I do (still) enjoy it. Sometimes I have time on Saturday, sometimes not until late Sunday night when the "new" events have ended.

jtwood

@Opperstamper said:
2: Bugs take too long before being addressed, sometimes more than 1 year or never at all.
Possible solution(s):

• Prerelease testing (players are willing to help!).
• Postrelease testing (players are willing to help!).
• Reward players for finding and reporting bugs.

Don’t forget “Port fewer cards into MTGPQ (which we understand would require adjustments to how cards are distributed in packs)”

Better to give the dev team time to fix bugs instead of porting in cards that will never be used

Janosik

Funnily enough, I was composing a post myself the other day, about how Oktagon could create a better game experience by doing less work (Re-use old mechanics instead of making terrible new ones, re-use a bunch of old Legacy cards in Standard sets rather than designing terrible new one, stop creating terrible event node supports in coalition events that we all ignore and can't remember what they do...) but then I realised the whole endeavour was ultimately pointless.

Truth is Oktagon know they are skimping on development time. They know they phoned it in with the last set, they know there are bugs in the game which affect us all every single week we play which have been there for months, or sometimes years. They don't need our suggestions on how to improve it, and I doubt they'll read them anyway; they need to admit the game is in a bad state and spend more time improving it.

Or, they can just slowly let the player base dwindle away as it's doing now. They only care about the subscription players anyway... they can just continue their experiment to see just how little work they can do before even those players start to find alternative ways to spend their time and money.

Spacedog

I agree that lack of new events is a big issue. Standard daily events should reward cards from the newest set. Also, with regards to mechanics, I would say PLAY TESTING is a must if you want better and useful mechanics that players would actually use. I remember the enhanced gems for strixhaven and compleated gems from DMU are NOT very useful. Venture into the dungeon takes too much time and the rewards for clearing the dungeon is not that great plus some cards with this ability gets stuck sometimes.Toxic is actually useful especially for PvE events with bosses that have huge health.(For me, the most useful mechanic is still ‘Landfall’). This would also help balance out cards and minimizes nerfing. Maybe even add monthly rewards for players that grind daily events for scoring points. And lastly, I think the ranking system in the weekly events can be improved. (Like not dragging someone to 100+ for missing just one objective, maybe reward 2nd or 3rd place). Just my two cents. Great job @Opperstamper for pointing these out.

Xibvert

I'm for a competitive meta and addressing balance issues, but worst case for standard those do somewhat at least have a mechanism for fixing themselves by rotating out. I'd rather see focus on more fundamental things first. So yes fixing bugged or misworded cards so that their text and functionality match and of course addressing anything causing people to softlock or crash. Other things as well, but I'll leave it at that for now.

pacha

Thanks Opperstamper,
I just want to add one thing :

0% of the Beginner decks, master decks, etc. is used by players.
I propose that you permit (once unlocked) to edit them with this rules :
Beginner deck : pauper deck (only Commons and Uncommons are allowed)
Expert deck : Budget deck (only Commons, Unco and Rares are allowed)
Master deck : budget+ deck (Co, Unco, Rares plus 1 mythic)

Bonus :
Then, when you design an event with a "limited" node, lock it for real pauper or Budget deck
Because it's always disappointing to face super op decks in a pauper or budget node.

Opperstamper

Hey all, it's great to see so much support here. Let's keep it up and hope that Oktagon finds the manpower to address these issues.

I have one request: can we focus on the major concerns again? I made this list because the app is losing players over these points. No customers = no business, which I hope to show to Oktagon. More customers is good for revenue, and in turn good for us, dedicated players.

I really do agree that bugs should be fixed, minor concerns should be addressed and QoL requests are valid. But that's off topic for this thread.

Tell me, or tell Oktagon, what issue is driving you away from the game? If we can get Oktagon to fix that, I bet the business side can become healthier, which will be good for everone.

gozmaster

Here's my take (for what it's worth) @oktagonsupport (What happened to the tag?)

Plus, sigh, yet ANOTHER 1-Card Busted Infinite Loop.
(Thanks @mildaene)

https://youtu.be/1KjSb4dPzoU?si=qcw76ShpbNhjA4Up

Slobodax

Thank you @Opperstamper for speaking out : I barely play MtGPQ anymore, I only play weekend events, because there are barely anything new lately, and even Coalition Events have become tiresome, with all these "I Win" combos that are taking the fun away from this game we love.
I hope Oktagon hears and acknowledges this plea.

skampfer

Gotta come on and throw in my 2 cents for this one as well - my husband and I have been playing for a while now and over the past year have lost our love a bit. Would love to see more restrictive objective events (these are our favs!) which allow us to use more of our cards and get excited about new set mechanics. Would love to see some new coalition events (if I never played World Reborn again, I would not be sad) and I would love, love, LOVE to see the player vs player function fixed (typically crashes whenever I've tried to use it in the past) and the ability to play against any player in the game (my husband and I want to play against each other and test out new decks but are in different coalitions). Hoping we can bring some new life to the game and keep it going!

Gladiator

@oktagon KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK Its a great game, great cards, great graphics. @Opperstamper is taking great care of our player community please listen to him, I agree with 80%. We understand its a daunting task. Also agree many older events are still perfectly runnable. And for me you can make GREGGY much smarter

Rugrat1979

Great post, somebody hire this dude to work at the Oktagon, he's going to give away pw and cards for free!)
No kidding, the suggestions are good, but I would not give away characters and cards for free, they are not that expensive and .. this is lorwyn five, show a little respect!)
I would add new chapters to story mode and possibly new heroic encounters so new players could earn more at the start
and add the ability to choose pw at the beginning of the game.
Yes, this is a more time consuming solution, and maybe I'm the only one who lacks new chapters of the story, but what this game is really doing well with is the free content, that's enough.

Opperstamper

@Rugrat1979 said:
Great post, somebody hire this dude to work at the Oktagon, he's going to give away pw and cards for free!)
No kidding, the offers are good, but I would not give away characters and cards for free, they are not that expensive and .. this is lorwyn five, show a little respect!)
I would add new chapters to story mode and possibly new heroic encounters so new players could earn more at the start.
Yes, this is a more time consuming solution, and maybe I'm the only one who lacks new chapters of the story, but what this game is really doing well with is the free content, that's enough.

Just the 5 Origins PW's. But as I tried to make clear; this is just a suggestion. The issue that triggers this suggestion is that it's apparently very hard to find (and keep) new players. Together with a lot of players throwing in the towel, that way we may not have a game at all pretty soon, or one that exists but is not supported anymore (which would be worse? I honestly don't know). So the goal with this is to make a better "new player experience".

If there are better ideas to solve this, please tell me (and Oktagon).

Scrounger

I agree with @Opperstamper's diagnosis of the problems in the game that lead players to leave. It really is a great game. I hope we as a community can band together around major areas of concern like these and that Oktagon will once again demonstrate that they listen to the community and can make a great game even better.