D3 driving players into the ground and also away

Unknown

Since the introduction of the seasons...the level of competition has increased drastically. With all the different events going on...missing even just one day of play is a huge setback. The PvP events are sheer murder and a lot of people find themselves shelling out cold hard cash to buy shields or face the soul crushing messages of -100(+) points loss while they were sleeping or working or living life instead of playing a game neurotically on their device. I suppose this works out in D3's favor since the name of the game is always money.

D3 is starting to drive the players into the ground. So far, two seasons have been completed...and there hasn't even been a break in between them. One season ends and the next one begins right after. All those players who did the last minute push for season ending points can't even stop to enjoy their achievements because they're already hauling **** for the new season.

Summer is just around the corner in the northern hemisphere. Once the kids get out of school, the amount of players will drop significantly. Strangely...people tend to want to do things with their families during this time. I know a lot of players have struggled finding the time to even play this game and be able to stay competitive. It's just not possible to be a 'casual' player anymore since the awards from the previous competition are needed for the next. Not getting one of those rewards means getting set back even further in the next event and it all just propagates on itself.

I am in an alliance that improved greatly after the first season. We worked well as a team...everyone was generally very happy and productive. After the end of season two....many players expressed that they felt the game just wasn't fun anymore. It had turned into this stressful 'chore'. I have to agree with them. Worrying about shields running out, worrying about getting enough points in the season, worrying about when the scores would be reset so I could cash in the most points in PvE. We have collectively decided to take a break from the game and just be casual players for season 3. Some of us have vacations coming up. Some are just too busy at work and have even started to have trouble at home for dedicating so much time to this game.

People usually play these kinds of games to take their minds off things in their real lives. A nice, mindless vacation away from it all. If a game is just making you more stressful, then that's clearly not what is needed. I'm at the point where I think I need a vacation from this game. I used to be quite big into Candy Crush, Farm Heroes and Subway Surfers. All those games met with the same fate...deletion from my phone. If I was stuck on a level for too long then I just lost interest. Didn't want the stress or having to buy extra moves or whatever. I used to also play Marvel Avengers Alliance through Facebook. It got so impossible to keep up with the people spending hard core cash to level up that I also just gave up on it and have never considered going back. MPQ is bordering the same fate at the moment.

D3...listen to what your players are saying. The way things stand right now...you're killing us.

Unknown

missing even just one day of play is a huge setback

This isn't true at all.

The pressure *you* put on yourself is the enemy. Not the game.

MojoWild

Toxicadam wrote:

missing even just one day of play is a huge setback

This isn't true at all.

The pressure *you* put on yourself is the enemy. Not the game.

Ditto this.
If the game is causing you that much stress and worry and taking time away from other valuable things then you need to either re-evaluate why you're playing and/or your time management. You really don't need to play every minute of the day. I generally join PVP late and do just fine. I play the PVE when it's convenient and generally around about the 10-12 hour marks and do just fine.
I'm the unofficial 'leader' of my 9 player alliance comprised of mostly friends and one random person that hopped into a vacant spot that was for someone that never joined. I don't slave-drive them. The only thing I've asked of them is that they play at least once a day to maximize the daily rewards (which is a pittance anyway). Do we place in the top 100? No. Do I make up the bulk of the alliance points? Usually plus about half of the other players at any given time. We place in the top 1000-2000 usually and get a little extra ISO and HP and maybe some tokens, but the main thing was to not change how much they already played.

Everyone needs to play at a level comfortable to them and everything in moderation. So, if taking the summer off is what you need to do, so be it.

Be well and be happy.

Unknown

That is the point he is making. The game set up an expectation that he could do well with a reasonable amount of effort. Then the meta changed and to achieve the same results more time, effort, resources became needed. He wants to keep enjoying the game he was used to, but is faced with the choice of keep going at a grueling pace, cut back and accept that the reward gravy train becomes all but nonexistent, or option 3 walk away.

For many MPQ is like a bad girlfriend. Things used to be great, some problems popped up. Some problems were there all along but now you are noticing them every day. You hope for the good times to return, for her to treat you right again and she asks you for 20 bucks and doesn't change, but you still say you will see her tomorrow.

The advice of only see her every other day, or break up and come back a little later to see if you want to try again is terrible advice in this analogy.

I agree be well and be happy. But don't hinge your enjoyment on expecting d3 to do anything. They have crafted a game that is deliciously addictive, and designed to be so. If it is getting to you and interfering with life in any way. Stand up for yourself and stop seeing her

MojoWild

I disagree that you can't do well without grinding all the time. I see all the time people posting in here that they only join things right at the end and make up the difference. I play in moderation, with occasional grinding binges, and still come out with decent rewards. I'm not saying that there couldn't be improvements, but you can choose how much/often/hard you play. Like many things, if you work hard enough, you get a bigger payout. At the same time, if you give it a reasonable effort, you can still get reasonable rewards.
I placed top 10 in most of the Season 2 tournaments and entered those with about 24 hours left in the tournament. I didn't join the Simulator until the last week. I finished 60th for the Season. I tend to grind down the events somewhat and am able to keep pace.
I think I have a pretty well rounded roster that I've been carefully cultivating all this time. I put my ISO towards the currently featured/buffed characters. I think we forget sometimes that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Also, who wants a game where it's just becomes easy? To some extent, I appreciate that the game remains challenging. People overthink the game and how to game the system and then complain when the game mixes that up or is not easy.
Rhetorically speaking: Are you the type that has to see the hot new movie at the midnight show? Or can you wait a couple weeks and see it when the theaters are less crowded? In other words, do you have to have every single prize that's available when it's available?
If you like the grind more power to you. I'm just saying that it's still feasible to be moderate and still enjoy it.

emaker27

MojoWild wrote:

I see all the time people posting in here that they only join things right at the end and make up the difference.

This is a great example of the OP's point. When a game gives you a choice of grinding, or having to play at a specific time, it removes a realistic chance of doing well by playing casually. Having to grind or play at specific times isn't conducive to people with families, jobs, and other real life issues (even though some players do it anyway).

The original post does a good job of highlighting the issue.

MojoWild

I was using that as an example of how you don't have to be always playing the game, which appeared to me to be the main point of the OP.
You have to make time for what you feel is important. I still think that whatever stress one feels from the game is self-imposed.
What, if any, do people have for suggestions of resolution besides a general "fix it"?

Unknown

There have been numerous suggestions regarding altering end times to be more fair to a wider spread of the playerbase.
There have been many suggestions aimed at providing a better game experience for the casual player. http://www.d3pforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8467
There have been several suggestions for having only a percentage of alliance member's score count for each event allowing room for players to take time off without hindering their alliance.

Burnout is a major concern and many people have been talking about it since season one. I have seen nothing that suggests d3 wants to make changes that favor playing casually. They want us to fight like crazy for our digital rewards no matter what that costs the player.

Edit, sorry was going to dig up more links...

MojoWild

Cryptobrancus wrote:

I have seen nothing that suggests d3 wants to make changes that favor playing casually. They want us to fight like crazy for our digital rewards no matter what that costs the player.

Is the expanded reward structure in Category 5 a step in that direction? I agree there should be more changes, but again, you are the owner of you.

Unknown

Stop complaining here and start complaining on their Facebook page. Forums are a convenient way to wall off valid complaints from the Internet at large. Make it public if you want to hit them where it hurts. Post early, post often, post post post.

Unknown

Yes, they are offering more rewards to more people. But the message out there is still why fight x hard for one cover when you can fight 2x for a second or 8x for a third.

It is a step yes, or a compromise. People don't come and make suggestions for quality of life suggestions because they literally hate the game. The come ask for things like this because they see a game they like well enough, or a game they used to love that is not treating them well right now, and they ask because they can see the potential for it to be so much better than it already is. Telling people to not bother making suggestions and just work on their own point of view to stop caring so much is effectively telling them to give up hope that the game will ever be what they hope it might become.

MojoWild

Cryptobrancus wrote:

Telling people to not bother making suggestions and just work on their own point of view to stop caring so much is effectively telling them to give up hope that the game will ever be what they hope it might become.

Umm... I didn't say that at all so don't put words in my posts. I was only offering another perspective. I even asked for specific suggestions as opposed to a general complaint. People develop obsessions and additions on all sorts of things and should evaluate their own wants/needs at any given time for anything in their lives.

Unknown

I didn't go back and drag up all the suggestions that have already been made that would do wonders for alleviating some of what the OP was complaining about. The devs have even stopped reassuring us that they read everything posted on the forum so most suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears. When constructive criticism is not even acknowledged people get frustrated. This guy and many others including myself have days where we are frustrated. Complaints are more satisfying than suggestions and OP clearly had some steam to blow off.

I respect and understand the points you are making and it is indeed true that we hold power over ourselves and shouldn't take things like this so seriously, that is not what someone frustrated by the status quo wants to hear. They don't want to be told it is all their fault they are not having fun. Yes you asked for suggestions and there are pages and pages and pages of them throughout this entire forum. I did not mean to put words in your mouth or diminish your point of view but you were not speaking the same language as the guy ranting at the top either. He was making an impassioned call for action and your response was: take it easy, calm down and reevaluate priorities instead.

Can't we break out the torches and pitchforks just for the fun of it from time to time?

Unknown

Cryptobrancus wrote:

For many MPQ is like a bad girlfriend. Things used to be great, some problems popped up. Some problems were there all along but now you are noticing them every day. You hope for the good times to return, for her to treat you right again and she asks you for 20 bucks and doesn't change, but you still say you will see her tomorrow.

lol good one. I have a bad gf plus MPQ - double whammy!

Though I will admit, the reward structure that's started for Storm's Cat-5 is quite a change, a change for the better when it comes to individuals playing. For alliances, maybe not so much. Once the alliance rewards % changes or smaller alliance brackets come into play, it will be better for alliances I feel.

Bowgentle

prash wrote:

Cryptobrancus wrote:

For many MPQ is like a bad girlfriend. Things used to be great, some problems popped up. Some problems were there all along but now you are noticing them every day. You hope for the good times to return, for her to treat you right again and she asks you for 20 bucks and doesn't change, but you still say you will see her tomorrow.

lol good one. I have a bad gf plus MPQ - double whammy!

Though I will admit, the reward structure that's started for Storm's Cat-5 is quite a change, a change for the better when it comes to individuals playing. For alliances, maybe not so much. Once the alliance rewards % changes or smaller alliance brackets come into play, it will be better for alliances I feel.

It's better for top alliances too. 5K ISO for alliance T10 is nothing to sneeze on.
So individual t5 plus alliance t10 gives you 10K ISO and 4 covers.
It's a nice incentive for alliances to have tiers between 1-2 and 3-50.

Although I wonder if they'll also give out 4 covers of new chars. If yes, this change rocks.

Unknown

I agree with the OP, you cannot play this game casually and continue to improve at a significant pace, not like you used to be able to do.

A casual game is one you can pick up and play for a while whenever you have some spare time and gradually progress and improve - this description clearly doesnt fit MPQ and I challenge anyone to seriously say that it does.

If you want to improve there is a large commitment required in actual playing time and the time you play. You do need to plan your life around the game even if just a little bit, and that is not 'casual' by any definition of the word.

Unfortunately i see no way round it due to this being a game that is so heavily based on competition for rewards. With all players wanting to finish high enough to get a good reward there is not going to be way to play casually once you have finished the Prologue as every other mode has you lose points and slip back while you are not playing forcing you to keep up the pressure if you really want those rewards.

The only way things are gonna change is if everybody stops spending money on shields, boosts and covers forcing them to re-evaluate the way they are going. Or lets all stop playing for a week, that'll send the message - as if that would happen, we are too addicted!!!

Unknown

The PACman wrote:

I agree with the OP, you cannot play this game casually and continue to improve at a significant pace, not like you used to be able to do.

A casual game is one you can pick up and play for a while whenever you have some spare time and gradually progress and improve - this description clearly doesnt fit MPQ and I challenge anyone to seriously say that it does.

If you want to improve there is a large commitment required in actual playing time and the time you play. You do need to plan your life around the game even if just a little bit, and that is not 'casual' by any definition of the word.

Unfortunately i see no way round it due to this being a game that is so heavily based on competition for rewards. With all players wanting to finish high enough to get a good reward there is not going to be way to play casually once you have finished the Prologue as every other mode has you lose points and slip back while you are not playing forcing you to keep up the pressure if you really want those rewards.

The only way things are gonna change is if everybody stops spending money on shields, boosts and covers forcing them to re-evaluate the way they are going. Or lets all stop playing for a week, that'll send the message - as if that would happen, we are too addicted!!!

Agreed 100%. Once you get to a certain point, you can not play this game casually and advance. I failed to win a Lazy/Punk Daken cover during his initial PvE Event and that spelled the end for me. Haven't been able to score any new characters and I certainly am not throwing my money or HP away on god awful tokens that offer a 1% chance of scoring the featured hero.

I've had it with the never ending changes and the grind for minimal rewards so I just play 1-3 times a day and get the daily bonus.

HailMary

The PACman wrote:

I agree with the OP, you cannot play this game casually and continue to improve at a significant pace, not like you used to be able to do.

This is only true if you've already maxed 2*s. Progression has been greatly accelerated for casual players not yet in the 2*-3* transition. Before the new changes, I got a L102 LT before I got a maxed OBW. After the changes, I probably could've built at least two full OBWs from fight-completion cover drops in the last month.

MikeHock wrote:

so I just play 1-3 times a day and get the daily bonus.

So... in a way, the new changes encouraged you to go casual.