StrykersGaming

This should prove...interesting.

See my comment above to @RagingPhenix.

Please insult me more with you asinine comments. Better yet learn to comprehend what the subject matter is. I was very specific about that.

I don't know who or what intellectually challenged developer thought that giving a non-enraged mini-boss one-shot kill ability that by passes dragon blood orbs or the ability to cast a charm that cannot be broken, but the fact that this mechanic is in the game in the Ebondrake Lair dungeon is beyond the pale. There is NO ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ing defense or explanation for doing so. One has to be of limited mental ability to believe this is a fun, engaging, and challenging boss mechanic. It is ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ poor planning and execution on the part of the developers for putting this in the game. Charmed and dead. The Bloodlust developers have show they are limited in their ability to recognize their own failure for allowing this into a game. I'd not said a word if this was part of an enraged mechanic. However, it is not and it does not belong in this dungeon. Like their lying to us about the White Orbs and the Demon Soul Stones, it is just another failure in a long list of failures on those who develop this game. What's next? A standard mob one-shotting the Hongmoon Master(s) with a ball peen hammer? Enough, fix this awful lame and bad mechanic.

If a player or players obtained the services required to challenge this, NCWest is under US jurisdiction and law governing consumers. That makes NCsoft liable too as the parent company of NCWest. NCsoft has no recourse but to care. The absolute worse case scenario is NCsoft pulls the plug on NCWest shuttering the doors of the game in the US. However, not before they had to settle the issue if they were unable to have the suit squashed. This would be as ugly as it was between Harmony Gold and FASA in terms of public opinion and company imagine damaged by the facts of the suit not including the results. Until someone acts in a manner to hold gaming corporations accountable for such acts that NCsoft pulled, they'll continue to act in their best interest while turning a deaf ear to their customers. Sooner or later, the company will find themselves suffering financially because of it.

Its called 'bait and switch' when something is advertised and they give something else that is not part of the original advertisement. This is what NCsoft did and that is illegal as if violates consumer protection laws. Citation for verification: https://consumer.laws.com/deceptive-advertising/bait-and-switch-advertising

I'm only going to speak to this. The rest is speculation and hubris that distracts from the topic. If he'd known the truth, I believe he'd said something to that fact. To those at NCsoft and NCWest. I know I would. Whether he is fighting for the players at this moment is anyone's guess. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt until such time he proves otherwise. However, knowing NCsoft and their SOP from my experience, it is wasted effort and time. They will not be moved. They only care about one thing, "$." The only way to make them react is to hit them where it hurts the most, their revenue. If they will not listen to the CC or take the time to find out the pulse of their players, they'd take notice if a large number of players suddenly stopped logging in and/or spending more and cancelling their premium accounts. That is what gets things in action. That is a sad fact in the reality of MMO games.

You do not have much experience with the Asian business culture do you? You can count on that happening to make sure that the information that was released was in fact delivered as order. Why is it the developers fault? Do I really need to explain that to you? Who do you think controls the game's operation and development? The community coordinators? You want to lay the entire blame at Cyan's feet for doing his job, delivering information passed down from NCsoft's public relations department on the recommendation of the developers? Do you have any idea on how this truly works? Or are you just letting your passion run wild and attack anyone who has a title next to their name because they are employees? Truly you are blinded by your rage and cannot see clearly because of it. The developers screwed you by allowing false information to be released, not Cyan and his crew. He is the messenger. Take a deep breath and try to reason this maturely, with your mind not your heart. Clearly you'd have Cyan fired as quick as any other employee of the company over this debacle "because someone has to pay!" Right? What's next, marching on NCWest HQ in Austin with pitchforks, axes, and rope?

So, you would call Cyan guilty of the act as much as the developers? All because he communicated what HE was led to believe was correct? All the while NCsoft developers refused to refute or correct that information until today?

I don't disagree with you on the outcome of this underhanded act by NCsoft. As I stated, what they did screwed over the players. The heat needs to be applied to them though. How that is possible...I cannot say unless someone has the means to share some addys that we all can communicate our disdain for their actions.

Here’s the situation as I see. Cyan is the messenger. Whether or not he knew this was going to happen isn’t the issue. His post indicates that he did not. I for one will give him the benefit of doubt. No need to call him a liar as many are doing. He is the messenger and relying what was given to him to post in the forums. That said, here’s what I believe truly happened, as planned by the development team. I realized this after completing Cold Storage. Frozen Feathers and Lesser Demon orbs dropped. In the past, as I found out when I returned, they did give an exchange for items that were out of date. However, this time, they knew people were farming and saving a boatload of the White Orbs and DSS, believing they would get an equal exchange or some semblance of a fair exchange. However, the developers did not want to give players that chance as it would allow them to continue as they were if not to a lesser degree. This way, the developers would force the players to slow down and begin grinding again spending time and money as they did so. While NCWest was tell us what they understood was going to happen, the developers over at NCsoft purposefully withheld the truth of what was going to happen. The second sentence of Cyan lends proof of this; “This is unfortunately by design and will not be changing.” And his statement of miscommunications is another way of saying, “we were not told.” “and a miscommunication with the development team, we thought these items would be exchanged for their new equivalents.” NCsoft’s developers bloody well knew they were not going to allow that kind of exchange because it would not allow them to monetize or earn more income with the launching of ‘Treasure Trove’ or other specials they had in the Hongmoon Store. This was a pre-planned calculated move on the part of ‘The Powers That Be.’ These are the people whom should feel our ire and wrath, not Cyan or any one person involved in the community representatives for NCWest. NCSoft abrogated their responsibility in being transparent with their customers. They violate the trust of the player base by doing something that is underhanded as it gets. However, I’m not surprised in this action because NCsoft is renowned when it comes to things of this nature. They did so in GW2 not longer after it was launched and I’m sure everyone knows how they arbitrarily killed City of Heroes and Paragon Studios to “make room” for Guild Wars 2. This is where each every one of those who posted here remarks venting at Cyan as if was responsible for this debacle. Just because he is the Community Coordinator doesn’t mean has a FLZ tattooed on his chest and Krupp armor steel skin for players to get vile and ugly with him. If anything, those who called him a liar among other things, should apologize; however, I believe Hades would freeze over before that happened. You can agree or disagree with me, it matters not. However, it is how I see it as I’ve seen this before with other games. It is the developers fault they allowed the false information to continue unabated, not Cyan and his crew.

Okay, as a returning player after a long absence, I'm seeing acronyms I'm not familiar with associated with the last few game updates. These being VT, BT, and the like. Can someone drop the list of these and what they're associated with? I'd most certainly appreciate it. This will help me get caught up on some of the things going on with the game today. Thanks!

Exactly. I was so livid that a student who had maybe a year of training under my toon's tutelage was bouncing me around like I was fighting Jinsoyun again. I knew at that point, I was never going to beat him because the writers/developers said so. That right there was nothing more than Fiat writing at its worse. And to make matters worse, when I finally got said student to 1% health, pow, cut-scene of him using "mystical ninja powers" putting my toon down like a rabid dog. I nearly uninstalled the game again. That is how livid I was. The developers and their writers seriously need some educational training in how to write a believable scene and not what they gave us. I one point in that fight I simply gave up and stood there for this God-like trainee to kill me. Hell, I even stripped off my gear and weapon to make it quick. He did not attack me. So, what is the freaking point to play it out when you're predestined to lose in the first place? Just add a damned, "I surrender" button so you can get it over quickly. After that, I was so pissed I spaced through the final conversations with the useless "heroes" only to be sent back to Heaven's Reach to reenact what has happened in the previous story endings on Heaven's Reach. I have come to the conclusion that our toons are not masters of Hongmoon, but masters of defeat, nothing more. The story has lied to us about our power. We only have what is needed to advance the story only to be bounced around like a soccer ball by bad designed cookie cutter villains. The ending of this act is so bad, I find that the movie "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" has a more believable plot than Act 9. Before that though, I fought Mushin at the Oak Tree and killed him with with a massive crit. Cut-scene again...he lays me low. I was like, "WTF!!!" I question why do we even bother trying when they win in the end. The story writing is questionable to mediocre when this happens. After a 14 month absence, I come back to this. Yeah...that's really fun.

Here's an updated pic of my BM and her little devil pet. :)

I know this will illicit some disbelief, but I got it the first time I did this dungeon on my Summoner. :)

Is that the new Golden outfit from the Frozen Cavern event? I'm saving my shrooms for that one. :)

I thought I'd share my first level 50 character, my Blade Master Rosâlie, named after my wife. Which I might add looks very similar to my wife. :)