Losing interest. Considerations about it

[MichelleZhivago]

Have to agree at least somewhat with the OP. I played back when there were multiple servers, so awhile ago. Mostly casually but I could still keep up somewhat competently. I left the game after maybe a year and since then, I have checked in about every 6 months and each time there is some "improvement" that just complicates things or just as egregiously applies a "fix" for something that did not need fixing, just for the sake of change.  Hey, I get it. NCSoft wants money (MAKE MOERE OUTFITS!!!) but at some point they have to understand the law of diminishing returns. More and more changes, fewer and fewer servers, fewer and fewer players. Get it?! I am a very casual gamer and don't want to have to do multiple things to take one small step forward toward decent gear or accessories or pets, whatever. It should be possible for me to successfully take part in most aspects of the game and the game still have things the real hardcore players can do, the ones willing to put in the extra effort, to be truly elite. But enhance gear and let that be it. Not this "Farm this material to get this other material, that you need to get this other stuff to enhance your gear. And by the way, you need gems and stones and souls and tools to put in and take out these things and pets and the pets need blah, blah, blah." 

 

Simplify. Which does NOT have to mean easy. Just straightforward, clear and direct, without obfuscation. A lot of people like world football or what Americans and some Brits call "soccer" and it is a fairly simple, straghtforward game. Anyone can play but to master it is not easy and takes hard work. THAT is what B&S should strive toward, a game that we dilettantes can play and have fun-Heavens!-and one that "professionals" can excel at without burying people in details that are in no way fun. So, simplyify. Adding endless overlays of complexity does not make a game appealing or even challenging. If I wanted to keep track of endless lists of materials, I'd work at a warehouse. As someone else said above, "fun" is subjective but losing player population such that what was once MANY servers and is now apparently one server-I don't know, I can't even get in the game after updating the latest patch when I came back this time-tells me that something is not right. NCSoft either needs to look at themselves and "fix" the game OR admit to the players that B&S is a sinking ship and they are merely trying to squeeze the last few dollars, euros, pounds, etc., out of a rapidly shrinking player base before they unceremoniously shut down with little to no warning.

Edited December 13, 2019 by MichelleZhivago
Edited for spelling.

[MassiveEgo]

@MichelleZhivago If they admit they're milking, people will stop giving them money. Maintaining the illusion is important for profits. Kinda like with boobs and bras;

 

On the point of them fixing things - they don't want to as most of the problems they themselves created, have solutions tucked away in the daily specials, the cash shop in general, the trove or the occasional p2w lootbox event.

[MichelleZhivago]

Might be entirely academic at this point. I can't get in since this latest patch. Created a forum topic in Player to Player Support and sent in a ticket. We'll see how that goes. I'll start a new character to see if I can a) remember how to play and b) remember the reasons I played in the first place, the "fun" we all seek.

 

Thanks for the response, regardless. I kind of knew my comment at the end was silly. The developers responsible-in my opinion-for driving away players aren't going to fix what they've done. They obviously think it's all great and they certainly won't admit they've struck an iceberg and to man the lifeboats.

 

This just reminds me of an Aeria Game, Scarlet Blade, in which they, Aeria and Liveplex,only signed on to run the game for three years and never admitted it. Right down to waiting until about 2 months out to announce the game's close, still selling points to buy ingame items and then offering a "rebate" that only worked on the Aeria Games still up which weren't many and in any case not very good games.

 

Michelle

[MichelleZhivago]

Pssh, my ticket was responded to. Apparently between July and now, my same computer that works fine, no longer is capable of running Blade & Soul. At some point the developers, whomever, thought that the solution to a shrinking player population was making it more difficult to play. Support says I just need to buy a better computer despite it working fine on other games. Right. I'll get right on that. :D

Oh, well.

[prietess]

I agree with you that there are just too many things to do and the game updates SO FAST. SOOOOOO FASTTTTT.

All that I am writing below is from free-to-play player point of view, a p2w player might not agree with me.

Just when I think I could slack a bit after getting newest gear from newest dungeon, another new dungeon comes out with another new gear (new dungeon comes out every ~2-3 months).

Just when I think I could say I cleared the game by completing the latest raid, another new raid comes out with another new tier of weapon (new raid comes out every < 1 year)

A new class comes out every year > new things to learn.

It is just never going to END.

It is just unlike other game that I played whereby they don't update so fast. and yes IT IS VERY VERY TIRING.

I play everyday 5 hrs and >15 hrs in the weekend, but yet I am still not able to beat the game due to many factors: Unable to find raid that takes me + my timing, unable to find enough people to do dungeons Multis, too many things to do in the game (old raids need to do for gold), not enough time because need to complete 5 sets of dailies every day - Yes I am A TOTALLY F2P player, etc etc.

 

I do wish we can slow down a little bit by giving some 'rest' space for players, but NO NO NO, Koreans keep updating, so what options we have? Western server needs to catch up!

 

Believe me or not, many people also get bored and come back only when there are new things to do (new dungeon hence new equipment/new raid/new class), so without those updates keep coming, those players will not even bother to come back to BnS.

Soooooo, yes, no solution is going to satisfy all people.

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by prietess

[Fortunaea]

Yeah it is way too grindy. When you're not grinding one thing, you're grinding another thing. There should be more balance and have some very easy to get things so people get a little reprieve. But there seems to be no reprieve. 

 

Just recently a new member of the game, once they realized how much mats and crafting materials they need, and how long it would probably take them to get them, became depressed and started to not wanna play much anymore. A friend of mine already quit over this, and another friend of a friend also quit (she was almost a whale), because she got so sick of all the grinding she had to do, and still has to do. She said the game was actually more of a stressor than a stress relief. Really, please increase the number of crafting we get from boxes Oo that's super easy and would already lift huge burdens.