Besides the game, the forums are also dying out.

[Supertaro]

Hello @Green Storm

Since the game does not have GMs online, the forums have been the place to ask or complain about stuff regarding the game. Back in the day, and not even too long ago, we'd see activity of some NCSoft employee in the forums answering some forum questions/complaints every single day. But right now when the community needs you guys the most, there's nothing to be seen or heard, like the community is unimportant to this company. Every day people are leaving the game or playing very minimally due to the fact of in-game changes are applied but not explained, and when people ask on forums why the changes were applied, is ignored.

My point is that it would be nice if there's more activity in the forums again, like Hime did quite well in my opinion regarding activity. Now I know you're quite new to this position, and probably still getting to know exactly what and how. The community can help with that aswell, as long as activity is shown.

Hopefully this will get a little bit of attention, thanks.

[PervertedLyn]

2 hours ago, Supertaro said:

Back in the day, and not even too long ago, we'd see activity of some NCSoft employee in the forums answering some forum questions/complaints every single day.

I am one of thoose who were litterly every single day on the forums simply cause i had nothing better to do and i cant say you are right.

It was very rare to get an answer to stuff and if it was somehow pvp releated there was a 100% gurantee that you wont get an answer.

 

So unless you counted me or grimoir or whoever else is or was pretty active as a GM which we are not and never have been then no that is wrong.

2 hours ago, Supertaro said:

But right now when the community needs you guys the most, there's nothing to be seen or heard, like the community is unimportant to this company.

You new to this game ? it has been like this for years. Since they noticed the PC market dosent make the money.

2 hours ago, Supertaro said:

Every day people are leaving the game or playing very minimally due to the fact of in-game changes are applied but not explained, and when people ask on forums why the changes were applied, is ignored.

They stop playing cause of 3 big reasons:

1. Cheater acceptance by NCwest (i count wintrade as cheat)

2. Impossible to reach max gear unless you have no life and a huge sum of cash.

3. PVP balance issue

2 hours ago, Supertaro said:

it would be nice if there's more activity in the forums again, like Hime did quite well in my opinion regarding activity.

She got more active right before she left the company. Since we already guessed they are not allowed to write in forums unless its some annoucement the upperman accepted its not suprising she left pretty quick after. It could even be that she got in trouble for actully writing and answering stuff.

2 hours ago, Supertaro said:

Now I know you're quite new to this position, and probably still getting to know exactly what and how. The community can help with that aswell, as long as activity is shown.

Its unlikely that he is actully a new member but it could be a company account multiple people use. But this is just a guess. Also if they wanted to support the game and community we had GMs actively writing with us.

[Green Storm]

12 hours ago, Supertaro said:

Hello @Green Storm

Since the game does not have GMs online, the forums have been the place to ask or complain about stuff regarding the game. Back in the day, and not even too long ago, we'd see activity of some NCSoft employee in the forums answering some forum questions/complaints every single day. But right now when the community needs you guys the most, there's nothing to be seen or heard, like the community is unimportant to this company. Every day people are leaving the game or playing very minimally due to the fact of in-game changes are applied but not explained, and when people ask on forums why the changes were applied, is ignored.

My point is that it would be nice if there's more activity in the forums again, like Hime did quite well in my opinion regarding activity. Now I know you're quite new to this position, and probably still getting to know exactly what and how. The community can help with that aswell, as long as activity is shown.

Hopefully this will get a little bit of attention, thanks.

 

I want to take a few minutes to address your post and, at the same time, other posts that I've been reading over the past few weeks (I've been reading forum posts every day). I'm still busy getting settled in my new role for Blade & Soul. I need to fully understand how things work behind the scenes before I can start answering players' questions and share more information. There are many new people to work with, processes to know, and goals to think about. It's not an easy task to catch up on an MMO with a long history and an experienced community with a set of expectations, but I will try my best!

 

I keep learning about the game from multiple sources, including playing it, so that I can have a lot of background information about all the content I'll be covering in the future. I made the conscious decision not to jump right away into the forums because my feeling was that I wouldn't have a lot of interesting things to say. It is my long-term goal to become an active participant here, but I also want to do it in a way that will benefit the community. I also intend to engage more Blade & Soul players on social media, but again this will happen later.

 

That being said, I would like players to stop tagging me in their posts. Please focus on your feedback and questions. I want to remind everyone about the current Code of Conduct, which I will be updating fairly soon. I encourage all players to express their feedback, questions, or concerns, but it's equally important to do it in a way that satisfies these values: 1) Respect; 2) No threats; 3) No harassment or defamation; 4) Being constructive. This is in no way a demand to not address difficult topics or to censor yourself, but I would like everyone to make an effort about the way discussions happen on the forums. Chose your words with care because they help define the Blade & Soul forum community. They can be more inviting or share more understanding of your perspective.

 

Happy to discuss this further!

[Green Storm]

9 hours ago, PervertedLyn said:

Since we already guessed they are not allowed to write in forums unless its some annoucement the upperman accepted its not suprising she left pretty quick after. It could even be that she got in trouble for actully writing and answering stuff.

Its unlikely that he is actully a new member but it could be a company account multiple people use. But this is just a guess. Also if they wanted to support the game and community we had GMs actively writing with us.

 

That is not at all how things happen behind the scenes and you're missing a lot of pieces to understand Hime's decision or our communication. Speculating about these topics create unrealistic expectations and can lead you down a path that's not constructive for you and the community as a whole.

 

I'm only one person. I explained in my post above that I'm trying my best to catch up on everything and be more active in this community.

[Azzuray]

By being more "active" you mean explain yourself on other topics than the one we need you to ?...

 

PS: We need an other "Directory Letter" or RoadMap "kind" to see where are we going now.. We are just here blind and need to get infos from a Third party to know whats comming.. i dont think its the right way to do so imo

Edited February 15, 2022 by Azzuray

[Green Storm]

1 minute ago, Azzuray said:

By being more "active" you mean explain yourself on other topics than the one we need you to ?...

 

I won't "explain myself" because this game and its publishing does not entirely sit on my shoulders. I'm here to share information and yes my goal is to start appearing in all the other forum threads! Until I'm ready to do so, I won't.

[Hasagi]

I like the new guy already

[Knaxxxi]

We asked for NCSoft's transparency. What we got: Green Guy's transparency by gaslighting us all

[dampfgurke]

14 minutes ago, Green Storm said:

 

I won't "explain myself" because this game and its publishing does not entirely sit on my shoulders. I'm here to share information and yes my goal is to start appearing in all the other forum threads! Until I'm ready to do so, I won't.

First of all, thank you for at least trying to communicate, we as a community are not used to that, sadly.

You say that you want to share information once you are ready to do so, but that seems a bit one-sided. Is it not also your job to collect the feedback that you get from the community and report it back to Kr? In that case you wouldn't need time " to get used to everything", people just want to know, if their voices are heard.

[Green Storm]

7 minutes ago, Knaxxxi said:

We asked for NCSoft's transparency. What we got: Green Guy's transparency by gaslighting us all

 

I just want to mention that I will not participate in a discussion that involves this kind of attacks against any individual (whether it's me, NC employees or any other player). This is a typical example of choosing your words badly. I'm not talking about your opinion or what you asked, these can be legit, but don't bring the word "gaslighting" here. This is your last warning!

 

2 minutes ago, dampfgurke said:

First of all, thank you for at least trying to communicate, we as a community are not used to that, sadly.

You say that you want to share information once you are ready to do so, but that seems a bit one-sided. Is it not also your job to collect the feedback that you get from the community and report it back to Kr? In that case you wouldn't need time " to get used to everything", people just want to know, if their voices are heard.

 

I've already started collecting feedback and digging deeper into the context of that feedback. Being heard is not something that brings answers to the questions and concerns that people express here. I need to better understand how things work behind the scenes to discuss this feedback. I also want to emphasize that it's more complicated than "report it back to Korea". 

 

My first reply in this thread was meant to show you that the community is heard. I've read forum posts (almost) every day since I started working in this role.  It's important to me (and to the community) that you're more than heard. I want to be able to provide answers later down the road and it will take me some time.

[Rikari Kayo]

12 minutes ago, Green Storm said:

 

I just want to mention that I will not participate in a discussion that involves this kind of attacks against any individual (whether it's me, NC employees or any other player). This is a typical example of choosing your words badly. I'm not talking about your opinion or what you asked, these can be legit, but don't bring the word "gaslighting" here. This is your last warning!

 

 

I've already started collecting feedback and digging deeper into the context of that feedback. Being heard is not something that brings answers to the questions and concerns that people express here. I need to better understand how things work behind the scenes to discuss this feedback. I also want to emphasize that it's more complicated than "report it back to Korea". 

 

My first reply in this thread was meant to show you that the community is heard. I've read forum posts (almost) every day since I started working in this role.  It's important to me (and to the community) that you're more than heard. I want to be able to provide answers later down the road and it will take me some time.

i already like you for your honest and open way of answering

[Green Storm]

Just now, Wesker said:

i already like you for your honest and open way of answering

 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share this feedback!

 

I want to reiterate that everyone CAN express their opinions and questions. In fact I want every player to (we community managers read A LOT and we absorb a lot of that mass feedback). But please do it by respecting these values: 1) Respect; 2) No threats; 3) No harassment or defamation; 4) Being constructive. You can absolutely disagree with me, but I ask that you do it in a way that will not send us down a path where emotions run high and we're actually not discussing the topic.

 

I do intend to use our moderation tools more strictly in the future, but not for a while and until everyone has had time to understand and adapt. My goal in doing so and setting the rules is to enable healthier discussions. I know that I'm a change to this community. Some (most?) of you have been here for many years and it will take some time for everyone to find their own way to make this work.

 

I'll also mention that I've been a Community Manager for more than 10 years now and I know that a focus on more positive discussions has direct benefits. A lot of players don't contribute to places where they don't feel comfortable, and it can be caused by a variety of reasons. While the game is the most important part of why we're on these forums, the discussions are why we return! A community is its own thing and I've seen firsthand the amazing things it can do.

[Fohl Hakuko]

I like greeny guy already LMAOOOO he came in here guns blasting.

People complaining about things out of their control has run rampant and it has made the community a very toxic and short-sighted place. People don't put any effort into questions, ask rhetorical or barbed questions, or flat out insult people. There's nothing constructive!

 

I've been playing this game and leading my guild for three years, and I've always done my best to be realistic about expectations and shot calls from NCSoft, whether they were good or bad. I happened to personally know that half of the people posting on these threads blasting NCSoft don't even play the game any more. I was given a link to this discussion thread by someone who doesn't play the game any more. Alot of the hatred for the game is coming from older players, and it's always put a damper on the feelings of the new ones who come in. Examples?

 

Soul boost? Amazing for new players! It lets them get a head start and helps make our daily grind more rewarding.

Who kept complaining about it..? Older toxic players who were whining about how an event literally geared towards the newer half other playerbase didn't help them as much. "It's not fair!"

 

Call to Arms? Same thing. Amazing boosting event meant for new players, and yet older players kept whining about how horrible the event was, since it didn't help them as much.

 

As I mentioned before... shortsightedness. Lack of proper critical thinking. 

 

 

Not that I agree with all of NCSoft's decisions, but I hardly think they've made only poor ones. Keep blasting greeny guy, defending yourself is leagues better than no response at all. To many, silence is admission of guilt!

Edited February 15, 2022 by Fohl Hakuko

[Fohl Hakuko]

>  and yet older players kept whining about how horrible the event was

 

Just to clarify, these exact same older players were the one blasting NCSoft for making the game "non-new player friendly", while they ruin the spirits of new players through this kind of behavior. Wow!

[Lägêrtha]

19 minutes ago, Fohl Hakuko said:

Soul boost? Amazing for new players! It lets them get a head start and helps make our daily grind more rewarding.

Who kept complaining about it..? Older toxic players who were whining about how an event literally geared towards the newer half other playerbase didn't help them as much. "It's not fair!"

 

Call to Arms? Same thing. Amazing boosting event meant for new players, and yet older players kept whining about how horrible the event was, since it didn't help them as much.

I have lived through couple generations of "old" players since 2016 and I have never saw any of them complaining about this kind of events that helps gearing up. Would you care to elaborate where you got to hear (read) this what you are claiming here?

[Shiro]

Green Storm I like your honest replies already, hope you keep up like this and don't just become "dead" after a bit like most others we had.

[Lägêrtha]

3 minutes ago, Shiro said:

Green Storm I like your honest replies already, hope you keep up like this and don't just become "dead" after a bit like most others we had.

Lol, he sure will go silent when he will have nothing to tell to us. Problems we are facing and that people are complain about right now have nothing to do with community manager and can't be solved with communication on forums.

 

Its a month now since people cant enter Den of Ancients, which is part of ongoing event. Its been a month now that people don't know what to do with upgrades from Soul Boost event considering amounts are bugged and no-one knows how they going to fix it, if they even will. All this are technical problems that would not get patched into game to start with by any serious company.

 

Should I even mention that half of player base is running game with cheat engine speed clearing dungeons? That some people are literally supporting their families and earning a monthly salary with selling cheat runs in TC HM? Or that half of players would not know how to do their classes dps rotation if there is no XML edit?

 

So yeah, someone might say pointing out this is not "being constructive", but from my point of view telling the truth when people are avoiding to tackle real problems and running around them is for sure very constructive 😉

[Fohl Hakuko]

Sure:

- Faction chat on EVERY single instance I logged in, had multiple people typing up a storm about how bad the event was for them and how it gave nothing. Inspection upon their geared showed that they had been progressing for quite a while.

 

- Multiple threads on forums complaining about it, whenever these events were happening.

 

- Any clan discord I went into had someone complaining at some point throughout the week about the event.

--

 

Hope it helps, and do keep in mind that this just my experience and judgement. Perhaps you weren't online when the complainers were, or perhaps I was online ONLY when the complainers were online too. Everyones experience is unique!

[Fohl Hakuko]

52 minutes ago, Lägêrtha said:

I have lived through couple generations of "old" players since 2016 and I have never saw any of them complaining about this kind of events that helps gearing up. Would you care to elaborate where you got to hear (read) this what you are claiming here?

^^ forgot to quote

[Lägêrtha]

1 hour ago, Fohl Hakuko said:

^^ forgot to quote

About faction chat, its close to very bottom of my priorities to read it, but then considering im doing stuff on multiple characters i still spend quite some time looking at it every week. I have saw quite some people complaining about event because rewards and upgrades are bugged, but haven't saw anything in line of what you are saying. About forum, im pretty sure i have red at least briefly every single topic since Soul Boost is out, and there is't anything here what you are saying. Can't comment on your clan discord though 😉

From my point of view bottom line is, blaming things on players when NC is giving new people bugged event to gear up is just distraction from the real problem. Do you think even if it's all as you say, that couple jerks telling stuff in some faction chat is more demotivating for new players than being blocked to progress and get the gains from event than NC designed specially for them?

Edited February 16, 2022 by Lägêrtha

[Immunity]

4 hours ago, Green Storm said:

I've already started collecting feedback and digging deeper into the context of that feedback. Being heard is not something that brings answers to the questions and concerns that people express here. I need to better understand how things work behind the scenes to discuss this feedback. I also want to emphasize that it's more complicated than "report it back to Korea". 

 

My first reply in this thread was meant to show you that the community is heard. I've read forum posts (almost) every day since I started working in this role.  It's important to me (and to the community) that you're more than heard. I want to be able to provide answers later down the road and it will take me some time.

may i suggest that you write a little note in the topics you read like "thanks for your feedback. it will be forwarded to the appropriate person. please be patient while i try to get an answer."?

i think getting any response is better than feeling ignored.

[Lägêrtha]

5 hours ago, Green Storm said:

I keep learning about the game from multiple sources, including playing it...

👏
Missed this part first time reading, ok now this sounds like serious effort 😉

[Uldrum]

10 hours ago, Green Storm said:

Happy to discuss this further!

Thanks for the big response.

[sojaa]

9 hours ago, Green Storm said:

 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to share this feedback!

 

I want to reiterate that everyone CAN express their opinions and questions. In fact I want every player to (we community managers read A LOT and we absorb a lot of that mass feedback). But please do it by respecting these values: 1) Respect; 2) No threats; 3) No harassment or defamation; 4) Being constructive. You can absolutely disagree with me, but I ask that you do it in a way that will not send us down a path where emotions run high and we're actually not discussing the topic.

 

I do intend to use our moderation tools more strictly in the future, but not for a while and until everyone has had time to understand and adapt. My goal in doing so and setting the rules is to enable healthier discussions. I know that I'm a change to this community. Some (most?) of you have been here for many years and it will take some time for everyone to find their own way to make this work.

 

I'll also mention that I've been a Community Manager for more than 10 years now and I know that a focus on more positive discussions has direct benefits. A lot of players don't contribute to places where they don't feel comfortable, and it can be caused by a variety of reasons. While the game is the most important part of why we're on these forums, the discussions are why we return! A community is its own thing and I've seen firsthand the amazing things it can do.

This is AWESOME.  Give him some time figure us and the game out.  🙂

[Supertaro]

20 hours ago, PervertedLyn said:

You new to this game ? it has been like this for years. Since they noticed the PC market dosent make the money.

No I am not, I'm a veteran player, and I know it's been like this for years, but since he's new I do not want to start blasting him and blame him it's been like this, because it's not his fault.

 

 

10 hours ago, Green Storm said:

 

I want to take a few minutes to address your post and, at the same time, other posts that I've been reading over the past few weeks (I've been reading forum posts every day). I'm still busy getting settled in my new role for Blade & Soul. I need to fully understand how things work behind the scenes before I can start answering players' questions and share more information. There are many new people to work with, processes to know, and goals to think about. It's not an easy task to catch up on an MMO with a long history and an experienced community with a set of expectations, but I will try my best!

 

I keep learning about the game from multiple sources, including playing it, so that I can have a lot of background information about all the content I'll be covering in the future. I made the conscious decision not to jump right away into the forums because my feeling was that I wouldn't have a lot of interesting things to say. It is my long-term goal to become an active participant here, but I also want to do it in a way that will benefit the community. I also intend to engage more Blade & Soul players on social media, but again this will happen later.

 

That being said, I would like players to stop tagging me in their posts. Please focus on your feedback and questions. I want to remind everyone about the current Code of Conduct, which I will be updating fairly soon. I encourage all players to express their feedback, questions, or concerns, but it's equally important to do it in a way that satisfies these values: 1) Respect; 2) No threats; 3) No harassment or defamation; 4) Being constructive. This is in no way a demand to not address difficult topics or to censor yourself, but I would like everyone to make an effort about the way discussions happen on the forums. Chose your words with care because they help define the Blade & Soul forum community. They can be more inviting or share more understanding of your perspective.

 

Happy to discuss this further!

Thank you for the reaction and even further discussion in this thread. Possibly seen from a lot of answers we're not used to this kind of forum activity, so I think this is a big step in the good direction regarding communication with us! 🙂

I'll stop with the tagging, it's probably a lot of extra stuff besides everything you need to get used to right now. I hope everything else you need to get used to is going well! I'm just happy we got some clarification regarding this issue. It shows that you'd care about the forums but not just ready yet to really dive into them.

Thank you!