Kardas calling it quits

[Kardas]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking about this a long time, and I feel at the end of the year is the perfect time to stop. So on January 1 2018 I’m uninstalling the game.
Why? Well, a lot has happened. When I started playing LotB in June 2016 I was still a university student struggling with his thesis and a developing anxiety disorder with a lot of time on his hands. Since then I’ve been able to complete my thesis, graduate, confront my anxiety problem, get a job that I like, and move in with my girlfriend. I have developed a lot over the past 18 months. And at this point, I feel LotB is only holding me back, as most of my free time goes into it. I’d like to play a different game for once. Finish StarCraft (1 and 2!) for instance, or try out a new mod for Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds. Be a real Dutchman and do all my commuting by bike Find a theater group where I live, and/or get involved with one of the political parties here. All of which would conflict with LotB obligations. That, and our apartment still needs some work.

What isn’t helping is that all the events make it very hard to decide to take a break, as there’s always some character that isn’t normally available to be gotten. And I’ve noticed that I simply can’t play casual. Got to burn those Sands, always. So LotB is something I can’t afford to do anymore. At least I have all the characters I really wanted (not to mention, Aces is the only day1 toon I don’t have yet), and PVP was always a means to an end for me, so I have no problem about never having been Eternal. It’s been a fun ride at least, and it was cool to see the game develop itself. Too bad I’ll never play Night City. Ah well, I should check out those comics maybe. ‘Sides, it’s not all bad. I’m sure NF will be happy that they don’t need to worry if the game will run on my poor old phone anyway.

Before I go, there’s still a few issues I’d like to get off my chest.

First off, female character representation. When I started playing back in the Roadhouse days, I was actually really happy that there was a female character in a game with a big role that wasn’t sexualized. Plus the way the Harpies were designed felt very Maiden-ish and appropriate for the world. I did have a bad gut feeling when the Eternals were redesigned and Clairvoyant got an obvious boob-and-butt pose for her artwork, but I shrugged it off. “Fine, you can have one time”, I thought. So imagine how disappointed I was in the Valkyries’ designs. And I’m not the only one. Even now they still get referred to as “hentai” toons. And then again with the Mayan Priestesses and Lady Azov. I was hoping to prove NF wrong with the Priestesses, but unfortunately there is next to nothing on ancient Mayan clothing on Google. At least I can say with certainty that Azov’s stilettos are stupid and not at all period-appropriate. Look, I like this game, but the way it’s going, it’s gonna end up on bikinarmorbattledamage , I’d rather not see it get slagged, even if there is a great reason to. NF, you think you’re being creative here? You’re not. All the male and mechanical characters in this game get to be cool, funny, menacing, badass, etc. but the female characters are consistently stuck in one square on the board: being sexy. So do me a favor and remember that there are more women out there than pin-up models. This game, Iron Maiden, and metal should be for everyone. And the way it’s going, it feels like you’re only catering to ‘horny teenagers’.

Second, you all know I’ve written a lot of reference threads. Of the many I wrote, there’s a few I still regularly update: Character drops, Healers, Immunity & Cleansers, Buff removers, Marks & Burns, Talismans, and Permadeath (also XP Runes but that one doesn’t need updates). Considering NF’s high pace of releasing new characters, it’s probably best to let the Healers, Immunity & Cleansers, Buff removers, Marks & Burns, and Permadeath rest, or you’re gonna be swamped with edits every update. But the Talisman and Character threads are still really important resources, and I’d rather not see them go out of date. So I suggest someone here copies what I’ve written there and makes new threads out of them so they can be kept up to date. Beware though: almost every single reference post I’ve made is only a few words away from the 10K character limit so it’s best to split some of the posts up some more. Especially if more characters and Talismans are being added at the rate they are now.

Finally, for kicks I made a chart showing all my 5* drops in the past 18 months, and I wanted to share it with you considering how lopsided it is:

Additional highlights include:
PDK was my first 5*. And my second. And my third.
It took me a full year to get a 5* from a Rare Gun/Assassin Soul (Rainmaker). It also took me half a year to get a 4* from them.
It also took me a full year to get a 5* from a Legendary Soul (PDK, surprise).

Other than that, it’s been a fun ride. I want to thank everyone for their contributions on the forums, and I wish you the best.
Cheers,
Kardas

[Mariner-1212]

Sorry to see you go, man. Definitely sounds like you're bettering your life, and I hope things continue to move in that positive direction! Best wishes for you in whatever your future holds \m/

[Sidney]

You will be a sadly missed Trooper!! Thanks for all the badges and best of luck to you! Your insight and input into the forums I will miss more than the badges!!! I think there will be many to follow you in the near future. A game is supposed to be fun and a temporary distraction, but with the time that this one requires, it's more like a second job.

Best of luck to you and sorry to see you go!!

Sidney

[Coletrain]

Sad to see you go since you've been such an influential member, but when one door closes another opens and it sounds like life is going your way. Best of luck in your future endeavors Kardas.

[Askora]

Sounds like you've got a good plan, and far better things to worry about than lotb. Sad to see you go, but sounds like a good choice. I've only just made it past the 1 year mark and the game is more habit than anything. Take care and best of luck with everything.

[Dank Brew]

Well that's sad to hear you're quitting. You were the most helpful forum member without anyone even asking you to be, and that will be missed greatly. Have a good new year and take care.

[Bradata]

Thanks to your reference threads most of us had such success playing LOTB, I for one can easily say that 90% of the help I got here was from your threads for which I am very sad to read what you had to say about quitting but then I am very happy for you for having the guts to call it quits. I may not have been very active in the forums but I have logged in pretty much every day and can say that MANY of the best and long time forum member are gone or at least they don't post anything anymore.
Thank you again for all the help you've been to all of us and wish you all the best.

[osiris0000]

Oh man, this is something that really hurts to see, but i understand you very well as being one of the LotB elders playing since june 2016. We started to play this game and evolved all together here, i am very glad to meet with you and some others and the friendship we have. No one can argue against about your contribution to forums and interesting insights, you will be missed here a lot.

But one way i am glad that you are going to improve your life in a better way, and we will keep contact. Wish you all the best brother!

[Kardas]

Aw, thank you all for the nice comments! Truly, I am touched.

[slauki]

this one really makes me sad and happy at the same time. glad that you have mastered your life in such a great way and that you are willing to take the next step.

but man, you were a hell of a player, a hell of a contributer and what is the most impostant part a hell of a cool guy who will be really missed here.

thanks for all the insights and for all the work you put in to make this a better place, hope we will keep in touch in some way.


cheers buddy