April 2017 Tuning Discussion - PRELIMINARY

[Nicko]

I'm copying a post I put in the PvP thread - but I know the developers read this one and am reposting it here.

I DO think the Prisoner needs a nerf and I have one. And I think some of the criticisms about him not helping win percentage are unfounded - ex Slauki has a 94% win percentage - because he carefully cherry picks teams. Others like Silent Knight don't - he's tenacious and will attack me multiple times until he wins - so assuming he does this with others, naturally his win percentage will be lower even with a Prisoner if he doesn't shy away from problem teams. Apples to Oranges here.

But the proposed change isn't a nerf - Silent Knight said it best - it's a castration

Anyway - after playing this since beta - I think the biggest impediment to a fun experience for most at this point is the point system. It would likely be dirt simple to change in the code and have a huge impact on everyone's experience. Why not simply reward defensive Holds but not penalize the losses? Or a light penalty of 2 points? A carrot instead of a stick.

Sparton - I know you said there are no plans to change the point system because you want to emphasize the importance of defense. But honestly, changes in defensive percentages don't offer proportionate rewards. And the effect of losses are really frustrating a lot of players.

Anyway - here's the repost...

A few of us like Rcarter and I have seen dramatically decreased attacks - and many haven't. And I agree with what RCarter said - what a huge difference it makes as you go through the week.

As some have pointed out, there seems to be a fairly despondent untertone in this weeks thread. It's unfortunate. And honestly - a Prisoner nerf won't help. It's not the real issue.

While I've focused on it in the last few threads, I don't even think # of times attacked is the real issue. It's the most pertinent defense metric to determine ones success in the current environment (as evidenced in previous weeks by players with mediocre stats making top twenty five) but not the underlying issue.

It really needs to be addressed at the root - the point system.

People will work if they believe they'll make progress. If they perceive their return on their investment of resources - time, Ironite - is fair. But if it's "two steps forward/three steps back"? Ultimately frustration will prevail. And we're starting to see more and more of it.

There are those uber-competitive among us who will suck it up - curse - and then still play a lot in the current environment. But my sense is the more typical player will simply get frustrated - say PvP is not fun anymore - and quietly walk away. And even the Uber-competitive have their limits...

I think ultimately this will need to be addressed. Personally, I think eliminating or greatly reducing the repercussions from having ones defense broken would have increased overall satisfaction significantly more than a massive Prisoner nerf.

A light Prisoner nerf and a restructuring of the point system ( as opposed to a massive Prisoner nerf in the current unfair point system) would - in my opinion - really improve the morale of the player base and help a lot of these negative undertones resolve (some will remain as there will always be complainers).

No update has happened yet. I hope the developers consider the above before any changes are made.