The real reason why end game is NOT fun and everyone is leaving

John, they have to start wielding the banhammer. Right now they're just trolling reddit to care about the econnomy.

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THEHORNEDRAT wrote:

John, they have to start wielding the banhammer. Right now they're just trolling reddit to care about the econnomy.

wielding the banhammer, is like swinging away at a swarm of flies.
you'll catch 10, 100, even a thousand maybe - but the swarm is still there. in tact.

my key point in every single post I wrote about the loot and crafting system since Open Beta started. is the need to cut the lifeline of the real-money traders: remove the pile of manure, above which the swarm of flies circles.

the reward-per-effort curve needs to be fair, for the average-luck player.
not too rewarding, and not "out in the desert to die" like in my case.

consider this the ultimate TL;DR :)

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jamesl wrote:

totally depends on what you mean by hardcore
the Schaefers were completely against respeccing in Diablo - they barely put it in TL
Max LOVED PKing in Diablo 2

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If you can tell me what's actually 'hardcore' about the game, I'll have no problem buying in to what the devs are selling.

That's the whole problem, isn't it ? I don't really know either. But the devs' obsession with "hardcore" is, judging by their manifesto.
For example, accuracy is apprently absolutely needed because it's a "hardcore mechanic". Among other things.

It seems to me their idea is to collect every rule or mechanic they view as "hardcore" (which could mean very different things to different players) stitch them together and expect the result to be "ultra-hardcore".

That's not working. The result at this point performs badly (desync, for one - largely a product of design choices) has very low actual diversity, isn't rewarding, has abysmal balance and very shallow gameplay. It's only "hardcore" in the extent of its grinding and one-hit-kill mob abilities.

Worse, it's not getting better as time passes. Quite the reverse. The game is much less interesting in OB that it was back in CB.

I think most of that stems from GGG's design goals. Collecting "hardcore" features just does not make a game. It creates some sort of Frankenstein monster.

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johnKeys wrote:

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THEHORNEDRAT wrote:

John, they have to start wielding the banhammer. Right now they're just trolling reddit to care about the econnomy.

wielding the banhammer, is like swinging away at a swarm of flies.
you'll catch 10, 100, even a thousand maybe - but the swarm is still there. in tact.

my key point in every single post I wrote about the loot and crafting system since Open Beta started. is the need to cut the lifeline of the real-money traders: remove the pile of manure, above which the swarm of flies circles.

the reward-per-effort curve needs to be fair, for the average-luck player.
not too rewarding, and not "out in the desert to die" like in my case.

consider this the ultimate TL;DR :)

Yes, and you also lock away currency. Another sink. Then GGG can also rebalance or intervene in the economy if they choose to do so by releasing currency from banned accounts back into the economy. Apparently thats what CCP does for EVE.

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tobes111 wrote:

Agree with ^^

Having spent 3

on trying to 5L this stupid thing:--

I didn't think Exalted's manipulate item sockets?

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Nicholas_Steel wrote:

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tobes111 wrote:

Agree with ^^

Having spent 3

on trying to 5L this stupid thing:--

I didn't think Exalted's manipulate item sockets?

He obviously exchanged exalts for about 100 fusing orbs.

Re the OP -
The "End Game" is more "Game Ender" at this point.
The death tax is unacceptably high given the risk/reward balance.
The drop rate of maps is so insanely low that the end game map section is virtually inaccessible.
And before you elitists get all high wide and handsome on me - I levelled from 69 to 73 running docks and found a total of just 3 maps (if you have played this game you will know how many runs that is to make 4 level ups at that character level).
I ran all three maps. In two of the maps I found a single map for a total now of 5. The other three maps dropped no maps at all.
After investing in a character to level 73 or even 65 - I really do not see the logic in making the end game so inaccessible to players.
And do not bother to tell me I need some souped up gear with mega enhanced increased item quantity - because that is no excuse for an inaccessible end game.
What is the point of making it so hard to find maps when maps are the endgame?
Does GGG want to create maps as a new "currency item"?

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Skjuld wrote:

For example, accuracy is apprently absolutely needed because it's a "hardcore mechanic". Among other things.

I boggled when I read this in the manifesto. In what possible way is accuracy hardcore? Or not hardcore? How can you apply "hardcore" to a game mechanic in isolation like this? Apparently in this instance "hardcore" simply means "because all those old games did it". The only reason to-hit rolls are in computer rpgs in the first place is because D&D did it and from the earliest days crpgs cribbed mechanics wholesale from D&D, even when they didn't make sense in their new context.

Chris also said that other games that had removed accuracy (or made several other design choices such as allowing melee hits at a distance) were "cheat[ing] on certain aspects of the simulation". Lets be clear here, nothing in this game is simulating anything remotely realistic, and nor should it be. A mechanic like accuracy has to be justified on its own terms, not with respect to how well it "simulates" some other system.

Now, I suppose it's possible that when Chris said "cheat[ing] on certain aspects of the simulation" he meant something like "cheat[ing] on the internal consistency of the simulation". An example of this would be allowing melee hits at a distance in D3. This would be a perfectly valid thing to say.

Back to the "hardcore" thing. Chess doesn't have accuracy. I guess chess is casual.

Without accuracy, there is no evasion.

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SL4Y3R wrote:

Without accuracy, there is no evasion.

Very enlightening.