New players - Game Viability

[Virtuous]

I DO NOT agree with this at all Gazza. players these days have everything, and I mean everything handed to them - need resources? ask in TO and a dozen people will tell you to post a fish for what you can hold. need buildings, generals, or other gem items? you can buy most off trade, pretty cheap, and can have others gifted to you, or just wait and BB will "donate" a fancy general to your island when it's event time. there is nothing wrong with lower level players (or any player for that matter) using tavern generals to do a WOTS or HB and if "THEY" want (if they like/enjoy the game), they might spend money and get a BHG or MMA. the point being, every player that loves/likes/enjoys this game, works hard for what they have and works hard for each level they gain, and nothing, NOTHING, should ever take the place of that. the leveling up process in this game is one of the reasons that make it a GREAT game (the other being the chat). if a newbie is unable or unwilling to tackle that process, then maybe this game isn't for them and they should go play chutes n ladders or candy land.

I agree with what Frodo69 said here, wholeheartedly, these days there are loads and loads of people over lvl 50 that have no clue, their islands are massively cluttered with useless things, they have basement lvl storage cap, they have no production of major resources, no idea what an LS is, let alone what to do with one, they are lvling waaaaay too fast as it is, havent had the time to learn the game. I have played for 6 years this Feb (only ever missing like 5 days total due to server issues) and I am only lvl 51, I was lvl 35 for like 4 years, building up resource buildings, generals, event items, etc. I earned my level and watched many people in a rush to lvl and then quit later because they have no idea what to do or where to go, not to mention really frustrated that they are at the right lvl to do FT's but don't have the population or the gens to even consider doing them. The players level has no bearing on whether they stay playing the game, it's what they get out of actually playing the game and if they are tentative enough to play this kind of game.

This is the whole "trophy for participating" thing all over again, so many kids these days don't want to work for anything or earn anything, they want it all handed to them and then whine if they don't. Life is work, same with games, learn to play the game like the rest of us players did, go through the levels at a proper pace and learnt he game, build your island/resources/population. etc. When I started playing this game, the only hens available were tavern generals and the Vet was a massive boost to playing the game, n00bs have it far far too easy as it is and to just hand everything over to them so they don't have to put in any effort is just ridiculous and insulting as well as disrespectful to us experienced players that worked very hard for what we have achieved.

A persons in-game level means nothing really, what means something is experience and how you have developed within the game in the time you have played, also, a person who has more experienced and played longer have gained the knowledge of their playing to better themselves in the game, I see loads and loads of higher lvl players that have been playing for like a week/month/year whatever, yet I can accomplish more at my lower level than they are able to at their higher level, mainly because they haven't learned the game properly and only focussed on lvling in which they got hand outs to accomplish to begin with. As the old sayings go "there is no substitute for experience" and "you can feed a person for one day by handing them a fish, but teach them to fish and they can feed themselves forever".

There is a lot more to this game than the lvl of your character and only the pampered players that have basically been here a week (compared to us old folks) have no true concept of the game itself as proven by their lack of abilities once reaching their high levels. Being a high level means nothing if you don't have the knowledge, resources, population, materials, specialists, generals, etc to make use of that level efficiently.

I see multiple posts concentrated on the faster leveling aspect and helping people to "reach the higher levels of the older players", why are so many people concerned about leveling or catching up to others in the game in regards to their level? Look, this game has nobody coming to attack your city, your level means NOTHING, you want a goal, go after the island production and development, thats a goal more suited for this game. Look at my island, I am a lowly lvl 51 after almost 6 years of playing, not because I didnt play the game, but because I was in no hurry to reach 50 (which was cap at the time), yet I kept up with everyone and even surpassed many with accumulated things like 29 explorers, 7 (soon to be 8) MMA's, all 3 Champs, 2 MG's, 3 Dracs, 6 BHG's, 6 Vets, etc. I have had my max limit on gem pits, my island is comparable with any of the higher ranking lvl players (specially those lvling to like 50+ in a year or less).

Want to make some significant changes to the game? Want to make things more captivating?
Here are some suggestions

-Allow the ability to select mails by type or to select one and shift click a lower one to select all in-between for deleting them
-Add experience for island progression (not just for adventuring) such as buildings, upgrading, etc
-Allow the ability to relocate Storehouses (even only Imp SH's)
-Give out free building location times for a week every year or 6 months (there has only been one in the almost 6 years I been playing)
-Add more Gem pits to the limit every once in while
-Allow people to demolish ALL the demo-able rocks and not just a fraction of them
-Allow building placement on areas where trees have been removed
-Allow purchases of any amount of tavern gens a person would like
-Allow the option of getting 1 more of each champ ( for completing special quests to unlock it)
-Allow a buff usable in Adv's that allow instant returns after battle
-Make it that people have to complete a specific amount of level related quests completely before being allowed to gain the next level (ensuring that the person has actually gained the knowledge required for progression)
-Allow instant returns to island from Advs (when completed, not if cancelled or quick finished)
-Add new expansion zones to the home island every year/6 months
-Allow the option to choose if your gen lands on land in an adv when sent or in Star menu (or even the option to choose where they land on the ground in the adv)
-Allow the new players to earn the Gens, specialists, etc the same way we all did that have been playing for a while (offer them the amount of those gens, specialists, etc up to everyone's limit during the specific events we all got ours in, as well as available for purchase for gems if they don't want to wait for events or work to gain the resources for them)
-Also (as suggested by someone earlier) Offer a "beginners pack" (available to EVERYBODY not just newcomers, to be fair to us experienced players too)
-Another previous suggestion, instantly insert newcomers into a starts guild led by either volunteer experienced players (with incentives possibly) or by MOD's to teach and mentor the newcomers on how to get started and advice on progression, etc.
-Allow more ways to earn Gems, either through adv's, quests, progression goals, etc
-Allow the ability to earn or purchase higher limits of things like Gold Towers, Gens, Specialists, gem pits, etc (allow everything to have a limit increase either earned through quests/acheesements or by purchasing with gems)
-Give rewards to people for loyalty to the game and long standing commitment to the game, larger more valuable gifts for the longer amounts of time playing consecutively, give people this kind of incentive to stay current with the game (resetting when people are away for like a month or so, they reset back to day 1), like every 6 months of playing they get a reward for sticking with it, each level would be a better and more valuable gift

That's what I can think of off the top of my head currently. sorry for such a long post, but I have no idea how to say it all shorter, it was either one long post or multiple short posts lol.

[Iczerone]

I say work for it. this isn't a pay to win, you have to play build and go on adventures. If your go straight to 40 50 60 then there's no point in playing and i would quit and find another game. I help new players all the time and those putting effort into growing. those that quit around 30 or so just realize this game isn't for them, you can't change that.

[Schipperke]

Personally, I enjoyed the process of starting from scratch and learning the game. Building up my island, learning to adventure, always having a goal to work toward, whether that goal was to earn enough granite for the next upgrade or to level up and unlock a new type of troops. I was given assistance by higher level players, and I appreciate that a lot. But I have to say that it wouldn't have been near as much fun to have been given everything. I liked the feeling of achievement that came from reaching my goals, and then striving for the next goal. In fact, I liked it so much that when I reached level 64 on one server I decided to open an account on a different server. Frankly, the new account is more interesting to me because of what I just mentioned - the striving to reach goals, the feeling of achievement. At level 64 I'm not unlocking anything new when I level up, and it gets boring doing the same adventures all the time just because they're the ones with the most xp.

[KingHomer]

I have not read every post here so I apologize for this if it's already been covered... this is in response to Gazza's post not anything since then.

The only level and content in this game not achievable easily if you are willing to buy the first gem pit (and patiently wait for it to enable the second one and so on) and do some level grinding on premium is the pathfinder. You can also achieve a gem pit by patience - a lot of patience - I ended up getting all 10 gem pits without buying gems, but had I spent money early in the game this is where I wish I had spent it.

As far as new players vs old players... I play a few games where there is a rank by players who joined in ____ month. So if you joined in November 2017 (i.e. now), you could see how you were doing against players in your month. There are also ranks overall for the top players, including ranks for secndary activities - which here might be tied to colonies conquered, scenarios run, coops run, etc to promote different approaches to the game.

Here, for some reason, there is no rank. You can't tell except by asking if you are ahead of or behind a player on xp, which in the upper levels is potentially a 50 or 100 million xp difference. I am racing another player in my guild to level 72... we have to ask each other every few days for xp updates, not sure why, we're friend-listed, in the same guild, at the same level...

I know BB has said they won't provide a rank by xp or level list in the past, I just think a rank by join month would give newer players a way to be competitive in level grinding without having to always look at the top players and know they can't catch up.

[Pochucker]

This game is ridiculously easy now compared to what it used to be! Yet people continue to whine for faster /easier etc. Will these people stick around when all there goals are met -not likely -move on somewhere else for instant gratification. Yes the game needs to start thinking soon about new content for higher levs because its doubtful many will stick around like they did when we were lev 50 capped forever. At least then we had a viable chat community which we don't now.

[SN02]

Mordag,

I agree. We the players share in the responsibility.
"Maybe instead of asking BB to make it even easier for them we should stop gifting huge amount of resources (yes, I am guilty too), and teach them what we learned about production and adventures."

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.

[SN02]

Dorotheus,

The test server also crossed my mind.
Funny thing is I was not aware of the benefits of using it until I was level 50.
Downside of the test servers is you are constantly bombarded with quests completions to click. Hard to ignore.

A fair suggestion would be somehow to enter the test server at the same level you are in the main game. Then you can explore what is ahead without having to click through all of the lower level quest completions.

[Jondaur]

It took me 4 years to get to 50, mostly because I didnt interact with anyone. I didnt know how to properly run adventures, guides, silly things like being able to transfer walking right by enemy camps without being intercepted. That being said, I did enjoy the leveling up factor, it gave me something to work towards, although I certainly could have done much better if I had started talking to people sooner. I think the addition of mods was a huge step towards socialization, because the horrible trolling and rude comments were unbearable for me. Hopefully people will have fun leveling up more with global being much more civil. Maybe making an option to start at 50 or to start at one? I would have chosen to start at one because I like leveling up.

[smythreal]

Hey Gazza, first you rock in getting feedback.

With the few of us still here from Beta, its been a long journey full of changes, game issues and improvements, revolving door BB managers, and countless players that have left. I have found it has been the journey that has been the thing that has kept me with the game all these years. Part of that journey was leveling for me to put forth the effort to reach the goal of the next level the next level of new content. I feel it is already too easy to level now with the prem time and buying loot spots which I feel has taken away from the challenge to make it once to level 50 and now level 75. I have stopped leveling well over a year ago due to no content above level 63 that is worth the effort in my opinion. I am content to help new players I come across and give them whatever need, advice, game friendship, name of a good guild to join if they want to take that path , or a mil or two of gold to buy themselves a score of levels. I feel that UBISOFT and BlueByte have decided to let this game run its course and replace it in the (hopefully far far) near future. I am dismayed with the lack of advertising to bring in new players and the failed effort to replace it with Kingdoms of Anteria. Its just us diehards that are all that is left. Some the game is about leveling (again congratz on 74), some just to chat in G1, some to build guilds and some just to collect the rare junk buildings like harbor towers while praying and hoping for more new content for levels 64 and up to make it worth the effort to return to the leveling to obtain new content which is why I start the game.

So again thanks for sparking a little life into the game with a good debate.

Smythreal

squatty potty PK squatty potty

[TR_Master]

NO!