I don't think Bioware can stop player drop off... but they can still make the multiplayer 'playable' for those of us willing to stick to it:
They should make coop AI-bots. At least we don't have to play solo, and depending upon how good the scripting AI is for the bots, they may (potentially) be better than random pugs.
I would suggest their next-next DLC be focused on this.
Hm...it's losing its luster for me too, but not for those reasons. I've encountered matchmaking problems before but being in a good region allows me to find a working lobby almost immediately afterward.
I had all these plans to climb the rankings, hit 40/40/40 and just pick one stat to mass promote...but for absolutely no reason I was playing yesterday and felt little interest. Like a switch was flipped. Two uneventful perilous speedruns and I just thought, "...maybe I should do something else tonight." I think it occurred to me that promotions were the only thing I had left. Got multiple of my most desired weapons, played all the levels at every difficulty countless times, played every class to my liking...
I didn't expect it, but I guess that was my limit. Wonder if that's happening to other, more casual, players as well.
I have played with V3gan before. I think I happened to random into a lobby run by friends of his, maybe a few weeks ago. At my low promotes compared to theirs, they carried me pretty effectively. Think I carried my weight, but it felt more like I was walking beside three whirlwinds of death. They let me stay for two runs and then I left out of guilt and, partially, boredom. Certainly didn't seem very elitist.
Most of the people I used to normally group with are bored/unchallenged. They are looking forward to the next patch to see if it is even remotely challenging. If it isn't, it will be the final nail in the coffin and many people are planning to quit entirely; myself included.
...but for absolutely no reason I was playing yesterday and felt little interest. Like a switch was flipped.
I ran into that as well. It feels like I"m grinding/farming xp these days. It's not what it used to be where a mistake would cost the team the match.
I have played with V3gan before. I think I happened to random into a lobby run by friends of his, maybe a few weeks ago. At my low promotes compared to theirs, they carried me pretty effectively. Think I carried my weight, but it felt more like I was walking beside three whirlwinds of death. They let me stay for two runs and then I left out of guilt and, partially, boredom. Certainly didn't seem very elitist.
You did not have to leave/feel guilty. If you were bored, that's another story.
You did not have to leave/feel guilty. If you were bored, that's another story.
For sure, they were kind enough to let me stay without a word, even though I couldn't contribute much at their speed. It's just a personal thing for me; being carried that much makes me a little uncomfortable.
Ohhh a Veramis sighting!
Yep. I wish he were still active in the game as well as the forums.
I have played with V3gan before. I think I happened to random into a lobby run by friends of his, maybe a few weeks ago. At my low promotes compared to theirs, they carried me pretty effectively. Think I carried my weight, but it felt more like I was walking beside three whirlwinds of death. They let me stay for two runs and then I left out of guilt and, partially, boredom. Certainly didn't seem very elitist.
We have some friends in common and they had invited me to play a few games.
I've been called an elitist on the forums a few times, it is actually funny. I believe most sensible people who have played with me think otherwise.
Most of the people I used to normally group with are bored/unchallenged. They are looking forward to the next patch to see if it is even remotely challenging. If it isn't, it will be the final nail in the coffin and many people are planning to quit entirely; myself included.
That is some heartbreaking negativism...
That is some heartbreaking negativism...
Space, it's not negative. And I am taking a pro-active roll testing in beta for this reason. I would rather continue to play DAMP. Friends as well.
*pulls up a chair and popcorn for dramatic thread browsing*
Rarely ever do I feel priviledged playing on humble PS3, but I've got about 10-15 friends online most nights and a pretty steady group I run with. Perilous pugs aren't terribly common but most of the time I can find a few threatening ones. I don't know about other leaderboards, but people are still hustling prestige pretty hard these days.
Hopelessly dedicated PS3 community ftw! (But if BW is reading this plz still fix all the s*** we need fixed.)
At evenings I can still find 25+ Online/In game people, however, this number decreases rapidly and at night the situation starts to become dire. Unfortunately I can only play at late nights, and that is when the game playerbase is at its worst number-wise.
The community on PC is not entirely dead per se, but at the moment divided, as some players have moved to Beta testing/grinding/farming. That is one issue you wouldn't find on PS3.
Take a break and come back if and when they invest more time into the multiplayer game development. Sadly multiplayer is a poor relative to the singleplayer game. My view is they should create a dedicated dragon age universe multiplayer game and cut their losses with this compromised effort.
Taking a break is a nice piece of advice. But I can't simply take a break, I am not a casual player.
The multiplayer today is lackluster for sure. Had Bioware listened to the constructive suggestions and complaints made by the playerbase (not the whiny nerfs and buffs) things could have been different. Unfortunately, Bioware seems to ignore the idea of after-sales services altogether.
At evenings I can still find 25+ Online/In game people, however, this number decreases rapidly and at night the situation starts to become dire. Unfortunately I can only play at late nights, and that is when the game playerbase is at its worst number-wise.
The community on PC is not entirely dead per se, but at the moment divided, as some players have moved to Beta testing/grinding/farming. That is one issue you wouldn't find on PS3.
Taking a break is a nice piece of advice. But I can't simply take a break, I am not a casual player.
The multiplayer today is lackluster for sure. Had Bioware listened to the constructive suggestions and complaints made by the playerbase (not the whiny nerfs and buffs) things could have been different. Unfortunately, Bioware seems to ignore the idea of after-sales services altogether.
Can you be more specific about what was ignored that shouldn't have? Do you mean crashes/black screen/region lock and the like?
Can you be more specific about what was ignored that shouldn't have? Do you mean crashes/black screen/region lock and the like?
Matchmaking, Region-Lock, Blackscreen and all sorts of netcoding issues, progressive and meaningful loot, repeatable Challenges, guaranteed Unique Item awarded upon Weekend Challenge completion, Prestige/Loadout visible to other players in lobby, Full manifest/Challenges/Stats displayed on Inquisition HQ, universal Leaderboards including all players, regular release of new downloadable content, among others.
Matchmaking, Region-Lock, Blackscreen and all sorts of netcoding issues, progressive and meaningful loot, repeatable Challenges, guaranteed Unique Item awarded upon Weekend Challenge completion, Prestige/Loadout visible to other players in lobby, Full manifest/Challenges/Stats displayed on Inquisition HQ, universal Leaderboards including all players, regular release of new downloadable content, among others.
Some of these are being addressed, some have been addressed, some haven't been ignored but solutions are not easy, some of these are just opinions / suggestions rather than actual issues.
Netcode's defintely improved, game definitely more playable since launch. No bloody key bug (good riddance), fewer CTD's, better loot, more stable progression through crafting T3, to name a few.
There's definitely issues, but I don't see them ignored.
Taking a break is a nice piece of advice. But I can't simply take a break, I am not a casual player.
I am obviously not casual but I take breaks. Vegan just wants to stay on higher on the leaderboards. Hahah. 
I had all these plans to climb the rankings, hit 40/40/40 and just pick one stat to mass promote...but for absolutely no reason I was playing yesterday and felt little interest. Like a switch was flipped. Two uneventful perilous speedruns and I just thought, "...maybe I should do something else tonight." I think it occurred to me that promotions were the only thing I had left.
Same thing happened to me very early on. Maybe Jan. 2015. I already had 70+ willpower by then and decided to pop a lyrium potion. I saw how +60 willpower wasn't much for the effort spent grinding promotions. Then I stopped promoting altogether. Even if you beg me to promote now, I won't do it. I've had enough promotion grinding in this game.
I'm still playing, but obviously for different reasons. Testing new content, testing new theories, playing new builds, etc.
Same thing happened to me very early on. Maybe Jan. 2015. I already had 70+ willpower by then and decided to pop a lyrium potion. I saw how +60 willpower wasn't much for the effort spent grinding promotions.
Except WB has his mechanics wrong here, as Lyrium potion does not provide willpower at all. It provides 20 magic and temporarily increased mana.
Some of these are being addressed, some have been addressed, some haven't been ignored but solutions are not easy, some of these are just opinions / suggestions rather than actual issues.
They may be opinions/suggestions, but they have been mentioned a number of times by the playerbase. Most of them could, if implemented, contribute positively to keeping a good number of players in the game, as well as coming back to the game.
They may be opinions/suggestions, but they have been mentioned a number of times by the playerbase. Most of them could, if implemented, contribute positively to keeping a good number of players in the game, as well as coming back to the game.
They're still design decisions, and aren't really required. Opinions may be your special snowflake, but I just want some ice cream. Have some faith they're working on stuff you'll like and enjoy your grind in the meantime. I certainly enjoyed all the additions since release.
Certainly there's balance changes I don't like, but those are trivial compared all the shiny new toys that have been added.
Except WB has his mechanics wrong here, as Lyrium potion does not provide willpower at all. It provides 20 magic and temporarily increased mana.
I did confuse willpower for magic. But is the tooltip wrong? It clearly says by 60, not by 20. I always assumed it worked that way 
I did confuse willpower for magic. But is the tooltip wrong? It clearly says by 60, not by 20. I always assumed it worked that way
I blame balance changes and poor memory (I last checked during single player). Either way, it is not willpower, and the numbers work differently for magic vs willpower.
I blame balance changes and poor memory (I last checked during single player). Either way, it is not willpower, and the numbers work differently for magic vs willpower.
I thought Magic worked the same as Willpower in the damage formula, except it only worked for mages. If not, please clarify. I am wondering if I missed something here...
And just so I am clear on what I meant:
Attributes
Magic
Willpower
- Increases attack_bonus by 0.5% for each point above 10 (mages only).
- Increases attack_bonus by 0.5% for each point above 10.
Damage Calculationfinal_damage = (base_damage * rand(0.95 to 1.05) - armor * (1 - armor_penetration)) * (ability_multiplier) * (1 + critical_damage_bonus + flanking_bonus) * (1 + attack_bonus + damage_multiplier + type_bonus) * (1 - magic_resistance)
Then why are you playing a casual game? Just play something else.Taking a break is a nice piece of advice. But I can't simply take a break, I am not a casual player.
Then why are you playing a casual game? Just play something else.
That's like telling kook that N7 rank doesn't matter.
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