56 réponses à ce sujet

[bug_age_inquisition]

((Skip to bottom for TL;DR))

 

The future of this game for me, and I think for everyone as well, is lying in the balance right now. Motivation to keep playing is low, especially with so many others who've already quit. 

 

We've beaten heartbreaker a handful of times, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, the PSN community is in poor shape. The will to even attempt heartbreaker is few and far between, and those who do by and large are not ready to handle it (or never will be). 

 

At first I was excited and happy about heartbreaker, finally a difficulty I could actually have a chance of losing on! But soon I began to realize that all it's accomplished is to trivialize any player whose stats are not 160/160/160. 

 

I feel the introduction of new content has been messy, with inherent problems laced throughout the experience. It took them forever to come out with the dragon slayer DLC, and it was only new, interesting and difficult for a short time, then quickly became a walk in the park. With all the time it took them it was still a buggy mess, and remains one to this day.

 

Now, all of a sudden, almost a year after the release of DAI, the multiplayer community finally gets higher difficulties that can actually set the pace higher than banging one's head against a wall repeatedly. However, again, Bioware has executed this poorly. The focus has shifted away from actual tactical, intelligent gameplay... just to whoever's stats are high enough not to get one-shot by everything.

 

At first, the Venatori actually seemed balanced, we could play almost whatever class we wanted and still be fine with the appropriate gear. This is not the case with the introduction of Templars and Demons. Very few of us have actually defeated the templars, with the exception of only the highest of the high prestige players. The game simply does not provide us the means to mitigate so much magic damage, because the recent balance patch was so heavily focused on armor, which only affects physical damage. 

 

So now I find myself caught in a limbo between Nightmare and Heartbreaker, a place where at 100 of each stat and almost every item in the game can still hardly earn me a spot in a Heartbreaker party, given I play only the strongest support classes to help higher prestige players deal damage. This means if I want to play other classes, I need more promotions.

 

Herein lies the issue, and I'm not the only one with this issue. We are all getting bored of Nightmare, it's just the same thing we've been playing for months except with greater health pools and different spawns. The same inherent problems that have been there since the beginning are reemerging, most of which are caused by Bioware's lack of effort put into the longevity of the multiplayer.

 

This game has a history of love and hate for me, and probably all of us. I don't like the campaign, but I loved the multiplayer from the beginning, and I even enjoyed the addition of the dragon map and new difficulties so much that I actually bought a small amount of platinum after each DLC. However the drawbacks I've always hated about the campaign, which in many cases carry over to the multiplayer, are beginning to make themselves apparent again.

 

TL;DR Darkspawn, a new map, and Heartbreaker are the only things that are going to keep our interest in this game. If these don't hold up to expectations, I forsee another mass exodus of the playerbase.

 

It's been a really fun, nerdy ride the past 9 months. However DAMP is beginning to finally lose its appeal. To quote the Hunter, "but that's what growing's all about..."

[Geth Supremacy]

Teamwork and proper team balance can make HB doable.  If people choose to log on, leave their mic off, and never care to meet people or start leveling with people or form teams/friends to play and complete the game with.....that is on them. Even if they choose to play lvl 20 characters....that is also on them.  That is not Bioware's fault.  Everyone who started playing this game started playing it on the same level.  If you want to run around as a mute that pugs then theres nothing wrong with that, but don't get mad when 4 people have grouped up and are playing the game and communicating effectively while doing the same amount of work in half or in a quarter of the time you are.

 

I don't even currently have 160 in any attribute.

 

If the game has been out 6 months to a year then end game content is needed and Bioware has done a great job.  This is someone who is NOT a fan of Bioware at all anymore.  I will still give credit where credit is due.  I am extremely impressed with how HB was done as well.  They have done "difficulty" the RIGHT way.  Not some math bs where the enemy does more damage and you do less.  I am still impressed by this.

 

DAI's gameplay is shallow.  The content it offers is an absolute joke.  Especially for a game by Bioware and EA.  People leaving because of that is understandable.  I would have quit a lot sooner than I did, but it was the people that I played with that kept me around.  At this point Bioware just ran me off for good though.

 

The game losing players is not because of current decisions, its because of garbage support (like 4 maps).  Or them treating their customers like garbage.

[bug_age_inquisition]

If people choose to log on, leave their mic off, and never care to meet people or start leveling with people or form teams/friends to play and complete the game with.....that is on them. Even if they choose to play lvl 20 characters.  That is also on them.  That is not Bioware's fault.

 

If you want to run around as a mute that pugs then theres nothing wrong with that, but don't get mad when 4 people have grouped up and are playing the game and communicating effectively while doing the same amount of work in half or in a quarter of the time you are.

 

They have done "difficulty" the RIGHT way.  Not some math bs where the enemy does more damage and you do less.  I am still impressed by this.

 

That entire first paragraph was confusing because it almost sounds like you think I'm a mute pug that can't group up and communicate, which is the farthest from the truth you could possibly get, if you were referring to me.

 

You go on to contradict your statements by saying it is Bioware's fault, and reaffirm the statements I made in my OP, about the baseline experience of this game being lackluster and Bioware not having the intention of changing it. I don't really see the point of claiming it's not their fault, when you yourself admit that it was their fault from the very beginning.

 

I really couldn't disagree more about the new difficulty. As has ALWAYS been the case, the enemy's strengths are as follows, defined by poor gameplay mechanics:

 

• Their health is better than yours
• Targeting is better (hitting through walls even)
• Cooldowns are better (Ice Witch warping across the map/freezing you multiple times in a row)
• Magic glyphs are better (triggers instantly, more of them)
• Fade cloak is way, WAY better (vast majority of the time they are invincible)
• Barrier/guard casting is better (no animation)
• Animations are better (most can't be interrupted)
• Stun lock is better (just like Mass Effect I hear)
• Even their Magic resistance is better now

And what do we have?

• Vast majority of our skills are not viable and useless
• Little to no means to resist the new, insanely powerful magic attacks in Heartbreaker, even with high promotions
• Unbalanced weak characters that are obsolete in Heartbreaker (Assassin/Katari thanks to Silent Sister, Hunter, Necro, Avvar)
• Horrible loot tables that hinder the playerbase and provide absolutely NO incentive to buy platinum
• Same 4 maps constantly
• Same 3 factions constantly
• Constant screw ups with Prestige challenges
• Little to no incentive to play the game
• In my case, hardly anybody willing to play heartbreaker in the ENTIRE PSN PLAYERBASE

And above all, we have the UNYIELDING dedication to endure all of these drawbacks, because of our love for Dragon Age... which in my case has been wearing thin for a long time now, and is about to break.

[Geth Supremacy]

That's my fault.  I did say "you"  but my post was meant as a general statement with no specific target.  I tried to make it broad for the most part.

 

My point was that the issues on Bioware's end are ones that have been messed up from the start.  The people in charge of MP in recent months have done a great job (aside from stabbing 2 platforms in the back with no honest warning or information at time of purchase)

 

The amount of content is a sad joke.  What the team is doing with what they have to work with is good IMO.  In other words.  It's too late for most of the reasons why the game is and has lost steam with people.

 

I agree with some of your points about HB...its just sooooooooooooooo refreshing that they actually do and have things that are new and not just damage changes.

[Silversmurf]

 If people choose to log on, leave their mic off, .....that is on them.

 

Default open mic is both the best thing and the worst thing to happen to online gaming.

 

I understand the logic of more organised gameplay.

 

I have a 6 month old baby that sleeps just through the door from me and I am not risking waking her up for anyone.  The wrath of my wife is not worth it and unfair to wake my kid.  People have reasons for not mic'ing up.  It doesn't affect my gameplay in the slightest.  I've made my fair share of friends through messaging and once you play with someone often enough you get to know how they play.

 

That said, I have no wish to listen to strangers (or friends) prattle on to fill the awkward void.  Also, I kind of like sound effects and not having to turn them down (headset)

 

I have no problem talking or listening to people but more and more it feels like you are pressured into it or are a leper.

[Geth Supremacy]

Default open mic is both the best thing and the worst thing to happen to online gaming.

 

I understand the logic of more organised gameplay.

 

I have a 6 month old baby that sleeps just through the door from me and I am not risking waking her up for anyone.  The wrath of my wife is not worth it and unfair to wake my kid.  People have reasons for not mic'ing up.  It doesn't affect my gameplay in the slightest.  I've made my fair share of friends through messaging and once you play with someone often enough you get to know how they play.

 

That said, I have no wish to listen to strangers (or friends) prattle on to fill the awkward void.  Also, I kind of like sound effects and not having to turn them down (headset)

 

I have no problem talking or listening to people but more and more it feels like you are pressured into it or are a leper.

 

I absolutely agree.  Why PTT is not an option these days I will never understand.  Ever since the days of SOCOM I have been ranting over this open mic.  I know A LOT more about the personal lives of the people I have played with over the years than I ever wanted to.  It's a very awkward and stupid feature.

 

I hope it dies or the option of having that or PTT alongside it in all games comes soon.

 

PTT = Push To Talk for those that do not know.

[Zorinho20_CRO]

Default open mic is both the best thing and the worst thing to happen to online gaming.

 

I understand the logic of more organised gameplay.

 

I have a 6 month old baby that sleeps just through the door from me and I am not risking waking her up for anyone.  The wrath of my wife is not worth it and unfair to wake my kid.  People have reasons for not mic'ing up.  It doesn't affect my gameplay in the slightest.  I've made my fair share of friends through messaging and once you play with someone often enough you get to know how they play.

 

That said, I have no wish to listen to strangers (or friends) prattle on to fill the awkward void.  Also, I kind of like sound effects and not having to turn them down (headset)

 

I have no problem talking or listening to people but more and more it feels like you are pressured into it or are a leper.

I am in the same boat as you.I used my mic all the time when played ME3 and it was so much better experience than this,but alas.

[Silversmurf]

HB is where the challenge is now after NM has become a complete joke.

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv12 took 24min

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv17 took 19min......killing everything.

[Spin-Orbit]

HB is where the challenge is now after NM has become a complete joke.

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv12 took 24min

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv17 took 19min......killing everything.

he question is not the 4 silent sisters but what were the stats of all 4 players? 

we do 18min NM runs killing everything with old characters anyrate

[lJustAlexl]

I vaguely recall someone asking for heartbreaker mechanics (without the dramatically increased damage) on lower difficulties to give the players with lower promotions something refreshing to run into once in awhile.

 

I don't recall it going over very well with the community, but it seemed a good idea to me. There are some very interesting enemy behaviors in HB and I fear the majority of players will never see it (or live long enough to appreciate combating it).

[Wavebend]

HB is where the challenge is now after NM has become a complete joke.

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv12 took 24min

 

4 x Silent Sister @ Lv17 took 19min......killing everything.

 

stats?

[kmeeg]

Seems slow 

[Spin-Orbit]

Seems slow 

well we are also opening all the doors 

[Medallian]

ROFL....  you know every body screamed for  NM mode and you got it, HeartBreaker is most likely meant for players like me.... n so  NM would not become routine in a month or two...... stop looking for a reason to quit... do it or don't... we all reach the point were we must look at our reasons for playing and if you have to quantify that reason, and its not for fun and the pure enjoyment of the game.... well I hate to say this but... sayonara sucka 

[Wavebend]

ROFL....  you know every body screamed for  NM mode and you got it, HeartBreaker is most likely meant for players like me.... n so  NM would not become routine in a month or two...... stop looking for a reason to quit... do it or don't... we all reach the point were we must look at our reasons for playing and if you have to quantify that reason, and its not for fun and the pure enjoyment of the game.... well I hate to say this but... sayonara sucka 

 

Heartbreaker is not meant for players like you actually. You could cakewalk through it with a good team. Unless you've set the challenge to solo heartbreaker, there's nothing worth grinding for at your level

[Piffle]

 

trivialize any players whose stats are not 160/160/160

 

Actually, HB can be - and has been - done with 30/30/30. In fact, I specifically do not promote in Beta because I want to test with stats that are more accessible for the average player.  It's meant for players that have experience with DAMP, but it doesn't mean only the over-promoters get to enjoy it.

 

If you don't want to take people with low stats to HB, that's your preference, but it's more a reflection of yourself than the quality of your community. Personally, I'd rather have a friend who is willing to coordinate with me than a solo artist from the leaderboards top 10 any day.

 

Also, before someone misinterprets, this isn't some sort of bragging about "skillz". I encourage people with lower starts to try conquering HB with friends: teamwork will take you further than stats

[akots1]

I vaguely recall someone asking for heartbreaker mechanics (without the dramatically increased damage) on lower difficulties to give the players with lower promotions something refreshing to run into once in awhile.

 

I don't recall it going over very well with the community, but it seemed a good idea to me. There are some very interesting enemy behaviors in HB and I fear the majority of players will never see it (or live long enough to appreciate combating it).

It were actually me suggesting perilous and threatening Heartbreaker and the only strongly negative reaction I got was from Wavebend but without much reason. Community or no community, there were some people who liked it.

[Wavebend]

It were actually me suggesting perilous and threatening Heartbreaker and the only strongly negative reaction I got was from Wavebend but without much reason. Community or no community, there were some people who liked it.

 

Implementing threatening HB and perilous HB would introduce problems in matchmaking and would require additional selectors on the Settings screen. Basically a lot of trouble for something that is already accessible to 80% of the playerbase (current Heartbreaker)

[JAMiAM]

Implementing threatening HB and perilous HB would introduce problems in matchmaking and would require additional selectors on the Settings screen. Basically a lot of trouble for something that is already accessible to 80% of the playerbase (current Heartbreaker)

I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but when I am trying to find a game, I generally set to the desired difficulty level and then random, to maximize my chances of finding an ongoing lobby.  Likewise, when hosting, or running with my friends, I/we generally have the location set to random.  I would extrapolate this, with some reservation, of course, and suggest that your concern about the negative effect of having more 'location' options per difficulty level is somewhat overstated.

 

I realize that there are those who play differently, and endlessly grind the same maps.  However, random setting searches should do a simple look for established lobbies and drop a player into them - regardless of the location setting.

[akots1]

Implementing threatening HB and perilous HB would introduce problems in matchmaking and would require additional selectors on the Settings screen. Basically a lot of trouble for something that is already accessible to 80% of the playerbase (current Heartbreaker)

I still don't understand what you are talking about. Have you ever tried to pug recently just looking for a random game at some specific difficulty?

[Medallian]

Heartbreaker is not meant for players like you actually. You could cakewalk through it with a good team. Unless you've set the challenge to solo heartbreaker, there's nothing worth grinding for at your level

I grind to become like this 

[bug_age_inquisition]

Actually, HB can be - and has been - done with 30/30/30. In fact, I specifically do not promote in Beta because I want to test with stats that are more accessible for the average player.  It's meant for players that have experience with DAMP, but it doesn't mean only the over-promoters get to enjoy it.

 

If you don't want to take people with low stats to HB, that's your preference, but it's more a reflection of yourself than the quality of your community. Personally, I'd rather have a friend who is willing to coordinate with me than a solo artist from the leaderboards top 10 any day.

 

Also, before someone misinterprets, this isn't some sort of bragging about "skillz". I encourage people with lower starts to try conquering HB with friends: teamwork will take you further than stats

 

You apparently missed the part where I said it makes the weaker classes unplayable but the others are still fine. Show me a 30/30/30 going in with any squishy damage dealer and I'll be impressed.

 

I'm pretty seasoned on HB now, so I know what you mean, but regardless my point stands that HB just makes the grind for promotes and items even more important.

 

Which in turn makes new, enjoyable content more important.

 

But! Now we have the Saarebas, and some interesting new gear, so I'm happy for the moment.

[Medallian]

((Skip to bottom for TL;DR))

 

The future of this game for me, and I think for everyone as well, is lying in the balance right now. Motivation to keep playing is low, especially with so many others who've already quit. 

 

We've beaten heartbreaker a handful of times, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, the PSN community is in poor shape. The will to even attempt heartbreaker is few and far between, and those who do by and large are not ready to handle it (or never will be). 

 

At first I was excited and happy about heartbreaker, finally a difficulty I could actually have a chance of losing on! But soon I began to realize that all it's accomplished is to trivialize any player whose stats are not 160/160/160. 

 

I feel the introduction of new content has been messy, with inherent problems laced throughout the experience. It took them forever to come out with the dragon slayer DLC, and it was only new, interesting and difficult for a short time, then quickly became a walk in the park. With all the time it took them it was still a buggy mess, and remains one to this day.

 

Now, all of a sudden, almost a year after the release of DAI, the multiplayer community finally gets higher difficulties that can actually set the pace higher than banging one's head against a wall repeatedly. However, again, Bioware has executed this poorly. The focus has shifted away from actual tactical, intelligent gameplay... just to whoever's stats are high enough not to get one-shot by everything.

 

At first, the Venatori actually seemed balanced, we could play almost whatever class we wanted and still be fine with the appropriate gear. This is not the case with the introduction of Templars and Demons. Very few of us have actually defeated the templars, with the exception of only the highest of the high prestige players. The game simply does not provide us the means to mitigate so much magic damage, because the recent balance patch was so heavily focused on armor, which only affects physical damage. 

 

So now I find myself caught in a limbo between Nightmare and Heartbreaker, a place where at 100 of each stat and almost every item in the game can still hardly earn me a spot in a Heartbreaker party, given I play only the strongest support classes to help higher prestige players deal damage. This means if I want to play other classes, I need more promotions.

 

Herein lies the issue, and I'm not the only one with this issue. We are all getting bored of Nightmare, it's just the same thing we've been playing for months except with greater health pools and different spawns. The same inherent problems that have been there since the beginning are reemerging, most of which are caused by Bioware's lack of effort put into the longevity of the multiplayer.

 

This game has a history of love and hate for me, and probably all of us. I don't like the campaign, but I loved the multiplayer from the beginning, and I even enjoyed the addition of the dragon map and new difficulties so much that I actually bought a small amount of platinum after each DLC. However the drawbacks I've always hated about the campaign, which in many cases carry over to the multiplayer, are beginning to make themselves apparent again.

 

TL;DR Darkspawn, a new map, and Heartbreaker are the only things that are going to keep our interest in this game. If these don't hold up to expectations, I forsee another mass exodus of the playerbase.

 

It's been a really fun, nerdy ride the past 9 months. However DAMP is beginning to finally lose its appeal. To quote the Hunter, "but that's what growing's all about..."

[DanakV]

I still don't understand what you are talking about. Have you ever tried to pug recently just looking for a random game at some specific difficulty?

 

I could misinterpreting this discussion, but it sounds like he's concerned that adding an additional difficulty selector would further fragment the player base, exacerbating what can at times already be difficult matchmaking.

 

If you're meaning to just turn the existing modes into a "HB-lite" then obviously that wouldn't apply.  I'm not sure that would be welcome by the bulk of the player base though since many players have difficulty with those modes as they are already.

[Wavebend]

Now, all of a sudden, almost a year after the release of DAI, the multiplayer community finally gets higher difficulties that can actually set the pace higher than banging one's head against a wall repeatedly. However, again, Bioware has executed this poorly. The focus has shifted away from actual tactical, intelligent gameplay... just to whoever's stats are high enough not to get one-shot by everything.

 

At first, the Venatori actually seemed balanced, we could play almost whatever class we wanted and still be fine with the appropriate gear. This is not the case with the introduction of Templars and Demons. Very few of us have actually defeated the templars, with the exception of only the highest of the high prestige players. The game simply does not provide us the means to mitigate so much magic damage, because the recent balance patch was so heavily focused on armor, which only affects physical damage.

 

You're wrong. You have enough options to beat HB regardless of stats. You just don't know about them or don't care about them. Ironically, the reason you're failing is because you're not focusing on tactical and intelligent gameplay. We've balanced all 3 difficulties with **** gear and 30/30/30 stats on beta. It is meant to be accessible.

 

edit: didn't see that this  was an old thread..