Patch 14.4 WTA (wishful time of arrival)

[Waffen]

"Can we please wait for Funcom to say what Funcom's going to say about the issue before we continue making judgements on it?"

Quite plainly, I don't believe they have a plausible explanation.

If they already had reasoning, it would not have taken over 25 minutes to compose a response.

[ralguramo]

Ok. So lots of pissed off people are going to sit on grid terminals in various morphed forms to prevent others who are paying just as much to play from playing the way the game is designed?

Trust me on this. I hate nerfs. I hate when I see a trend where FC is starting to get more and more like EverQuest.

I'm sure if the protesters block the grid terminals, they'll get someone's attention. I'm sure they'll be ignoring a lot of people too. I'm just not sure that the response the protesters get from FC staff will be what they expect e.g. banning.

A thought. It seems that the level requirement on nanos, the nerf to OE etc, has the intention of leveling the playing field. Make it so that no one is able to equip/use stuff that is way above the players level. I was under the impression that levels were just a means to obtain ip's so you could customize your character via skills such that if you were savvy and experienced, your lvl 50 character might be able to do stuff that a lvl 70 couldn't. I personally see nothing wrong with this. I guess FC may be taking the approach of "dummying" the game down to the lowest common denominator.

Bad move.

Honestly I'm liking NWN. Maybe the developers won't nerf that one into oblivion.

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Chiandria


You will not be harming funcom you will not be doing your cause any good, they will remove you if you stop other players other paying customers from enjoying there game, you are no better than bullies/terrorists(far fetched semi joke but relevant point) call them what you will its all the same mentality because thats how your acting "give us your money or we beat you up, give us our power or we blow you up, give us our nanos or we block your grid terminals :P )

So what if all your friends on your list are whiners too im happy for you but doing this will asolate you from the playerbase, make players angry who will see you as a child crying in a store because her mumy won't buy her a new toy, you don't like the game don't like the way funcom runs it then go and create your own when you sign up you are told its a Dynamic game that means it can change in anyway for good or bad.

Oh oh and lets not forget your entry for the stupidest comment in the world prize " The level reqs would ruin the game for them, and so they would leave. No loud exit, no shouting, no cursing, they would quietly leave" level requirements on NEW nano's will not hurt you will not ruin your game you will ruin your game not them,=.
And the time Funcom bends to threat tactics like these is the time I find a new game.

Do you even see the ramifications of the level reqs? Do you bother to pay attention to trends? Have you ever played DAoC or EQ?

Riddle me this, batman: what is the advantage of a nanomage Fixer over a Solitus Fixer? Answer:

Higher Int/Psy to start and cheaper int/psy means slightly chepaer and slightly higher nano skills. Also, vest and shades add to nano skills as well (+30 int from shades adds about +6 from dribbledown). They also get about 200 more nano points at level 200 with maxed nanopool (w0000000t!).

With level reqs on all their new nanos, this means that they WILL NOT be casting any of their worthwhile nanos earlier than any other breeds. So what now is the advantage to a nanomage? NOTHING, there is no advantage anymore.

What happens then to MPs? Well, because of horrible pet pathing, and no answer from FC that they are even THINKING of looking into a pathing change, the only thing MPs bring to groups is their nano buffs for the most part.

With level reqs on nanos, a mochie, infuse, or mastery won't do diddly for that Advneturer or Fixer because they need to be a certain level now. Keep in mind also that these changes are the new trend. They aren't just doing it for Fixers and Adventurers; ALL new nanos in all future patches will carry these reqs. That means new NT nukes, new Soldier buffs, new Engie nanos, the rest of the Fixer lovin nanos will all have these reqs. These new nanos are meant to make those classes useful once again. Since everyone's nanos will now all have level reqs, they won't be able to take advantage of MP nano buffs to increase their own effectiveness in groups. This in turn means no one will need nano buffs at all anymore in groups, which in turn means MPs will become 100% useless in groups instead of just 50% useless.

Or how about setting up a better implant scheme customized to focus on better nano skills? Oh wait, that isn't an option anymore because all your new nanos will have level reqs; those implants don't boost your effective level, so there goes specializing your implant set. As a result, everyone will have the same damn setup of clusters, and no one will give a damn about nano implants.

Last of all, level reqs mean simply that you need to gain more levels. You might say "no sh**, Sherlock, where's your squad car parked?!" but what I mean by that is you used to be able to stop for a bit and change your implant scheme or equipment to allow yourself to use a higher set of nanos or higher nanos but from a different line. Now, instead you only have 1 option: level. This is becoming more and more of a level treadmill, something that AO set out to NOT become.

If the trend persists, they might as well throw skills entirely out the window and completely base everything off of level. That's where things are going if this patch goes live with the level reqs in place


edit: oh yeah, and if they decide to ban us, FC is just shooting themselves in the foot. There are enough of us to seriously cut into their profits, and as we've already seen they have been force to lay people off in order to even hope to someday have an acceptable profit margin. Go ahead Funcom, ban us, we the players are what keep you alive, and you can no more get rid of us and still survive than an animal could tear out it's own heart and survive.

[calranthe]

40th level mage Sol Ro
40th level necro 7th hammer

I could understand if they were reverse engineering as in putting level conditions on all the old stuff but its just new items no nerf just better nanos with more than just stat requirements, I see nothing wrong with it.

I would be complaining too if they were level restricting the other 100% of old nanos but its only new nanos, new nanos with level restrictions balances the game without taking away from the core model
So your ludicrous argument of "If the trend persists, they might as well through skills entirely out the window and completely base everything off of level. That's where things are going if this patch goes live with the level reqs in place "

What I see wrong is the attitude of "I'm probably going to leave anyway but im going to block the grid anyway doesn't matter to me if I upset other players cus I won't be here"

Oh and simple solution level those 20 levels or 10 levels you need to meet the requirements, do a little work on your char instead of wanting the buff o mattic and implant with easy system to allow you to over equip to uberness

[BoomDoom]

Originally posted by Myers
Can we please wait for Funcom to say what Funcom's going to say about the issue before we continue making judgements on it?

Absolutly. And they've chosen to say nothing up until this point, so my opinion is that its a terrible idea that should not be implemented. If the want to change my mind, they have every opportunity to do so, by saying something.

[Waffen]

No Chiandria, you obviously don't get it. The professions are broken, and these nanos are meant to be their fixes.

These nanos should have been there from the beginning, and as such, should be treated equally to the nanos that were here from the beginning.

[_______________Vydas]

You are mistaken in your understanding. These nanos are 'balancing' and 'fix' nanos that should have been in since the beginning. Think of it as if your mage never had pets from the start, and got them a year later, but your core ability suddenly had a skill required, not just a level. That's along the lines of what is happening here.

If you look back through the news articles archives here, on this very site, you will see that several times these professions have been scheduled for their 'fix' patches, and those patches have been delayed, not because the players weren't ready to get them, but because the developers decided other things had higher priorities.

Now these professions find themselves after a year of struggling with unfinished classes of having this entirely new element being thrust upon them, and only them.

They will be at a further disadvantage to every other class in the game.

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Chiandria
40th level mage Sol Ro
40th level necro 7th hammer

I could understand if they were reverse engineering as in putting level conditions on all the old stuff but its just new items no nerf just better nanos with more than just stat requirements, I see nothing wrong with it.

I would be complaining too if they were level restricting the other 100% of old nanos but its only new nanos, new nanos with level restrictions balances the game without taking away from the core model
So your ludicrous argument of "If the trend persists, they might as well through skills entirely out the window and completely base everything off of level. That's where things are going if this patch goes live with the level reqs in place "

What I see wrong is the attitude of "I'm probably going to leave anyway but im going to block the grid anyway doesn't matter to me if I upset other players cus I won't be here"

Yes and what class(es) do you play in AO? Enforcer perhaps? Crat? MA? If so, then I can why you can stand for this to go through because they would have absolutely no effect on you. None of those classes are due for anything new (except maybe 1HE/2HE buffs for Enfs) and thus will not have to worry about that. They also don't buff nanoskills so they don't have to worry about their usefulness in groups.

[BoomDoom]

Originally posted by Chiandria

Oh and simple solution level those 20 levels or 10 levels you need to meet the requirements, do a little work on your char instead of wanting the buff o mattic and implant with easy system to allow you to over equip to uberness

Listen:

Here's the problem with that. We didn't sign up for a level based game. None of us signed up for that. On the box it says that the game is skill based, and now its leaning away from that. I don't really have a problem with the level based game, except that I didn't sign up for one.

[calranthe]

Fixer, MA, Doctor, Agent, MP and engineer.

[Nullifax]

And which ones do you play?

[camilaen]

I don't have much to say, except that I think FunCom's people need a long vacation after listening to us players gripe and moan all the time *smiles*

I trust anything that isn't fully working when this patch is due for live will be removed and put back to 14.6, or perhaps 14.4.2.

I know FunCom is doing their best these days. I try to place my trust in them. Not always easy, but I do.

I have my reasons for believing things will get better, and I know they will I know Cz or Cosmik will put out an article regarding the level req on new nanos, since Cos said they would. I'll hold my tongue and be patient

Respectfully,

DrCam

[____________DarkManX]

I honestly can't see why currently playing fixers are so upset about the level reqs... seems to me that it actually helps existing fixers to be useful, whereas with no reqs others could just create a portwh*re mule fixer, stuff him with a bunch of high q implants and buffs and STILL not need existing fixers for anything...

edit: doh, retracted. didn't see the smg buffs and lvl 195 stuff...yikes

[_______________Vydas]

Originally posted by DrCam
I

I trust anything that isn't fully working when this patch is due for live will be removed and put back to 14.6, or perhaps 14.4.2.

I know FunCom is doing their best these days. I try to place my trust in them. Not always easy, but I do.

I really don't think that they listen to us complain. They don't appear to listen to people making a well reasoned, logical point, either.

Bullheadedly going ahead with detrimental changes only to reverse them later really does not qualify as 'doing their best' in my book. I am not sure, having been here since Beta, but having left after 12.6, only to return when they needed to replace all the others who left, just like me.

There is only so much frustration and nerfing that people will put up with, as consumers. Then they do start voting with their feet. Nobody really wants that, I don't think, because I really do not believe that this game will survive another mass exodus of subscribers. It has to have been economically costly to employ outside consultants and institute what they (evidently temporarily) instituted in the past.

[uberfixx]

patch it !! patchi it!! patch it!!


weeeeeee.... give me the new stuff!! =)

[____________IronTide]

Originally posted by Chiandria
40th level mage Sol Ro
40th level necro 7th hammer


Oh and simple solution level those 20 levels or 10 levels you need to meet the requirements, do a little work on your char instead of wanting the buff o mattic and implant with easy system to allow you to over equip to uberness

Why play such uber EQ classes and stop at such low levels?

[____________IronTide]

Originally posted by PipBoy
the rest of the Fixer lovin nanos will all have these reqs.

Eh? Sorry man, this is it. Hope you're happy with what yer getting.

[uberfixx]

what u mean whit low lvls?

[_____________Hisokai]

]"Can we please wait for Funcom to say what Funcom's going to say about the issue before we continue making judgements on it?"[

Ok.....wait...wait....:::FC makes statement:::...be polite ..wait.....
.....OK this sucks!!!!! still skill based but you just cant use those skills until your level xxx??

/me wanders off kicking and screaming randomly

[ThePartisan]

I foresee level reqs on mission. You can not enter a level 190 mission until you're level 195, for instance.