Given that...
- AO is intended to last at least 4 years (via the story line).
- Players currently have a maximum of 200 levels and no intention to change this has been mentioned by any official source (of which I am aware, I could be wrong).
- Within 4 months of launch, players began to reach the level 200 cap and subsequently, some of these players have left the game citing, "no new challenges."
- At a certain market saturation point, in order to maintain capital inflow, FunCom must become more concerned with retaining players than attaining them. This is not a "dis." I do not mean to suggest that FunCom is not or has not in the past been concerned with pleasing the customer base or keeping the players. I am just pointing out that in the business model, at some point it must become the predominant goal.
- Because of the nature of the online gaming community (strong internet skills, good intercommunications and in many cases above average Information Systems skills) a large portion of the potential market share will be comprised of early adopters.
- The true profit model of a game like this is in long term subscriptions...that is, capitol inflow after all major development expenses have recouped and the game is in a primarily maintenance mode.
- AO does not seem to be in a maintenance mode yet. By maintenance mode, I am not suggesting that all development will stop. I am sure that FunCom plans to continue game content development for as long as the game exists. It would mean that all of the originally stated game functionality is complete and that development will only be in content and minor tweaks.
...it becomes obvious that FunCom must be concerned about the rate at which players are leveling.
Suppose we all level to 200 in 6 months or rerole until we find our favorite profession and reach 200 in (oh say) a year and then cancel our subscriptions. This produces a major threat to the 4 year game life cycle and the FunCom profit model (which already appears to be suffering).
This apparently unstated FC goal, nerf uberleveling, is made obvious by game changes like the ones at the Medusas hunting ground. Bullies and Temple spawn nerfs are previous examples.
The reason I have bored you with this is the recent article, Soloing and Cooperation in the FunCom home page. In my opinion, this is pure propaganda.
They want to slow down leveling again. We all know (players and FC) that full teams in high level missions and static dungeons are the new medusas. The spin doctors want us to believe that nerfing this is in our best interest or worse yet, our idea.
I have read this article carefully. I have tried very hard to see it as a sincere attempt to help. But each time, all I come up with is they want to nerf missions for teams and give each profession a root in return. Ok, there is more there, but really, why would I want to have some surprise super high level MOB show up at the worst possible moment ("Suprise, your dead!"). Why world I want to die more often.
Which players are complaining about this anyway? We complain about our professions. We complain about the bugs. I haven't read that many complaints about not understanding the tactics of teaming (apparently, we understand them too well). I have read complaints about the lack of complexity of missions, but more complex does not mean harder combat! It means multiple goals or logical problems to solve. Something to make it more interesting not "a pain in the ..." (to quote the source).
I don't mind that FunCom wants to slow down the way we level in teams. As stated above I understand the business reasons. I do mind the suggestion that we can't see spin when we read it.
Ok, enough about that. You get my point and many will understand while other will try to beat it up. I am not trying to be a troll or fanboy, just explain the truth as I see it, but we all know that truth of subjective.
One more point that is just a slight segue. In regards to the recent articles Exploiters, overequipping and the rest. and Exploits, Nerfs, Banning and Overequipping - A forray into the difficult.
I have no problem with killing true exploits and I believe first time offenders should be warned and repeat offenders should be banned. I don't think that twinking (overequipping) should be lumped in with this...it shouldn't even be in the same conversation. Repeat exploiting is cheating. Twinking is using the tools provided in the most rewarding way. I contend that twinking was an intended feature of AO that FunCom didn't think through well enough and is now contributing to the dreaded enemy; uberleveling (see everything above). If we weren't supposed to twink, why on Rubi-ka is there a wrangle: a buff that pushes equipping skills real high, but only for a very brief period of time. Why would I want to equip a gun or build a robot that is going to fall off or become useless in less than 5 minutes? And the excuse the spin doctors use: Those who haven't figured out how to do it complain that those who have are too big and bad. Oh no! The game is misbalanced. Note: when they figure out how to do it, they stop whining.
Instead of nerfing missions, teaming and over-equipping, just make the game more fun. Dying more often isn't more fun. Give us missions that last several days instead of hours and that we have to leave to find other items to complete...item we don't know about until we are inside with clues on where to find it. Give us MOBs with unique drops that say "you can only kill me with a hand made gun" (makes trade skills much more interesting too). Give us MOBs with unique drops that say "you can only kill me with a bureaucrat on your team." There is so much more you can do than just throwing in a huge MOB here and there. Use your imaginations. You are stuck in a one solution mode. There are plenty more suggestions, much better than these right here in these forums. But the way you are going, the game is going to be filled with slow leveling combataholics, and I am not into that.
Please note, FunCom, I am not saying don't do it. Nerf missions and teaming. Stop twinking. I would prefer you didn't, but if you must, you must (at least Traders, MPs and Docs wouldn't be hounded with buff-me-please tells all the time). Just please stop saying that it is our idea or in our best interest. Maybe its not spin. Maybe you have convinced yourselves of this, but it’s just not true.
I like the game and I will probably keep playing (hmmm...when can I afford that xbox?). Until I'm 200 at least. After that "more fun" is the only way to keep me, so, you're just putting off the inevitable...make it more fun, now, instead.
