Pvp game balance Making changes

ArchivedUser

There are going to be PvP changes coming down the road it is just the nature of things but here are some things that the pvp cummunity would appreciate.

1) If it  is a major change try see if you can make a video or at least state reasons why they are happening.  Not just well here are the pvp changes this is the way it is.

2) Publish findings like.   There was a  complete Bard overview and Bards were found to be a little op but  not enough to warrant any changes.  Or we have looked at pvp game balance this week and found tank class is to tanky for pvp will be looking to make changes.    

3) Be great if you had a pvp Q and A session online and deal with some of the most prominent issues from the players point of view explaining the direction pvp is going.  Like telling people that burst dps for 3 classes was way to high so it needed to be adjusted  and  it happened cause you wanted arenas to last more than 20 seconds.

Just try to keep the pvp cummunity in the know.  That way  they will not be left wondering as to why it happened.

 

ArchivedUser

I have to agree, to often games change stats without telling anyone I mean I simply change log would be great, just so we can see whats going on.

ArchivedUser

Well lets believe that IS have seen all the discussion regarding pvp and did what needs to be done in that regard, afterall players will always have a different opinion most of the time ;3

ArchivedUser

Consultant said:

There are going to be PvP changes coming down the road it is just the nature of things but here are some things that the pvp cummunity would appreciate.

1) If it  is a major change try see if you can make a video or at least state reasons why they are happening.  Not just well here are the pvp changes this is the way it is.

2) Publish findings like.   There was a  complete Bard overview and Bards were found to be a little op but  not enough to warrant any changes.  Or we have looked at pvp game balance this week and found tank class is to tanky for pvp will be looking to make changes.    

3) Be great if you had a pvp Q and A session online and deal with some of the most prominent issues from the players point of view explaining the direction pvp is going.  Like telling people that burst dps for 3 classes was way to high so it needed to be adjusted  and  it happened cause you wanted arenas to last more than 20 seconds.

Just try to keep the pvp cummunity in the know.  That way  they will not be left wondering as to why it happened.

 

Why does any of this only apply to PvP?

ArchivedUser

Any decently run game puts out patch notes with every update. Why, I am curious do you think IS would not?

A Q and A session would be nice for the super minority of players that will interact with it. And then that small group can help shape and dictate the problems of the masses. After all it's most like that it would be us here now, all what 50 of us? Who have time and care enough to post.

I'd much prefer that the dev's just simply play the game, and know what issues exist from experience. 

ArchivedUser

"Q&A sessions" could probably be better handled by just having some Dev presence in the forums. 

All of the issues would be discussed in the forums anyway, and the Devs would be able to receive some rather valuable data by observing and occasionally engaging with these discussions.

ArchivedUser

Well patch notes are not enough basically a list of changes.  Some games companies make videos to make people understand why it is happening.  If you just keep coming out with a list of changes without at least a written paragraph of why they are doing this.

For example lets say all the sudden your biggest damage ability is getting nerfed well a state ment that says something like.   Mage ability implosion was nerfed cause when it crits and if it is also buffed combined with a vulnerability makes a situation were the burst is to high.  

If you just drive pvp in a certain direction without letting the cummunity know then they are going to be left to their own conclusions and some of them will not be positive some people. just like to play games and do not really care or know about game mechanics 

ArchivedUser

I care about being able to hit a key to block and mitigate damage and/or hit a key actively to dodge to mitigate damage. This adds a little more skill to pvp rather then just your stats.

ArchivedUser

Consultant said:

If you just drive pvp in a certain direction without letting the community know then they are going to be left to their own conclusions and some of them will not be positive some people. just like to play games and do not really care or know about game mechanics 

In my experience, the community knows about class imbalance and problematic outlier abilities before the devs do. The official forums are usually filled with countless threads pointing out balance problems, workable solutions, and detailed analyses - along with incorrectly perceived balance problems, terrible solutions that would cause more problems than they would fix, and faulty analyses.

Official game forums also tend to have a sub-forum in which the devs make announcements, air thoughts, or poll the community.

I can see why an explanatory video would be useful to the more casual player who avoids game-related media, but anyone who is engaged in the community should be made well aware of the changes and the reasons behind them long before they come into play. 

Unless, of course, the devs do not have a presence on the forums. That is something I would find far more problematic than an absence of explanatory videos on balance changes.

ArchivedUser

I'd expect Intrepid to maintain a monthly-ish community focused stream once the game goes live.

This is all that is needed.

However, the point I made earlier about this not being a PvP specific issue remains.