If it would upset the current playerbase (actually only those you think should count) for Blizzard to attempt to maintain playerbase numbers, they shouldn’t listen to those who don’t remember being a new player - and perhaps weren’t even new players when they started the game. An awful lot of existing players seem to have no memory of what happened even a few months ago, yet alone when they first played this game. And if you would only be happy if fewer players played each year, it would be a bad business decision to pay any attention to what would make you happy.
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well that’d be quite the accomplishment.
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This doesn’t make sense.
It should be "if it would upset the current playerbase (yadaydayada), for Blizzard to RISK THEIR CURRENT PLAYERBASE TO ATTEMPT TO ATTRACT HYPOTHETICAL NEW PLAYERS, yadayadayada.
They’re currently maintaining their current player base doing what they do.
They couldn’t address this anymore further than they already have.
- They set back our player levels to make it not so daunting.
- They made an updated new starter zone.
(Which I have argued about this with them and it felt like it did more damage. As the all the unique race zones felt very much apart of the first WoW experience/impression. Instead of mass homogenization.) - They addressed how people can level. They have access to sync with any zone they want.
- They got rid of restrictions for the Allied races… from my understanding. Opening all races to everyone.
- This expansion released flying early too. Well a type of flying…
(Which was an ongoing controversy for many years. Appealing to vet players and new ones. As a lot of new ones enjoy access to flying)
I think this company went about this all the wrong way…just an opinion. Instead of antagonizing the existing audience which they pretty much did for several years. I would argue it still feels like it once and a while still. They should’ve been appealing to them more. I had no problems with all these tweaks to make the game more friendly for everyone (encouraging some changes, like opening up all the races and flying) but… Diablo 4 launch met expectations from my understanding. They advertised it as a mature game. It shouldn’t come to a surprise to this company that most of their audience is more drawn to this and it did well.
I read an article the other day about 50% of parents/adults over 50 years old play videogames. (The article was worrying about how the environment has changed for their children and taking action to guard them…) This is only going to skew to more percentage over time. Obvious reasons are obvious. Only some families could afford consoles and PCs in the 90’s.
Fast forward a decade later everyone has phones, they even hand homeless smart phones for free. This percentage isn’t going to down with the gaming industry… this will only go up. Reinforced with the hipster mockery of ipad kids nowadays…
A lot of Blizzard customers are a bit older now. Again, Diablo 4 was successful from my understanding. I think they failed to tap into their already established market because they want to associate it with a stigma that will be non-existent in coming years. WoW is in an awkward stage of being an almost 20 year old game that wasn’t really handled correctly. People might come after me, but I am just going to be real here… I wouldn’t want my children watching/playing with Asmongold or players with that mindset. For me, I don’t care. I grew up in this environment. I’m just saying… this company acts like it can have it both ways. I really don’t think they can.
I see helpful commentary like this multiple times a day every single day in the Newcomer Chat. I also see Guides helping, explaining, and giving helpful advice and answering questions all the time. I’ve never seen anyone ask for help and not get an answer in Newcomer Chat. I’ve never seen anyone say, “Just look it up idiot.”
And based on the sheer number of people in that chat actively talking (and helping) daily, at all hours day and night, there’s clearly no shortage of new players trying the game out.
But anyone coming into a game with 9 expansions and 20 years of story & systems expecting the game to spoon-feed them bleeding-edge content as a newbie, or thinking it’s not user friendly because they are unable to consume/understand everything about every expansion and their different systems is trolling. The game has zero reason to go through all of that. Instead, the new player experience is like this:
- Create new toon that you like based on aesthetics & class you’d like to play (can even make them trial classes to literally try them out at endgame first!)
- Get dumped into the starter tutorial island with all the other new players. (Remember when your race determined where you started, so if you began with a friend who chose a different aesthetic, you had to do the dreaded run of death (using online guides since your map was unexplored) to try get to the same place?)
- Literally follow tutorial island, which teaches you how to equip gear, attack, block, interrupt, etc. You even learn about emotes and queuing for dungeons! New abilities are literally put on your bar for you, with an explainer pop-up window.
- Finish tutorial island and get transported straight to your home capital city, where you’re immediately taken on a tour of the important features of the city, and then to a board to pick up a leveling path, with main story quests marked as campaign for you
- Oh did I mention that every quest has a marker on your map, highlights your map with where to go to do everything, and has minimap arrows to guide you?
- Automatically learn and earn mounts! MOUNTS AT LEVEL 10, FLYING AT LEVEL 30
- Hit level 60 and automatically get a pop-up quest to take you into the latest expansion
- Follow DF campaign story, teaching you new systems like dragonriding. Do at least 10-15 quests in the main campaign just around this new method of travel, meaning you have access to flying literally within the first half hour of the new expansion
I mean, there’s a ton I’m missing and I could keep going. If you want more advanced min-maxing or getting into progressive endgame content, yeah, you’ll use online guides like the rest of us. But that’s true of any endgame in a MMO.
This game literally spoon feeds new players now more than ever.
This is the 3rd time this “newcomer chat” has been brought up yet no one has actually explained what it is
Chat for newcomers. New players are put in it. More experienced players can choose to be guides and join the chat to help new players.
You were told about it but replied with:
So you get the concept, but assume it’s not helpful because of your personal experience with NN in FFXIV? (Adamantoise’s NN was top notch, btw. Sorry you seemed to have a bad experience with yours.)
It’s an automatic chat channel for new players where they are encouraged to ask questions, and it’s always busy. There are people helping, explaining, and giving advice and answering questions all the time. I’ve never seen anyone ask for help and not get an answer, and I’ve never seen anyone act hostile towards a new player or their questions or say things like “Just look it up, idiot.” I enjoy participating in it, and based on how many players are talking and asking questions in there, there’s clearly no shortage of new players trying out the game and enjoying themselves, which is great.
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LOLOLOL… Good luck with that when you already said you don’t want players who leave the game for whatever reason to be replaced by new players. And you’ve told us you’re convinced that this is how the game is being managed right now.
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Having played on several different servers and datacenters, I can tell you your experience was not the norm. With that in mind, it’s easy to assume a similar system in another game would be similar
Such strawmans. If you took the time and energy that you put into making strawmans into debating the actual topic and responses at hand, it would probably go further.
What i said was (for those in the back and apparently the front row too) is you dont waste resources that go towards maintaining your current player base in an attempt to bring in hypothetical new players. Meaning you risk losing current sub owners for people who may or may not replace them.
Blizzard isnt dumb. Theyve got research teams and financial advisors that already go through weighing the odds of such actions.
And they apparently don’t see a positive return on the investment made to target new players
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The problem is that this thread is specifically complaining that the game isn’t inviting or helpful for new players to figure things out, but people keep mentioning the Newcomer Chat system and how it helps new players all the time. I mean, sure it’s easy to assume, but it’s clear your mind is made up on the topic when you automatically assume it’s bad just because of your personal experience in a completely different game.
I said “inquisitive,” which is a quality that is not dependent on intelligence. I’m sure in your mind that translates to “not smart” but to me it translates as “not stirred to seeking answers on their own.” Now that I’ve explained that, hopefully to your satisfaction, you’ll back down off this tree with no raccoon in it.
Edit: and you’ll notice that in the very same paragraph where I used the word ‘inquisitive’ I also provided additional contextual examples that lend themselves to the intent and definition I just elucidated. Apology yet?
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It’s funny how you go off on a tangent about what you “totally really meant” in an effort to not address the actual point being made
I’m 26 and have been playing the game since 16 and could always tell that there was always a much older playerbase in comparison to other games. I switch over to FF14 every now and again because of it.
Your implication with the word ‘tangent’ is that our discussion was not from A->B->C->…->Z, which is where we are know. Defining and justifying my use of words against your charges against me were relevant to protecting myself from character assassination through misinterpretation. Your continual dismissal of having misinterpreted me, which I’ll gracefully allow may have been unintentional, is the point I’ve been addressing. I am aware of this. If you are not aware of this then consider yourself informed. If you were aware of it as you wrote that, then there is nothing fruitful I could ever hope to discuss with you, and the conversation is over.
Eagerly awaiting the apology.
Ok, I’m sorry you’re incapable of addressing the actual point being made because you’re stuck on literal definitions and interpretations
Don’t want to discuss things with someone who lies about what I said. Have a good life. See you on your next troll alt.
Ah yes, the easiest way to avoid a discussion you’re afraid to address, just call the other person a troll and leave. Well done proving my point once again
Not that I need the last word, this isn’t for you, it’s for anyone in the peanut gallery.
I disagreed with Noxranna’s idea. I think it’s illadvisable to prune abilities to make things easier, and I even provided alternatives that could avoid the pruning, but it would take Blizzard implementing some kind of training into the existing system.
I did this while also addressing the blatant mischaracterization of a statement I made about how, with neither pruning nor addons nor Blizzard intervention, generally only the inquisitive people are going to be heading to bleeding edge end-game world first content. Noxranna interpreted ‘inquisitive’ to mean smart, which completely disagreed with the word’s definition and even the context provided in the paragraph in which it was mentioned.
Rather than admit they mischaracterized this, they are doubling down and further lying about how I did not engage with their point. It’s all rather tragic if you go back and read the chain of comments. They had so many ways out. “I’m sorry, I misinterpreted what you said. I still disagree with you, however, and want some pruning.” What a nice discussion that would have been.
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Newcomer Chat.
/thread
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