I want to begin by expressing that this is the best mobile game I have played, to date. It’s inspired me to actually create a fansite, - something I have -never- done before, and build and lead an alliance (something I tend to be a bit apprehensive about) So, it goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of the game and believe this game has a ton of potential.
I also have some concerns. And, I believe that we can have a healthy, diplomatic, and civil relationship between players and developers. Obviously, there are those that will choose not to be diplomatic/civil. That goes without saying.
-Ascension Loot- Is it broken? Is it working as intended? Is an attempt to make money? All of the above?
-Titan Loot - Why are the top damage players coming away with terrible loot, constantly?
-People are leaving their alliances because they can’t get the Ascension Loot they need, and becoming Mercenaries. It’s an interesting approach, but it seems to be some folks most reasonable option, especially when buying the Ascension packs is once again a lottery.
If people are leaving their alliances to be Mercenaries, as it’s the most reasonable option to obtain Ascension loot, how are we supposed to retain our member base?
As an alliance leader and an active member of the community, I’m seeing growing frustrations over the ability to ascend and further progress your Heroes. And in a genre that places a lot of emphasis on leveling and progression, I can say with certainty that this isn’t sitting well at all with the player base. We are ranked in the 40’s currently and we’re starting to feel the impact as an alliance. Not to mention, this has been a longstanding issue that has pushed a large part of your progressed player base away (some I have talked to personally about it)
I understand, and many others I’m sure understand the need to make money to pay salaries, server costs, office rent,and things like that, and you have found ways of doing that that largely didn’t push people away, via Summons. Granted, there are some frustrations with that, too. Receiving duplicate heroes is a widely-held resentment when spending money on a lottery-type system.
A while back I posted a thread called “Thank You For Listening Devs”, because I genuinely felt that you guys were listening to your players, and now, every time I see my post being liked or commented on, I worry if it still holds true.
Other games have tried so hard to monetize everything (Allods Online, for example) that they ran themselves into the ground, lost a large amount of players, and consequently, lost a lot of money and investors. Empires & Puzzles has a “gem-like” potential behind it, and I’m very worried that history is going to repeat itself. And as an alliance leader, hearing our members get so frustrated that they’re thinking about quitting the game, or have already done so, is really disappointing, especially when you have a game that is as well-done as this one.
It may be a little different if we knew there was a “fix in the works” or the issues that are becoming dealbreakers for players were being addressed, but we’re seeing very little communication even in that regard. Communication goes a long way. I think most people are reasonable and most would understand that things like loot systems break, coding has issues, a staff member quit, etc., if it was just communicated to us that you are working on the issues and not just ignoring them because you want to make as much money as possible.
While that may not be your intention, as developers, that is becoming the perception. There are many people here that are/were thoroughly addicted to and enjoy/enjoyed this game, that may quit, have quit, or are on the fence. Now, that’s not me. I enjoy our alliance and intend to stay active with them. But, I can’t speak for everyone else. People in our alliance are sharing their recent thoughts on the game, and they’re becoming increasingly frustrated.
Please, if anything else, just communicate with us about these “dealbreaker” issues so we at least know that they’re being addressed. There are lots of reasonable people that play this game. Just meet us halfway and you’ll probably find that a lot of us truly understand that developing and maintaining an online game is sometimes very, very hard work and some issues take time to address and solve.
Hop in Global and hang out with us. Visit our Line groups and Discord servers. Post a thread from time to time just to acknowledge our concerns and let us know you’re working on them. Trust me when I say, a little diplomacy can go a long way in putting players worries and frustrations at ease, while you work on finding solutions.
Sincerely,
Avicious
Seven Days Departed
