Every game, and every player in a game, has a natural life cycle, and I think I’m reaching a premature end of mine with E&P.
I’ve played for nearly 3 years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in the game in that time. Rare titans, Alliance Wars, Seasonal Events, Atlantis, Valhalla Emblems and their quests, Path of Valor, Advanced Stronghold, Hunters Lodge, Alchemy Lab, and Tavern of Legends all came along after I started playing. Some of the changes have been good, some not so good.
I founded Magnificent Bastards and watched it grow, outgrow itself, expand too fast, shrink and rebuild. During that time, I’ve met too many great people to even begin to name them all. We’ve developed real friendships and shared our struggles and triumphs both in game and in real life. They truly are the main reason I’ve played so long.
I’ve written a few halfway decent posts here on the forum to try to help new players get the most enjoyment possible out of the game. I’ve also met a veritable metric asstonne of wonderful people here, again far too many to name. If I tried, I’d inevitably miss someone. This forum community is unlike any I’ve ever seen in any other game, and it’s made the game better by it’s very existence.
I’ve been a beta tester for a while now, and at first I was extremely excited to have an opportunity to help keep the game growing and developing. I was glad to volunteer my time to check for bugs and evaluate new content for balance and playability.
Over the past year the feel of the game has changed.
In beta, the information we are given regarding changes with a new build is less and less complete. We are no longer given any indication of what purpose or role new content is supposed to serve, or the reason for changes to existing content. When we offer feedback regarding utility, playability or cost of a new feature, it is ignored. It really feels as though my time and effort is not valued.
In the live game, the feel has become that of an arms race. Instead of the various QoL improvements we have been begging for for the past couple of years, we keep seeing new, often OP heroes. We have a special summon portal every week, each filled with mostly TC20 heroes and a small chance at the new ones, which are so far beyond classic TC20 heroes and even old HotM as to render them obsolete. We have so many special events demanding resources and world energy that they don’t feel special anymore. They feel like a chore. I logged in earlier today to use my war flags, noticed that Guardians had started, and couldn’t muster even a flicker of interest.
I’m going to opt out and take a break from the game for a couple weeks. It’s started to feel more like a chore than a game, and the lack of response to our feedback in beta has just magnified that. After a couple weeks, I’ll make a decision whether I’m going to keep playing or turn over MB to one of my co-leaders and walk away. Realistically, unless something changes dramatically, I’ll probably walk away. I will miss everyone in MB and everyone here, but it’s time. It was beautiful but now it’s sour.
. I also understand the frustration at the utter disregard that SG shows towards valuing our time whether it is in-game, in beta, or creating game-related content on their behalf.
