Random Pet Peeves and Ranting

[Science_Obsessed]

Inventory:

• With increased regularity, when I click on an item in my inventory to use it or consume it (example a potion or chest), instead of giving me the "use" option, it puts the item in chat. To correct this, you have to back space over the [x1 Daru Pearl], press enter, and then you can click in your inventory. It's getting really annoying and is happening more and more.

Today I lost a lv 2 gem. It just went poof, bye bye. Here is what I did.

1. Click blacksmith
2. Click Socket tab
3. Select Item with free slot.
4. drag gem to slot, but before clicking the blank spot, I realized there was already a higher level gem of the same kind. so I just dragged the gem back to the open slot in inventory from where it came from and *poof* no more gem.

PvP Arena:
Does anybody really understand how matching works in Arena? I attempted to open a ticket, but because I'm a systems administrator with the audacity to use the word "Algorithm" my question was misunderstood and denied. I'm not asking for your precious trade secrets or source code. All I want to know is if there is really any science behind everyone's perception that everyone has to be of the same (or near) the same Battle Ranking or Level. Why do I ask?

Let's say I'm a lv 40, and I'm in a room with another lv40 with a similar battle ranking. A level 55 pops in. He stays a round or two then leaves saying "I'm sorry, my level is attracting higher lvl monsters and that's why we're losing". Likewise, I'm sick of getting kicked from a room because I pop into a game with two 55s and I'm just a 40. "Sorry, too low" and kick!

So I decided to do some tests. I've played as a 40 something with two lvl 55 players and won 15 out of 30. To date, that is my best run of wins in Arena. I've also played everyone the same BR and lvl and got royally spanked with only 4 wins out of 30. I've played where I was a lv 47, and I brought along a low lv30. We won 6 out of 30. So to me, there doesn't seem to be much science behind everyone's perception that you have to be of the same br and lvl to give you the maximum number of wins. To me, the results seem more like a slot machine. Yes, there is some skill involved where you can have different skills and Runes, and there is also the combination of charachers (i.e All mages, Mage and 2 knights, 1 of each, etc). There are a lot of variables. I've mixed and matched quite a few of them. Generally speaking, I get on average 5 wins out of 30 attempts. There should be some logic in the game to keep a tank 15 levels higher than you are from getting matched with you in Arena. "One hit and your dead" should not happen. That's no fun and makes me not even want to bother doing Arena. I would really like to see an official wartunes guide on Arena. "Look folks, this is how arena works, and this is how to maximize your chances of winning the most matches".

With everyone's current perception, all you really get is an inferiority complex. You're level is never high enough. Your BR is never high enough. Your Astrals are wrong, they're too low or you have the wrong set. Your gems are wrong, etc. It seems whatever I have isn't good enough and unless I'm willing to spend thousands of real $$ in balens to fix it, I'll continue to get spanked.

Battle Ground:
I'm not sure how PvP is configured or who gets to play against who. But like Arena, if I come up against a player that's a lv 62, and I'm a 30 with a few Paladins, then all I'm going to do is keep making round trips to the 30 second timeout area. Dryad could be my daddy and I'd still get pwned. Battles should last a while, and be a mix of luck and skill. But there's not much point in getting slapped around like a dead fish.

The Language Filter:
Ok, you know what? It's 2013. We're in the 21st century. Most 5 year olds I hear on the playground have worse language than an R rated action flick. People are going to find ways to say what they want to say, how they want to say it. So instead of saying "F" outright, they'll say "ef this" or "F.ck" But what really irritates me is that the filter isn't context aware. "What do you do for work?" "I'm a systems @3$@istrator" Really? Seriously? You're filtering out the word "admin" from chat? Also the word "GM" so I can't say things like "Paradigm". And the gods forbit someone's name is "Gay". I've got several female friends who's name is Gay. Gay is a word that has become commonly accepted to define a homosexual. It's neither a good word or a bad word. It's just a word. Language evovles. Grow with it. Or if I'm speaking spanish to another player and trying to help them. I ask them about their computer. The spanish word for computer is "Computadora" But the word "puta" is in that. So it gets filtered and changed. Point is that it's really annoying. Leave language control to their mommy and daddy.

Compensations and Awards:
You have at your disposal multiple methods for delivering compensation awards. Whether they are from server crashes or from Balen recharges, adding them as an attachment to some message is, in my opinion, the worst method for someone to retrieve an item. If you're gonna give someone gold, then just give them gold. Same for Daru. Daru Pearls make no sense to me. Nobody can steal your Daru. They can steal your gold, so gold chests and keeping fully enchanted lower level gear is a great way to bank some wealth. But I digress. On April 13, I had a bunch of battle reports from being plundered and from plundering. I saw my message light blink and thought I had just been plundered again. So I clicked select all and delete. Ouch!! That was stupid! Why deliver any awards in the Battle tab? Point is, whatever method you choose to deliver something to someone, via a hot event, a pearl, a chest, don't put it in a message attachment that someone can just delete. And don't you have a log file? This is a server, after all. If I did something stupid like delete a message with unretrieved attachments that didn't even give me a warning like "you are deleting a message with unretrieved attachments, are you sure you want to delete?", don't you have a log showing that I did that? My point is you can catch a liar who says they deleted when they actually retrieved it. And you can also see who is telling the truth when they honestly "fat fingered" and mass deleted some messages, one which included an unretrieved award by mistake.

When I'm going through the various dungeons and arenas in the game, I'd like to see the rewards become character aware. Stop giving me VIP tokens if I'm not a VIP. There are some awards which are really a slap in the face. At my current level of 52, giving me an Exp book of 1000 Exp points is like giving me a penny towards a $1200 Armani suit! Stop giving me Bows and Swords if I'm not an Archer or a Knight. Or even better, let me give them to an Archer or Knight to build friendliness like you can give roses. And on that note, and this is just a personal request. Can you please find some other item besides a rose to give for friendliness? As a heterosexual married man, I'm not in the habit of giving roses to other men. So..ya know....something else would be nice. Maybe season tickets to the Arena or something. I don't know. Just something besides a rose LOL.

What's the difference between a bound and unbound item? I've never been able to figure that out. All it really does is annoy me with messages about unbound items becoming bound if I use them or combine them.

Plundering:
I actually think this is kinda fun and there are some controls to prevent abuse. But in my opinion these controls don't go far enough. I'd like to see a limit on the number of times a particular player can be plundered set to 3. Right now, a player can be targeted and replundered by different players every two hours. This gives a player little chance of building up enough gold to convert some gems, do a blitz, get some Astrals, make a guild contribution. I'd also like to see the plundering range changed to within 5 levels. Give someone a chance to get some potions and runes and get their revenge! But there's very little chance of defeating a player that's 9 levels above them. I'd like to move more. Plundering is fun, and so is getting plundered from time to time. But it can be a source of bullying and so I'd like to suggest some additional controls and limitations.

When being plundered, it's in AFK mode. You can't defend yourself. When I'm being plundered, I'd like the chance to fight back on my own. Pop up a message wherever I'm at that says "Your castle is under attack, do you want to defend?" If I say "no" then let the AFK battle continue. But if I say yes, then I'd like to fight back and win an award from the other player if I'm successful in defending and thwarting the plunderer.

Farming:
I'd like the ability to stop people from stealing from my farm, or enable me the option of buying a farm protection buff. If I have this option enabled, then I can't steal from anyone else's farm either. If I steal from a farm while my farm is under a protection buff, then my farm protection buff is removed. Just like plundering.

World Boss:
I'm really happy about the "stand in" for World Boss. However, I'm really irritated that it's only in Balens. Why not Gold, Daru or Vouchers?
If I do choose to be present, as long as I'm in game, I'd like to not have to keep walking up to the boss, and clicking to re-enter the battle. If I'm there I'm there to fight the WB, not to sit there and AFK. That doesn't include the AFK battle button. What I mean is that after I die, I have to sit there and wait for the respawn timer, then manually click my character to walk up to the boss, and click again to enter battle. I want to automatically re-enter battle after the respawn timer has expired. Other rants...the same people are always at the top. I've sat there and looked at my toon strike the last blow, but I've never been awarded the last blow. Everyone should get a little something for participating in person. A few vouchers would be nice.

Balens:
If I spent as much real money as this game wants me to spend, my wife would have me arrested! I have to reset the shop for balens. Balens, balens, balens...everything is balens. There is currently no event, award or any other sort of quest that will give you Balens in the game...unless you call watching ad videos an event like recharging stamina.

Stamina, Blitzing and Timers:
This is my last pet peeve in this rant. I know, thank god, right? :-) The time on some things is just outrageously ridiculous. When I'm in stamina, I can't do anything else for two hours!! Just set the limit to 200 stamina per day and get rid of the Stamina Sauna. What's the point of sitting there, not doing anything, not allowed to click on anything, not even collect an award, while you're in the stamina sauna? I have the same opinion of Blitzing. Just blitz, get your awards, and that's it for blitzing for the day. Or at least provide some other engaging activities to do while you're blitzing.

Thanks for letting me rant. Hopefully you agree with some of my gripes.

[Landollan]

are you my twin?? jees you've covered every point and gripe I have in your post.. GM's! LISTEN TO THE MAN.. HE'S MAKING SENSE!!!!!

I might also add in BG lvls should also count.. can only attack UPWARDS would give the nubbies a half chance to get to their 1st BG chest for e.g.

[e314159]

Well... i agree over most points but...
Arena : for your information, do arenas with people around your level. Around = +/- 1.
Cultivation : We also have some real life, and being afk while recovering stamina is great. if you don't like, use the "Lord of Time" upgrade.
Reward in mail... well... just read your mails. And they aren't in the Battle Report tab.
Battle ground : You can't fight a lv 62, unless you are at least lv 60. Battleground are 1-39//40-49//50-59 and so on.
Balens : Whatever, you just can't recharge enough. Ultimate Pay just refuse most recharges for unknown reasons. (But still ask the bank for an authorization, which is excessively annoying, you can reach your card weekly spend limit without buying anything because of Ultimate Pay)

[Science_Obsessed]

One thing I did forget to add:

Troops: The monsters can have 5 or 6, but we an only have 2. And if we can't ever have more than our two toons in battle with us, at least I'd like to mix and match, and also mix and match their positions. Example, a Templar in front, Warlock and I in the back, or other combinations. Follow the formation pattern for PvP arenas.

[Science_Obsessed]

Well... i agree over most points but...
Arena : for your information, do arenas with people around your level. Around = +/- 1.

I've tested that methodology. It's made absolutely no difference. That was my point. I've done several tests with mix n match. So if that thinking was correct, I would have been obliterated when playing with two players 15 levels higher than my current level. Instead I had my best run yet.

Cultivation : We also have some real life, and being afk while recovering stamina is great. if you don't like, use the "Lord of Time" upgrade.

Lord of Time other spirit covenant items are among the things you can only get with balens. Balens, Balens, Balens, Balens! I do have actual expenses like food, and a mortgage, and gas. When it's time for Real Life, there's this link called "log off". Or I simply get up and walk away from the computer. But when I'm here, I'm here to play. Not to sit and watch some clock count down. What...are we 5 years old and being put on a "Time out"?

[Science_Obsessed]

..........

[e314159]

For arena, don't forget some parameters ... like, when it's BG time, most OP players are in BG, so arenas are easier.
Also, you may have done those runs with some overpowered players, for their respective level.
I noticed that arenas were quite easier for me in the second block, and overall, at the ends of "arenas time"
So... too many factors to say what's best.
Just, when I'm with players at my level, I never encounter players more than 3 level higher. That's enough to say that level-based groups are easier, in average. (oh, and in my reference system, a bad day is less than 28 wins. I usually do 29 or 30... so I guess it works)

When you're not on your computer, it seems it happens, why not letting your account logged in, on stamina cultivation?
That way, you get your stamina, and you can play "actively" when you're playing.
And, well, yes, "lord of Time" is Balens. If you don't have time and can't organize yourself, Balens are the only solution.

(And good idea for Troop mix, it should be quite easy to implement, as there is already a locked second slot for troops)

[Razzzar]

Great rant, Science.
It's Caladhol, btw.
I see someone has covered the BG part, so you probably already know that BG's are lvl restricted. lvl 1-39 fight in a separate BG, lvl 40-49 fight amongst themselves, 50-59, etc... every 10 lvls, there's a new BD dimension to explore.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I wanted to talk about the Arena.

I used to be where you are now. I never really counted my wins because they were so few. These days, my team (Fortune-Archer and Kloster-Knight) usually manage 28 wins per MP arena. Occasionally we'll win 30 in a row, sometimes we'll only win 20. Most days, though, we win 28/ 30.

So what's changed between then and now? It's not just BR. Battle Rating isn't the only measure of a player. I rather think that it's the concentration of BR that's important. For example, when i was lvl 45, my BR was about 25k. When I hit lvl 50, my BR was 30k. Now, at lvl 60, my BR is about 45k. However, I often see lvl 45's with 10k or 15k BR, lvl 50's with only 18-20k br, and some lvl 60's with only 30k BR. So it's not just about what your BR is, it's also about what BR is appropriate for your lvl, for you to be able to beat others at roughly your lvl.

I mean, I don't consider myself anything other than average. I'm not in the top 10 BR's or top 10 lvl for our server. I'm, just thorough. By that, i mean that I do all the fiddly things required to give myself the best chance I can have. I'll explain below:

1stly, Gems. you were saying before about plunders, and how you can't save enough money to convert gems, etc... I think there's a better way than saving. Ok, I blitz through the catas to lvl 99 each day, and waltz through lvl 100. Every day. That means every day I get (this is from memory, so if someone has written down the actual number, please feel free to correct me) 26 lvl 1 gems, 16 lvl 2 gems and 4 lvl 3 gems. And every day, I convert them all into what ever it is I'm pushing. Be it Matk, or Pdef, or what ever. I use the Levies for this. I collect the levies from my town hall, and they are enough to convert all my daily gems. Though I should point out, that you should always synthesise them into their highest form before converting. It can -but doesn't always- save you money.

Now, you don't have a lvl 60 town hall and lvl 60 gold refinery, so you won't be able to levy as much gold as me. But then again, you aren't at lvl 100 of the catas yet, either. So you get less money, but you also have less gems to convert. So it should all work out.


Ok, now if that is working for you as well as it has worked for me, then you'll have no reason to be trying to save money up. After the WB event, donate all your gold, build up enough contribution points to max out your guild skills. It gets ridiculously expensive, I know, but it's the bare minimum that's required to remain competitive. If you're fed up with guild skills for a while, then sink your gold into astrals. Some people I know like to take 1 week where all their gold goes to astrals, with all their gold going to guild contributions the next week, etc... On the other hand, I like to invest 300-350k gold each day into astrals and the rest goes to guild contribution points, or is spent on talents (you don't have to worry about talents until lvl 50).

Also, don't neglect your Academy skills. The ones that apply to you, instead of your troops should always be the same lvl as you. For example, I'm lvl 60 now. As soon as I hit lvl 60, the first thing I did was to upgrade the town hall to lvl 60, then upgrade the gold refinery to 60 (so the levy would be higher the next day) and also upgrade my Academy to lvl 60. Then I went into the academy, Hero Matk, Hero Mdef, Hero Pdef, Hero HP and Troops were all increased to lvl 60, along with Troop Patk (templars) Upgrading the troops patk was just a side thought, just so I can get more money in WB, really. But each time I lvl up, the first thing I do is to make sure that those 5 academy skills are upgraded.

If you do those 3 things (1)- Gems, (2)- Astrals/ Guild Skills and (3)- Academy Skills, you will be as competitive as the next person, and should find that you will win a lot more attempts in the BG and MP Arena. But as I say, these things are just the bare minimum, that everyone should be doing, to keep their character competitive.

Lastly, don't expect that by doing these things, that you'll be exceptional. No, the 'exceptionals' will always be lurking around the BG bend every so often, or behind the MP Arena door, ready to deliver a depressing whomping to 'normals' like us. They are the ones who will always have bafflingly high stats, like Tsagh, or Azmodeus, or Lord Yarash, or TRIP. I don't know how THEY do it, but I'd love to kidnap their personal trainers for a while :>

Peace out, mate.

Hope this helps.

[CondorHero]

Clicking on the space outside your inventory doesn't lose you your gem.

[Science_Obsessed]

Clicking on the space outside your inventory doesn't lose you your gem.

That isn't what I said. I didn't click on the space "outside" my inventory. I clicked on the empty space "inside" my inventory to put it back where I found it. That's when it went bye bye. Call it a bug, bad luck, a glitch, game pixies that just hate me...but it happened to me.