I agree with the sentiment of the OP. I think 2x refine weekends have drastically reduced how much "fun" I personally get out of the game.
It's relatively easy to get the best gear, then just wait for every 3 months for a 2xRP to come around before you see any advancement to your toon.
My main issue with 2xRP is it destroys all the reasons the refinement system was supposed to be better than the fuse system.
Take artifacts. They go through many intermediate levels of stat increases before a refine level. With the old game, when refinement was new, you could easily see daily improvement to you characters ability by slowly raising your arti levels. Now, with 2xRP, anyone who is sane waits for a 2x weekend and artifacts refine whole refine marks at a time. There is no need for the intermediate levels. It has removed a lot of the addiction of regular advancement from the game. There are days I log on, knowing the next 2x is months away, and rather play for the 3 hours I intended I just log off and do something else. Because my character literally has no more options for improvement other than refining.
I however feel that always 2xRP would be needlessly obtuse. The system of items refining for more into certain types of items only really makes obvious sense at 1xRP.
So, I would like to see the permanent removal of the 2xRP event coinciding with a 50% straight reduction in the amount of RP needed for every refinement level in the game.
I understand that perfect world must not be making as much money as they would like off Neverwinter, as is demonstrated by mod7 holding loot "hostage" for Zen.
However, there is a point where attempting to make rare events that result in massive cash input to perfect world nets in a reduction of total money earned by enough people leaving the game at the abuse. Neverwinter acts like an abusive boyfriend. Sometimes it's kind and loving to you, but those actions are usually just hiding the abuse that comes with them.
Anyway, as Zen profits decline, Perfect World made the choice of adding more "force them to buy" items. Which has netted a greater decrease in overall profits as more and more players get tired of being abused.
I think the Neverwinter dev team needs to sit down for a serious meeting reviewing all of the "force them to buy Zen" content to evaluate which additions have destroyed previously enjoyable f2p aspects. At least as previously noted, the 2xRP weekend event has massively reduced the majority of player's enjoyment of the game. There comes a time where development of the game should not money grab for huge profits on a weekend every few months, when said money grab highly lowers the player's enjoyment of the game betwixt said events.
I would like to see a PR person respond to this post to prove that the Neverwinter team at least cares enough to minimally give us PR lies, if not describe the teams honest and truthful reason for such a game changing and slowly destroying event.
Really, people are whinging about getting 2xRP boost weekends. No-one is forcing you to save up your RP, you can still do it incrementally every day the way you want to, its just at the normal RP rate. I can't believe how stupid this argument is and that people wouldn't even put it forward. It amounts to "I'm too impatient to wait, I want my shiny thing now goddammit and stuff everyone else".
If you are trying to ask for the dev's to halve the RP quota, then do that.
I agree there is too much RP types, combining all of the Artifact RP types (i.e. Power, Stability and Union) into the one type would help.
I am all for ending BTA, BTC items it is such a waste of space. The artifact items are ridiculous as well I agree. Three different types that of three variances is a tad excessive and needs to be addressed. I don't care how the developers do it but sit down and discuss together collectively why players have a need for three variants of each refining stone or mark besides to drive us crazy. Or .......of course money gained from purchasing storage bags makes sense, but that still only resides a gain for one side.
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[]Full Metal Witch[] 4149 TiL Guild: (X1) The Legendary Outlaws
"The Best of the Best" "Nobody does it better" #TLO BiS
The problem all began way back when.... way back when they changed refining to monitize it. Back when it was a 4x of L3 to make L4 and 4x of L4 to make L5 etc. It was WAY more simple and less arguous to refine.
I have no idea how you think it was less arduous to refine back when this system was in place. And just for the record, the pres wards and coal wards were around even during the fusing system you so fondly recall. Also, don't forget that fusing was only for enchants since artifacts/gear didn't exist back then
Here is what the fusing system really was. It was a system that required you to have 4 of the same level enchants you wanted before you could make the next level. So to get a r8 you needed 4 r7s. and 4 r8s for a r9. This had the effect of being obscenely expensive. (the cost in gmops and marks and stuff was still less then making another 2 enchants before getting to the next rank). And inventory management back then was a major problem too because you had all these extra enchants laying around that were not many good until they were fused into the next level (which still cost wards), so if you had 3 enchants you were stuck with 3 enchants until you could get the 4th. Compared to now where you only have 2 until you have the AD to buy the gmops (gmops which are not in inventory). Also, the enchants did NOT stack if they were partially refined so please don't say silly things.
Now, i totally agree that they have added too many types of RP to the game, and then further compounded the problem by have 3 types of each type (BoP, BoA, BoE). That doesn't stop the fusing system from being something that is better left forgotten
The fusing system was far less expensive and easy from 1~6 or 7. It let new folks sort of "get in" on gear. The old fusing system is why they had those silly area contests each hour, you could get the 4th enchant you needed with little effort. Yes the wards were in back then as well, and high end you just had to have them, and yes it could get real expensive. But are you actually arguing it is less expensive now than then? If there is anything at all less expensive now vs. then it's just the repricing of the marks.
Every step of refining now is far more expensive now even with repriced marks factored in than back then. Recall this: gems didn't use RP, there wasn't a refining progress bar on every freaking gem. A gem was 100% and stackable. So back then you wanted a L7 gem? You needed 4xL6, 8xL5, 16xL4, 32xL3, 64xL2 (and yes you might fuse L1 to L2, but really the L2 and L3 dropped like candy, you really didn't need to, only time you used L1 was if you had a stack laying about and you wanted to reduce the stack for slot space so L2 took less space.
There was no bar for each gem rendering them non-stackable, there was no 1.5m RP to gather. It's true you had to type them out (each type of gem buff to like gem buff to fuse). But just before they went with now's refining mess, they relaxed that type to type and made it just level of gem to combine, it was heaven. Now if you don't refine exactly to the same % you can't stack them, so you wind up with 16 L5 taking up space until you are ready to plunk them in for the L6 or L7 push.
Now you got unrefined with 3 different stacks: BoA, BtC, and tradable.Now you have those three states in all of the following --->Now you got 3 types stones for artifacts and 10 levels of each. Now you got 10 levels of refining rocks for enchants and runes. Now you got approx. 8,9 jewels for RP. Now you got 10 levels of stones for artifacts AND 10 levels of stones for artifact gear (not for the actual artifacts. Now you got 3 different seal types in 5 different levels. Now you got 4?5? marks of... Yes you have the old wards as well.
And they started this whole refining mess with a post telling us how much more simple the new system was to be AND most of all, how it was going to free up sooooo much bags space. With all that mess ^ can you say it takes less space? Can you with a straight face say it is "simpler"?
I got an idea. With the new mod8 bag slot, make a special bag for it, call it the "refiners bottomless magical bag". Allow everything that has RP associated with them storable in it.. Let us really save some bag space that way. All that bound or not stuff, all the dozens and dozens of non stackable gems, all the lvls of rocks/stones/seals/marks etc. all the mess that is refining into 1 bag we can sort through when we need to refine. Let us not have to stop during dungeons or skirmishes or quests while looting to refine enough bag space back for other loot. THAT would be a service..hell even make it a VIP slot for storage, people would join VIP for that alone.
I wish to offer some advice to the devs, although they rarely take what good advice is often offered on these forums.
2XRP should be ended and never, ever come back.
Make it permanent. Just double all current RP for good. Here's why:
The joy and enthusiasm this game USED to bring was based on daily play and INCREMENTAL gains in your character. That's what made it fun and addictive. "If I play for another hour, I can upgrade my artifact another level and my toon's IL will go up!" So you did. And nearly every day you could see and enjoy progress. You performed a little bit better in dungeons or in PVP.
Today, with 2XRP, your character is a stagnant, boring toon that only gets better every few months, and all at once. That makes the game boring and far less compelling to play.
Breathe new life into this game and end the 2XRP. You won't regret it.
Well, my toons aren't stagnant. They incrementally increase. If a 2xrp weekend shows up, they increment a little faster. I don't wreck my own experience by deciding to fill my coffers full of items waiting for an event. Games are supposed to be fun, If you try to "game" any system such as putting yourself through hardship for special events then no matter how its designed it wont be fun for you, it'll be work. Its your decision to participate this way. If that way of doing it isn't fun, change how you interface with the activity.
On that note, ladies and gentlemen, this is a business. It wasn't put here just for your free entertainment. These people work in a skilled environment and have lives and this is their job. Business itself will always be all about the money. And these people have found many good ways to give you good entertainment for your dollar. But at the end of the day, they need sufficient funds to make the business worth while or this endeavor will disappear overnight. And I do mean overnight.
Comments
It's relatively easy to get the best gear, then just wait for every 3 months for a 2xRP to come around before you see any advancement to your toon.
My main issue with 2xRP is it destroys all the reasons the refinement system was supposed to be better than the fuse system.
Take artifacts. They go through many intermediate levels of stat increases before a refine level. With the old game, when refinement was new, you could easily see daily improvement to you characters ability by slowly raising your arti levels. Now, with 2xRP, anyone who is sane waits for a 2x weekend and artifacts refine whole refine marks at a time. There is no need for the intermediate levels. It has removed a lot of the addiction of regular advancement from the game. There are days I log on, knowing the next 2x is months away, and rather play for the 3 hours I intended I just log off and do something else. Because my character literally has no more options for improvement other than refining.
I however feel that always 2xRP would be needlessly obtuse. The system of items refining for more into certain types of items only really makes obvious sense at 1xRP.
So, I would like to see the permanent removal of the 2xRP event coinciding with a 50% straight reduction in the amount of RP needed for every refinement level in the game.
I understand that perfect world must not be making as much money as they would like off Neverwinter, as is demonstrated by mod7 holding loot "hostage" for Zen.
However, there is a point where attempting to make rare events that result in massive cash input to perfect world nets in a reduction of total money earned by enough people leaving the game at the abuse. Neverwinter acts like an abusive boyfriend. Sometimes it's kind and loving to you, but those actions are usually just hiding the abuse that comes with them.
Anyway, as Zen profits decline, Perfect World made the choice of adding more "force them to buy" items. Which has netted a greater decrease in overall profits as more and more players get tired of being abused.
I think the Neverwinter dev team needs to sit down for a serious meeting reviewing all of the "force them to buy Zen" content to evaluate which additions have destroyed previously enjoyable f2p aspects. At least as previously noted, the 2xRP weekend event has massively reduced the majority of player's enjoyment of the game. There comes a time where development of the game should not money grab for huge profits on a weekend every few months, when said money grab highly lowers the player's enjoyment of the game betwixt said events.
I would like to see a PR person respond to this post to prove that the Neverwinter team at least cares enough to minimally give us PR lies, if not describe the teams honest and truthful reason for such a game changing and slowly destroying event.
[]Full Metal Witch[]
4149 TiL
Guild: (X1) The Legendary Outlaws
"The Best of the Best"
"Nobody does it better"
#TLO BiS
Every step of refining now is far more expensive now even with repriced marks factored in than back then. Recall this: gems didn't use RP, there wasn't a refining progress bar on every freaking gem. A gem was 100% and stackable. So back then you wanted a L7 gem? You needed 4xL6, 8xL5, 16xL4, 32xL3, 64xL2 (and yes you might fuse L1 to L2, but really the L2 and L3 dropped like candy, you really didn't need to, only time you used L1 was if you had a stack laying about and you wanted to reduce the stack for slot space so L2 took less space.
There was no bar for each gem rendering them non-stackable, there was no 1.5m RP to gather. It's true you had to type them out (each type of gem buff to like gem buff to fuse). But just before they went with now's refining mess, they relaxed that type to type and made it just level of gem to combine, it was heaven. Now if you don't refine exactly to the same % you can't stack them, so you wind up with 16 L5 taking up space until you are ready to plunk them in for the L6 or L7 push.
Now you got unrefined with 3 different stacks: BoA, BtC, and tradable.Now you have those three states in all of the following --->Now you got 3 types stones for artifacts and 10 levels of each. Now you got 10 levels of refining rocks for enchants and runes. Now you got approx. 8,9 jewels for RP. Now you got 10 levels of stones for artifacts AND 10 levels of stones for artifact gear (not for the actual artifacts. Now you got 3 different seal types in 5 different levels. Now you got 4?5? marks of... Yes you have the old wards as well.
And they started this whole refining mess with a post telling us how much more simple the new system was to be AND most of all, how it was going to free up sooooo much bags space. With all that mess ^ can you say it takes less space? Can you with a straight face say it is "simpler"?
I got an idea. With the new mod8 bag slot, make a special bag for it, call it the "refiners bottomless magical bag". Allow everything that has RP associated with them storable in it.. Let us really save some bag space that way. All that bound or not stuff, all the dozens and dozens of non stackable gems, all the lvls of rocks/stones/seals/marks etc. all the mess that is refining into 1 bag we can sort through when we need to refine. Let us not have to stop during dungeons or skirmishes or quests while looting to refine enough bag space back for other loot. THAT would be a service..hell even make it a VIP slot for storage, people would join VIP for that alone.
On that note, ladies and gentlemen, this is a business. It wasn't put here just for your free entertainment. These people work in a skilled environment and have lives and this is their job. Business itself will always be all about the money. And these people have found many good ways to give you good entertainment for your dollar. But at the end of the day, they need sufficient funds to make the business worth while or this endeavor will disappear overnight. And I do mean overnight.