"Coalgate" , over a year and a half later.

destrowod · December 2017

Even tough its far from my worst problem with the game at the moment (chult achievements...) i wanted to take some time to go back at the CoalGate fiasco that happened in the past and how it impacted our NW gaming.

During the Thankgiving 2XRP and sales i decided to up that Negation i had (yes a normal Negation). Even tough i am a DPS its still something that i wanted to do as it give IL and can definately help the character a bit. I was also a bit lucky for once in getting 3 CW in a matter of a couple months in the vault of pity (after having been dry off luck totally for 9 months +)

The result was that i was able to make another Negation using those CW and some i had bough, and then combining my Negation with this new one to get a Greater Negation. Here is the catch tough... its a rank 9, so i would need a whole new greater Negation for this update...

We are talking millions of ADs... 1 Coal Ward give a lesser, i need 2 lesser to make a normal negation so thats 4 right there, with then another 4 for the second negation, so 8 coal wards + 1 more for the greater combined with greater. So a total of 9 Coal Wards.

I have lots of enchantements at rank 11 ready to go 12, and altough those can be done with pres wards, it ain't cheap either and im prepared to shred between 50-70 pres ward on each probably... plus the superior marks etc etc.

Bottom line is , i have other stuff to buy and can't direct all my incomes, even i played religiously every day like i used to (before the chult achievements unmotivated me)

Obviously right now due to the achievements situation i refuse to put money on the game, i won't encourage them until they fix them, and i may even quit the game eventually if my boycotting of Chult really impact me too negatively on the rest of the game (as not being able to play futur content etc)

But back a couple months ago, i was fine with dropping a 10 or a 20 on the game here and there for a pack of key. Unlike lootboxes in other games wich is seriously becoming a problem (BF2 for instance) i always saw NW lootboxes as a fun bonus, something to do to "treat yourself" here and there.

No matter if you would end up getting trash stuff, at least you where getting those nice Trade bars who would contribute to you buying Coal Wards wich where very important for your updates of armor/weapon enchants.

But since they took them away, wich made a huge backlash at the time, i still have a very pissed off video of me on my YT channel wich costed me a warning here when i posted it (:/) its not as fun or rewarding to open lootboxes. You always think you could have spent this cash on upgrades instead. Whats more important, the pleasure of openning boxes and hoping for that legendary mount? (or at least some purple semi rare stuff) or putting those 850 Zen on the Coal WARD? You used to have both...

I personally think im gonna stay at a Greater Negation, as its way too expensive to go for 9 Coal Wards just for this specific enchantement.

But the point is, all this time later, Coalgate still have an impact on players and how the game is played.

And just for the record even tough i have a Trans Vorpal and a Greater Negation, its mostly because they gave some Coalwards as a way to excuse themselves when the change happened and annoyed all the players, also i once got a normal negation out of a box, an old box wich is not the current one to happen anyway.

And before somebody say so, yes i could open old boxes (i even have left overs) but that mean forfeiting any chances at the current hot new legendary mount, so its not a good compromise at all.

kreatyve · December 2017

Well, I don't know if you have read about the new refining system, but you will no longer need that 2nd enchant for upgrading enchants once the new refining system is in place, so lesser coal wards will be needed, which kinda negates half your arguement there. Please look into the refining system that comes with 12b.

omegarealities · December 2017

Have a bunch of rank 9 stuff just waiting for it.

destrowod · December 2017

kreatyve said:
Well, I don't know if you have read about the new refining system,

Picked some parts left and rights. I am in favor of the whole "converting stones into RP" wich will remove the wait for 2XRP events and such, but i also heard peoples mention how the new levels (13/14) will be outrageously demanding.

I also heard that you gonna need more superior marks to upgrade, so i guess what you mention here may be a positive in a way, but the game never gives for free and always take something in counter part

I am not the most religious looker when it comes to video game, i mean i have some friends who play both on PC and Xbox, and talk NW day and night, while i am more a "i just want to have fun" type of guy, but what i heard abour the changes where half positive/half negative personally.

Also since mod12b will be the continuation of mod12 (obviously) i have no intention of playing it as long as the Xbox Achievements are in there current states (requiring thousands of hours of grinding in hope RNG is on your side)

zephyriah · December 2017

Your memory of "Coalgate" does not match mine. As I recall, it was because coal wards were added to the bazaar on PC with Mod 8 and removed after only a few weeks and never added to the bazaar on console, in spite of a promise, that caused the blowup. This would mean coal wards were never available for trade bars on consoles. Pres wards were because they were in bazaar before Mod8.

sundance777 · December 2017

I feel like the game already compensated us for coalgate, and spending money on lockboxes is probably not the best investment if you are trying to level up by opening lockboxes. If you instead converted your cash to AD you would have probably been in a position to buy or at least trade your way to transcendent. Or been able to buy several co-wards with $20 when they are on sale.

If you prefer the refine it yourself method, there are in game sources of co-wards as well as sales on these items and chance at them from the newer boxes inside the lockbox. I have 7 in the bank from the game right now that I did not purchase from the Zen Market or AH.

Spending small amounts of money on a chance at a big payout is what drives the lottery system, it's just a couple dollars here and a couple there, but alas in the end you would be farther ahead by just getting what you need instead of a chance at what you want.

kreatyve · December 2017

zephyriah said:
Your memory of "Coalgate" does not match mine. As I recall, it was because coal wards were added to the bazaar on PC with Mod 8 and removed after only a few weeks and never added to the bazaar on console, in spite of a promise, that caused the blowup. This would mean coal wards were never available for trade bars on consoles. Pres wards were because they were in bazaar before Mod8.

Your memory is a bit off. "Coalgate" happened because the coal wards, which started out costing 200 Trade Bars on the Trade Bar store, had their price lowered on PC to 75 Trade Bars for a time. Then when the update was set to hit console, instead of lowering the price of the wards to 75 TB, they completely removed them from the Trade Bar store. No advance warning of it happening, not even us moderators knew they were going to do it until it was done. They removed them from the PC Trade Bar store a few days later. They weren't ever in the Bazaar, which is completely different than the Trade Bar store, but they WERE available in the consoles Trade Bar store for 200 Trade Bars each, prior to being removed.

zephyriah · December 2017

kreatyve said:

zephyriah said:
Your memory of "Coalgate" does not match mine. As I recall, it was because coal wards were added to the bazaar on PC with Mod 8 and removed after only a few weeks and never added to the bazaar on console, in spite of a promise, that caused the blowup. This would mean coal wards were never available for trade bars on consoles. Pres wards were because they were in bazaar before Mod8.
Your memory is a bit off. "Coalgate" happened because the coal wards, which started out costing 200 Trade Bars on the Trade Bar store, had their price lowered on PC to 75 Trade Bars for a time. Then when the update was set to hit console, instead of lowering the price of the wards to 75 TB, they completely removed them from the Trade Bar store. No advance warning of it happening, not even us moderators knew they were going to do it until it was done. They removed them from the PC Trade Bar store a few days later. They weren't ever in the Bazaar, which is completely different than the Trade Bar store, but they WERE available in the consoles Trade Bar store for 200 Trade Bars each, prior to being removed.

I guess I'm getting senile.

I did forget they were ever in store at all, just remembered pres wards were.

I did not mean to say bazaar either, I know they were never there and that it was Trade Bar being discussed. Really messed that up.

yiazzy · December 2017

Destro....just use pres wards. You don't "need" coal wards for Negation upgrades. I used 14 pres wards and got 4 different lesser Armour/Weapon enchants. It's possible.

As for boycotting chult, that's your call. Achievements don't impact your characters in any way whatsoever, so to me? I could care less what they do with them. It's unrelated.

Coals are readily more available than ever right now. VoP, Warded Enchantment packs, Dungeon rewards etc. I don't understand why you think they're so difficult to get.

destrowod · December 2017

yiazzy said:
Destro....just use pres wards. You don't "need" coal wards for Negation upgrades. I used 14 pres wards and got 4 different lesser Armour/Weapon enchants. It's possible.

As for boycotting chult, that's your call. Achievements don't impact your characters in any way whatsoever, so to me? I could care less what they do with them. It's unrelated.

Coals are readily more available than ever right now. VoP, Warded Enchantment packs, Dungeon rewards etc. I don't understand why you think they're so difficult to get.

Its a 1% chance, seem very futile to use pres wards. No way you upped 4 enchants with 14 wards... i call BS sorry.

As for Coalwards available easily, well not for me. I don't really play much the most recent dungeons, i find them tedious and just not fun. I did FBI and MSP to get the achievements and i never bothered with them again. When you have to litteraly glitch bosses to pass the dungeon its just not fun playing them. And just getting a party to play them take so much time ... And when you are a DPS you got to fight for your place like 2 dudes on the buzzer in family feud... people post and then you answer and oups its already full, that is if they look for DPS at all.

And its cool if your not an achievement hunter, but i am. Achievements where my source of motivation on this game. I had completed the game up until SOMI , wich is when the first really painfull achievement master of svarborg was added, but for this one i always tough if i don't get it this year, ill get it next year or whatever when it become more doable as peoples up there characters (i don't have a problem not dying myself, its always someone else that do) So i always had that motivation to keep my character up to date to be able to do the new achievements. I wanted to keep full completion for the game. Its what pushed me to stay relevant in the game, never stop... My motivation, my goal !!

But with Chult its RNG pushed over the extreme. I am a dude with lot of free time in my life for video game but even i see this as completely over killing it. I know Neverwinter, and despite having done Underdark content to death i still miss some +5 rings, so if its any indication how much time i would have to invest on those... NO THANK YOU.

So since mod12 was released im kinda playing without motivation, i know my completion is HAMSTER... I don't have a goal anymore.

But as i said i know some peoples do not get invested in achievements or trophies, wich is fine. If they don't do it for you, fine. But some of us do, and a lot !! Its almost like i can't play anymore without some from of unlocks. Sometimes i look at the switch and i think it seem like a cool concept to play games on the go,but then i realize there is no achievements or whatever and i am just not motivated to play the games on it... LOL. Yes its that bad for me. I literally buy again games 2 times on diferent platforms just to redo the achievements or trophies. I completed Diablo 3 three times on Xbox across all versions and now i am almost finished with the vanilla ps3 version wich i played only for the platinum trophy.

So .... yup. Remove that fun from me and the game seem pointless. Im all fine with challenging achievements or even grindy ones. But give me a goal in the grind, like completing a campaign for instance ... i know it will take time but i have the objective in sight... With RNG... well you never know if you will get it at all...

destrowod · December 2017

sundance777 said:
I feel like the game already compensated us for coalgate, and spending money on lockboxes is probably not the best investment

lockboxes where like fun bonuses for me. I have only spent 90$ on this game. Its the price of a game at release in Canada. I mostly converted AD to zen from time to time to get boxes. I know its not the best investment but its the fun part, you think you have a chance at that shiny legendary mount, and honestly i needed one anyway. But obviously i spent my AD on a lot of different things when i was playing a lot.

For the compensasion, well if you had max tradebars when they gave some for free to compensate yeah you definately where good. I didn't had that many... only got 7 coal or so.. If they had stayed in the tradebar store, i would had bough so many more... I was not even asking for 75 price, even at 200 was ok. But the fact they led consol players to believe we would get them at 75 so nobody bough them at 200 only to remove them was dirty. Thats why they compensated us, and they had tough !!!

As for the last thanksgiving sale, yeah i was tempted to put some money i won't lie, but i refuse to if they don't fix the RNG achievements. Honestly if by the release of mod 12-b they don't fix them, im done with the game, i just uninstall it. So no point of putting money on it. I barely play these days... im not motivated. I play for 20-30 mins in a day and i just feel empty... like without a goal. So i stop.

yiazzy · December 2017

Call bs all you want, I've done 3 more in the last day. Using less than 20 pres wards. But hey, JUST for you, I'll remember to record it next time

agilesto · December 2017

yiazzy said:
Coals are readily more available than ever right now. VoP, Warded Enchantment packs, Dungeon rewards etc. I don't understand why you think they're so difficult to get.

This part is nice... in theory.

I got 3 coals wards from VoP in the period of NINE months with missing only 3 days and praying on a daily basis with six characters. I never got any coal wards in several dozens of warded enchantment packs, and never got any coal ward (neither did i get any P. ward) from several thousands of runs of everything, from esot to tong.

So, the theory is nice, however the reality is quite different.

draco16 · January 2018

Coalgate now really hits when players have to upgrade to 13 and 14 and it makes it even more expensive that it should be. Good luck folks on those 3% and 1% chances!

"Coalgate" , over a year and a half later.

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