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olocancom
Member Posts: 94 Arc User
The number of people forming ToMM runs has dropped significantly. I rarely see anybody doing MZC. Only 6 people online from my friends list. Only 4 online in my guild. Its 7pm on a Sunday, there used to be a lot more people around at this time. I know the number of players ebbs and flows in between Mods but we're only a few weeks into the newest one, it shouldn't be this dead. I'm not trying to be an alarmist screaming the game is dead, but it certainly is tonight.
My suggestion for the Devs would be to push up the next episode in the campaign so people have more to do in Sharandar. I've run VoS numerous times now but once you've got your drop from each boss there's not much incentive to keep running it all week. It's a major consumables dump, especially when the bosses suddenly turn their cone attacks and insta-kill you. Also, for the next mod you should consider adding a Skirmish in addition to the Dungeon or Trial so the lower level players can experience new content as well. Even if the campaign is locked out to them because of item level, having something new to run that the higher level players in their guild could enjoy too would help everyone.
But more importantly, fix the rewards system. Nobody wants to spend a half hour or more in dungeon if the reward at the end are Blackened Jaw gear or a black opal. I've seen some very detailed posts here with great suggestions on fixing the reward system and RNG in general. I hope the Dev team is actively considering them and working to implement changes asap.
TLDR: People are bored and the rewards suck.
My suggestion for the Devs would be to push up the next episode in the campaign so people have more to do in Sharandar. I've run VoS numerous times now but once you've got your drop from each boss there's not much incentive to keep running it all week. It's a major consumables dump, especially when the bosses suddenly turn their cone attacks and insta-kill you. Also, for the next mod you should consider adding a Skirmish in addition to the Dungeon or Trial so the lower level players can experience new content as well. Even if the campaign is locked out to them because of item level, having something new to run that the higher level players in their guild could enjoy too would help everyone.
But more importantly, fix the rewards system. Nobody wants to spend a half hour or more in dungeon if the reward at the end are Blackened Jaw gear or a black opal. I've seen some very detailed posts here with great suggestions on fixing the reward system and RNG in general. I hope the Dev team is actively considering them and working to implement changes asap.
TLDR: People are bored and the rewards suck.
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On the 2nd one I did a test against a woman in my alliance in a RTQ. I had better pets with their bonuses, way higher gear score and better mount bonuses. All my offensive stats were a good bit higher and the accompanying percentages were either higher or similar. She beat me in damage by around 500k and that was with her dying a few times. The scaling is broken. Except for maybe the lower leveling dungeons and trials I really don't know why scaling is even a consideration in the game. If someone isn't geared for a dungeon or an area, or lack the skill because they're new to the game, they should repeatedly die quickly and painfully. Likewise, if someone that has been around for at least a year or two and did the work on their toons, it should be like a walk in the park going through an area like Dread Ring, IWD or anywhere else that is required by weeklies or stronghold quests. Scaling the way it right now does nothing but take away almost all the incentive to do upgrades.
You just have to compare Zariel and ToMM. People run ToMM every day. Zariel is a desert.
Caturday Survivor
Elemental Evil Survivor
Undermontain Survivor
Mod20 Combat rework Survivor
Mod22 Refinement rework Survivor
45K Shattered diamonds = 12 pieces of companion gear..
So..100 diamonds arround 35 he or 45 m he ...you do the math..is this content fun to log in game?
I dont know...not for me..
This gear should be BoE, I dont know why this need to be BtA, they are scared of bots farming diamonds? I dont think NW have bot problems this days... they are elsewhere. Not much players to sell their stuff here.
Caturday Survivor
Elemental Evil Survivor
Undermontain Survivor
Mod20 Combat rework Survivor
Mod22 Refinement rework Survivor
Should be done in about 30 to 40 minutes, I will report the population within reason. However a precise mathematical statement about the total PC population is plus or minus 5% because the players move around a bit. Also you would get a higher sample on the weekend during peak hours. I will be right back...
Here is what I found.
Soshenstar River = 15
Lost City of Omu = 12
Undermountain = 44
Stardock = 1
Vallenhas = 96
Avernus = 116
===
292
New Sharandar = 52
Barovia = 37
Dread Ring = 22
Well of Dragons = 25
Mantol-Derith = 2
Bryn Shander = 23
Lonelywood = 7
Cold Run = 9
Sea of Moving Ice = 19
Icewind Pass = 17
Dwarven Valley = 3
Caer-Konig = 8
===
224
Elemental Evil
DS = 5
RR = 8
FP = 1
SR = 4
===
18
Ebon Downs = 14
Blackdagger = 20
Hotennow = 8
Pirate Skyhold = 5
Vellosk = 6
Helm's Hold = 16
Icespire Peak = 12
Rothe Valley = 8
Whispering Caverns = 10
===
99
PE
11x15 = 165
2x14 =28
+52
====
205
Blacklake = 20
Tower District = 32
Neverdeath Graveyard = 24
River District = 69
The Chasm = 7
===
152
990 Total Online (excluded are Strongholds and Dungeons)
Tuesday morning 5:45 to 6:15 AM EST
Soshenstar River = 26
Lost City of Omu = 18
Undermountain = 95
Stardock = 13
Vallenhas = 149
Avernus = 231
===
561
New Sharandar = 109
Barovia = 44
Dread Ring = 58
Well of Dragons = 60
Mantol-Derith = 18
Bryn Shander = 32
Lonelywood = 11
Cold Run = 5
Sea of Moving Ice = 22
Icewind Pass = 16
Dwarven Valley = 5
Caer-Konig = 16
===
396
Elemental Evil
DS = 14
RR = 19
FP = 12
SR = 10
===
55
Ebon Downs = 20
Blackdagger = 49
Hotenow = 27
Pirate Skyhold = 22
Vellosk = 16
Helm's Hold = 37
Icespire Peak = 26
Rothe Valley = 14
Whispering Caverns = 32
===
243
PE
38x15=570
2x14=28
3x13=39
+77
====
714
Blacklake = 46
Tower District = 78
Neverdeath Graveyard = 64
River District = 82
The Chasm = 134
===
404
2373 Total Online (excluded are Strongholds and Dungeons)
Tuesday afternoon 1 PM to 1:30 PM EST
I notice Avernus has more people in it than New Sharandar. In both counts, twice as many players in module 19, than module 20. Undermountain module 16 is almost tied with New Sharandar.
- No content, nothing to explore, nothing new to do. This is a big factor due to this module being fast and easy to finish.
- Spring is here, today I went out for a ride on my scooter, enjoying the weather.
- Other new online games have more appeal and offer a new experiences. I am currently dividing my time on two new games this summer.
- People are leaving their caves. Covid is almost to an end, regardless of what the media is saying, the majority of my apartment building (including myself and husband) got Covid back in early February. I have heart and lung problems and didn't find it any worse than any other flu. My husband was sicker but neither of us went into the hospital over the experience. My sister spent 2 months in the hospital over Covid.
Neverwinter and many other games have to work harder keeping the users they do have and attracting new players. The popularity of any online game ebbs over the course of time. I know this game is about to lose more players when they release Magic Legends. I am not interested in Magic, but others will be. I have no doubt Cryptic will put more support and focus behind ML once it starts up. I don't know how many players will return to the game, I hope to see them this fall. Two things will happen this fall that might increase player population; they have promised us a new class, and the next module should be ready to drop.As for my census, someone in game chat asked, "How are you sure your numbers are accurate? It is not like you work at Cryptic Studios.". For all the doubting Thomas in the room, it is not 100% accurate but pretty damn close. There is a thing called the uncertainty principle, where a person counts chickens in a pen, and since they will not stand still, there is about a 5% chance they counted the same bird twice or missed one.
Anyone can do what I did. Make a list of all or most the zones in a text editor. In the game, start with the least populated as they are the easiest. Press O key to bring up "Social Menu", choose "Find Person" tab, copy/paste the zone name and enter. If the total at the bottom is under 100, then you are done. For the others like PE you may need to visit. Avernus was over 100, but not by much, I keyed in Avernus #1 and got the amount in each instance until they stopped. If it stops, try at least 2 more just in case there is a break in the sequence. In Protector's Enclave, I open the change instance menu and sort by population. This afternoon there was 38 maps full 15 players, 2 reported 14, 3 at 13, the rest was simple to add up to 77.
I added up subtotals, totals, and came up with a population. I didn't count strongholds and dungeons. Every so often people will use Steam and others will criticize that Steam numbers are not accurate, due to Arc, and players, such as myself, who don't use either one. I believe the very best way, I have performed this census in the past is to get 3 or more players all counting within the same hour then compare counts. Assuming the people search engine is working, then your census should be very accurate.