Display MoreTwo weeks ago I made the first discussion, as far as I'm aware of, regarding the potential problems with the game.
There, I talked about a dropping player base due to a lack of end game and inflation in markets. Some agreed with me while others quickly shot down the conversation with excuses like, "it's still only in beta, why are you complaining" and "no one told you to get grind to max so fast and get burnt out." And now the forum is littered with complaints about these same issues.
The game has now launched officially. There weren't any updates, no change really except that it is announced as a full fledged game, which it is not. I do think that they should've waited for a big bundle of updates and rolled them out as the official launch. But this isn't a complaint or whining thread.
I played this game since day 1 of beta, and I enjoyed the grind (pre-level 40), before it got a little repetitive, but got excited again when I was nearing level 55 before being thoroughly let down with the current end game content, like many others. These are just common trends I see. I think that those who don't realize that this game already has major issues regarding content is rather short-sighted.
The next expansion will take some time and I don't place any blame on SoulForge. The game just released and will need much time to update. This currently leaves players at level 55 in limbo however. When the next expansion comes, it will stay for quite a while and actually offers very little. The Primal raid is the crown jewel of the update, but still only leaves end game into a one boss grind and possible pvp. This is something many people don't consider. If you don't feel fulfilled now, the next expansion will be a long wait and won't guarantee you the ideal end-game you dream about.
I think updates are naturally slow to come by from a small team such as GameForge and I really appreciate them bring this game to Western servers. However, the game itself is poorly designed content-wise. Slow updates will bleed out players who grow uninterested, the new updates will bring hype but not enough content to retain players for more than one or two months. I don't necessarily see Soulworker becoming a dead game, but it will be stagnant for sure, comprising of only hardcore player-base who thoroughly enjoy the game and genuinely don't care about its flaws.
i for one, am not one of these players and will be taking my leave. I have enjoyed my time here with the amazing/unique graphics as well as the combat system.
As farewell to this game, I leave you all with several myth busters:
- Being a new game doesn't make the problems less real. The amount of updates needed to satisfy and retain the 'average player-base' is absurd and almost impossible to do anytime soon.
- Grinding too fast doesn't mean the lack of end-game is not an issue. All players eventually reach end game, if it isn't satisfying, players will quit. Rather, those who grind heavily early on expose the problems that the rest of the community will face later on.
- Always be critical during betas, that's what they're for. Let's not forget that this game skipped an alpha, cbt, and basically had a pseudo-official launch. Problems are here, and they are staying.
Final Notes:
I am NOT complaining and asking the studios to do something. In fact, I feel their position and understand that there is little they can do.
I am NOT calling this game shit. I enjoyed my time here and I just don't see myself sticking with it.
I respect those who genuinely enjoy this game because I can see through their forum posts that they are really passionate players.
I hope many others will acknowledge these problems and decide whether or not they want to continue playing this game.
Those who deny these issues or turn a blind eye will justify a declining player-base as normal.
@edit
Edit by 25arp26, advertising
