Well this may just be the reaping of the field planted by players and devs alike with changes delivered without severe impact research.
Before trammel, all players were in the same place and forced to interract.
After that the PvPers were separated out from the other players.
And a instant influx of riskless gold and items introduced.
Every new facet/expansion has offered richer and richer drops to promot player purchasing.
With AoS, insurance introduced item constancy and capability.
Previously great items were somewhat better than good items, and even store bought items were useful.
With AoS store bought items are pretty much useless, good equipment is far outstretched by great equipment, and everyhting stays in game until it is surpassed in quality.
People no longer lose anything. The limited risk from monster looting in tram went from minimal to 0.
Now its not if you can make money, its how long. Making money is guaranteed.
And with all the changes playstyles have become segmented as well.
Merchants, PvPers, PvMers, Crafters, Rpers
All different communities in the same environment that pretty much want complete isolation from the others.
Players have become exceedingly stronger, and even though new content has grown in an attempt to match this player strength, old content has not been touched. So player can wax demons and dread spiders in 1-3 hits and make 10k a minute. Not counting that with a bit of extra time spent looting gems and items can increase that in the long run.
Now basically players have capped out. They've now pretty much gotten to the point with gear and equipment that the next step of equipment and skill is not that much of a gain.
The introduction of imbuing definitely helped to accelerate the leveling of the playing field. Now everybody is either at the top or so near to it, that its almost indistinguishable.
Then there is the community strife which everyone is crying out about changes to their play style and not getting attention.
The changes to the game have been addressed compartmentally and players have gotten so fickle and self centered that they would rather everybody quit the game rather than fix an imbalance which gives them power to their playstyle.
Greater dragons, dread warhorses, sampires, imbued artifacts, potions, poison, archery, ninjitsu, chivalry.
Just some of the things that are obviously out of whack. If the devs decided to balance those to make them any less overpowered, players would scream bloody murder.
And yet, the trends. The playres soloing peerless, rediculously overpowerd PvP templates, frustratingly difficult to "catch" players. Players carrying 400 potions.
So everyone is forced to adopt a select few playstyles in order to compete.
Why Interact with a group or party if I can solo a boss mob?
Why play a mage, if an archer does damage faster, more often, on the run and if ever in trouble runs off, drinking potions while firing on the run?
If they have to fix it in PvP, make sure it doesnt affect PvM!
Considering all the limitations on players in PvP, if its overpowered in PvP it probably works even better in PvM.
Merchants and tradesmen, go out gather resources safely without threat, and sell their items. Being bought by PvMers and PvPers.
Anyone notice the prices on Maces and Xbows skydive after concussion blow was changed. (considering the change really only made the difference in PvP)
All those 40-200 million weapons just tanked.
But before that how many PvPers left because they either didn't want to play those templates, or didnt want to shell out that much for those items.
The state of the game is in a state and the blame falls evenly over all of the players, and developers.
Players want developers to make the game fun, enjoyable and well functioning, while at the same time griping and complaining at any change that comes along.
The developers, have the wonderful position of conflict of interest. They are there to create a working functioning and enjoyable product. But their customers basically want instant gratification, everything now dont want to work for it, and dont want to change how they do it fix.
So they have to make something that challenges us, without giving us risk, rewards us, without making us work, and at the end of it when we get something we want it to be valuable to us.
If they give us what we want, we wont appreciate it, and if they give us what we need we wont want it..
Good luck with that!
