Monday, November 19, 2012

Blizzard Announces Mandatory Faction, Race and Class Changes Coming

Warning: This post is meant to be taken tongue in cheek, while trying to prove a point.

In a recent announcement blizzard has said that they intended to expand on the success and exceptionally good reception that the cross realms zones have received while trying to balance the game and are taking it to the next step in balancing the game to be better for everyone, "If they like it or not", Daxxarri, a community manager on the US forums, is quoted as saying.

The following is an excerpt from the announcement on the main page:

We are proud to announce our continued efforts in balancing the game by addressing the faction imbalance, race imbalance, sex imbalance and class imbalance in the coming months.  Over the next year we hope to make the game more balanced than it has ever been in our efforts to push forward our vision of how you, the player, really wants the game.

The following is a schedule for when you can expect the changes:

December 18th, 2012, 5.1 Released and mandatory faction balancing being enforced.
March 12th, 2013, 5.2 Released and mandatory race and sex balancing being enforced.
July 23rd, 2013, 5.3 Released and mandatory class change balancing being enforced.

Please use this thread for any discussion on the matter and I will attempt to answer any reasonable questions.

Personally I am a bit worried about this change.  I paid to sex change characters, I paid to race change characters, I paid to faction transfer characters and I paid to server transfer characters.  They have already dismissed my concerns about paying to be on a smaller server by placing me on a larger cross realm zone against my will.  This will just further enforce things on me I might not want.

What if on my main server, being it is leaning slightly alliance they want to turn some of my characters horde.  I do not want them horde.  What if they change my only blacksmith or only engineer horde, I like having at least one of each profession on that server.  Can I change back?  The word mandatory seems to make it seem like I can't.  If they change my warrior, which is my engineer to horde and I pay to change it back can they force it to turn horde again and once more I would be put in the position that I paid to be for something they will not let me have like I paid to be on a small server and they said screw you, we are putting you on a large server?

After reading the announcement I have so many questions but if you have ever read here before I do not post on the battle net forums because it is a cesspool there and I do not want to deal with the garbage community that they do not moderate or the rude community managers that herd us all together like cattle and all but call anyone that disagrees with them an idiot.  So I decided that others would ask my questions and I would pick and choose some of those questions and answers to share here, at least the ones that I personally find important to me.

Now to the questions and answers that impact me, and maybe you.

Q: "I paid to be on a small server and was forced on to the cross realm zone does this mean that if I paid to be horde I could be forced to be alliance?"

A: "No one is forcing you to do anything, you can choose to not play, you can pay to faction change or you can embrace the changes and understand we know what you want better than you know what you want.  Your opinion really doesn't matter.  That is why we do not care if you paid to be on a small server and put you in a cross realm zone and that is why if your server is heavy horde we might change you to alliance to help balance the game.  It will be better for everyone, trust me.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Being you mentioned class changes for 5.3 does that mean we will also be getting a paid class change service?"

A: "Yes.  It has been asked for by the community for a long time and we felt that it was about time we added it to the game.  As you know we attempt to give the people what they want but there will be some restrictions.  If you are moving from a high played class to a low played class the price will be cheaper than moving from a middle played class to a low played class.  This is in an effort to try and help balance the classes.  If you play a low played class you will not be allowed to change your class as it would create a further imbalance and we are trying our best to correct that.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "If you are going to "enforce", your own words, class changes, why would I pay to change my class when you are going to do it for me for free like it or not?"

A: "If you want to pay to change your class and it makes an imbalance we will just change someone else to compensate.  For example, if you go from a warrior to a priest we will change one priest on your server to a warrior.  Your money means you have a choice and your choice means something when it comes with payment.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "If our money means something then how come me paying to be on a small server did not matter?"

A: "Why ask stupid questions?  I am not going to dignify that with an answer but wanted to tell all the people that keep bringing that up how great the cross realm zones have been for the game if you would just take your head out of your ass long enough to stop complaining about a few dollars wasted you would notice it. If anything, you people paying to be on small servers are the reason we had to do this.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "So what you are basically saying is that if I change my class I am screwing someone else out of theirs?"

A: "No, not at all.  They will, in turn, have the ability to pay to change their class too.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "If people keep paying is it possible it can come back to me and make me change even if I paid to change at one point before?"

A: "Possible?  Yes.  Likely? No.  Our data shows that not everyone is willing to pay for services like that so sooner or later the break point will come where everyone gets to play the class they like and we create a balance that is better for the game all at the same time.  Impressive right?
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "You were always against class changes, what changed?"

A: "The proving grounds are being added in 5.3 along with class changes.  When someone pays for a class change or is upgraded to a class change they will have to clear a series of class specific providing grounds that should make sure they have the acceptable skills to play their new class.  They will stay in that phased proving ground until they are capable of completing it.  So if they are bad, they are not going to be playing that class, simple as that.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Upgraded to a class change?  If I want to play a death knight I would not consider being forced to be a warrior an upgrade."

A: "And you are always right?  We have the data, we know better than you.  If you are chosen to be a warrior it is with good reason.  Whether you like it or not does not matter.  Leave it to be someone that rolls a death knight to complain about being a warrior.  I'll make sure your name is on the list for one of the first accounts we upgrade when this is implemented.  Female gnome warrior has a nice ring to it if you ask me.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "What if I do not want to play a horde character?"

A: "I have three words for you, Paid Faction Transfer.  Seriously, you could not figure that out on your own?
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Is it really needed to go this far?  50/50 male/female, 50/50 horde/alliance, all classes equally represented, etc?"

A: "For the betterment of the game, yes.  And in case you are wondering, I have all the data that proves that.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Why would there need to be sex balance?"

A: "How do the dwarves have little baby dwarves if there are no females?  The game needs to have some balance in everything and we think it is important that there is a balance of the sexes just as much as we believe that there should be a balance in PvP.  The only difference is that it will be a lot easier to balance the sexes as that is an exact number.  It will not effect your game play and will be better for the game.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "What if I do not want to be a male/female?"

A: "Do you really think you, as one person, is more important than the entire balance of the game?  Don't be so selfish.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "If I pay to play this game shouldn't I have some say in how, where and as what I play it?"

A: "Of course you shouldn't. Remember one thing.  This is my game, you just pay for it.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Why don't you just force us to play the specs you want us to play too being we will no longer have the right to choose what server we play on, what sex our character is, what faction, what class or what race?  Where does it stop?"

A: "We can't spoil everything for you but I will say this, in 6.0: Return of the Legion, we will be adding a mandatory spec alignment to the game which should all but remove any wait time from any random content ever again.  It is a long term goal of ours to bring the best game we can to the players and by making sure everyone is playing the roles that are needed to create that balance is just a small part of it.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "What if someone doesn't know how to heal?  Will they still have an option to DPS and if not how can they do quests?"

A: "Excellent question, thanks for not being a whiny little bitch like everyone else has been here and asking about game design.  If someone does not want to heal they can just leave their character in the proving grounds and roll another character, that will be allowed by the game, as only characters that are needed, race, sex, faction, spec and class will be capable of being created now.  From the list of what is open, they can decide.  As for your second question, no, they will not have a DPS spec, they will need to learn how to quest as a healer but fear not.  All healers will have an NPC that can be used to tank for them while they are questing just as all tanks will have a healer NPC that will keep them healed.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "You finally mentioned something I love, NPCs that will allow me to quest as a healer or tank.  Thanks for adding that."

A:  "You're welcome.  That was all my idea, so feel free to praise me because I am so perfect and awesome and I am turning this game into the greatest game ever as long as everyone steps in line and does things exactly how I tell them to do them.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Don't you think is it a little obnoxious to ask people to just step in line and do everything you say?"

A: "Can't you tell a joke when you hear one.  I did not mean it as you are taking it.  You seem to think you have a choice and you don't.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "So basically what you are saying with all these changes coming in the next year is that I have to play the class you want me to play, the race you want me to play, the sex you want me to be, the faction you want me on, and fill the role you want me too, no matter what I want to do?"

A: "You forgot one important thing, you have to play on the server we want you to play on.  It all started by us taking money from people that wanted to transfer to another server for whatever reason and then completely ignoring their desire to be on said server and putting them on the one we wanted them on.  But yes, all you said, and the server thing.  That is what I am saying.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "Is there any way to stop you from doing this?  The community is in an uproar, just look at all the forums here and on fan sites all around the net, no one wants this."

A: "You had your chance to stop this but you didn't.  When we made cross realm zones and people complained and then let it go while they got distracted by mists which was not cross realm you basically lost your voice.  You said to us, its okay, as long as we have new material to play.  So we will be releasing content faster, as the schedule shows just like you wished, and we will be changing your character as we wish, and you will like it, just like you now like cross realm zone.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Three months of being a warlock and you will get used to it.  Don't worry about it.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "So all of these ideas came from the cross realm zone?"

A:  "Absolutely. You paid to be on a small server, we screwed you over and put you on a massive merged server against your will, you complained for a while and then you fell in line like the sheep that you are.  You will all continue to fall in line and play whatever class, race, role, we want you too because you are all sheep.
- Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street"

Q: "But I want to be a paladin."

A: Suck it up buttercup.  I am sick and tired of I want, I want, I want.  Just do what we tell you to do and stop being so selfish, I have all the data and I know what is best for the game.  All of you people are just whiny little selfish jerks that would not know what is best for the game and I am sick of it.  I am done answering questions for the day.  GC out"

 Warning: This post is meant to be taken tongue in cheek, while trying to prove a point.

10 comments:

  1. I LOL'd! Honestly I had no issues with CRZ right up until last night when I was trying to level JC/Mining in outlands. Competing with other servers for ore needed to level is just wrong, much less the fact that it's now starting to ruin my servers economy. 350g is the lowest price for a stack of adamantite. So that's 3.5k for 25 skill levels if I don't want to rely on green skill level cuts while leveling. I am sure that it is the same in northrend and cata areas so the next 17 levels are going to be a pain to keep my professions up to date while earning gold on my new server.

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    1. I know what you mean, my leveling monk is running into the same exact problem and the prices on my server are completely out of control as all the resources are being eaten up by the other servers and my small pop server can not get anything meaning the prices on the auction house are insane.

      350g is not bad compared to mine, 800g on mine at the moment.

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  2. PVP anon here.

    This was hilarious! :-)

    Honestly, I don't think they are evil, they are just waaaaay over their heads in all this. The game has simply become too big for the team to handle.

    Each change they make has a ripple effect on the game, so they are naturally reluctant to making any changes apart from something they have already planned (of course, the quality of the planned changes is only better than the quality of all other changes on paper, not in the actual implementation). Because of these ripple effects, they are too slow to admit that a particular thing they are seeing is a problem. When they finally decide to take action and fix the problem, the damage is frequently already done (PVP season ended / next raid instance has gone live / etc). And while they do all this waiting and slow fixing, new problems crop up.

    They are messing up things faster than they are fixing them. I don't think this is going to change. The only saving grace is that, again, the game is big, and there are always parts of it that you can enjoy (despite there always being parts that you can't enjoy, because they are broken).

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    1. The game is huge and I do not envy them having to do the job they do. It is hard but there is something they do need to learn and that is to think things out a little before doing it. Something can sound great on paper but they need to spend some time researching how it will impact things long term. They just do not do that, you can tell.

      It is like the alt reputation thing right now. So many people have been complaining about it for a while and all they do is say, wait until 5.1. They have to learn that is not good enough, if there is a problem, address it, do not say, we will do it later and make people wait.

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  3. I understand the point you're trying to make here. You hate CRZ and with the problems you've had with it I understand why. This was quite funny too, the formatting made it seem real, which just made the fake stuff funnier.

    Maybe because I've not encountered any problems with CRZ, aside from my screen shuddering and getting a "you feel normal" on crossing zones, I don't dislike CRZ. In fact I really like the technology behind it, I love being able to group with friends on other servers to do dailies, hunt rares, level characters, use summoning stones etc.

    When I first went into Mount Hyjal after it was made CRZ I was a bit taken aback by seeing all the different people. I hadn't seen that many people questing in a low level area since I left my high pop server last January. I transferred at least 6 characters from my old high pop to my new medium server, it wasn't cheap. However, I didn't have any trouble questing. There were still enough mobs, in fact they were respawning almost instantly in places. I think the respawn rate is affected by the number of people in the area. I didn't move servers to get away from the high pop one because it was high pop. Although I still have friends on that server and the tales they tell me about Pandaria dailies make me glad I'm not still there.

    I don't quite understand why they did the forced CRZ thing. It fixes a non existent problem. Low pop servers have issues with the economy, finding players for raids/guilds and other current content issues. None of this is affected by CRZ.

    In my opinion CRZ is some fantastic technology which is making servers more irrelevant when it comes to playing with friends. I missed my friends on the high pop server and now we can just hang out if we want. However, the forced CRZ thing is unnecessary, is unpopular with a lot of people, though liked by some, and gets bad press. I think maybe, given how many different server names I see in these CRZ zones, they have a huge pool of players to pull from. So let people opt out of the forced CRZ areas, let people who like it stay in. Keep the technology because it's awesome and step three? Profit.

    I love this game and they do make some asinine decisions sometimes. Brawler's Guild invites anyone? Forced CRZ is the same problem, it's them getting enamoured with a good idea and going a bit too far.

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    1. If anything the CRZ has made the economy on small pop servers worse. The CRZ has made the already lesser raiding environment worse because my server rarely gets to kill gallon as people from other servers are here near instantly the moment he spawns with a group of their people to down him. The CRZ has made things worse for small pop servers, not better.

      Blizzard needs to understand that if people wanted to be on a high pop server they have the option to switch, if they do not want to pay, they have the option to reroll. They did not need to make a solution for low pop servers when one was not needed. I just wish there was an opt out option, that is all I want.

      I paid to be on a low pop server and they all but said, fuck you, you play where I want you to play. What is next? Telling me there are too many hunters and turning my hunter into a warlock and then when I complain they will tell me, fuck you, we don't care what you want to play.

      It is the same thing. Telling me what class I am allowed to play would be no different than telling me what server I am allowed to play on.

      What is next? Are any of the things I said going to happen? They could just as easily as our desires were completely ignored and dismissed with the cross realm zones as blizzard told us, we don't care where you want to play.

      It is a great technology, yes, but it has more faults than it does benefits. It does not fit as is in the game right now and should be removed.

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  4. Proud to say I was on Rexxar, but with the CRZ, it seems I am on Proudmore and those Proudmorians SUCK! Jumping in line, having to be first, 90's running over the under 40's grabbing nodes, herbs, killing mobs, what have you.

    And no, I have no under 40's, but I watch.

    And yes, my server economy has gone crazy, but to be honest, it went crazy a few years when the US started having money woes. Amazing how real world somehow became game world.

    Honest folks, if I wanted to be on a large server, I would be/move to a large server. Now, I am still on a small server, but we have big server problems.

    Please so note, I am not qq'ing about me, I can give back as good as what I see/received and I will become grabby, inconsiderate, and a pig to those who have another server name beside their name. And at the same time, I can be as nice and considerate as someone who shows that too. Death to Proudmore! (among a few).

    What I really dislike is the non-abilty to trade CRZ (not gold, but items) or to be able to make them friends without going the real id route. If you are in a party and grab the wrong thing after a kill, one is stuck with it - can't give it to someone on a different server. I just hope that Storm Wind doesn't become a CRZ city like Darn or IF.

    my 2 cents GE. thanks for a funny post :D

    -roo the trying to remember, "is it live or memorex"

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    1. They always say people that complain about it are QQing but they do not seem to grasp the concept that is is not crying, it is a valid complaint.

      If you went to the store and bought the newest horror movie and came home and it was a love story you would be pissed.

      If you ordered a steak and you got chicken breast instead you would be pissed.

      Same thing with the server issue, if you paid to be on a small server and were put on a large one you have a right to be pissed.

      Other businesses would get in big trouble and could even be sued over it. I wonder why one of those overreacting nerd ragers on the forums have not sued blizzard yet. I think they would win. It is a no brainer and and open and shut case. Blizzard took money for a service they refuse to supply. That my friend, is illegal.

      Just because the ToS said they have the right to change things look at the long list of big companies that were sued and lost big for changing things even if their ToS said they could. ToS is not a licensee for them to do whatever they want to us. They can still get in trouble for bad business practices.

      You mention a lot of other problems with CRZ. Can't trade, can't friend, can't black list, can't raid current content with, can't join their guild, etc. There are so many other problems that have nothing to do with the small/big server argument.

      The CRZ is a bad idea at a bad time added by a company that doesn't care about it customer base as proved by the insistence on not removing it or at the very least giving people the option of opting out of it.

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