Slow Decline
A series of very unfortunate events have caused a slow decline in the ArcheAge population. A certain amount of attrition is to be expected in any MMO. However, if what people say and post on forums and Reddit are to be believed, many are fed up with the constant stream of hacks and exploits coming to light in the NA release. Apparently, none of this is new news for AA that has been out in Korea for almost 3 years and in Russia for 2 years. If that’s the case, then I have to wonder at the due diligence on Trion’s part in signing on as the NA publisher with this many holes in the code base.
Combine the constant stream of ‘oh shits’ and in the eyes of many players, a few critical mismanagement steps on Trion’s part, a lack of end game that hasn’t been tarnished by the hacks and exploits, and you have a recipe for paying players waving goodbye. I don’t have to listen to what people say or read the forums, I can see it with my own eyes. I’m on what was the most populated server and it is slowly emptying out. Now throw the new WOW expansion into the mix and… Need I really say more?
Impacts to my Game
Only a few of the train wreck of issues have impacted me directly – the NA release of Auroria. Not even a prayer at getting land with all the issues and lockouts caused me to rethink my commerce and trade plan. Of course, I’m impacted by the land hacks and exploits that have busted the economy on top Trion and XL attempts at “fixing it” but on the whole, life for me in AA continued on.
I still enjoy what I found appealing about the game during Alpha – gain XP/level however you choose, decent PVE quests, interesting instanced content, OMG variety of trade professions, player housing, farming and an active economy where crafting matters. Sure there’s grind but show me an MMO that doesn’t have it. I skip the grinds I don’t find worthy of my time.
However, my game play isn’t unscathed. The player base mood is in a rapid and rabid freefall. AA holds so much promise. It’s painful to watch mishap after mishap unfold, knowing there isn’t another MMO like this to run to as an alternative. It feels like every day there’s a new exploit or game mechanic trollololol making its way around. It’s a sad situation. Lots of “honest” players are departing, leaving those of us who are trying to hang on, trapped in a den of thieves. And I don’t mean the acceptable PVP and Pirate kind, I mean the lowlife hacking, cheating, scummy kind.
It's not the End
This doesn't have to be the end of AA by any means. It wouldn't be the first MMO to continue after a VERY ROCKY beginning. However, very few of the games that do recover, ever do so to the point of being considered a "successful" MMO. They may survive for a time - APB and Vanguard for example. Yet, they'll never be what they could have been and aren't likely to have the revenue stream necessary for high quality content updates. They're more likely to linger - live off of lots of fixes, tweaks and minor updates - not the kind of game I commit years of gaming time to. FFXIV is the only MMO I'm aware of that's risen from the ashes of a failed start and maitain a subscription.
AA's payment model may give it more legs and life than a Vanguard type recovery. Except that I don't know who puts real money into a game with exploits that directly impede any value gained by having subscribed or contributed real money. The hacking and exploits are at the level where they completely eclipse any of the subscriber perks with the exception of owning land. There were issues up until a few days ago directly taking money out of Trion's pocket via a Market Place exploit. I'm not sure it gets much worse.
Some days I think, "AA will be my Vanguard". Low population game with features I adore but not enough players or new content to be my primary MMO. I know of players that stayed in Vanguard for years, I didn't even play live after I was in BETA. But now I get it, I feel about AA they way they must have for Vanguard. Much that I enjoy and can't get anywhere else or at this point, I just might. It's unfortunate that what I enjoy about the game pretty much requires a subscription - needed to own land. But that's not me. I'm prefer one MMO and one character at a time. I'm only dibbing and dabbing when I don't have a primary one to call home. And I was hoping AA was going to be home. I was banking on it being that at least until Star Citizen's RGP and persistent universe are released.
Playing w/o Paying
Several former guild mates are selling off their property before dropping their subscriptions. They're not bailing yet but are no longer committed enough to be paying players. Trion has so little control over the code I don't know how they're going to fix issues that have been busted for this long!?! I may look into supporting my account via in-game gold using APEX instead of subscribing. I know that I can generate enough gold to do it. It's more a question of is that what I want to turn my game play into?? I guess I could turn that into a challenge if nothing else and blog about what it takes for those considering the same. Hmm...
A well thought out comment which mirrors a lot of my feelings about Archeage. I too wanted to hang in there because of the great, unique, elements I loved, and I agree that Archeage had so much potential beyond many other games. But this game also has some serious, deal-breaking flaws. When I did start to consider "taking a break," it became a much more serious decision than any other game. Taking a break in Archeage meant losing my land, the element I most enjoyed about the game, and I found that upsetting and stressful in a way that a video game should not be. Content that you have worked for is present when you return to a game you've taken a break from. That's why I go back to WoW over and over. If we lost our primary possessions, who would return? Losing housing is essentially a punishment for leaving (or unsubbing), and I am not impressed. And because Did Trion think they would keep a sub forever? Who really wants to start over with the housing fiasco?
There was a secondary factor I read or heard somewhere that created a sort of epiphany for me as well. This is the only game with a sub that doesn't get you everything you need, but goads you constantly into extra spending in the manner of a Korean cash shop game. Except the Korean cash shop game doesn't have the sub. That is frankly appalling and a trend in gaming that should be stopped right now. It is flat out robbery to take a sub and cash shop money. This isn't like WoW's cash shop that is small, entirely optional, and a very minuscule element in a huge amount of cool stuff that come with your sub. I am sure that Blizzard was very careful to make it this way. Archeage, on the other hand, is like a full blown, look-at-all-the-goodies-we-have-to-make-your-game-so-much-better kind of cash shop game. I was tempted constantly to spend money in addition to the sub I was paying, and that made me very angry.
Apparently a sub wasn't good enough for Trion to give me 99.99% of the content. As gamers, we need to put a stop to that trend, or people will be spending hundreds of dollars more for games like this than they would with a sub-only game, which people typically claim they can't afford. This one sneaks up on you - it entices you to a sub with the player housing, then takes even more from you in a very carefully managed series of cash-shop game tactics. It is frankly shameful to hit paying customers with free-to-play cash-shop tactics. So, even though I hated losing my hard-won housing, it is the very reason I won't be returning to Archeage. I'll stick with games that appreciate my money.
Posted by: Liza P. | January 13, 2015 at 02:07 PM
Wow, you really made me think in your first paragraph. I'd also like to take a break but I'm afraid to give up what I've worked so hard for - all my my property. It would cost me a MINT to replace them if I ever returned after the break. This is something no other game has every required. You don't lose your house or farm in EQ2, Rift, WOW, etc. What's yours is yours. In EQ2 you just have to pay your back taxes and then you're set. And you're right, I shouldn't have to agonize over this decision. Because without the property the part of the game I'm playing doesn't exist and I wouldn't play it again. *sigh*
Now I'm really considering if I should be trying to hold on just in case I want to make a return. Perhaps it's time to just go. I do find the occasional farming and running trade routes is such a lovely game relaxing. However, the price of APEX has quadrupled which means paying for it in gold requires a more serious effort or depleting my bank account gold over time.
Posted by: Alysianah aka Saylah | January 13, 2015 at 03:28 PM
I absolutely agree and the spending goes beyond the cash shop. If you have land, the 5k labor will be eaten up really quick. Taxes are outrageous if you do not want to use the cash shop credits. The appraisal certs are outlandish. If you want to move as you progress through the game it is impossible without spending gads of money only to hopefully break even (buying a first property near a starting area is normal but most people want to move near guildmates or near higher level areas as they progress through the game). Then there is the double dipping...taxes to place, refundable deposit and then the local taxes. There is also the fact that I share labor between my chars but I can't transfer certain goods like "bound" tax certs, vehicles and housing (housing without taking another cash shop hit on a 300 credit appraisal for a 1 gold transfer and more taxes).
I think I would be farther along in game if I had not bought into working toward that farm cottage, aqua farm and 3 farms. If the population were not in steady decline and it didn't feel like a desolate wasteland 5 out of 7 days a week, I may not be so soured. But, it is honestly pretty boring seeing the same 15 or 20 names scrolling through or passing by on those long gold trader trips that do little more than keep my taxes paid.
My biggest beef is the response by the Trion team. I am not a forum troll by any means but when the marketing director showed up during the extended downtime episode to troll the forums and basically chastise his paying customers with paternal banter, my suggestion that maybe he was in the wrong profession led to my account being permanently banned from the forums. The company seems to have very little respect for the client. Their attitude suggests that we should be thanking them for simply being there and accept whatever crumbs we get with grace and silence. Fine by me...I'm a adult (most of the time) and can choose to go elsewhere. ATITD is firing back up and while the graphics are abysmal and the interface seems to have been designed during the reign of the Pharaoh, the game play is cerebral, the company (now being managed by a former power player) was originally attentive and engaged and the players are overwhelmingly mature. I'll trade graphics for good game play any day. If I want to see sunflowers bend, I'll go to the public gardens where, at least, the service reps won't treat me like a disposable wallet.
Posted by: Remichat | January 14, 2015 at 05:57 PM