WOF shows how MCOC is losing the Core Aspects of Video Games

If I had to consolidate all of the criticisms of WOF, and more generally, the evolution of MCOC to this point, I think it all falls under a feeling that MCOC is slowly losing all of the aspects that provide an enjoyable gaming experience.

Specifically, I would identify the core aspects that make a game good as creativity and the freedom to play in your own unique way. Obviously, these things have been very stripped from MCOC recently. WOF is the best example of this, as the counters needed are so specific that it completely diminishes the players ability to be creative and have fun discovering new ways of doing content.

I think it all kind of originated with Battlegrounds (which I do believe has done some good things for the game), when they started creating defenders that only had a few counters. To have a good battlegrounds deck, you can't really just rank champs you like, you have to focus on very specific counters and defenders. The idea is the same with WOF, where the specificity is just so intense. Unless you want to remain a mid-game player forever, you have to mostly stop playing the game the way you want to, which is literally the biggest way that games die.

I just hate, and I think most of you can agree with me, that we have been forced to play this game exactly how Kabam wants us to, and not how we--the players--want to. This problem is not new, but WOF has clearly pushed it to a point that literally everyone can see it, and nobody likes it. Just let me rank the champs I want and make content where no matter how you play the game, you can enjoy it--WOF is not that at all.

I love this game, please stop killing it Kabam, just let us be innovative again!

Comments

BringPopcorn

I think they pushed FOMO a lil too far this time.

BeastDad

I mean it’s pretty simple, just don’t waste your time doing it.

Vendemiaire

Carina's (10 Year Anniversarry), Epoch of Pain, The Ordeal, and Act 9.2 were some of the best content they have released in years and all of those were released just a few months ago. What made those game mode fun was the 'Planning' aspect. WoF feels like... here's a limited pool of champs, only 1 of them is viable, you can try the others but you will suffer significantly.

MrSanguini

Dude, nobody is forcing you to play Wheel of Fate. It’s like, the most optional content ever. The rewards aren’t even meta-defining. You lose very little by not doing it.

Assessing Kabam’s game design based on super-hard aspirational endgame content that they SAID would be restrictive is unfair. Why not make this judgement of Ordeal, Epoch, and 9.2? Those were all fine pieces of content for what difficulty and rewards they had.

SirGamesBond

Carina's (10 Year Anniversarry), Epoch of Pain, The Ordeal, and Act 9.2 were some of the best content they have released in years and all of those were released just a few months ago. What made those game mode fun was the 'Planning' aspect. WoF feels like... here's a limited pool of champs, only 1 of them is viable, you can try the others but you will suffer significantly.

I wouldn't include vanilla story mode as endgame content anymore. I don't disagree with epoch, ordeal or carinas.

FrostGiantLord

Dude, nobody is forcing you to play Wheel of Fate. It’s like, the most optional content ever. The rewards aren’t even meta-defining. You lose very little by not doing it.

I agree with this take. Wheel Of Fate is completely optional, the rewards are mid at best, and all of this will probably be available for everyone by the time July 4th sales roll around.

Zeke_the_Xbot

Dude, nobody is forcing you to play Wheel of Fate. It’s like, the most optional content ever. The rewards aren’t even meta-defining. You lose very little by not doing it.

Assessing Kabam’s game design based on super-hard aspirational endgame content that they SAID would be restrictive is unfair. Why not make this judgement of Ordeal, Epoch, and 9.2? Those were all fine pieces of content for what difficulty and rewards they had.

So now because other content exists means you can’t criticize the new content design?

Sir_Globalot

The only other game I can think of that relies on a wide roster is Warframe; sure, certain frames are better for certain content, but you can play the whole game with your favourite one if you wanted. Mcoc is definitely aiming for "use these specific champs to make it easier" and hitting "use these specific champs or you faaaaail!"

Glads

I would throw my 2 cents worth in, firstly the phrase end game is over used as more content will be created. But really these events/maps wheel of time, epoche of pain etc aren't created for people who have no content. But, generally speaking those who use and have used their credit card. Of course there are a few exceptions. What i mean by credit cards, a few of my alliance have completed wheel of time and epoche we are a highly ranked alliance. But those people have spent thousands on their rosters, thousands of their rank materials, and money on revives to clear content. Basically that's what these events are for to top up kabams coffers.
It does raise a point there is an increasing separation in the community with those who spend big, those who spend occasional and free to play. But it disadvantages those who do spend big in war, battlegrounds etc. I am not a fan of this tactic personally I think there are other ways to keep kabams coffers high yet instill some equity.
Overall some changes including the new eq for valiant and introduction of Radiance (again biasing those who spend thousands) has been a good choice and a long time coming.

JESUSCHRIST

7* gates, specific champion tags

But RNG when it comes to opening 7* crystals

You get 3 red hulk from opening 3 Titan crystals

MrSanguini

Dude, nobody is forcing you to play Wheel of Fate. It’s like, the most optional content ever. The rewards aren’t even meta-defining. You lose very little by not doing it.

Assessing Kabam’s game design based on super-hard aspirational endgame content that they SAID would be restrictive is unfair. Why not make this judgement of Ordeal, Epoch, and 9.2? Those were all fine pieces of content for what difficulty and rewards they had.
So now because other content exists means you can’t criticize the new content design?

I don't remember saying that. I said what I said because of this line in OP's post:

"that we have been forced to play this game exactly how Kabam wants us to"

Nobody is forcing you to play wheel of fate. Criticize it if you want but don't act like it's mandatory or even meta relevant content.

BigBlueOx

7* gates, specific champion tags

But RNG when it comes to opening 7* crystals

You get 3 red hulk from opening 3 Titan crystals

With only 20% of the pool being useful in the fight. That’s always been a problem when they use tags like this. You’d think they’d remember things like #robot Abs Man.

startropics

i've played t1 for a long time and keep up with all the content so i have a diverse account that can do this but even then i'm missing a couple of champs and the limited tags made some fights a problem. the pain fights were only a bunch of revives so it's not a big deal but i can't imagine what the smaller accounts are going through and i've also been lucky enough to get the right champs from titan crystals too.

the problem is that by the time players catch up with their rosters, the rewards will be very outdated, so i don't see how players can meaningfully grow into this.

DNA3000

Specifically, I would identify the core aspects that make a game good as creativity and the freedom to play in your own unique way.

First, that is a kind of game. We call them sandboxes. MCOC is not that kind of game. If that's the kind of game you like, you should find one that explicitly tries to be one, not one that only coincidentally is one temporarily. A lot of games start of very simple at launch, and they can appear to resemble such games. But almost all of them grow to exceed those parameters, and deliberately so. Not everyone likes to play such games.

Second, you can still in large part play how you want. MCOC has never tampered with the core progression and content of the game. The vast majority of players can play the game without having to engage in restrictive play. The pinnacle of restrictive core play was probably Act 6, and Kabam veered away from that towards much less punitive mechanics in Act 7+. Meanwhile the other game modes outside of the core stuff are all optional. Arena is optional. Battlegrounds is optional. AQ and AW is optional. Alliances themselves are optional - you can make your own solo alliance and still earn significant amounts of glory if you never want to play with another player ever.

Yes, if you don't do Incursions, if you don't do Battlegrounds, if you don't do arena or side quests, you won't get those rewards. The game gives you options, but it doesn't let you decide how much rewards you get. If you have patience, you can advance in this game and eventually do almost everything you want to do, it will just take more time.

The freedom to do whatever you want, for whatever rewards you dictate, in whatever time you have available, is not something MCOC has ever really presented nor strived for. Nor is it something the devs currently have any interest in making. Anyone who thinks the game was ever like that, or trying to be that, are mistaken. If you thought the game was actually allowing you to do whatever you wanted however you wanted, that was purely coincidental. You just happened to want to do what the game was currently focused on then.

And while you might think the majority of players agree with you, I personally doubt it. People might ask for stuff like that, but in practice games where that's the goal are a niche. Most people don't actually like playing them. If people actually wanted to play such games and wanted to support such games, they'd be everywhere. Because a game without rules and structure is so much easier to make than one that has that structure. Kabam could eliminate all those rules and limits you don't like practically instantly. They could make a game where everyone could do whatever they wanted and still get to "enjoy" the content and the rewards. It would take far less effort. But the game would be dead soon afterwards, because people like to ask for it, but don't actually enjoy playing it.

Flavyjay

GroundedWisdom

You CAN Rank who you want. What you're not guaranteed is who you want will be best for all future content. That's impossible with a game like this. There are too many Champs, too many combinations and Nodes, too many options. You HAVE to limit what people use at some point to add a layer of challenge.
It's not that ominous. It's one piece of content. The majority of other End-Game pieces that have been released have gone over well. So I don't agree that this is some leaf on a pile. It's just a piece of content, and we can take it or leave it.

Demonzfyre

Dude, nobody is forcing you to play Wheel of Fate. It’s like, the most optional content ever. The rewards aren’t even meta-defining. You lose very little by not doing it.

Assessing Kabam’s game design based on super-hard aspirational endgame content that they SAID would be restrictive is unfair. Why not make this judgement of Ordeal, Epoch, and 9.2? Those were all fine pieces of content for what difficulty and rewards they had.
So now because other content exists means you can’t criticize the new content design?

You can criticize it but to say Kabam is somehow "losing the core aspects of video games" is a gigantic overreaction. It's one piece of optional content. We've had a string of great content like the EoPs, Ordeals, Epoch's etc.. all solid content. But some how one piece of content with what everyone is saying has terrible rewards means the game is falling apart and whatnot is just silly.

Criticize the content. Give the feedback but dial back the drama.