Potential Delay to v44.1 Launch
We are currently working through some issues that may affect the release window of v44.1. This means that the update may not release on Monday as it usually does. We are working to resolve the issue holding us up as quickly as possible, but will keep you all updated, especially if the delay results in any changes to the content release schedule.
We are currently working through some issues that may affect the release window of v44.1. This means that the update may not release on Monday as it usually does. We are working to resolve the issue holding us up as quickly as possible, but will keep you all updated, especially if the delay results in any changes to the content release schedule.
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Alliance Wars: the long-term nerf that nobody talks about
startropics
Posts: 573 ★★★★
tl;DR: great champs and big rankups don't really matter anymore because they're being soft-nerfed and made irrelevant in war on a long-term basis.
before battlegrounds was a thing, AW was the only game mode that let our champs shine. yes, pulling champs like star lord and stark spidey was important for labyrinth, and pre-nerf story mode definitely asked for firepower, but AW was the only repeating content that tested the limits of our rosters and the sole reason why many players chased champs and spent money on rankups (prestige champs don't count since they're just a number).
this takes us to where we are today. story content is easy, EQ and AQ don't matter, and everest content is still very rare, which leaves us with AW as the only mode where champions matter (we can treat BG and AW as the same for now).
niche AW globals and the blacklist system have de facto nerfed our best champions and we have no agency over war anymore.
1. we can't use most of our top champs.
2. they tell us who to use and who to rank
3. our rankups get banned
4. then we move on to the next global to repeat the process all over again and in the meantime our best champs sit on the bench
quick tangent. kabam is not shy about wanting the chance to nerf herc, and this thread isn't about him, but for the sake argument let's say they wanted to nerf him. hypothetically why can't they just make a custom tag for him and each season give him 90% reduced damage? well, they can because it's their game, but they won't because it's too obvious and know the community would see through it. they also have better ways of dealing with good champs through indirect nerfs, like what they're doing now, and it doesn't just affect herc but every other powerful champ in the game.
in comes globals and blacklists....
1. globals
globals are becoming more and more restrictive. it used to be that they gave an advantage, but weren't necessary like they are now. globals are so punishing that if we don't use a niche global attacker we die.
2. blacklists
this makes the niche problem even worse, especially in the second season of a global. the champs that we need and the champs that we just spent resources on are now banned, so we have to dig deeper.
3. whitelists
....also known as a long term rotating blacklist of the best champs. how can a whitelist be a blacklist? because what good is a whitelist if they're incompatible with the global anyway?
herc was whitelisted during decay where most of the defenders were mystics, placebos fed mystic dispersion, and his kit can't counter unstoppable. unusable. he was also whitelisted in the first season of magic thief. again, unusable.
who's going to be whitelisted in the upcoming second season of magic thief? ghost and scorp.
what good is ghost when each phase can give defenders 2, 3, 4, or 5 indestructibles?
what good is scorpion against skill defenders who shrug or get powered up by his debuffs? zemo, kingpin, killmonger, jabari, crossbones, agent venom, hitmonkey, and blade. not a coincidence that many of the cosmics have armor breaks that hard counter ghost.
the whitelist is marketed as pro-player but in effect it's a blacklist.
the way war is currently designed nerfs not just the typical top few best champs but most of them, and this gives the feeling that NONE of our great rankups matter anymore because they will always be playing second fiddle to average to slightly above average globals.
i want to use my favorite champs, so did when did mcoc become a contest of mediocrity?
niche globals are not always bad. we get to use champs we've never used before and there's some element of fun there, but our best champs that we work so hard to get (necropolis, offers) and rank ups (content, gifting, spring cleaning, july 4) are no longer legitimately usable and just sit there collecting dust, and it's a crummy feeling.
i have no clue how to balance a game that involves an ever-increasing number of champions and an ever-increasing complexity, but whatever this is, it doesn't feel good and it's obvious what's happening. open up the taps on the globals and let us use our favorite champions again, i can't be the only one that feels this way.
before battlegrounds was a thing, AW was the only game mode that let our champs shine. yes, pulling champs like star lord and stark spidey was important for labyrinth, and pre-nerf story mode definitely asked for firepower, but AW was the only repeating content that tested the limits of our rosters and the sole reason why many players chased champs and spent money on rankups (prestige champs don't count since they're just a number).
this takes us to where we are today. story content is easy, EQ and AQ don't matter, and everest content is still very rare, which leaves us with AW as the only mode where champions matter (we can treat BG and AW as the same for now).
niche AW globals and the blacklist system have de facto nerfed our best champions and we have no agency over war anymore.
1. we can't use most of our top champs.
2. they tell us who to use and who to rank
3. our rankups get banned
4. then we move on to the next global to repeat the process all over again and in the meantime our best champs sit on the bench
quick tangent. kabam is not shy about wanting the chance to nerf herc, and this thread isn't about him, but for the sake argument let's say they wanted to nerf him. hypothetically why can't they just make a custom tag for him and each season give him 90% reduced damage? well, they can because it's their game, but they won't because it's too obvious and know the community would see through it. they also have better ways of dealing with good champs through indirect nerfs, like what they're doing now, and it doesn't just affect herc but every other powerful champ in the game.
in comes globals and blacklists....
1. globals
globals are becoming more and more restrictive. it used to be that they gave an advantage, but weren't necessary like they are now. globals are so punishing that if we don't use a niche global attacker we die.
2. blacklists
this makes the niche problem even worse, especially in the second season of a global. the champs that we need and the champs that we just spent resources on are now banned, so we have to dig deeper.
3. whitelists
....also known as a long term rotating blacklist of the best champs. how can a whitelist be a blacklist? because what good is a whitelist if they're incompatible with the global anyway?
herc was whitelisted during decay where most of the defenders were mystics, placebos fed mystic dispersion, and his kit can't counter unstoppable. unusable. he was also whitelisted in the first season of magic thief. again, unusable.
who's going to be whitelisted in the upcoming second season of magic thief? ghost and scorp.
what good is ghost when each phase can give defenders 2, 3, 4, or 5 indestructibles?
what good is scorpion against skill defenders who shrug or get powered up by his debuffs? zemo, kingpin, killmonger, jabari, crossbones, agent venom, hitmonkey, and blade. not a coincidence that many of the cosmics have armor breaks that hard counter ghost.
the whitelist is marketed as pro-player but in effect it's a blacklist.
the way war is currently designed nerfs not just the typical top few best champs but most of them, and this gives the feeling that NONE of our great rankups matter anymore because they will always be playing second fiddle to average to slightly above average globals.
i want to use my favorite champs, so did when did mcoc become a contest of mediocrity?
niche globals are not always bad. we get to use champs we've never used before and there's some element of fun there, but our best champs that we work so hard to get (necropolis, offers) and rank ups (content, gifting, spring cleaning, july 4) are no longer legitimately usable and just sit there collecting dust, and it's a crummy feeling.
i have no clue how to balance a game that involves an ever-increasing number of champions and an ever-increasing complexity, but whatever this is, it doesn't feel good and it's obvious what's happening. open up the taps on the globals and let us use our favorite champions again, i can't be the only one that feels this way.
37
Comments
the mode went from "place whoever, rank whoever, and go to war!" to "we decide almost everything now, your champ's don't function like they're supposed to, and your rosters don't matter except for a small chosen few and only because we say so and when we say so".
we lost the driver's seat and we're just passive participants having our hands held and being told what to do. it's a really awful feeling.
how can a champ have so much and so little value at the same time? we're burning resources on nothingness...
and maybe a few at the top might use ghost on hazard shift during magic thief, but how advisable is that? to me these champs are conveniently being whitelisted when the map is mostly incompatible with them, which is screams "by design".
It feels better not being stressed to do rankups that I don't want at the drop of a hat, and take up champs that I actually enjoy playing
People don't want to play the mode because its just not fun.
Then 3 months later, there's July-4th, Kabam will make BANK (which is very cool, make money but at least don't suck out the fun off gamemodes)
War went from challenging and hard but fun
To
Must rank THIS THAT THIS, super hard new defenders with tactics added on boss island nodes with champions blacklisted.
Kabam had to nerf x-magica tactics and a tactic before it as well, clearly shows that they are making content TOO tuned. (Only nerfs tactics after T-1 wars stops spending for potions)
In the current state, it's conceivable that 2 champs can become unusable for an entire meta and that's not okay. Thinking about it, we should just have a whitelist and leave allies to choose their 3 bans. The 3 champs that get banned the most then become whitelisted and allies then can choose another 3 champs to ban at their own discretion each war in the following season.
I'm so done with these tactics bro
War, while frustrating in terms of dying and items, was always a mode that I found fun and could improve my skills. Now, it's just becoming a drag, especially to plan. By the second season of the meta, it's pretty much now 5 of the top tactic attackers getting banned and the tactics are so niche that it's pointless.
Majority of the node interactions either aren't tested or they are not cared about. You barely have 1-2 counters to niche node placements and then those are banned and it's a struggle to get a half decent counter.
On the other hand, you HAVE to rank up tactic attackers who then become half useless in war most meta's.
The next instalment of story and the next Everest content will be a long time coming and with the state of the pvp game modes being what they are, a lot of summoners are going to put this game down for good, I can see it now.
Raids isn’t what it could be, Battlegrounds is frustrating for anyone with a less than stellar roster to get into GC, and AW is too restrictive and rigid with its rules and tactics.
Special quests are hit and miss as they have always been, and AQ is a flat out snooze fest that many can’t even be bothered exploring or joining like they used to.
It's easier to make this system than changing the AW map.
Honestly, of the 50 node points that we can place defenders on, more than half are completely useless and are diversity placements.
I'm not saying that all fights should be difficult and kill you, but that it is extremely difficult and seems like a waste to put defenders in some fights.
Imagine if every year they changed half the map: Think about the interaction of more than 250 champions with each new node, also taking into account the interaction of 2 new champions per month. If something is problematic, it's Kabam's fault. And in the end, after all this work to ensure that everything is working as it should, people would come in with Ghost, Hercules, Omega Red, Corvus and destroy the map without having to read the nodes.
What's the problem with that? Well, Kabam had to spend a lot of time reformulating the AW map so that in the end, the same old solutions would destroy the map.
This creates some problems that no one talks about:
1. A team works to create new champions. These champions will not be used in AW because there will always be dominant champions.
2. The game mode becomes less attractive, with a smaller diversity of champions.
3. The main thing: Few deaths and the weight of dying in a fight ends your day.
I have been playing in alliance master for over 3 years. I don't like what AW has become now. But I see that Kabam is trying to find a balance to please the community and so that the mode doesn't become abandoned and repetitive.
What I could suggest:
1. Globals should last 3 or 4 seasons instead of 2.
2. New Champions should be introduced into globals at the end of each season, both in defense and attack. This would make the investment in a particular champion worthwhile, the whitelist would return to working as it was before. People who want to compete at the highest level would continue to invest in new champions at the end of each season.
Another example, Bishop was banned in most wars last season, and he'll continue to be banned this season due to the blacklist. In S50, when the defensive tactic change, he'll be available. But why?
I think an (unpopular) idea that could address this issue could be to extend the duration of defensive tactics from two seasons to three. This way, when the third season with the defensive tactic arrives, we'll be able to use our top champions from the attack tactic.
there are so many good attackers over the years that maybe making most of them unusable each meta is the only way war is possible now?
if we had the freedom to pick any 3 of these for example, wouldn't the whole system break?
scorpion
torch
silk
og hulk
titania
nick fury
valkyrie
kate bishop
kingpin
archangel
omega red
bishop
kitty pryde
herc
cgr
hulkling
galan
nimrod
ghost
doom
tigra
abs man
juggernaut
chavez
kit for kit these guys even run through destroyers, bullseyes, onslaughts, and everything else in the game. for every kate bishop that's allowed to roam free, maybe they have to make 2-3 unique 5/5 defenders just to make up for it?
can we have a dev explain how the sausage gets made? collectively, do the "great" attackers cover too much ground that makes a free-for-all no longer possible?
if that's the case, how do we put value back in the great champs because they're not seeing any play these days and are just trophies collecting dust at this point.
why would players spend 60k units on this greatest of all time champ if they're told they can only bring their icemans, saurons, dragonmans, and storm-x to the only competitive mode in the game??
https://playcontestofchampions.com/news/omega-days/