Why doesn't Anet bring in top players?

#1 - July 6, 2013, 10:31 p.m.

…to balance the classes?

I don’t mean it to be a rhetoric nor am I being sarcastic. I am genuinely curious as to why ArenaNet doesn’t seek aid from top players of the community.

You may argue… under what sort of criteria would you pick out these ‘top player’s but that’s not really the point, is it? There’s plenty of players that represent the ‘top of the crop’ and it’s hardly difficult to find a trend among the things that they demand from their classes. I don’t mean simply give them what they want and buff the class. I mean have an open discussion with them as to what sort of changes should be made to find an overall equilibrium.

Please excuse me for saying so, but after so many failed attempts to balance the classes, I see ANet’s class development team’s further attempt to balance the classes purely based on their own speculations to be arrogance. I’m sure I don’t give them enough credit in many ways; they most likely gather they feedback from various channels of resources that I’m not citing – whether it’s streams, forums, or spectator mode.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

That said, I really do feel that ANet really has to take advantage of the opinion from the very small number of intense pvp players that our community has. Because simply, not everyone’s opinion weighs the same.

Allie Murdock

#33 - July 10, 2013, 1:47 p.m.

Powerr, like every other person at this company, worked hard to get his job here and it is well deserved. No, we did not say “he’s the number 1 player, HIRED!”

We talk to players of all skill levels. We closely monitor these forums, on top of what Jonathan said in SotG. As mentioned earlier, it’s not uncommon for devs to discuss these things in-game as well.

This may be surprising to some of you, but we’re capable of judging objective vs subjective feedback. It’s ingrained in our minds to analyze feedback this way (that is, after all, a huge part of a Quality Assurance testers job). It’s part of the process in game development.

It might not seem this way sometimes, but we definitely hear you.

steps back into the shadows

Allie Murdock

#37 - July 10, 2013, 2:16 p.m.

Well, the devs could sit around and reply to all your threads, or they could implement some of the changes you’re hoping for. We really appreciate all of the feedback, and that’s why I come on here to remind you that we’re still here.

We just gave you guys a huge balance patch, so does it make sense that in the time leading up to it and a while afterwards (monitoring PvP meta-game as it develops as well as other areas of the game) we can’t be as present on the forums?

Also, we can’t just make instant changes when an issue of balance comes up. One change can affect the entire game, so we have to be very calculated. Knee-jerk reactions can actually do more harm than good, so we have to be choosy about how we handle these things. This has mostly been covered when we say things like “we don’t want to whack-a-mole balance.”

That’s not to say that we’re not going to make changes. There is just a lot to game development than meets the eye.

You guys have been so incredibly helpful with your constructive feedback, so keep it coming!

Allie Murdock

#41 - July 10, 2013, 2:41 p.m.

Don’t get sappy on me, guys.

Ah hell, we <3 you all!

Allie Murdock

#44 - July 10, 2013, 2:54 p.m.

Interesting idea, RoyHarmon.5398, but would that really satisfy the hope to have your suggestions implemented? Wouldn’t it then turn into “devs hit the check mark but they didn’t understand or implement” kind of thing? Maybe there is a middle ground, though.

Allie Murdock

#48 - July 10, 2013, 3:10 p.m.

KrisHQ.4719:
For threads that deal with bugs/glitches and similar problems it would definitely be helpful, since you’re kinda left in the dark if the thread does not get any replies.
It’s impossible to know if the thread has been seen by a moderator or developer, or if it slipped to page four with rocket speed.

Fair enough!

edit:
Roy – That is a very reasonable and respectable approach, one that I fear not many would have.

Allie Murdock

#53 - July 10, 2013, 5:03 p.m.

Aww, that’s not fair. We play the game ourselves, and are present for most tournaments that are being held. What you cut out of my post was that we have to be careful about balance, so I can see why you might think that things never change.

If you want to elaborate on that though, you’re welcome to! Thanks for the feedback!

Allie Murdock

#81 - July 22, 2013, 2:43 p.m.

Posting patch notes is well and good except for the fact that any feedback on changes is just theorycrafting, and not supported by actual play.

edit: I didn’t add this because it was already mentioned in this thread, but I will say it again in case you forgot – we do have ways to get proper, supported feedback on changes.