Can we have a GC for PvP please?

Q u o t e:
I'm not a fan of the QQ. But PvP is too big an element of the game not to have occasional dev forum posts.

Here is the problem with that line of thinking:

But UI mods are too big an element of the game...
But tradeskills are too big an element of the game...
But world events are too big an element of the game...
But RP is too big an element of the game...
But twinking is too big an element of the game...
But lore is too big an element of the game...

I am astounded by the number of posters in this thread who said essentially "PvP is self-evidently more important than all those other aspects of the game mentioned." I can only imagine it must be an echo chamber effect, where you flock to PvP oriented discussions and so see only other people focused on PvP and conclude that is all there is.

If I had to guess, the number of players who care greatly about PvP design is probably a fraction of those who care -- with just as much passion and whatever measurement of hardcoreness you want to use -- about achievements or UI mods. It doesn't matter though, because they are all important parts of the game to us.

The role forums are about class design, mechanics and balance (both PvP and PvE). These are the forums in which I choose to post, and I barely have enough time to keep up with them. I do try and read as many of the other forums as I can, and there are plenty of other developers who do too. Please don't try to make a game out of keeping score about which topics, classes etc. get the most of my posts. I've seen the way those games play out. Even if I posted the exact same number of PvP and PvE responses every day, players would come back with "Yeah, but the PvE responses were more substantive" or "Yeah, but PvP has more issues, so we deserve more responses."

These forums have been even whinier than normal lately. It might make you feel a little better to vent, but in the long term it drives away smart players (and perhaps even some of the developers who have been trying to stick with it). Let's try to cut back on the "I feel neglected" posts and stick with discussions with actual content.

Make good points, on any topic relevant to the game, and we will read them and consider them. That's all I can offer you.

Q u o t e:
Umm... I think he's pretty damn worked up on it when he's threatened to quit posting multiple times before. Ask the Shadow Priests. He spends so much time posting about behavioral issues.

You give yourselves too much credit. :) I've been in this business for many years. If I didn't have thick skin, I would have washed out long ago. Given the healthy sense of entitlement among some of our posters, I feel that I'm a pretty patient guy overall. :) However, I don't have much tolerance for crying. Long-time posters have figured out that's not the way to get their points taken seriously.

Blizzard isn't interested in banning our way to kinder, gentler forums. But we do get a lot of inexperienced, immature or inappropriate posts, and sometimes it doesn't take much to convert those posters into a positive force for the community. We'll ban the outright trolls, but there are also players who have a valid point and are just struggling with the best way to communicate it. A little direction can go a long way there. (The best way, for the record, is to be objective, specific and brief.)

I was hoping in this particular thread to point out the logical disconnect in the argument that my posting a little bit isn't sufficient -- that I must post a lot on a variety of topics (and most importantly the specific topics of interest to some of you) to be useful. Somehow, my trying to help foster communication on class issues becomes a problem because someone's personal burning issue on another aspect of the game isn't getting as much attention. I just don't have the bandwidth or inclination to visit every forum we have. This is what you're going to get from me. Take it or leave it. :)

I assure you, someone, sometimes me, will read your opinions about Arena map balance or tradeskill design or UI mod policy in the other forums. As the sticky says, you don't need a blue post for that to be so.