The BIG stick imbalance.

[bumper3]

This is the first on-line game I have played where game balance ends at a certain level.
I find it astonishing that at level five * it's no longer strategy, it's 'the big stick syndrome'

I haven't discovered that imbalance for myself yet since I am only lvl 3*; I have only experienced it through friends and allies I have made in the game. But I can be absolutely certain it will happen to me, to my clan, to my friends and to my enemies.

At level five* everything goes to pot, including the all important strategy.

What a shame.

This is ostensibly a strategy game, and by playing it to lvl 5* you can indeed play by strategy - including psychological games, and what a super game it is.
After lvl five * it descends to the lowest common denominator - the greater your attacking force, the more you win.
You can argue wizard towers, fighting towers and forts till you run out of breath but with enough wizards and healers, a large force isn't bothered by such minor details. It is only important how many counterspies and mirrors you have until your attacker looks at your army rating, and then it doesn't matter a jot what you have. He'll wipe out your domains faster than with a J cloth. Why? because he can and because it adds to his faculty rating.

What is the solution? A little more thought and a little more action to balance the game beyond level 5*.
If you don't, I am sure many people will vote with their accounts and just stop playing.

The big guys with the big sticks don't care about revenue and game continuance. They need reigning in. The guys that DO care and understand this rather important problem, need a more free reign to develop what is potentially a good and long lasting game.

Get your backsides into gear and sort out this important problem - not just MY problem, but a problem for my friends an enemies alike.

Cheers - Bumper.

ps - just a small point:
Thousands of people used to play an on-line game called Planeshift - but the owner/main developer decided to make some unpopular changes.
The players left. Not just in droves but by the thousands.
It never recovered; and the bad publicity it got through that and a number of other bad decisions has killed off the game entirely. Last time I checked only about 200 people were playing it.

Bad publicity will kill off your (new to the UK) game, and people will read reviews before they join and fund a game.
This is more expensive than several 'pay to play' games like WoW, so it has to be cleaner, tighter and fairer.
Atm it isn't.

To survive you need to change and adapt.

[Demonoid]

Agreed.

[WildWilly]

Agreed.

[wrunning]

While I haven't reached that level yet (maybe I could have if I didn't just suicide my army twice by now), it is rather clear that, at 5 stars, the game can be ruined very easily for the newer players by the well established ones.
There seems to be a really huge disproportion in what kind of forces an older player has towards a guy that just reached the 5 stars barrier.
I guess the most simple of the solutions would be to just add a few extra ranks, maybe up to 7 stars.
Hopefully this will happen, otherwise many players will just quit after they get picked and wiped out by the WAY more developed players.

[EvilRoySlade]

Agreed.. The imbalance at Lvl 5 is just crazy.. I used to play Lord of Ultima a similiar style of game but in the end because the admin didn't reign in the mighty clans it just became unplayable.. Like the other game mentioned earlier Planeshift.. People started leaving by the thousands..

For me I'll get to Lvl 5 then jack it in unless something is done .. I imagine quite a few others will too..

[shonnydell]

totally agree

all the level5 players i knew when i first started have all quit

its easy to say you should do this or that strategy, but once the big guys are after the xp of your army u dont stand a chance

its a shame because this is a great game until u reach level5 then its a waste of time and money