There’s been a bit of obnoxious discussion which has been going around since the original “nerf” of Webspinner. Namely, the “Who’s gonna be nerfed next?!” comments. It’s apparently gotten to the point where some users feel the staff and other users of the site are strictly against having fun.
This is not the case. I do not find people offering suggestions to better balance the game as a call for posting “It’s the Nerf Police, cheese it!!”, nor have I found it particularly funny that any mention of a good team demands a “Ban it! Cut off all forms of play!!” comment.
People seem to have failed to understand why changes are made, as if the users of the site actually have any say in what does or doesn’t get hit. So I’m going to take the time to explain some the changes made to troops so far, and why they were necessary to improve gameplay.
I’ll be keeping to the biggest controversial changes so far, as they had the largest impact on the communities discussion.
The Silent One - I wasn’t initially around for this guy’s changes. But from my understanding he was an essential must-have on any team at one time, to the point that playing against and without one was suicide in itself.
The Change - Obviously he needed to be hit, as a singular dominating force excels at limiting gameplay, and drives a wedge between those that did and didn’t have 'em. The cast was increase, the spell slightly altered, and his stats dropped. A bit extreme? Perhaps. But for the time every change was necessary to continue progressing the game, rather than splitting players into two camps.
Sheggra’s Cutoff - Sheggra originally had the little bug (Yes, it was officially stated as a bug, meaning unintentional mechanics were in play, not a nerf) that allowed each of her attacks to continue on to the next target when 2+ skull matches activated at once.
The Change - Firstly, this was labeled as a bug, so if it wasn’t changed then, it would’ve been fixed eventually. This bug had a seriously bad impact on the game, it allowed Sheggra or another front troop to single-handedly eliminate the entire opposing team in one turn. Now multiple skull matches are only soaked up by the first troop, but will often make matches of four or five, allowing combos to often continue.
Webspinner Loop - This was already an issue before the release of 1.0.7, but grew into an unignorable problem with the release of Team Bonuses. Teams of 4 Webspinner’s had 13 green gems generation, Attack at a minimum of 11, and Health capable of reaching over 30 easily.
The Change - It took a couple tries, but the staff decided on a set ‘gem generation’ balance. With the ability of creating 9 and 9 gems only, Webspinner’s endless looping was stopped, saving everyone from the death of a thousand bug bites. Without this change, Webspinner’s would still be our overlords. Though it did lead to another change.
Gem Spammers - Troops utilizing gem generation all received a minor alteration to fit the new Webspinner. Troops like Venoxia and Celestasia were on rather tough teams, and once they started, they rarely stopped. The fact that particular kingdoms and troop bonuses got boosts to magic, gem spammers had 1-2 more gem(s) to spam, and it surprisingly made quite the difference.
The Change - Like I said, Webspinners was the catalyst that toppled the kingdom of gem spammers. With the new Kingdom Bonuses as well as Team Bonuses put into place with the coming of 1.0.7, these troops began skyrocketing in usefulness. They could often wipe half the board, guaranteeing an extra turn, and then play endlessly to victory. When a game turns into a one-sided wait for the win/lose, it’s no longer fun to play or watch.
On the plus side, many gem spammers got the added effect of a stat boost in some form. Like the Goblin Shaman… wait… oh noooo!
Goblin Shaman - This is apparently the straw that broke the camels back for most people. With the boosts from 1.0.7 in play, goblin teams really shined in their ability to play with eachother, rather than competing against for mana. With the near guarantee of +4 Attack and +10 health for almost any goblin team, it became quite the force to be reckoned.
Shaman however was unique, it had the ability no other gem spammer had from the Gem Spammer Change, it guaranteed an extra turn. Whether it was missing a 4-5 Green match or simply wanting an extra hit on top of things, it played into giving goblins and even some other unique teams 0 chance of loss when activating. Essentially doing what Webspinner now did, but better.
The Change - Shaman had his mana generation changed from 9 to 7. That’s literally it. Extra turn remained, health boost remained, just a -2 gem creation alteration. This allowed for less chance of 5 match mana surges, as well as covering the board in green for other troops to play off of. And while it was only a Rare troop, it had the most powerful guarantee of chaining that no other troop had the luxury of.
Some users believe either the staff or the members are now “nerf-happy” because Shaman now spawns 2 less green gems on cast. It’s still a powerful gem spammer, it can still chain well, it’s still a driving force in any goblin team. It’s just less slightly less spammy than other troops, as you’d expect a Rare troop to be.
The Controversy of Today - More than likely, if you’ve payed any attention to the forums as of late, you’ll know that some users have been a little bored fighting against Any 3 same Troops + Prismatic Orb. Prismatic Orb sucks up any remaining mana left unused by the 3x troops, as well as powering those same troops to cast. While not particularly spammy or unfair, it does create a rather stale experience for those few players that fight a lot of them.
The Solution? - Well there are a couple ways to “solve” such an experience, but I’m not actually going to suggest anything and instead end with this.
The staff members do, and have always had the final say. Users will complain and shine light on possible “issues”, but ultimately the staff will play test multiples of not ten’s to hundred’s of simulated battle with several possible alterations before finalizing any given change.
They are not children playing to the beat of the playerbase’s peer pressure. They test, retest, and finally reretest many possible solutions to a player’s spotlighted issue, and will change nothing if they see nothing wrong. This has always been this way.
It’s not impulsive to make a change. Honestly, it says that the team admits to their mistakes in incorrectly balancing/releasing troops or weapons. Every change is a confession, not a nerf or buff.
How many games will alter something they released a week ago, and practically admit the original release wasn’t ready? I can name only one, personally.
So what am I trying to say?
Something pretty simple, making a suggestion for a mechanic or troop alteration is not to be ridiculed, or laughed at. It is what it’s always been, a suggestion. Not a demand or request, but a possible solution to a probable problem.
In the end, what the staff sees is the final call to any spotlighted suggestion. If they see nothing of concern, then nothing it will remain. Complaining, whining, or stressing the opposite will change nothing, it does not darken the spotlight, nor sway the staffs opinion.
Counter-arguments, opposing sides, alternative outlooks, these make differences.
Make your point and stick to it, don’t just cry “nerf”.
