Firstly, I am a long time player.
I have been playing since early 2016 on PS, Mobile, and Switch. Over these years I’ve probably spent a cumulative $500+, so no small amount. A weapon offer here, a holiday offer there - it added up.
I loved the game (and gaming) and am not afraid to toss a buck or two into something I love!
Recently (as in a couple months ago) I finally was just drained.
The “hamster wheel” of daily, weekly, monthly events to keep up had finally worn me down. Even just one console keeping up was tiresome.
It felt like a job.
It wasn’t fun anymore.
So I took about 5 weeks off. Lord knows I had accumulated a ton of games in backlog!
Finally one day I came back, about 2 weeks ago. The game felt fresh again!
On Switch, I was way way behind in Hellcrag Monument, so I began the grind.
Then, 6.9 happened.
I went from making gradual progess on the Monument to now almost none.
When 3 weeks ago orcs and Hand of Zorn (for example) were the “weekly zeitgeist,” how in the world am I to reasonably hunt down HoZ? 20 orcs? Etc
Ive been a daily player for like 5+ years - I even have Hoard Mimic - you think I want to do 2, 3, 4+ mind-numbing Explores to completion? All to get 10x more minor traitstones from the next level of Campaign (when I have thousands!)?
Absolutely not.
You guys have been gradually dripping acid over the game, dissolving away the patina of fun and making it a monument to tedium and our wallets.
I haven’t minded a few bucks here or there…
Because the game was “net” fun!
But now it 100% is a job.
A chore.
A grind - and that’s coming from the guy who played 300+ cumulative days of WoW a decade ago.
GoW’s latest update is hands down (for me) a deathblow.
I already uninstalled off PS and my phone. Switch is barely clinging on - I am dreading, DREADING logging on to do today’s stuff.
Never in my 30+ years of gaming have I ever seen a team of devs so out of touch with their own game, design, “what’s fun,” and their own players.