EA and WOTC have successful online games and Activision-Blizzard is failing hardcore.

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Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
42,272
50,242
random raiding with Furor anecdote: On at least two separate occasions, nerfs came across within a couple weeks/month after they came up in one of our raids. Both might be coincidence but who knows.

1) Resto druids had a talent that gave their HoTs a chance to restore whatever your secondary resource was. Didn't really matter for most classes, but it mattered for DKs since they start with zero runic power and the proc rate with multiple HoTs up was fast enough that I could pre-charge Furor's RP bar to max before we engaged (sort of a big deal for initial aggro as a DK). He asked what I was doing and how I was doing it, and not too long afterwards the talent was nerfed so I couldn't pre-charge a DK anymore.

2) One night in Ulduar we wiped multiple times on Stormbreaker after we had been killing him cleanly for weeks, and the problem was that the healing wasn't getting the job done. When Furor came into the healer channel to light us up for sucking, I pointed out that our usual ret pally was missing so we were trying to do an intently aoe heavy raid without a major source of healing. Censura (prot pal) took over JoL duties and within like a month Judgement of Light was nerfed to no longer scale off of attack power but instead provide a % of health.
 

kaid

Blackwing Lair Raider
4,647
1,187
What's happening? Acti-Blizz is making record profits is what's happening. The things we want out of them are not what they're focused on.

Thats the the really sad thing. Whats causing blizzard/activisions issue is in the quest for infinite profit margines they keep tripping over their own feet. Its not that they are not even more successful than ever it is just that no amount of success will ever be enough and the short sighted quarterly rabbit they are chasing is fucking them up from making even bigger money hats worth of cash.
 
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Chanur

Shit Posting Professional
<Gold Donor>
26,341
38,014
They are cutting fixed costs to increase profit margin going into next years down forecast.
 
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kaid

Blackwing Lair Raider
4,647
1,187
Yup since they basically have nothing major that is shipping in 2019 they figure this years profits are going to not be that amazing and you don't need publishers if you don't plan on publishing anything in the next year can always rehire more minions again once you have something to ship.
 

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
6,379
33,478
Not sure I get the hate for companies trying to make money. Infinite profit margin? What does that even mean? Do you feel they are pushing profit margin beyond their industry peers? Sometimes gaming companies let us down and do not meet our demand, that is their fuck up.
 
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Fucker

Log Wizard
11,408
25,681
The worst part of all this bloodletting? Ion and Lore's heads weren't on the pile. This alone tells me they aren't interested in the products they ship.
 
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GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
6,691
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Diablo 4 is going to turn it around for them. . . in 2021!

2021?

MAN you are optimistic!

I would say the earliest would be like 2025

random raiding with Furor anecdote: On at least two separate occasions, nerfs came across within a couple weeks/month after they came up in one of our raids. Both might be coincidence but who knows.

1) Resto druids had a talent that gave their HoTs a chance to restore whatever your secondary resource was. Didn't really matter for most classes, but it mattered for DKs since they start with zero runic power and the proc rate with multiple HoTs up was fast enough that I could pre-charge Furor's RP bar to max before we engaged (sort of a big deal for initial aggro as a DK). He asked what I was doing and how I was doing it, and not too long afterwards the talent was nerfed so I couldn't pre-charge a DK anymore.

2) One night in Ulduar we wiped multiple times on Stormbreaker after we had been killing him cleanly for weeks, and the problem was that the healing wasn't getting the job done. When Furor came into the healer channel to light us up for sucking, I pointed out that our usual ret pally was missing so we were trying to do an intently aoe heavy raid without a major source of healing. Censura (prot pal) took over JoL duties and within like a month Judgement of Light was nerfed to no longer scale off of attack power but instead provide a % of health.

WAIT

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE

ARE YOU FUCKING SAYING THAT ALL MY ISSUES PLAYING DK AND MY PALADIN ARE BECAUSE YOU WERE GIVING FUROR ADVICE?

YOU KNOW WHAT, FUCK YOU IF THIS IS TRUE I'MMA CAPSLOCK THIS SHIT.

WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TELL FUROR ANYFUCKING THING YOU GOD DAMN MORON?

Motherfucking a like fucking shit, I had so much more fun playing the fucking game before all those changes, shit was interesting...you could think of new ways of beating bosses and clearing content. Now that shit is SO FUCKING vanilla it's boring as fuck. Literally the only difference classes have now is how they deal damage and you can effectively break ALL classes into 4 categories: Tank, Healer, Ranged, Melee.

Fucking Gavin fuck..
 
  • 8Worf
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Daezuel

Potato del Grande
22,813
48,098
including large swathes of the esports, publishing, and support departments across multiple studios in multiple countries. At least two substudios – King’s San Francisco studio and King mobile studio Z2Live – have been basically wiped out.

Eh, so cutting shit they basically don't need outside of Irvine is where most of this is coming from? How many people in Irvine were let go?
 

Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
42,272
50,242
2021?

MAN you are optimistic!

I would say the earliest would be like 2025



WAIT

WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE

ARE YOU FUCKING SAYING THAT ALL MY ISSUES PLAYING DK AND MY PALADIN ARE BECAUSE YOU WERE GIVING FUROR ADVICE?

YOU KNOW WHAT, FUCK YOU IF THIS IS TRUE I'MMA CAPSLOCK THIS SHIT.

WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TELL FUROR ANYFUCKING THING YOU GOD DAMN MORON?

Motherfucking a like fucking shit, I had so much more fun playing the fucking game before all those changes, shit was interesting...you could think of new ways of beating bosses and clearing content. Now that shit is SO FUCKING vanilla it's boring as fuck. Literally the only difference classes have now is how they deal damage and you can effectively break ALL classes into 4 categories: Tank, Healer, Ranged, Melee.

Fucking Gavin fuck..

He was the guild leader, its not like I could say 'shut the fuck up and enjoy the free RP', or 'get the fuck out of the healer channel'. The Judgement of Light thing was probably inevitable because ret JoL scaling was absolutely fucking retarded amounts of healing. The resto druid talent might have flown under the radar if I'd kept it to myself, but then what would the point of discovering it have been?
 

GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
6,691
16,854
Eh, so cutting shit they basically don't need outside of Irvine is where most of this is coming from? How many people in Irvine were let go?

I think the reports were that no ACTUAL programmers / developers were terminated, but I don't know of that accuracy.

He was the guild leader, its not like I could say 'shut the fuck up and enjoy the free RP', or 'get the fuck out of the healer channel'. The Judgement of Light thing was probably inevitable because ret JoL scaling was absolutely fucking retarded amounts of healing. The resto druid talent might have flown under the radar if I'd kept it to myself, but then what would the point of discovering it have been?

Meh at least I can hate Furor again and not feel like I'm holding a grudge, god damnit that guy made terrible decisions. Just goes to show you can fuck up your whole life and still make money.

Too bad he didn't knock up Lori or however you spell Lilchanter's name, that would have been amazing if he did.
 

Chris

Potato del Grande
18,036
-458
random raiding with Furor anecdote: On at least two separate occasions, nerfs came across within a couple weeks/month after they came up in one of our raids. Both might be coincidence but who knows.

1) Resto druids had a talent that gave their HoTs a chance to restore whatever your secondary resource was. Didn't really matter for most classes, but it mattered for DKs since they start with zero runic power and the proc rate with multiple HoTs up was fast enough that I could pre-charge Furor's RP bar to max before we engaged (sort of a big deal for initial aggro as a DK). He asked what I was doing and how I was doing it, and not too long afterwards the talent was nerfed so I couldn't pre-charge a DK anymore.

2) One night in Ulduar we wiped multiple times on Stormbreaker after we had been killing him cleanly for weeks, and the problem was that the healing wasn't getting the job done. When Furor came into the healer channel to light us up for sucking, I pointed out that our usual ret pally was missing so we were trying to do an intently aoe heavy raid without a major source of healing. Censura (prot pal) took over JoL duties and within like a month Judgement of Light was nerfed to no longer scale off of attack power but instead provide a % of health.

This shitty attitude explains a lot of the attrition losses WoW has suffered.

Those Druids were having fun supercharging the tank, Blizzard stopped the fun. They should have made it a feature of the Druid class.

The Paladins were having fun healing through DPS, Blizzard stopped the fun. They should have made it a feature of the Paladin class.

I played Shadow Priest and enjoyed Vampiric Embrace aoe healing and later the Mana Battery stuff. That's all gone now. Discipline offensive healing goes in phases of being good or bad.

What about when they accidentally made Warlocks viable tanks in Legion beta (I think) which Warlocks have wanted since off tanking Illidan in Black Temple. The Warlocks all got really excited about the expansion, then it was "bug fixed" away.

If every class has an overpowered utility, then no class is overpowered but just has extra depth and you just design fights with the mechanics in mind.

Every class has been redesigned so many times that they have all lost what people loved about them.
 
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GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
<Bronze Donator>
6,691
16,854
If every class has an overpowered utility, then no class is overpowered but just has extra depth and you just design fights with the mechanics in mind.

Every class has been redesigned so many times that they have all lost what people loved about them

100%

Having to re-learn my class every fucking expansion got old after the 2nd time. Nevermind they would "Balance" shit 1/2 way through the expansion and fuck all your gear decisions prior.

Then they got tired of having to balance classes and removed all the flavor of the classes though normalization. They removed the CHARACTER behind my classes, I LOVED playing WOTLK as a Melee Holy Paladin, shit was fun as hell. Then they decided that it was too OP and down the drain it went. An entire alternate play-style wiped out because "Balance Issues"...

Wife played a resto druid for a decade, she's one of those people that is happy doing anything and even she is done with WoW...we are both just so bored of it. The game will always do amazing because Autism exists but the game has fallen pretty far in terms of fun and exciting content. It has basically fallen to "Yeah lets buy the Xpack and play 3 months" for a majority of my circle of friends and even BFA only lasted like a month for most of them.
 
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Gavinmad

Mr. Poopybutthole
42,272
50,242
This shitty attitude explains a lot of the attrition losses WoW has suffered.

Those Druids were having fun supercharging the tank, Blizzard stopped the fun. They should have made it a feature of the Druid class.

The Paladins were having fun healing through DPS, Blizzard stopped the fun. They should have made it a feature of the Paladin class.

I played Shadow Priest and enjoyed Vampiric Embrace aoe healing and later the Mana Battery stuff. That's all gone now. Discipline offensive healing goes in phases of being good or bad.

What about when they accidentally made Warlocks viable tanks in Legion beta (I think) which Warlocks have wanted since off tanking Illidan in Black Temple. The Warlocks all got really excited about the expansion, then it was "bug fixed" away.

If every class has an overpowered utility, then no class is overpowered but just has extra depth and you just design fights with the mechanics in mind.

Every class has been redesigned so many times that they have all lost what people loved about them.

I don't disagree in principle, but the healing from a ret-specced paladin on an aoe heavy fight was absolutely fucking bonkers. And that's coming from a WotLK era resto druid.

Broadly speaking though, I agree that the mass homogenization of classes really took all the flavor out of it for me, even if it wasn't what ultimately killed the game for me.