A Case Against 'Untekk Rate Fix' And Other Changes

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Hey as a semi new player to this server being here about 2 months or so now I wanted to give my opinion on this after reading everyone’s POV. The ID changes don’t bother me much but I don’t think it’s right to effectively hurt the community over a few people with section ID bots. My biggest concern regarding that is when leaders dc in long runs which means having back up IDs join second will be a thing now but still take away QOL. I agree with earlier points that this game should be vanilla but with QOL improvements that keeps people engaged positively. The 3 months modsecid imo is fine since monthly changes did diminish the relevance of IDs and sure I came from psogc where ID was static and we managed just fine but the changes of convenience are things that have drawn me more to this server for a better custom experience while still staying close to vanilla.

As for the untekk rate I feel like leaving it alone wouldn’t have hurt anyone and is a counter QOL change. Tweaking things or fixing things is fine if it improves QOL, anything counter to that for vanillas sake which stirs up the community negatively for a private server isn’t healthy. Honestly I’ve always end up quitting BB servers for GC servers over the years due to drama similar to this so it wouldn’t surprise me if I did end up going elsewhere after only being here a short time due to such a negative undertone between admins and players over direction and definition of improvements to a game we all share the same passion for. I’m glad this thread exists for open conversation on something a lot find controversial and I’m aware this server isn’t run off community feedback but for any healthy private server with passionate players their feedback should always be very relevant when making major changes imo.
 
Instead of seeing people make games and switch characters for diversity in play & enjoyment of character choice, they are going to be stuck on that character with that ID and not enjoying the game
That's a bit hyperbolic. The whole point of the Section ID system is to force you to either play with other people or make multiple characters. The previous system invalidated Section IDs to the point where they might as well have been abolished entirely in favour of having a menu to select your desired drop chart when creating a team, because that was effectively already the case.

If the goal is to take the base game even further away from the "Vanilla plus QOL improvements" that I thought it was, then why not fix everything? Allow an immediate +10 tekk option. Get rid of some of the inexplicable class-specific equips. Re-balance technique damage. Hell, re-balance class stats while you're at it. Make the game "better" in your opinion by fixing what you view as the "errors" that Sega had in creating the game.
That's quite the straw man. Fixing typos is completely different from changing gameplay mechanics. It's obvious that when Red Ring required level 181 in V2 and then 108 in GC that Sega transposed the digits when typing in the level requirement. The same thing applies to the 82% element rate when the regular rate is 28%. If the rate were 94% or some completely different number you could argue that it was intentional, but when the pattern goes "28, 28, 82, 30, 30" it's obviously a data entry error. This has nothing to do with annoying but intentional mechanics like the Tekker.
 
I'd say this should have been a poll to show how much this doesn't really bother people but the problem with the silent majority is that they're silent.

That said it's worth pointing out that I only ever see the same people bringing this up. I never hear about it from players in the lobby. So let's not pretend like this is some detriment to the player base as a whole.

Side A: "fix segas mistakes"
Side B: "don't fix segas mistakes"
Probably most active players: *Alt+Q*
 
The untekk rate for me was a way to convince others to join for some off meta runs.

I'll use WoL3 as an example from last year, me and a few others ended up doing a lot of purplenum runs where not everyone was really interested in a yask9k but tagged along because there was while still slim an above average chance of finding a nice pair of 55-60h vulcs.

Now I can't make much of a case for this quest/id in NMU3 and even while I still want the yask we're all just running redria all the time and I can't even convince myself to do anything else. Even Greenil would have been an interesting option for HS + untekk but now that id is useless here in comparison.

It has taken away some valuable variety in these areas I think. I don't think it has anything to do with greed at all.
 
This will be my last post on this topic.

I’m going to be completely transparent on how I feel about this now, in accordance not only to the changes made but also to the way everyone has reacted thus far. I feel no reason to keep any of my thoughts a secret. I’d rather everyone be able to read the thoughts of a once dedicated player of Ephinea, logging in almost every day and grinding for what felt like non-stop these past 8 or so months.

It’s already been said and told how these changes will affect the balance of normal mode, how it’s not in line with Vanilla PSOBB, and so forth. I shouldn’t need to reiterate on any of these claims, as they are always set in truth and experience of players such as myself. Nobody is lying to you, hiding a secret exploit from you, none of us are doing such things. Who do you think are the first ones to report abusable aspects of the game? The passionate players are the ones who discover them after all, it only makes sense.

We have the insight to do such a thing, and the hands-on approach is certainly helping us in that case. I advise that staff put a little more trust in us given this much. But that’s just my advice, and every one of us has our own to provide.

I simply don’t agree with the approach staff takes to not only the game, but the passionate players. You look upon us with such a reeking condescendance that it stands out in nearly every interaction I've had with you.

Look at it this way:
I’ve played for probably over 1600 hours, and a large percentage of that time played has been in public games. I’m also not one known to simply sit in lobby. Yet in all my time spent playing public games, I have yet to play one game with an admin. I have yet to even discuss the game in detail with an admin beyond small talk and jokes, and I love talking about PSO as anyone who knows me is aware of.

And yet it’s claimed that I’ve only complained. You say this with such confidence, yet I ask you, how much do you really know about me? What have I done for the community? What are my priorities? My intentions? How much of an impact does a player like me really have?

It’s simply impossible for you to know the answers to these questions, so stop acting as if you would. That goes not only for me, but for anyone else. It’s not worth your time to pretend you know our interactions well enough to make such judgements.

The only players who I could see complaining are those who are looking for a specific combination of special, type of weapon, and percents and want to farm those maps repeatedly for it. Or, maybe, players who want to find decent things to sell to other players to make a quick buck.

This much is assumed of players like me, but the truth of the matter is that we’re all playing for our own reasons. I am not known to incessantly box run, nor play solo, nor care about making a “quick buck.” My first priority in this game has always been to improve and play well, with my next priority being enabling others with their improvement. With this in mind, it should be obvious that I do not care what I’m hunting and instead care for the community and players that surround me.

So it must be unimaginable to you that I would be against this change, wouldn’t it?

But I can see how it’s affected the players around me, because I talked to them every day both in-game and on discord, these same players who have taught me everything I know. And as for anyone new coming into this game, I would want them to experience the same game I got to experience, with all the same advantages or disadvantages. I want them to know the fun of it all.

Some reference a silent majority of Ephinea in their arguments, and how this should somehow make the changes any more reasonable.

In fact, I'd argue the majority of players didn't even notice or feel the change.

A majority of players don’t even know you’re changing the game at all. They don’t look at patch notes, they aren’t even aware of these mechanics or what they do. The only updates they might read are “Anniversary Event 2019 is now live!”

How can I say this with confidence?
Because I was one of this majority.

Some might have a misconception that I have played this game for a long time, but it’s simply not the case. Ephinea is the first server I’ve ever played PSO on, and although I’ve had this account since probably 2016, I only feel like I really started playing the game this past year or so.

To put it simply, I seriously didn’t know shit about the game. I didn’t even know how to tekk properly. I logged in, I played during events, then I logged off. I rarely participated in discussions, arguments, polls, or anything because I didn’t know what they were. So yes, your changes back then didn’t affect me! Yet it’s only because I was not aware of it. Please, as someone who used to be this player, do not use them as a driving defense for changing the game to your desires.

At this point, with a communicative platform taken away from me which happened to be my major connection with the playerbase, I see no point in arguing this further nor play on the server. None of this matters to me now as my priority from here on out is only to TA. Having donated my entire liquid wealth to NDW’s upcoming TA Event, there’s not much else for me to do except cheer on all the players who will be participating. I believe this event will bring a lot of fun and inspiration to this silent majority, more so than any of the nonsense spoken in this thread.

I've been bugged by many to add a simple poll to this thread. Although I think it will make no difference to the outcome, I will do it for their sake.
 
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So, when I assume things, I'm not allowed to, but when you assume things, you're allowed to and they're fact?

A majority of players don’t even know you’re changing the game at all. They don’t look at patch notes, they aren’t even aware of these mechanics or what they do. The only updates they might read are “Anniversary Event 2019 is now live!”

You say you can say these things with confidence and, blah blah. But you're really just coming off as someone who thinks they're a lot smarter than they actually are and, to me, hurting your own case.

Reading this BS right here:

It’s already been said and told how these changes will affect the balance of normal mode, how it’s not in line with Vanilla PSOBB, and so forth.

... This just makes me laugh.

There have been a TON of things done on Ephinea that "affect the balance of normal mode" and they're all mostly buffs. Buffs most people just shut their mouths and thumbs up or whatever such as:

+ PSO2 drop mode. (Effectively quadruples the drop rate of items in games.)
+ Shared experience. (No tagging enemies for exp)
+ Rotating weekly boosts.
+ Hunters Boost Road.
+ Luck system
+ So many other things here and there which make the game easier or more accessible...

... But you want to cry because MY GOD, MY RUINS 1 UNTEK DROP RATE?

All I can think of when reading stuff like this is how goddamn entitled you are.

We've already provided an alternate way of getting mass untekked items that is actually BETTER than the previous "Vanilla" typo'd drop rate for ONE MAP and you still go on and post this long winded dramatic crap for people to read here. (Seriously, just taking Hildebear, whom has a 85% DAR and drops a "Weapon" type, combined with the huge untek rate on Anguish and ID weapon type targetting, it's a MUCH better hunt in Forest of Sorrow... but there are a lot of places now, not just Ruins 1, where it's much better to hunt common weapon drops.)

You act like some sort of martyr because you got your ability to chat in the Discord removed too, when Lord knows you kept posting trolling, offputting and negative crap there which is why you were banned.

Let me say this. We WILL change the game as we see fit. We always have and always will since Ephinea was born. Sure, some people may not like some changes we make, but we feel that we usually make changes in the best interest of the server.

If you can't and don't like change, that's fine, there are other servers out there to play.

We already know we cannot please everyone and it is what it is.

I'm removing the poll and locking this topic. I think we've entertained your case long enough.
 
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