I am lacking hardcore evidence (Facts, figures and numbers) about the subscriber base, to make an absolute statement, so i will use anecdotal references:
I started playing COH for the PVE.
I am an adult with a life, job and relationships. I can't afford to spend more than 1 hour a day in the game, sometimes only 2 days a week.
I love the concept of the game, the physics, the lvling up, the groups, the interaction among arch types... i love the game.
During the first two years, i was having a blast fighting the environment, alone or in groups. My tank felt like a tank, i could herd, and my blaster had actual one_shot kills.
Then the dev team started their tweaks to satisfy the user-base that kept mopping about lack of viable PVP
After noticing the debuff on my toon, me and all my Real Live acquaintances (whom i introduced to the game) left the game in a span of three months, cancelling our subscriptions.
We didn't jump on forums, we didn't scream, we didn't make a fuss.
The game stopped being fun for us, so we left the game.
Now, for NCSoft, my subscription should be treated the same as the guy who is on the forum everyday complaining about broken PVP.
Why? for NCSoft purposes, i pay the same as that other guy. He may be on it 8 hours a day everyday, versus my 1 hour every 2 days, but...since we are paying the same, doesn't my subscription offer NCSoft more return for their investment, since I don't use their product as much, and thus don't create a burden on their resources?
Whats more, i got a subscription for my wife and cousin, and that cousin got into the game his sister and her husband.
I got also into the game 1 very close friend, who wind up getting his brother and her wife into the game.
I also got 2 colleagues from work into the game, and one of them brought in the wife.
From all those people who we brought into the game, we all left after you debuffed characters.
Only i and 1 friend have returned a couple of months ago.
But all of my acquaintances and relatives stated that the game wasn't fun anymore after the debuffs. NO [censored], no moaning... we have lives, so we just reshuffled priorities and laughed it off, saying it was fun while it lasted, but at least now we are saving $15.00 a month.
Here is where i refer back to my initial statement: I don't know how big is your subscription base, or the exact numbers, but i really want to know if you gained any more users after the nerfing you did to blasters and tankers, and if you got a lot more users "because the game is really fun now!!"
I just can't understand why would you want to tweak and make a game less fun for your user-based, just because some guys keep moping that the PVP is not working for them.
Here is what i would suggest (something i discussed and agreed with all the friends that left the game at the same time i did):
Couldn't you have left the PVE as it was, letting us feel like we were actually heroes, daring, indestructible, lethal, and then have a different set of stats that would kick in when you enter PVP?
Wouldn't that have satiated the thirst of the most nerdy MORPGers who love to crunch numbers and stats, and would've given them something extra to maul over, while the rest of us, would have still feel great playing against the environment, and feeling that our tanks rule, cause they can herd, and that our blasters kick [censored] when they snipe and kill a Ltnt 2 lvls above them?
Maybe i have no clue what Im suggesting, and it would be a technical nightmare to program, but for the time being, i will be quitting the game again in a few weeks, and i will keep an eye out to see how long it takes for my wife to follow suite.
It is not a threat, nor a call for attention. It is just the sad fact that the game, as it is, bores me quickly.
I want to see how many hordes of baddies i can herd, and hold (look, i went up to 56 that time!!!) instead of running away from 2 minions my level cause they slapp my tank in 2 seconds flat.
When i play against the environment, i would like to feel heroic, not lucky that i merely survived!
If i choose to go into PVP, then let me learn the ropes, and adjust my gameplay again. After all, Im not fighting evil minions anymore, Im fighting my fellow heroes and villains!!!
