Why I believe Condoning Guild Hopping is bad for the long-term health of the game
The sole purpose of this post is to help the game developers consider aspects of their recent decisions that perhaps they hadn't considered before. I know there are many people on both sides of this issue but I have no interest in starting a debate; I merely want to help the developers think this decision though.
In my line of work when you propose any changes to the company's product or service, the first question will be, "how will that affect the customer?" "Does it better meet the needs of the customer or will it create problems for the customer?" With that in mind I would ask the developers who are you customers and what problem is your game solving? You obviously know the answer to this question better than I do but from my interactions in my guild and polls on the forums, I would venture to say that you have a lot of mid to young adults who share a love for Star Wars and most of which have a full-time job. Many of us find ourselves with "filler" time during the day. Maybe a commute on a bus or train, perhaps those extended bathroom breaks. What I really hope the developers realize is why do your customers choose to play a mobile app game instead of a pc or console game? Because the time we are trying entertain ourselves is small sporadic times throughout the day and not hours at a time on our couch.
When I found this game in January, it met those needs perfectly. I could get up play as I got ready for my day, play during my commute and perhaps come back on again late at night and I could play a mobile game competitively while not interfering with real life. I loved the thrill of building up characters and climbing up the arena.
Then changes starting to happen that made this game to start not meet the needs of its customers. The first was protection. Yes it helped bring balance from the speed meta but you could see that it increased the time to complete GW which people obviously didn't like.
Then the addition of raids. A lot of people were hesitant, myself included, because this was going to further increase the amount of time required to be competitive in this game. All in all, raids were a fun new game mode and didn't increase my daily playing time too severely.
However, now you've given the green light to let people guild hop and exploit guild rewards. What this means, is that if a guild was committed enough, each member could create 20+ alt accounts and the members just slowly cycle through all guilds (one per day) but by the time they hop to one of the guilds, there will be enough guild coins to run 10+ heroic raids.
Again I want to return to the fact that this is a mobile game. If I wanted to spend endless hours playing a game I would play on a pc or console. I've seen so many mobile app MMOs try to keep adding content to keep its starting player base entertained until they've become something that they're not and then they fizzle out and die. All of these changes are starting to turn SWGOH into something it's not. Being competitive in a console game should require hours of your day, to be competitive in a mobile app should not. When I get home at night I want to eat dinner with my wife and play outside with my kids, not sit on my couch logging in and out of my SWGOH alt accounts so I can get my Rey to gear 10. If I wanted to do that crap I would have started playing a pc game.
Bring new characters to the game, increase the level cap, tweak challenge tiers but stop increasing the time required to be competitive in this game, otherwise you'll start down the death spiral that so many before have taken.
In my line of work when you propose any changes to the company's product or service, the first question will be, "how will that affect the customer?" "Does it better meet the needs of the customer or will it create problems for the customer?" With that in mind I would ask the developers who are you customers and what problem is your game solving? You obviously know the answer to this question better than I do but from my interactions in my guild and polls on the forums, I would venture to say that you have a lot of mid to young adults who share a love for Star Wars and most of which have a full-time job. Many of us find ourselves with "filler" time during the day. Maybe a commute on a bus or train, perhaps those extended bathroom breaks. What I really hope the developers realize is why do your customers choose to play a mobile app game instead of a pc or console game? Because the time we are trying entertain ourselves is small sporadic times throughout the day and not hours at a time on our couch.
When I found this game in January, it met those needs perfectly. I could get up play as I got ready for my day, play during my commute and perhaps come back on again late at night and I could play a mobile game competitively while not interfering with real life. I loved the thrill of building up characters and climbing up the arena.
Then changes starting to happen that made this game to start not meet the needs of its customers. The first was protection. Yes it helped bring balance from the speed meta but you could see that it increased the time to complete GW which people obviously didn't like.
Then the addition of raids. A lot of people were hesitant, myself included, because this was going to further increase the amount of time required to be competitive in this game. All in all, raids were a fun new game mode and didn't increase my daily playing time too severely.
However, now you've given the green light to let people guild hop and exploit guild rewards. What this means, is that if a guild was committed enough, each member could create 20+ alt accounts and the members just slowly cycle through all guilds (one per day) but by the time they hop to one of the guilds, there will be enough guild coins to run 10+ heroic raids.
Again I want to return to the fact that this is a mobile game. If I wanted to spend endless hours playing a game I would play on a pc or console. I've seen so many mobile app MMOs try to keep adding content to keep its starting player base entertained until they've become something that they're not and then they fizzle out and die. All of these changes are starting to turn SWGOH into something it's not. Being competitive in a console game should require hours of your day, to be competitive in a mobile app should not. When I get home at night I want to eat dinner with my wife and play outside with my kids, not sit on my couch logging in and out of my SWGOH alt accounts so I can get my Rey to gear 10. If I wanted to do that crap I would have started playing a pc game.
Bring new characters to the game, increase the level cap, tweak challenge tiers but stop increasing the time required to be competitive in this game, otherwise you'll start down the death spiral that so many before have taken.
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This discussion has been closed.
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Isnt the whole guild caps a joke if guild hoping is allowed. If you use x alts to grind energy to use on raiding is obviously or should be unwanted behavior.
I dont personally care about Who or which guild is utalizing this work around. It obviously gives Them a in My eyes incredibly advantage regarding currency, loot etc.
People already offering to grind these alt guilds for $ should raise alot of red flags.
A suitable solution should be made to adress these issues. Or the whole guild system Will be a tremendous failure that Will make people find other more balanced games to enjoy, which in My eyes Will hurt the starwars franchise. Not beeing able to fully grasp the mobile market and generate negative attitudes toward both EA for failure to implement a working multiplayer platform and the Starwars franchise for beeing nothing more than a milking cow.
Sincerely Andy
It didn't fall off, it was closed by a mod
Make Zader Great Again!
The devs have already commented, you are literally just blowing hot air at this point.
The point isn't about doubling or tripling how many Han shards they get.
The point is about all of the other rewards (unobtainable gear, guild tokens, credits, etc.) that will further increase the gap between the two groups of players.
Make Zader Great Again!
BUMP
^ This.. The last thread was closed because it blew up into accusations etc.
Just try to keep things civil and don't call out ANYBODY for ANYTHING.
Thanks.
Alt accounts potentially helping main accounts is pretty new to the game.
If it was just guild hopping I wouldnt care but setting a precendent like what is seen here, in making alt accounts an encouraged part of a main's gameplay is something I dont want to see for a number of reasons.
They start a new one when the topic is deleted rather than just removing the off topic posts.
This ship sailed already.
Btw Devs probably won't be good long run but if your ok with it then sweet as.
^^^ Yes this. Please do no try to hold anyone accountable for their actions.
Also, clone/feeder guilds created with alt accounts with the only purpose of accumulating guild currency for raiding with hopped-in main accounts should also be not allowed - as again playing the guild system is the main (and perhaps only) goal these acconts and feeder guilds are or will be created.
Also - and ofc it should be clear for EA - system in its current state may allow some undersired ways of monetization of raiding spots.
Several things may be done:
1) cooldowns on return to a previous guild (would not prevent a player from simply joining a new one if he doesn't like it or was kicked, but would prevent back-and-forth hopping)
2) rewards may be given out not in one hour after raid completion but once a week cumulatively for all raids done this week (less fun this way for sure)
3) some sort of currency may be charged off the player's balance upon joining the raid (so that he doesn't benefit from alt chars accumulating coins for the guild to open raid for mains)
4) cooldown on joining the raid with a new guild may be introduced (say, 48 hours)
5) variation of 4) for a player who just joined he guild, there may be a 48 hour waiting period for raid rewards but he can still raid and will receive reward in full if still in the guild in 48 hours)
https://forums.galaxy-of-heroes.starwars.ea.com/discussion/42338/guild-hopping-and-you#latest
We dont like that!!
Aye, that's what I see as the problem. It seems to violate the spirit of play in the game. When you have an elite 1% group who actively exploit the situation, it just looks bad to the other 99%.
It's a bit like paying taxes. Yeah, it sucks to do, but when everyone is in the same boat, you accept it. When you hear about people, who already have such substantial resources as it is, tucking their money away in skeezy offshore bank accounts to game the system and not have to pay, it stinks.
Illegal? No.
Against the spirit of the rules? Yes.
Just because something is not specifically forbidden doesn't mean that it should be embraced and taken advantage of.
(And, just as a note about other MMOs disallowing guild-hopping: a previous game I played mandated a 3-day waiting period between leaving and joining guilds, and it was a game that could be seen as the precursor design to SWGOH. It stunk when you wanted to switch guilds to be with a different team, but it did not allow the exploitative advantage of being able to raid with different guilds every day and reap all of the rewards from each hop.)
1) you have an opponent on server who is in Guild which is guild-hoppers
2) he gears up toons at twice the speed you can. And remember there's no alternative way to get that gear! If I don't have a toon and no time to farm him, I can buy Chromiums, but Raid gear - no.
3) I've invested thousands of dollars into this game for one specific purpose: to gain competitive advantage. That guild hopping tips the scale.
How is guild hopping doesn't qualify as gaining an Unfair advantage or exploiting the loophole is beyond any reasonable explanation.
Now, devs bowed to demands from people (and we can safely assume from those guild hoppers, as who else would raise the question) and legitimized it. Fair enough. What's even more frustrating they would condone the fact that guild hoppers can collect Raid rewards in both guilds. Why can't they block Raid rewards after guild hopping!?!?
Fair enough, they call the shots. Where can I get my Apple refund?
P.S.: BentWookie, I've not mentioned a single alphabet symbol, so you can't delete this post!
Good post. I agree full heartedly and I am in the same spot. Invested a few thousand to hopefullybe competitive, but this deflates that initiative.
I don't follow your point. I think the discussion should be had, and should be done constructively.