Will Archeage population ever recover now, that bots, gold sellers and most of hackers are gone?

Andel_Skaar

            As the question describes im mainly interested in the future of Archeage.

I know many people had bad experience with it, but its actually not the game itself you had that, but the hackshield and publisher.
Myself ,ive been banned from the Forum and Game 6 times now, yeah every time it resulted in them being wrong, and still i persevere.

Im yet to find a better f2p fantasy sandbox anywhere, and i dont keep high hopes for Black Desert, only for Star Citizen.

Archeage is still very active in NA especially now with upcomming merges, that could enchance population, becouse they offer a new start (new servers) ,transfer, and merge choices.It is still unclear ,the exact date, but its estimated it will hit by the end of august or somewhere mid autumn.

Andel_Skaar

http://forums.archeagegame.com/showthread.php?196325  Official Archeage Server Merge Info

Krimzin

If Black Desert comes to the US this year, it may very will put the nail in AAs coffin. If not, then AA may have a chance to recover.

killion81

Probably not and here's why.  If it does regain popularity, the bots, gold sellers and hackers will find a new way to infest the game and it will result in the same situation that drove players off initially.  Of course, that's assuming the bots, gold sellers and hackers were the reason players left in the first place.

Andel_Skaar

I doubt gold sellers and bots will return, since they implemented engine that bans even remotely close cases to them, instantly, with no explanation nor regard.It can be harsh since it can even ban good players.But better to have that in place, than have it overrun again.

Kyrios NA is fairly populated Server, well id say more than populated, since there is no free land on that server, and everywhere you go there are players, just like it was on the launch.

Though only one or two populated servers and many dead ones, doesnt make a title popular.

Andel_Skaar

killion81 said:

Probably not and here's why.  If it does regain popularity, the bots, gold sellers and hackers will find a new way to infest the game and it will result in the same situation that drove players off initially.  Of course, that's assuming the bots, gold sellers and hackers were the reason players left in the first place.

I've been in Aion long enough to know what bots can make of a good title.Also EU servers in every single mmorpg ive been in tend to die alot faster than NA servers-Think Aion/Tera/Archeage.

Do you have a suggestion on ,what could be the alternative to Archeage if it fails?
F2p Fantasy Hybrid or Sandbox MMORPG type of game with an open world is what i search for as alternative.

Kyleran

killion81 said:

Probably not and here's why.  If it does regain popularity, the bots, gold sellers and hackers will find a new way to infest the game and it will result in the same situation that drove players off initially.  Of course, that's assuming the bots, gold sellers and hackers were the reason players left in the first place.

In my case, I really enjoyed AA in Alpha, and I was part of a large gaming guild which really makes this sort of title fun to play.  But the launch bots ,gold sellers and hackers ruined it for my guild and quickly moved on to other titles.  They won't be coming back and neither will I .

Also I started playing EVE again when AA tanked for me, and I've been playing over a year steady with no signs of letting up, so at least in my case, it's too little too late.

fivoroth

A13xand37 said:

killion81 said:

Probably not and here's why.  If it does regain popularity, the bots, gold sellers and hackers will find a new way to infest the game and it will result in the same situation that drove players off initially.  Of course, that's assuming the bots, gold sellers and hackers were the reason players left in the first place.

I've been in Aion long enough to know what bots can make of a good title.Also EU servers in every single mmorpg ive been in tend to die alot faster than NA servers-Think Aion/Tera/Archeage.

Do you have a suggestion on ,what could be the alternative to Archeage if it fails?
F2p Fantasy Hybrid or Sandbox MMORPG type of game with an open world is what i search for as alternative.

Interestingly enough the mmos that have the biggest issues with bots and hackers are mostly Asian mmos. Obviously there are non Asian mmos which have bot issues but not to a game breaking extent like in Aion and archeage.

GeezerGamer

I would think that bots, gold sellers, hackers and cheaters would remain proportionate to the player base. If AA recovers, those cheaters will take notice.

Andel_Skaar

Rhoklaw said:

I would only ever consider returning to ArcheAge if they made a Pay 2 Play only server. Remove the cash shop completely except for FLUFF items only such as cosmetics, costumes and so on. Completely revamp the dumbest crafting system ever designed. Fix the poorly designed netcode that seems to beckon hackers.

Of course we all know that will never happen. So my only choice IS Black Desert. You might not want that alternative but AA's ship has sunk and anyone still playing it can continue to tread water for as long as they want, cause it's never going to recover.

I agree on some points, though now labor ratio has increased by double offline, so it is abundant and not much of a limitation to crafting, and i respect that crafting system becouse it has some valid points, considering that when you improve you use less resources but the progress of upping craft gets slower as well, its a system used in other games as well, but here its arranged.
Only bad thing to it is that Trion made Labor scarce to sell labor potions via cash shop, and therefore labor word became connected to repulsive.As said, that is a bit different now with double offline labor.

There will be new servers , and its a complex system, time will tell if they will do things properly this time.
Community is very agressive towards hackers, and reporting system points them out to GM's which in return perma ban them now.

For Black Desert ive heard many many things, some of them not positive, explaining its very grind heavy with p2w cash shop, so i hope theyr wrong, becouse that was my next best thing to try.

Andel_Skaar

GeezerGamer said:

I would think that bots, gold sellers, hackers and cheaters would remain proportionate to the player base. If AA recovers, those cheaters will take notice.

Im very active on 2 servers Orchidna EU and Kyrios NA,  zones where bots once were are empty or have few players and even they sometimes get banned becouse auto-ban system is harsh.
Havent seen one post from gold-sellers since i started playing again.
Only been banned couse i was confused for bot in auroria, and i guess thats glass half full. They compensate false bans, that are much rarer now with double the lost patron time now.

Archeage is no longer friendly enviroment for spammers and bots, as i said only hackers could try untill noticed by players.

JDis25

I have played both Black Desert and Archeage, and while I did delve into Archeage quite a bit further, I honestly was not impressed with Black Desert. It is a boring road to level 50, too easy, grindy, and no dungeons. It's gorgeous, very realistic and detailed in some ways, but gameplay seems lacking. Bags are CONSTANTLY full as a free player, you can't even consider crafting. Especially since there is no fast travel. Maybe lvl 50 is better, but from what I hear PvP is no better than AA, it's a heavily gear-based, pot popping, extravaganza. The Karma system is very punishing for people to risk open-pvp and the housing is now instanced.

jesteralways

I doubt that is going to happen, pay2win game design are not accepted in NA, not by majority of mmorpg players. AA by design is a pay2win game, XLGames designed the game to monetize LP and RNG, trion is only monetizing LP and regrade RNG but it is still pay2win. So no, it won't regain it's original population.

alkarionlog

if the only reason for people quitting was bots and gold sellers, aion would be closed by now, people quit mostly because trion stupid decision of game and to cut part of gameplay out, also holding back content after launch to force a longer life time(with failed) did not help.

btw why you guys think hackshield, game guard, or any of these "tools" stop hacks? since any hack first thing they do is disable this? btw you can disable this hackshield and gameguard things by using space and slashes on a DLL file so what really is the point?

Pepeq

People overlook the obvious... like with any other MMO out there, once it's been played, it's been played.  You can't recapture the honeymoon period on a new server because you already know all there is to know about the game.  Which is why all the other MMOs suffer once people hit max level.  Game hopping is here to stay.  So long as there is something new out there to play (good or bad), it will be played.  What won't happen anymore is a long term relationship (en-mass) with any MMO.  Those days are over.  YOU might decide to play WoW for all eternity because you have nothing better to do, but the majority won't.  Has zero to do with payment model or bots or anything else.  People played whilst the bots, hackers, and spammers were there in force because the game was new.  Once that *new* was over, people no longer played.  Bots, et al are just an excuse.  They were going to leave anyways whether it was a utopia or not.

Viper482

Pepeq said:

People overlook the obvious... like with any other MMO out there, once it's been played, it's been played.  You can't recapture the honeymoon period on a new server because you already know all there is to know about the game.  Which is why all the other MMOs suffer once people hit max level.  Game hopping is here to stay.  So long as there is something new out there to play (good or bad), it will be played.  What won't happen anymore is a long term relationship (en-mass) with any MMO.  Those days are over.  YOU might decide to play WoW for all eternity because you have nothing better to do, but the majority won't.  Has zero to do with payment model or bots or anything else.  People played whilst the bots, hackers, and spammers were there in force because the game was new.  Once that *new* was over, people no longer played.  Bots, et al are just an excuse.  They were going to leave anyways whether it was a utopia or not.

Could not disagree more. I LOVED this game and felt I finally found an MMO like the old days, one I could play for a long time. MMO's when we played them for years were more about community than the game itself, and AA had everything to live that old school experience again. Don't tell me why I quit, you are not in my head. Seriously tired of people on this forum telling people like me why I don't like certain MMO's, or why I think the old ones were better. No one knows my thoughts better than me, it is arrogant of you to think otherwise.

I quit AA because it became pay to win, because Trion ruined the economy with their cash shop decisions, because they introduced hasla weapons early which screwed weaponcrafting and forced a stupid grind when people rather be out in the world doing so many other cool things. I didn't give a crap about bots, I would go to the enemy island and kill them/report them, it was something to do. The hacking did not affect me, I got my land and was happy with it.

And yes I would have left eventually....everyone leaves eventually so this is not some genius thought on your part. My favorite MMO of all time was Daoc, it is still around yet I don't play it. But I did play it for years. So just stop trying to tell us all why we like or dislike something. I would come back to AA in a heartbeat if they opened a server that mirrored alpha with no cash shop. 

FlyByKnight

Gold sellers might be the only thing keeping people in the game candidly.

The problem with Archeage is it's P2W. Little industry shills can come in and say different but the bottom line it's either going to be an extreme time sink or money sink to compete. The more money you have or time you have, the more you have to RNG gamble or straight out buy things off the AH.

Another problem is that there is a nasty stat increase once you start getting around the Epic < Mystic < Legendary levels. Most normal people who play working adult hours and are reasonable with their finances will never get passed the Celestial buff.

The game also started terribly. Head start debacle, Auroria debacle, Apex debacle, duping debacle... they were never addressed in a way that fixed the damage. There's still guilds and players reaping the benefits of those exploits.

People are leaving Archeage because of the large gaps in power that can't be overcome by just being good at the game.

The only reason why Archeage is still able to hold on ATM is there isn't anything else to do. Right now as much as I'd hate it, I'd drop Archeage for Blade & Soul, Black Desert, or Crowfall in a heart beat. Until then, *shrug*.

Loke666

alkarionlog said:

if the only reason for people quitting was bots and gold sellers, aion would be closed by now, people quit mostly because trion stupid decision of game and to cut part of gameplay out, also holding back content after launch to force a longer life time(with failed) did not help.

btw why you guys think hackshield, game guard, or any of these "tools" stop hacks? since any hack first thing they do is disable this? btw you can disable this hackshield and gameguard things by using space and slashes on a DLL file so what really is the point?

No, I think stuff like that only annoy regular paying customers. Hackers will find ways around it. It is the same with the old copy protection forcing you to have a games CD in while you were playing even when you had a full install, that only annoyed paying customers. Digital downloads killed that one at least.

timeraider

Cant say either hackers or goldsellers ruined it for me... the moment they started selling thunderstruck logs in the store it ended for me.

Thane

Krimzin said:

If Black Desert comes to the US this year, it may very will put the nail in AAs coffin. If not, then AA may have a chance to recover.

you mean like AA will put the nail in WoW's coffin?

games kill themselves, thinking another game (but WoW) would be a reason for anything, is speculation

farbege

jesteralways said:

I doubt that is going to happen, pay2win game design are not accepted in NA, not by majority of mmorpg players. AA by design is a pay2win game, XLGames designed the game to monetize LP and RNG, trion is only monetizing LP and regrade RNG but it is still pay2win. So no, it won't regain it's original population.

Wrong.
XL games developed AND released the game as a subscription only game. That makes all you assumptions fail. RNG wasnt even in game during original XL manged official launch in Korea.

farbege

Archeage isn't  pay to win. It has been discussed many times here and nothing has been convincing  to call Archeage pay to win.

Its people hate Archeage and want to drag it through mud, thats all.

I play the game since launch day  and have ever payed my montly patron subscription. AND THATS IT.

Happy subscriber playing the best game in the last decade since SWG PRE CU closed down 2005.
  

Burntvet

Unlike some other games, bots/hackers/spammers and the like were not THE problem with AA, not even the most serious.

The crap business model (pay a sub equivalent and STILL have to use the cash shop or literally spend YEARS grinding/doing the crafting) and cash shop funneling game mechanics (full RNG crafting, labor points, etc.) were the killers of this title.

Had this title been released as a sub only, I predict it would have been more successful with Western audiences.

As it is, no.

Nothing will change, it will slowly die like all other tried and failed MMOs, and nothing can change that now.

Anyone saying different is deluded, or paid to say something else.

JDis25

farbege said:

Archeage isn't  pay to win. It has been discussed many times here and nothing has been convincing  to call Archeage pay to win.

Its people hate Archeage and want to drag it through mud, thats all.

I play the game since launch day  and have ever payed my montly patron subscription. AND THATS IT.

Happy subscriber playing the best game in the last decade since SWG PRE CU closed down 2005.
  

It is P2W you can say it isn't because you have dumped hours and hours, but what about people who play other games? who have other time investments? You can't enjoy the best features of Archeage without devoting A LOT to it and it's a game this isn't fair for people who don't have a lot of time. So they must shell out a lot of money to even begin.

Simple as that; if I played since launch that's one thing. Getting into the game now? Forget it. There is the new launch server, so there's that. I am still willing to give this game a chance because I know it was designed well and only money and greed is the issue now.

TyranusPrime

Burntvet said:

Unlike some other games, bots/hackers/spammers and the like were not THE problem with AA, not even the most serious.

The crap business model (pay a sub equivalent and STILL have to use the cash shop or literally spend YEARS grinding/doing the crafting) and cash shop funneling game mechanics (full RNG crafting, labor points, etc.) were the killers of this title.

This..

ste2000

Burntvet said:

Unlike some other games, bots/hackers/spammers and the like were not THE problem with AA, not even the most serious.

The crap business model (pay a sub equivalent and STILL have to use the cash shop or literally spend YEARS grinding/doing the crafting) and cash shop funneling game mechanics (full RNG crafting, labor points, etc.) were the killers of this title.

Had this title been released as a sub only, I predict it would have been more successful with Western audiences.

This ^^
AA is one of the best MMORPG released in the last few years.
But its overdependence on the Cash Shop and the way people easily exploited it ruined the whole game experience.
I would only play it again if they scrap completely (Yes even the vanity items) that dreadful Cash Shop and make it subscription only.
Oh.....and drop the Labor mechanics, we are not in Korea, we don't need to be told how many hours per day we are supposed to play.