The game is more dead than it was pre-3.1

[Teryaani]

If you just wait long enough, all the carrots in this game are given away for no effort at all. I just did a zeta from anima phase in less than four days.

That's normal for past expansion material in a vertical MMO. Your prize for being on the bleeding edge of content is really just the challenge of it. Where things went pear-shaped here is how fast the ilvl leapt forward and where they put the rewards. Top tier PVE gear should be in your endgame raids. It gives the endgame players something to push for.

The quick clears of past expansion's content though? That's not a bug, it's a feature.

Tomorrow will be the death of thordan, there will be no reason to run it when people can just derp their way to a 210 relic killing caterpillars in the forelands or something.

I remember a very different relic experience than you do. It was a painful grind

Why even bothering putting the ilvl 200 gear in void ark when we have derpadem and weekly twines/coats?

Yeah, that was not a bright move on their part. Here's hoping that won't be repeated.

That's also on top of the fact that not everyone enjoys playing all the classes. I personally only gear up two. My point being that gear proliferation only benefits people who want to play 3+ classes. I was full 208 on both of my jobs before void ark even came out. Outside of vanity, the rewards for doing content in this game suck and if there is anything you truly want, you just have to wait a few months and nab the "reward" with ease.

The alliance raid wasn't meant for people doing the current top tier raid to gear up. It's meant for more casual players to gear up and endgame players to get some filler gear for alts. Other than vanity, you're not the audience for it.

This is why risk vs reward is so important. It keeps you coming back. How special does 210 gear feel when it is so easy to get and will be invalidated so soon? Either casual or raiders, none of this content is compelling or has staying power, especially with this hyper vertical progression. Gear is invalidated even before the next raid tier is released. Why bother sticking around now when you can just come back in 12 months, be ilvl240+ within a week and grind up all the rewards in a fraction of the time it takes now?

I completely agree that they messed up with the ilvl they gave and where they put it.

But hey, this game is being relaunched from 1.0, they will change stuff in the next expansion, this expansion is only six months old, the dev team is small, ps3 limitations, casual vs hardcore rabble, blah blah blah ,[insert what ever excuse you like]... This game is careening down the pipes and anyone trying to defend the current end game at this point is just some white knight with their helm on backwards, because they are having a very hard time seeing the truth, this game is an inch deep and miles wide and nobody seems to like it.

I like parts of it. Nothing white-knighty about it either. They made mistakes, but they are fixable mistakes. Maybe it's burn-out or something else, but 3.1 left me cold as well....actually for me, I think it's disappointment over LoV. That and seeing the law tome gear get eclipsed by the first patches dungeons. Seemed a bit quick to me.