All Greed on Alliance loot

[Enla]

Pretty much as I predicted, I've never seen se back up on a change though, or talk to us in the non-jp side for a very long time so I expect this sytem to just rot. What a way to screw something up that was fine as it was.

Which is more than tiring at this point. I don't know why they don't just implement separate changes for different data centers.

[Vhailor]

Which is more than tiring at this point. I don't know why they don't just implement separate changes for different data centers.

Particularly with superficial changes like this. Obviously you wouldn't want to start down a path toward maintaining multiple distinct systems, but the loot system clearly wouldn't cause issues, as it's very much a stable component of the game.

[KisaiTenshi]

Which is more than tiring at this point. I don't know why they don't just implement separate changes for different data centers.

Because separate changes require maintaining separate codebases. This has never, ever, worked out to be beneficial in any way. See NA versions of JP and KR games. It's always NA that gets the nerf bat.

That's why Korea and China versions are different. Korea and Chinese versions have government ID requirements and data storage requirements that can't be met if the game is isn't in their country. That is all. The problem with doing this is that it balkanizes the playerbase. Now in some cases this is a good thing. Players from Brazil and Russia tend to play on NA servers, and as a result have to know English to really play it. Players in China or Korea get their own localized version, but are behind in patches or even have nerfed content due to government rules.

The minute JP balkanizes from the NA/EU base, is the minute NA ends up being a P2W wasteland.

[Vhailor]

Because separate changes require maintaining separate codebases.

Selective variations on portions of the game that don't have complex interactions with other pieces of content is fine. See: Blizzard games like Diablo 3 offering certain different models in order to be sold in China, or certain games censoring particularly violent content in order to be sold in countries like Germany.

We're not talking about job mechanics or server-client communication or things like that. It's a component of the game code that literally goes untouched for years at a time once it's set in place, just like a particular model's textures. They could easily implement different policies across different data centres.

[Enla]

Because separate changes require maintaining separate codebases. This has never, ever, worked out to be beneficial in any way. See NA versions of JP and KR games. It's always NA that gets the nerf bat.

That's why Korea and China versions are different. Korea and Chinese versions have government ID requirements and data storage requirements that can't be met if the game is isn't in their country. That is all. The problem with doing this is that it balkanizes the playerbase. Now in some cases this is a good thing. Players from Brazil and Russia tend to play on NA servers, and as a result have to know English to really play it. Players in China or Korea get their own localized version, but are behind in patches or even have nerfed content due to government rules.

The minute JP balkanizes from the NA/EU base, is the minute NA ends up being a P2W wasteland.

You are right. I spoke ignorantly from a place of frustration. I just wish that we could find some happy medium to satisfy both sides instead of constantly being set aside, as this isn't the first time the developers have specified Japanese player preferences as the reason why certain mechanics were changed without considering the NA or EU side of the coin.