I currently have 2 level 50 characters getting affected by the new fractal changes. They are not only set back 20 levels, but also leveling the second one is completely meaningless now that the fractal level is account bound.
I wonder if there are any plans to reward players for the lost levels, like for example a double daily chest until they catch up to their previous level? And maybe an ascended weapon chest with selectable stats per additional character leveled over 30?
NOW THAT A DAY HAS PASSED and I have read many reactions, I am editing the original post because I feel the need to explain why we keep on discussing a compensation and why we want it in the first place. It seems that many of the non affected players do not understand our reasons, so hopefully the text below will help them do so.
Firstly I must say that I am looking forward to the new changes and for playing the new levels with my friends. I am not going to voice opinions on the new difficulty until we actually try it. The reason why we keep this topic alive is because Anet presented all the new changes, but to this moment nothing was said about a possible compensation for players that had achieved a lot more than the average. Not a single developper has commented on the issue, which angers people and fuels their disappointment.
Another issue is that the non affected player base seems to gather us under the same bunch of “greedy elitist players that want rewards for exploiting the game”. The truth is that there are 3 groups of players affected negatively by the changes and all of them have a valid reason to be angry.
1) The ones that stopped at 50
It is a known fact that if you want tangible rewards you should do anything else but fractals. Yet they are the only place to get fractal skins and the higher the personal reward level – the higher the chance. Hence, many of us made sure to reach level 48 – the highest doable level with the current agony cap. The incentive was even bigger since here is the highest chance to get ascended boxes as well. Getting from lvl 30 to 50 is a hard task, especially if you are trying to do so without a dedicated team. It is also costly, as it requires infused backpieces, ascended weapons or a legendary.
2) The ones that made it to 80
Some people did not stop at 50, and wanted to challenge themselves even more, search for the limit and find it at lvl 80. Up until now, the highest measure of skill in this game has been being able to solo Lupi or do fractals lvl 80. The most hardcore guilds use this as a requirement for recruitment. Sadly, what everyone who has never tried those levels focuses on is: they were not supposed to do it, they were exploiting. What they do not seem to see is that beating the agony at some final boss is the least important thing. At those levels the challenge lies in surving mobs that one shot you, with no room for error. Having to perfectly dodge every agony shot from the boss because no amount of AR can save you. Even the easiest fractal takes a lot of time and effort, so saying that being able to play lvl 80 is not an accomplishment is completely disrespectful to those players.
None of them did so for monetary rewards, they did so for personal challenge, for glory and because it is fun. Now that this is being taken away, they feel cheated. Not only because they have to level back from 30, this is easily done. But because there is no guarantee that this hard content will be accessible again. They do not want 5 gold per resetted level. What would make them happy will be a one time special skin, a title or maybe a unique mini, unobtainable in any other way. They just want something to show for their accomplishment.
3) The people with multiple characters on high levels
Lastly we have the players that chose to put themselves a second, or a third time, through the hard road of fractal leveling because they wanted to master another class. Not only a very time consuming task, but also challenging and costly. A second character had to be equipped with ascended trinkets and weapons and you had to know how to play it to be accepted in the lvl 48 groups. Getting double or tripple daily chests was never the reason behind this. It was the desire for variety, for self improvement and to able to play different party set ups. Having 2 or 3 characters able to do lvl 50 is a measure of deducation and skill. With the introduction of acount wide fractal level, this people’s achievement and hard work is taken away. Now everyone can do what took them months to accomplish. How can they be compensated? Maybe with an ascended chest with useful for them stats, or with another unique item.
I leave those suggestions for the developpers and hope that they will take some time to consider them. In the end it is a way to show appreciation for their most dedicated players who spend hours pushing the limits and keeping the game alive.
(edited by IceVyper.6810)