Game Changes: Metrics vs Forum Feedback
^ Very true however you can still take those feelings into account. As always use discretion and then a good response why X is better or why Y may not be possible.
More often than not a good response is all that’s needed. Take a look at some of the dungeon threads that Robert responds in.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OPERATION-UNION-Bringing-Players-Together
I love how people are talking about forums being a cesspool of terrible people who do nothing but troll an release uninformed rants. When this thread has been nothing but long replies and constructive criticism like most of the threads of recent. I guess forum posters are spending way to much time reading terrible posts forgetting that their is constructive criticism all around them.
Agreed Emmet. I think there is a lot of healthy discussion on the forums. Not everything here is productive because you still have a lot of dissatisfied customers posting complaints as well. But to discredit everything posted here because one doesn’t agree with it, or doesn’t believe that the proverbial “most players” don’t agree, is not a the response of a critical thinker.
ANet knows the importance of paying attention to the posts here. So really this entire “your opinion doesn’t count because it is a minority” conversation is a moot point. I think people would be surprised by the number of people who come to these forums and post. Historically, MMO forum attendees are actually a large portion of the population. Not that, that should be confused with we regular posters.
TLDR: There is healthy discussion here. ANet knows the importance of the forums.
As many of the others expressed, feedback comes in a lot of forms. It’s not a question of one type being better or worse than another. They have different strengths and weaknesses. If anything, this discussion is missing out on other channels they probably have at their disposal that go beyond what happens on this forum or in game metrics (e.g. gaming reviews, sales data, support feedback) .
My only point being that people who play the game, who enjoy it, who like it, should indeed visit the forums and see what is being written and by whom it is written. It is the players responsibility to stay informed and to voice opinions. One of the easiest, proactive ways to do this is to visit the forums for about five minutes everyday, give voice to their opinions on current topics, and stay informed about some of the crazy that gets suggested here. The player base needs to be more engaged with the forums or other media.
LOOOL! You want people to GRIND the forum now, too?
Players should never “have” to do something they don’t enjoy about a game. The forum isn’t a place with a nice community in which to talk with other players about different aspects of the game – it’s closer to a cesspool with fanboys and whiners fighting against each other. Wasting five minutes per day here is way more than this place even deserves.
ArenaNet already listen to the forum more than they should. I wish they would listen less, or ideally that they would actually close this mess and go back to a fansite forum policy, like they had in GW1. Making an official forum just because other MMOs have one has been just a massive waste of resources.
And yet, here you are, and expecting people to listen to you. If players don’t wish to add their voice to the forums or other media, it’s their choice. If you want to be active and have your opinions heard or discuss topics, there’s an open forum right here and it should be used.
Forum feedback does something that is equally important because it expresses how people FEEL while playing the game. And that is every bit as important as any metric or stat.
How a small and biased minority feels. Not how most players feel.
Small and biased maybe but nonetheless somewhat representative. Generally speaking people only post on the forums if they have some sort of agenda, ergo they want something changed or added.
While that typically doesn’t include the majority of casual players it doesn’t mean every issue forum posters QQ about should be ignored because they are a vocal minority.
Instead forum feedback should be used to highlight issues and imbalances. The designers should then look at metrics and data and try and confirm the initial feedback. If it is legitimate then you can move on from there. If the data doesn’t confirm the QQ then maybe the problem lies elsewhere.
Yes, some posts reek of entitlement and shallow point of views but even the least articulate post says something about how someone feels about the game and shouldn’t just be scoffed at.