The New Rebalancing: an Observation, new PP version released on March 18 2015

After spending the day playing PP as I normally do, I just had to make a user account here due to the new re-balancing that Midoki installed into the PP troops but didn't mention in the new release notes. I would normally not be posting something like this in a forum as I have a very busy life; however, due to what I've experienced today with the new PP release, I'm not a happy camper.

First off, Midoki, I'm a fellow mobile app developer working on 4 major apps and I'll be picking up another app on April first so I appreciate the time and dedication that you have put into this game. The way you guys have made use of the new Metal file format is almost beyond belief. On this same note, I realize how difficult it is to make an IOS app work as flawlessly as you guys have done with PP; however, at the same time, I, as a fellow developer, also realize also how easy it is/was for you to change the internal troop and base defense numbers (troop toughness, base defense and building HP, troop damage, etc...) internally in PP as well.

So, here's my beef with the new update.

1. Base Toughness: Even though I maintain a high rank, I'm bored already of the new PP release. The base design we use as the primary #1 defense in MM was created by JimmyM32 (thanks Jimmy, by the way) and this design seems to be so complete that all I would need to do now with the new defense and building HP increase is never log into the PP game and assuming people attack me, I'd win, at the worst, by 49%. It's happened all day today no matter the troop composition. Unfortunately this isn't sustainable as players are already becoming very aware of the advantages this base offers and as such they've copied the design, which is fine by us, but at the same time if you look at the high level potential attack queues there are quite a few high level bases just sitting there because with the new updates these bases are nearly impossible to beat at even a 1-star 50% level. Even if I overload myself with my best troops, and keep in mind that all but two troops types I use are at max level, then bases that were and lazy mode easy are now nearly impossible; despite the based design. I'm wondering if you decided to cater to the lower level players to make more money off of gems rather than worry about the game mechanisms because what I'm seeing now is that even with a fully leveled guild ship, with 5+ maxed Heavy Gunners and 10 additional tavern slots, I'm hesitant to attack any base at all. The lower level players will see this as a blessing but only until they get to my level of defenses and troops and then they will see just how imbalanced the game is right now. This isn't to say that I'd like you to make the game easier, and this isn't so much of a complaint as much as it is a head scratching concern I have as a developer where I'm asking myself, "WTF I have never seen such a drastic undocumented change in a software program in my life, it's like they took Microsoft Word and made it available in a single language without telling the world the why and what of the change." Here's the deal, I'd do better not playing at all then I would playing. I can just stay logged off and reach #3 in the world so long as people don't understand that they probably don't want to attack my base. This isn't a good thing, or am I missing the boat here, Midoki? You guys have experience with very successful video games, world changing video games and then you do this with the new release. So, please let us know what in the he** is going on.

2. Troops were Nerfed to Oblivion: If anyone doesn't understand the word "nerfed" then please look it up through google or something. While I don't have the stats prepatch, I'm fairly certain, for example, that you reduced the Juggernauts toughness by 1k! I don't even use the Juggernaut and never have but this is just a simple example of the imbalance that now exists. Ching was cool, she kept the troops in order, but there quite a few complaints about her over poweredness (not a word, I know). And I would have guessed that you would have tested the game WITHOUT Ching, FIRST, before making drastic hit point increases to bases and reducing damage and armor of the trooops. Was the game really that imbalanced that you had to throw it out of whack the other way? I could continue to list the troops that were nerfed in this patch but you already know which ones you manipulated and soon you'll see that this problem is larger than you expected. There's something to be said for quick patches and updates, and I appreciate, again, all you guys do with your small, intelligent development shop, but at the same time, WoWWWIIIIE!! ... you guys don't make conservative modifications, instead it looks like you just divided all the troop stats by 2 or something and I'm not sure you realize just how drastic this change is. Even if I had 400 troops, the group splash damage from a single mortar entering that group kills ALL troops equally and all troops will die faster now post patch. Sure, with that many troops I can kill quicker, but at the same time it doesn't matter, we are dealing with very small islands and computer screens, your updates, I hope haven't broken the game, but I fear they are and will eventually break the game only for you guys to come back and rebalance things to the other extreme.

Lastly, and this is probably most important. If you intention with this patch is to cater to the little guys to win awards or downloads then that sucks, but I'm sure you have investors who call you and ask stupid questions and don't know anything about IOS programming or the intensity involved, so perhaps you were forced to do this so that you can appeal to a broader audience and so that I can't take 65 tavern spots and steam roll any base I want to in game. If this was motivated by money then fine, people need to make money, but did you really need that many more downloads?

Anyway, you could have been conservative in your rebalancing, but instead you took it to a ridiculous level and I'm confused. The top rated players are still going to be the top rated players despite the new updates and guild ship, the difference this time is that instead of my base being penetrable to nearly any attack, now it's impenetrable to probably most attacks. Same thing with the troops but in the opposite direction. There was a problem with balance between offense and defense BEFORE this patch, but now the problem with the balance is the same just the other way around. Trust me, the top players have already wised up and stopped attacking, we just hope the small guys are dumb enough to give us a shot so that our PR goes up without a hassle, that's basically all I've had to do today and then the final question remains, "why should I even log in to the game, my PR will auto increase as long as new or ignorant players are willing to attack me."

Anyway, I like PP and I liked what you've done with the graphics, but I'm having a very tough time understanding the EXTREMELY liberal rebalancing, did you guys actually do research before you changed the numbers?

One additional note, and I'm not patting myself on the back, for those that don't know, my PR is at 1047 and that puts me as #1 in the USA. Good for me, but what it doesn't solve is that the game is no longer a challenge, all I do is log on when I get a "your base has been attacked" notification so that I can rearm my mines and collect the PR points I've won. This isn't the sort of game that I like to play but that's the best strategy now.

***Quick note, and because this is the internet and there is bound to be a grammar Nazi here in the forum, I've written this post in very little time and there's bound to be spelling and grammar errors all over the place. Additionally, I'm 100% sure that I've repeated myself a bunch of times as well. I don't have the time needed to reread what I wrote, so I apologize to those who might get a headache from what I just wrote.

 

I learned a lot from reading this post, not the least of which is @Pretty Pony Girl is actually a dude.
Thank you for putting into words and complete sentences what I've been feeling all day long! It is truly astonishing that Midoki just makes such haphazard adjustments to a game overnight. Makes me wonder if they value us, the user base of the game, that plays and cares so damn much, that we spend all this time in the forum. I'm besides myself and just about ready to quit this game.

Lastly great job on your top US ranking! That is impressive no matter what!!

 

Not a problem, and yep, I'm a dude, I just happen to be skilled and making creepy-cool internet names.

 

P.P. Girl, thank you for summarizing your observations in a well-written post. Many of us here echoes your sentiments.

Guess Lynsey will have to say something about this later when she logins... They did say though (as far as I'm aware) that the new system is still undergoing some tweaks.

 

As another fellow developer, I also think they rushed this update without doing enough internal testing (as opposed to their normal wait forever to release things approach - cmon guys, find a balance!)

I don't see troop stats having changed. I do see that defences have more HP (walls in particular, lv 9/10/11 going up to 3500/4k/4800 from 3k/3250/3500).

I do think walls needed a bit of a buff, as pre-patch they didn't do nearly enough, and if someone put enough grog into a max level army, it was hard to stop even the sloppiest attack from getting at least a 1-2* win.

But with ching gone, I also agree that guild ship wasnt enough of a boost, and bases that I normally would 3* easily I barely manage 2* on now, even with the extra troops. We're spending more grog, and winning even less.

I also think they didn't properly test the new UX of guild ship donations. 50 members asking for 10 troops every 30 minutes to an hour per attack feels more like spam/begging, and less like a "group effort" like they probably intended.

I'm not quite on the leaderboards yet as I just finished farming the resources for my defenses, and can already tell it is MUCH more challenging to climb it post-patch, even with extra troops. I certainly don't plan to stay on it indefinitely, as attacking isn't going to be fun until things are rebalanced.

Have you seen anyone hit you with 18 sky raiders yet? I'm thinking the only way to get past your walls is a clever parachuting onto your defenses (tavern limit isn't applied to guild ship). Other than that, running a slight variation on your base (thank you/jimmy for the inspiration! I love how it looks like a sideways green lantern/a tye fighter btw) I don't see anyone doing enough to even 1* it from the few attacks I've seen.

I'm sure there will be a rebalancing soon, but I agree this update feels rushed.

 

@Pretty Pony Girl Thanks for eloquently writing what pretty well summarizes how I've found the new update.

 

Interesting information regarding the tavern limit not applying to the guild ship. I always wanted to at least try raiding once with a tavern full of Sky Raiders I always like to think that a tavern limit should have been placed on bombers instead, since they are meant to be deployed in small amounts (<15) and die soon after breaching the walls after all. Seldom really see any attacker succeed with a tavern of over 30 bombers

Anyways I guess most of us would agree that the new tweaks are now favoring defenses far more than attacks. Midoki better strike a balance ASAP before a lot of long-time high-level players are leaving the game.

 

Are you kidding me? You think you can reach #3 in the world just by staying logged off. Come on, the update just got here nearly one day and how did you come up with such judgement. Sorry but I have to say, if you can't even get one star that is because you S***. I've Many Many Many friends who are currently playing on the leaderbord and are still getting 100%. Come on! Enjoy your stay on the leaderboard while those who were on the leaderboard havent be back yet

Midoki is watching and observing what people are doing on the leaderboards. They surely have seen everything including all the win/lose stats, made all changes necessary with cautious depending on the stats and our demands and they will be still seeing the same despite the update. It's well balanced this time. If getting 100% isn't a problem in the high ranking, then tell me where is the imbalance.

 

What makes you so confident. Shortly, those who were on the leaderboards will be back there. Keep your confidence while you still can

 

That should be fun! Looking forward to witnessing 18 Sky Raiders on my island one day, maybe I will even give it a try myself #PlunderParachuters

Speaking of balance, IMO the ideal balance would be either 50-50 between offense and defense OR offense slightly > defense (say, 60-40).

Based on my experience on this Forum so far, I guess Midoki would probably not just look at complaints about the "buffed-up defense" on this Forum. They will also look at global statistics to see if indeed significantly more raids have failed (scorred one or two stars less) as compared to the past across PR range and PH levels.

I myself will start raiding for test purpose. Will let you know if I also find defense to be buffed up too much. Who knows if we are all suffering from PCSD (Post Ching Stress Disorder) ? Ching left (offense nerfed) and at the same time defense is buffed. That seems as if the change is too drastic for us to cope with in short term.

 

I am not quite as negative yet. Been through other games with updates that changed gameplay. This is something we will have to adjust to. However, I definitely have been surprised at the attacks I have waged today. Several were utter failures when previously they were guaranteed victories. With the defense boost, I'm certain it will just take a tweak in my attack strategy plus continued updating of my troops. My real concern is the loot drop. Not sure what the cause is. Maybe it's panicked farmers with the teased matchmaking rebalancing on the horizon. Or maybe it's the massive amount of farming going on post ph 8 release. Whatever the cause, the loot drop combined with much tougher base strength overnight has me wondering about the future. But it's too early to bash Midoki. It hasn't demonstrated greed to date. Most of these tweaks have been requested by players (some shortsightedly). Plus this update is only a few hours old. We all need to take a deep breath and let this and the next update play out. The upcoming guild race will be interesting. It will be very difficult to crack the top bases. Looks like lots of defense points coming.

As far as the supposedly indestructible base layout referred to by pony above, I just attacked @Sneaky Pete yesterday with that design and leveled it without maxed troops. Wonder how I would fair today after the upgrade? Would be an interesting test.

 

Case in point, I've been logged off for about 1.5 hours, got attacked, PR raised 3 points, Jimmy's PR has raised over 10 points in 2 hours, he hasn't been logged on in hours now. At this rate, I'll be ranked around 1060+ in 12 hours and Jimmy will be inching up into 1015 or so by tomorrow morning. Oh yes, and one more thing, and I'm not the "I challenge you type", but if you see my base hanging around, please attack me, you'll see what I'm talking about. My base is 100% maxed and that's what the design was made for.

 

+1. Patience will certainly pays off as Midoki continue tweaking the system (maybe they are taking their time so the Forum gets more lively in the meantime ). And like you, I am more concerned about the loot available than my raids' win:lose ratio. After all, a 3* raid with little loot gained is a downer but a failed raid with much loot gained is AWESOME! #GreedySmellywag

 

Here's a conspiracy theory of mine: what if Midoki is trying to force all high PH level players up to the higher PR range (PR 700+), then in their next update or Server Maintainence they will close the door on artificial PR dropping? Like for instance, you cannot surrender a raid more than 3 consecutive times.

 

Today's threads have been rather harsh, but this my friend was funny. I needed that and I'm sure a few others did as well.

TiGeR

 

Awwww thanks! I'm glad to have helped relieve your PCSD!

 

I understand what you are saying, Smelly, it's totally different for the people like myself with maxed bases and maxed troops, we no longer have need for loot, except to buy troops and rearm mines.

 

I think PPG should feel very confident as he's currently ranked #1 in the US.

If you want to show us all how great you and your Chinese guild is here's a challenge...
1) Let's see you take PPG's #1 spot this month since it's so easy to beat those maxed PH8 bases.
2) Sign up your Chinese guild for the April race to the top and show us how great you guys are.

I don't expect you to accept either challenge because you are just talk.

 

I agree Smelly, very well said, unfortunately, it goes a little bit deeper than Ching and I'm sure Midoki is on to this, at least that's my hope. Nevertheless the sun will still shine tomorrow and if we're lucky we will all still be breathing!

 

I really would love the challenge Tex, you read my mind, that would make it so we have to plan another base design in MM, and that would make us very happy indeed.