As a new player that fell in love with the game and wants it to succeed, please reconsider Bolster/Grouping of t2-3-4.

[vonobo]

Currently RR57/CR40 on my solo WE that I ended up rolling as most of my friends quit. I started this game and brought over 5 friends at different times to play with. We all had a blast all the way to 16, and then I really struggled to keep them playing. I leveld apothecary and talisman making to help us out with potions/talismans but In the end only one of them stayed for a bit longer and only because i swapped over to healer and healed/ressed only him to make it a bit more fun/less downtime.
Bolster does not feel good for anyone. It does not feel good to rr80s that still have to focus and kill low levels as they can deal some dmg to them, only to receive 0 reward for killing them. It does not feel good for the new players, when they know the moment they find a close to equally (or even sometimes half their numbers) numbered group of high ranks, they will get steamrolled with no counterplay. It only helps new players to follow the zerg and leech, which is really not fun for most people. It feels like you are just walking around, not doing anything impactful. I have been told that the game does not have the population to support grouping tier2-3 seperately from 4, and i am not a game developer so i cannot offer a solution. I just wish there was something else as a viable solution to help new players face players of their own level and make the game fun again, instead of just zergsurfing.

[Nameless]

The way the booster doesn't help you vs rr80 chars same way being instantly at bis gear when you enter wont help cos new ppl just lack game knowledge. Cos game knowledge is much more important than gear.
If they make one scen which when you enter you got bis gear only for that scen new guys will again be demolish

[Ragnaroek93]

Cos game knowledge is much more important than gear.

No it's not and telling new players that they get demolished by rr80+ players because of a lack of game knowledge is the definition of gaslighting.

[Tisaya]

Cos game knowledge is much more important than gear.

No it's not and telling new players that they get demolished by rr80+ players because of a lack of game knowledge is the definition of gaslighting.

Have to agree here, knowledge is important when the enemy is of equal or nearly equal power. But when it's 16 vs 80... No amount of knowledge is going to help you, you're getting oneshot.

[Bankei]

If you think this game is balanced around 1v1, you're mistaken.

A bolstered level 16 can be useful in a WB, there should be NO situation where a bolstered character can defeat a RR80 character.

Ragnaroek93, I thought you quit. Close the door behind you, we're busy having fun in here

[Bankei]

Currently RR57/CR40 on my solo WE that I ended up rolling as most of my friends quit. I started this game and brought over 5 friends at different times to play with. We all had a blast all the way to 16, and then I really struggled to keep them playing. I leveld apothecary and talisman making to help us out with potions/talismans but In the end only one of them stayed for a bit longer and only because i swapped over to healer and healed/ressed only him to make it a bit more fun/less downtime.
Bolster does not feel good for anyone. It does not feel good to rr80s that still have to focus and kill low levels as they can deal some dmg to them, only to receive 0 reward for killing them. It does not feel good for the new players, when they know the moment they find a close to equally (or even sometimes half their numbers) numbered group of high ranks, they will get steamrolled with no counterplay. It only helps new players to follow the zerg and leech, which is really not fun for most people. It feels like you are just walking around, not doing anything impactful. I have been told that the game does not have the population to support grouping tier2-3 seperately from 4, and i am not a game developer so i cannot offer a solution. I just wish there was something else as a viable solution to help new players face players of their own level and make the game fun again, instead of just zergsurfing.

Thank you for your post

A couple of points:
1. ALL MMOs lose a majority of players during the new player / levelling experience. This isn't unique to RoR
2. There are multiple options to help you get to CR40, PQs, PvE, Scenarios
3. The game isn't balanced around 1v1. Realm vs Realm means large-scale battles

My biggest suggestion to increase game enjoyment is to join a guild of like-minded individuals. You'll get help, advice, knowledge, fun and support.

[cfsmain]

Absolutely agree and in the same boat. I have to convince myself to log in. Currently 23/25 and I just don't know why I bother, I guess it's because I am hoping it will be good at the end. The only valuable skill is positioning so you don't get instantly popped and can move with the group. Is it fun? NO.

Having spent my entire childhood and young adult life in L2, I am not averse to difficulty, slow roll, grind, group requirement and always on PvP/PK. In fact I prefer it all. But what's happening here is boring at best, a painful chore at worst. "It's gonna be good in 100 hours" is always a failed pitch for any game.

I don't have a solution, all I can do is crawl my way to the end and hope for the best. It's a losing battle to log in every time.

[Hecksa]

If you think this game is balanced around 1v1, you're mistaken.

A bolstered level 16 can be useful in a WB, there should be NO situation where a bolstered character can defeat a RR80 character.

Just want to push back on you saying "NO situation" here.

I agree, this isn't a 1v1-focussed game, but there's a difference between a game not really trying to balance 1v1s, and actively preventing and discouraging any kind of evenness in 1v1 fights.

Do we really want a game where new players have to face roughly a hundred hours of having literally no hope of ever winning if they run into one of the many, many RR80+ characters on the opposing side? Not fights where it's hard to win, rather that - to use your words - there is "NO situation" where they can ever even hope to win, no matter how well they play? Even if you're not soloing, often you need to run to meet the warband you've just joined, or perhaps you're running resource boxes. For a hundred hours, you should just accept your fate? Some people are okay with grinds, but where the grinding is interspersed with regular boss fights that are deliberately made to be impossible for you, which often can prevent you from doing the very grinding you are reluctantly trying to get through (think gankers enroute to keeps, killing resource carriers, etc)?

Again, not "oh this is a tough fight, maybe next time I can do x, or y and I might be able to win". No, you said there should be "NO situation" where they could win.

Thankfully, I don't think the game is in quite that bad a situation. I just think it's really the wrong way to go for a game like this. Every time I die, I try to figure out what mistake I made. I very, very rarely have to answer "there was nothing I could do better, the moment that player appeared within visual range of me I was inevitably going to die". I think that's a good thing, and we should try to keep it that way. Reasonable gear gaps are fine, regular impossible fights are not.

[iPeriphery]

Cos game knowledge is much more important than gear.

No it's not and telling new players that they get demolished by rr80+ players because of a lack of game knowledge is the definition of gaslighting.

Rag you seem to be one of the few people with some common sense and integrity around here, so props to you on that brotha.

It seems like this is the only answer some people on this forum know how to give. Gaslight, blame, hide behind gear gap for free wins, repeat.

It's honestly pathetic that this group of people would jeopardize changes that would benefit everyone and breath new life and longevity into the game, for their own personal gain. Such Disgusting Cowardly Behavior *spit*

If you think this game is balanced around 1v1, you're mistaken.

A bolstered level 16 can be useful in a WB, there should be NO situation where a bolstered character can defeat a RR80 character.

That's a crock of sh1t. If you are bad, you shouldn't be able to get gear carried and automatically win with 0 chance of retaliation or being outplayed.

By that logic, lets insert the hot phrase commonly seen directed towards newer players around these forums here; That's called being an "entitled whiny" player.

In a PVP game you should be able to OUTSKILL an opponent no matter what.

If you are worse than your opponent you SHOULD lose.

Hypothetically, if gear is equal and you lose to a lower level character, it's because you're bad. You already have a huge advantage by having more access to passives and skills than a lower level.

So many people are scared of newer players being on an equal footing because they know they would get absolutely stomped if it was a level playing field.

Hiding behind your gear or your zerg doesn't make you skilled; Point Blank Period.

I think it's about time people get that reality check.

[saupreusse]

Imagine if the gear discrepancy of all lvl 40+ sets would be much lower. Aka if vanq/conqueror would be in the same ballpark as invader, we would get a lot more options to mix different sets. And this is what the real endgame should be. Giving players a lot of different sets to chose from that are all somewhat viable and give different bonuses for different playstyles.

Maybe I will write a more though out suggestion some day next week, but I feel like a lot of the new players that have arrived in the game over the last few months have very valid concerns that they share on these forums. I think it would only be wise to take these into account. When did we have such a big influxnof new blood that can actually give us feedback about their game experience? This is gold right here

Edit: ofc there's also lots of whining, but that doesnt really change the overall ground truth that a lot of newbies really don't feel lile they have a good time, and ultimately this is a game and games should bring fun