So true. I have warned them in multiple threads of this very thing,and with SOE examples. So far they have ignored every message with no response.
I'm not sure why everyone wants to compare SOE to Wizard101, they weren't even the same situation. SWG rehauled the entire way you play the game (dumbed it down during NGE). FreeRealms rehauled the entire way you play combat (dumbed it down to button mashing). Wizard101 increased the prices of one portion of the Crowns shop. These are two seperate issues.
The increased henchmen cost affected one type of player....the ones that depend upon henchmen to complete content. The game mechanics haven't changed at all. Afterall, there was life before the introduction of henchmen.
Granted there are some that will or have already left the game due to the change. But the change is by no means radical or holistic. If players log in tomorrow and every duel is like the "enhanced" Malistaire encounter or if all the cheats were removed from all bosses, then that would be radical and a game changing event.
By all means, let KI know you are displeased with the increase (I did too!). But let's not all start jumping out of our Marleybonian Flying Ballons, because it is the end of the Spiral.
It would be so nice to be able to hire the human henchmen we had before the Zf updates.
KI, you would make a lot of players very happy if you would just return our human henchmen as they were before those updates and at the prices of lvl 50 at 50c, lvl 60 at 60c, and lvl 70 at 70c.
It would be very helpful to be able to go into the next spell quest and hire the henchmen I need. The human henchmen made it feel like having a team to help you.
Oh by all means look at what its doing to players wallets and the way they would rather NOT Buy crowns then feel cheated like that who can blame them. Of course KI needs to make a buck or two However the cost for so many of these items has skyrocketed! Another example is the New level 70 gear? I looked at the stats on ech set and believe me when I say they are IFFY at best and the cost for each is RIDICULOUS! If a player such as myself with many lvl 70 wizard had to purchase each set at over $20.00 each we are taking Hundreds of US dollars here um NO WAY! to that or yur henchmen...
[The increased henchmen cost affected one type of player....the ones that depend upon henchmen to complete content. The game mechanics haven't changed at all. Afterall, there was life before the introduction of henchmen.
NO, Kingurz. It did not affect just one type of player. Granted there are some players that seem to use them even in mob battles, but it also put a big damper on those of us that used them ONLY for spell quests.
[The increased henchmen cost affected one type of player....the ones that depend upon henchmen to complete content. The game mechanics haven't changed at all. Afterall, there was life before the introduction of henchmen.
NO, Kingurz. It did not affect just one type of player. Granted there are some players that seem to use them even in mob battles, but it also put a big damper on those of us that used them ONLY for spell quests.
As I said. Completing level 58 spells is content. Defeating mobs in the street is content. Using them in level dungeons is content.
Let me rephrase..........if you rely on henchmen for anything in Wizard101, it affected you. It did not affect everyone in Wizard101, only those that relied on them for something.......
So the comparison between SOE SWG is not a good example.
I'm not sure why everyone wants to compare SOE to Wizard101, they weren't even the same situation. SWG rehauled the entire way you play the game (dumbed it down during NGE). FreeRealms rehauled the entire way you play combat (dumbed it down to button mashing). Wizard101 increased the prices of one portion of the Crowns shop. These are two seperate issues.
I was citing a pattern of behavior,a trend on KI's part that closely resembles what SOE did to Everquest <which allowed the rise of WoW>,and then continued with SWG,and Vanguard. I was not solely referring to the henchmen fiasco. It is simply the latest example in a pattern of debacles by KI. And just like SOE, KI is refusing to even address the concerns of it's loyal members. No company that takes it's customers for granted, will last. They either reassess their priorities,or they fail. It is that simple. I hope i clarified this a bit for you, I can be somewhat vague in my responses at times.
I'm not sure why everyone wants to compare SOE to Wizard101, they weren't even the same situation. SWG rehauled the entire way you play the game (dumbed it down during NGE). FreeRealms rehauled the entire way you play combat (dumbed it down to button mashing). Wizard101 increased the prices of one portion of the Crowns shop. These are two seperate issues.
I was citing a pattern of behavior,a trend on KI's part that closely resembles what SOE did to Everquest <which allowed the rise of WoW>,and then continued with SWG,and Vanguard. I was not solely referring to the henchmen fiasco. It is simply the latest example in a pattern of debacles by KI. And just like SOE, KI is refusing to even address the concerns of it's loyal members. No company that takes it's customers for granted, will last. They either reassess their priorities,or they fail. It is that simple. I hope i clarified this a bit for you, I can be somewhat vague in my responses at times.
Sort of, the thread was about henchmen.
However, this is a matter of perspective. So there likely is things that KI hasn't addressed that certain players want. Me personally, out of all the games I've played, Wizard101 has been the most responsive to player requests. Some examples include the changing of the Malistaire encounter, introduction of Chimera, interactive housing options, making Talos no PvP, and bunch of other changes possibly going live soon.
But yes, you are right. Companies that don't listen to their customers don't do so well.
But yes, you are right. Companies that don't listen to their customers don't do so well.
Finally, you admit that.
We are PAYING customers. KI will make just as much if not more by bringing the cost of Henchmen back down.
There is a difference in listening and doing whatever the customers say.
If Starbucks all of sudden raises the price of donuts by 40 cents, do I continue to shop at Starbucks? Or do I go there primarily for the coffee?
Again, KI probably has/or will lost some customers from the price increase. But it doesn't mean every single customer is up in arms and quitting. There are numerous players out there who don't use henchmen and care less about increase.
KI is willing to listen to players concerns. That doesn't mean they will change something just because a player posted it in the forums. There is also a difference in letting KI know you didn't like something and the posts some people have posted with slanderous comments, accusing KI of hidden agendas.
Most people are more willing to listen (to possibly change) if the words are professional and not abusive.
I'm not sure why everyone wants to compare SOE to Wizard101, they weren't even the same situation. SWG rehauled the entire way you play the game (dumbed it down during NGE). FreeRealms rehauled the entire way you play combat (dumbed it down to button mashing). Wizard101 increased the prices of one portion of the Crowns shop. These are two seperate issues.
I was citing a pattern of behavior,a trend on KI's part that closely resembles what SOE did to Everquest <which allowed the rise of WoW>,and then continued with SWG,and Vanguard. I was not solely referring to the henchmen fiasco. It is simply the latest example in a pattern of debacles by KI. And just like SOE, KI is refusing to even address the concerns of it's loyal members. No company that takes it's customers for granted, will last. They either reassess their priorities,or they fail. It is that simple. I hope i clarified this a bit for you, I can be somewhat vague in my responses at times.
Sort of, the thread was about henchmen.
However, this is a matter of perspective. So there likely is things that KI hasn't addressed that certain players want. Me personally, out of all the games I've played, Wizard101 has been the most responsive to player requests. Some examples include the changing of the Malistaire encounter, introduction of Chimera, interactive housing options, making Talos no PvP, and bunch of other changes possibly going live soon.
But yes, you are right. Companies that don't listen to their customers don't do so well.
That is basically the point I was trying to make, I just took the long winded approach. Everything in life has changes, especially our online games. All we are asking of companies is that changes are fine when suttle and we know about them. But if a change brings a dramatic response, please listen to the players because we utimately know what we like and what we are willing to pay for.
Don't listen and the changes keep coming till one day a line is crossed and its over. I like this game and want to see it advance, I would like to see more advancement in the non-questing areas such as more availability of how we can arrange items in the houses, more abilities in the crafting areas as well.
Perhaps make human mercs that are more in line with the older pricing and elite mercs that have the new look, new price tag and new skills? Then you can satisfy almost everyones need.
Just a thought, I am more of a make love not war person so I always look for a compromise
Kingurz, yes, there are a lot of players that don't use henchmen, but there are a lot that do. Some of us may not be as well equipped as you or those that don't use them. WHY? There are a lot of us that can't afford to spend crowns for the best gear or the best pets that can give us that little added resists or strenght that makes the difference.
There are some of us that have to live on a very limited and fixed incomes and can't just spend $25 or more real cash to get those things. Some of us are also grand parents and great grand parents that may be raising grand children. I, myself am raising a great grand son so it does limit what I am able to do. I don't buy a lot of crowns just for this reason, but I do keep a few for the purpose of hiring a henchmen when I am doing a spell quest since we can't have help from friends for those. We play this game because we enjoy it and it gives us a break from REAL LIFE issues.
It is rather difficult to go into a battle with a boss that has well over 10,000+ health and be able to gain the spell we are after when we keep being defeated.
If KI wants to keep their updated henchmen fine, but give us back the human henchmen we had at the original price and strengths for those of us that need that little extra help now and then.
I understand that Wizard101 needs to make money but why increase the cost of Henchmen so drastically? One of the reasons I bought Crowns was so I could use the level 60 Henchmen to help me in the game. I have many friends in game but few are on when I am on, now with the Henchmen going from 60 Crowns to 200 Crowns and also costing 400 Crowns I’m never going to be able to play on my own an get through the game. This makes me sad because you’ve basically destroyed my reason for even buying Crowns which is also kind of bad for you because now I’ll have no reason to buy Crowns each month and I used to buy a lot.
I used to use Henchmen a lot when playing a lone in hard areas and if my friends are on I do stuff with them. I don’t think this mass increase in Henchmen cost was a good idea, I know some other people that if not for the Henchmen they’d never of gotten anywhere in the Game you’ve ruined one of the main reasons for us to buy Crowns and play the game. Now rather than being able to move through the game on our own, at our own pace, when we have time we have to wait around for when other people are on to get anywhere.
I don’t find this fun, I want to play the game and get through at my own pace and not have to depend on other people. Sure I can still buy Henchmen but it will use up my crowns so quickly that I’ll never be able to afford them to get to where I want in game where as before the amount of Crowns I would buy each month would cover any Henchmen I needed and a few, other things now I just don’t know.
I realize these Henchmen are stronger but they still disappear at the end of every fight and I don’t think it’s fair to charge so much for something that doesn’t last considering the amount of boss fights in game. I don’t see why you couldn’t of left the Henchmen as they were or gave people the choice, besides the level 60 Henchmen were just fine and the cost for them was fair in my opinion.
Level 60 cost 60 Crowns that is a Crown for every level I don’t see anything wrong with that and at 60 Crowns a Henchmen I’m more likely to buy two or three a fight so your still making money and I’m still buying Crowns. Now with this new change I’m less likely to buy Henchmen or Crowns this makes me sad I really liked having Crowns to buy all the cool, extra stuff.
Anyway that’s all I have to say, I’ll play the game a bit more an see how it goes but if I cannot get anywhere in game and have to depend on other people then I’ll cancel my subscription and my Crown buying. One of the many things I liked about this game was the Henchmen, their cost and the freedom to use them to move through the Worlds, catch up to friends and beat bosses.
I enjoy playing with other people too but if no one is on it is nice to be able to keep playing with Henchmen and not have to stop an wait for someone else to come along.
I totally agree! I mean, why can't they switch the lvl 60 Henchmen and lvl 70 Henchmeh to 60 and 70 Crowns? I got a pre-paid card for Christmas and I used up all the Crowns in one day. I only bought Henchmen. I agree with you 100%!It just seems wrong to me. :(
Kingurz, yes, there are a lot of players that don't use henchmen, but there are a lot that do. Some of us may not be as well equipped as you or those that don't use them. WHY? There are a lot of us that can't afford to spend crowns for the best gear or the best pets that can give us that little added resists or strenght that makes the difference.
I don't use Crowns gear to defeat content in the game. Crowns gear is not the best in-game. I use the free level 60 gear from Waterworks. A dungeon where you shouldn't be using henchmen or minions in the first place.
Now I might have better gear than you, but my advice I'm trying to give to you.....is stop relying on henchmen and save yourself the 40 crowns (or whatever level henchmen you do use). Either work to get free gear or pets as drops and use sound strategy from the multitude of fan sites out there (or ask in these forums) to defeat the spell quests without henchmen (many people have done this) or like KI has stated numerous times, purchase items from the Crown shop to bypass the time and effort needed to do it for free (which KI deemed 400 crowns for the best henchmen out there).
goldendragon18 wrote:
There are some of us that have to live on a very limited and fixed incomes and can't just spend $25 or more real cash to get those things. Some of us are also grand parents and great grand parents that may be raising grand children. I, myself am raising a great grand son so it does limit what I am able to do. I don't buy a lot of crowns just for this reason, but I do keep a few for the purpose of hiring a henchmen when I am doing a spell quest since we can't have help from friends for those. We play this game because we enjoy it and it gives us a break from REAL LIFE issues.
To me this is irrelevant. If gasoline prices go up the next day and I'm a grandparent or father of six, do I demand the gas station to lower their prices to accomodate my economic status? Gas companies are businesses just like KI and set fix prices based on the goods they are selling. The discussion should be about "are we getting what we are paying for" or "is 400 crowns the correct price for what the level 70 henchmen do."
goldendragon18 wrote:
If KI wants to keep their updated henchmen fine, but give us back the human henchmen we had at the original price and strengths for those of us that need that little extra help now and then.
While I too have voiced my displeasure at the dramatic increase in prices for henchmen services, new henchmen will always be more expensive than their lower level counterparts. So even if KI reverts the level 50 and 60 henchmen to 50 and 60 crowns, will the complaining stop there? No. The level 70 henchmen have always been 400 crowns and level 80 henchmen will likely be something more expensive than that. And you will still be in the same situation for the level 78 spell quest.
Again....maybe I'm naive, but I think the demand to KI should be better free minions to help us in our quests or more solo content. Not price haggling over the cost of henchmen. Whether it's 40 or 400 crowns your still paying real money for the service that a minion to do some or most of the fighting for you.
Kingurz, It is a bit of a problem to farm for gear and pets when your friends can't be on when you are and many of them no longer play at all.
I have a few pieces of the lvl 60 gear on 2 wizards and that was gotten when my friends were still playing.
As for using henchmen or minions in a dungeon, I don't do that anyway.
I have checked the fansites and tried some of the suggestions that some have given. It does not necessarily work for everyone.
Purchasing items from the crowns shop at this point is not going to happen. It just means that my wizards will be bypassing those quests and go as far as they can at which point they stop.
Irrelevent? I am beginning to think that life in general may be irrelevent to you. When you look at the gas prices (currently on the rise again), Food prices (will rise with the gas prices again), (with the quanities per container reduced again). NO WE DON'T GET WHAT WE PAY FOR.
And there are still complaints about the new henchmen not working right.
As for the lvl 50, and 60 henchmen, it would have been better to leave them alone as they were then if KI wanted to upgrade and increase the price on the level 70 henchmen. FINE. We had not at that point had the level 70 henchmen, but we did have the lvl 50, and 60. The main point is, the level 50 and 60 henchmen were not always the current price.
NOW, to the minions...... We have voiced our opinion on them before and nothing has ever been done to upgrade them for better performance. There have been a few minor changes, but nothing that will benefit our wizards that are trying to gain that next spell.
If you can go up against a boss for that next spell with health of anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000, then good for you, but some of us can't.
By the way, we do have the right to voice our opinions!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I understand that Wizard101 needs to make money but why increase the cost of Henchmen so drastically? One of the reasons I bought Crowns was so I could use the level 60 Henchmen to help me in the game. I have many friends in game but few are on when I am on, now with the Henchmen going from 60 Crowns to 200 Crowns and also costing 400 Crowns I’m never going to be able to play on my own an get through the game. This makes me sad because you’ve basically destroyed my reason for even buying Crowns which is also kind of bad for you because now I’ll have no reason to buy Crowns each month and I used to buy a lot.