How-to-Fix Stormfall: A simple guide
Each player has his own view of what is needed to fix Srormfall. But i think we can all agree that it does need some urgent fixes. The game is hemorrhaging players faster than it can replace them. Every week or so, i scroll my friend´s list to the end and find a bunch of deleted accounts, or leagueless players that signify they were kicked because of inactivity. The map is littered with low level castles, belonging to people that the game has failed to captivate. And if this hemorrhage isn´t stopped, soon there won´t be any of us left.
But, there are simple-to-fix things that no doubt we ALL agree on. And if we all unite behind a handfull of these ideas instead of spreading ourselves too thin chasing too hard to implement pipe dream features, perhaps we can convince Plarium to set aside a few man-hours to get these things in the game. Fast. So here´s a few that i think the majority of the player base agrees on (in no particular order):
IN-GAME CHAT FEATURES: A Whisper function, for one-on-one conversation. And a Officers Chat room, for sensitive conversations between league officers, to coordinate delicate operations without fear of spies.
DAILY RAIDS: Removing or increasing the limit of paying number of daily raids. I think we all agree that the hegemony of heavy coiners in the game will never end. But perhaps we can level the playing field a bit, by tweaking the speed of troop building times and allowing more paying raids. Adding a few more caravan space extensions, up from 32k to 50k, in the black market. Perhaps Plarium does not see it, but non-paying players do provide a valuable service in game:they provide content . Without them, soon the heavy coiners will be fighting just between themselves, and in the end prompt a lot of them to simply abandon the game for lack of softer targets. By not catering to non-paying players as well, you are doing a disservice to yourself, Plarium.
VISIBLE BEACON DEFENSE RANKS: This one has its own thread with dozens upon dozens of supporters. Adding this will allow Marshalls to promote players without compromising beacon security, leading to a happier player base. And happy players play longer hours and spend more money.
THE GAP: Close the gap between Offensive and Defensive power. Defensive actions are always handicapped. To stand up to each offensive unit, you require 3 defensive counterpart units. The introduction of a couple new defensive units (one occult and one bestiary) would help close that gap.
BATTLEGROUNDS: I began playing this game after the change to battleground mechanics, so i never got to experience the pleasure of actually gaining troops with this mini-game. I understand the reasoning behind this change. If you could actually gain troops doing them, coiners would have a huge advantage, because they possess larger armies and so they can do higher level BGs. Thus leading to even bigger armies, etc etc. Its a catch 22 type situation. However, there is a simple solution: Convert all black market store bought units to imperial type, and make imperials less effective as BG bank fodder. This would make it possible to revert back to the original style of battlegrounds, making BGs a proper alternative to troop building. With proper tweaking and fine tuning, both coiners and non coiners could get equivalent positive returns out of BGs. In fact, if we had this, there woul be no need to tweak troop build times, as BGs would become a proper complement to it.
FORTRESS: I actually like the fortress. But i think we all agree that they were rushed in, and not properly tested. It is pretty obvious that Stormfall is ran by a skeleton crew, and thus we are the game´s beta testers. Fortresses are a clear example of a great idea, that just wasn´t tested enough, and relies too much on sapphires.
What it needs: A way to convert resources into tomes/glory. Increasing Defense bonus, like beacons. A Dark Essence production mechanic, for leagues that don´t have beacons. A couple extra milestone levels, to safeguard all the hard work of leveling it.
LEAGUE QUESTS/CHALLENGES: Another flaw we all agree needs fixing. Doing challenges denies you a few much needed league quests, for some odd reason. With the introduction of fortresses, league quests have become paramount. Please remove this limitation. League quests should not be tied to challenges in any way.
TRAVEL TIMES: As the game grows and the map expands, new players are far removed of all the action. Although the map expands, new beacons are added in a very tight area, and players out in the boonies have to endure huge travel times to beacons, either when attacking, or reinforcing. In the same token, travel times to player castles are also ridiculous, often taking more than a day to attack someone on the opposite side of the world.
These are just a few things i recalled while writing this thread. There are surely more, but i think it is safe to admit we can all agree on these. What do you guys think^? Post your opinions. If you agree with what is written, show support and ask your friends to do the same, so we put some pressure on Plarium and get them fixed.
Cheers,
Swamp Thing
