In the next few weeks, I will be jettisoning my use of several social networking sites including Facebook, Discord (except for current contacts), and Twitter since I barely use these to begin with; if anything, they serve primarily as distractions which I can do without going forward. While I don’t use Twitch often, am also contemplating turning that off (no notifications or ability to use chat).
Instead, I’m prioritizing my time on fostering quality drama-free relationships with likeminded individuals and creating a small tight knit community in the select few games that I will be focusing on post-Devilian.
After the sunset announcement, I have been playing primarily with soemone that I met back on the old Ravan server and several new players who unfortunately discovered the game in the last few weeks. This is actually the first time in several months that I’ve been actually running content and being in my element with helping out some newer players (teaching the basics, running them through content, helping them gear up, and also trying to make the point of “paying” it forward where they can take what they learn, and pass it on to others regardless of what game they play).
It has been refreshing and satisfying to be able to experience this in the final weeks of a game that has been a big part of my game play for the past few years. And I’m hoping to pull some of them into the games I will be focusing primarily on post-Devilian; TERA and SoulWorker. Though I will probably resume playing my characters on the Thai server (whenever it is operational), there is no way I can recommend people to put a lot of time into playing there due to the downtime the game has been experiencing over the past 3 months.
And as much as I am looking forward to Bless Online, I am not sold on its long term future given several rocky starts and sheer lack of produced content. To be blunt, it has “last effort cash grab on you western suckers” written all over it. Thanks but no thanks. I know that I’ve mentioned before that playing these MMO’s are about playing in the moment (since it could disappear at anytime). And I will play Bless Online in the moment when it comes to leveling a character. What I cannot see myself doing is investing time or money into what will be placeholder “end game” content and an uncertain future.
I am also bidding Trion Worlds a not so fond farewell and flipping them a virtual middle finger (I will be doing a more detailed write up after Devilian’s closure to highlight just how terrible they handled their part of the business relationship with Bluehole Ginno and how much they neglected the community until the end). Many of them never put much time into the game yet have this patronizing attitude they will also miss their characters. Give me a break. And as much as there are parts of ArcheAge I do enjoy, the fact that Trion has NOT been honoring the 30 days of Patron for some players who select the Erenor Eternal starter pack, represents the straw that broke the camels back.
There is a Japanese saying/proverb called “bachi ga ataru” (罰が当たる). Like most asian proverbs, there is no actual direct translation since it depends on context. The closest thing would be karma (what comes around goes around) but it goes beyond that since it is the sort of retribution that goes back on the perpetrator with much worse consequences. Rarely do I actually wish for such misgivings but in Trion’s case, this is a company that does not deserve to exist. They treated their Devilian community with gross neglect refusing to engage with them over the last year including these last few weeks. They only trip over themselves with the ArcheAge community because of the whales who continue to prop up revenues for that title (and its easier for them with their other titles because those are developed in-house). This is a company led by people that can go screw themselves.
