Party WQ System

[Callmerengod]

Soooo, after yesterdays/todays "clarification" changes for the Party WQ there has been a massive dissatisfaction throughtout the community. 
The lack of communication for such content as of lately is a really big issue and needs to change/be addressed.

First of all something positive. I, and I believe a big part of the community, really likes the idea of the Party WQ. The simple concept idea of it is very cool, it's a nice touch for events.
Unfortunately this is basically the only positive part about it - the concept idea of it.

The execution of praised concept idea is abysmal. There were no clear rules, no clear explanation and any complaints towards the content is completly missed or ignored.

The current issues: - 12hours hunt
                                 - hunt only during weekdays (monday - friday)
                                 - the 20% top contribution threshold
                                 - (no weekly lockout - will explain)
                                 - zero communication/accountability

Now, to explain all the issues a bit more in detail. The leaderboard hunt being 12h makes it basically impossible to compete for anyone who works a normal 9-5 job on the daily basis or has any responsibilities in life. The 12h hunt wouldn't be as big of an issue if it would be for a non-event content which is permanently accessible throughout the year. However this is an already time-gated contest. The leaderboard hunt not being accessible during the weekend also plays into this exact same issues. Why we are not able to hunt on the weekend already is absolutely beyond me.

The 20% top contribution threshold - to put it very simply and as polite as possible: a decision completely disconnected from the community. There isn't even a way to directly check if you are in the top20% or not. Absolute nonsense.

Let's get down to the biggest issue by far - the communication/accountability. The fact there was 0 communication about such a crucial information is a big red flag. This isn't just about the current content but a massive issue over a long period of time in general. But this might be a topic for another thread, let's stick to the current one.

 

Spoiler

Reading such comments from a staff member just shows that there is 0 accountability shown. 
"But this way it's fair for everyone starting next week" - the content has already been released since 3weeks. Why on earth was this information never communicated to begin with. This entire part just feels like a slap to the face of the community.


Suggestions/Fixes: - 6/8hours hunt
                                 - hunt resets on friday 12am gmt+0 (the current ending period for the contest) and starts immediately at the same time for the next week (saturday 00:01am gmt+0)
                                 - top10 teams get access to the hunting grounds (~40players weekly)
                                 - lockout the players who got access to the hunting ground for 1week cycle.
                                 - communication


To explain my suggestions: 6/8h hunts are still a big time investment but make it WAY more accessible for more players. It's pretty self explanatory in my opinion.
The hunt reset suggestion is for the exact same reason - more accessibility for more players. Someone who works a 9-5 job maybe can't invest 6/8hours during weekdays into the game but has a lot more free time on the weekend, as example.
Removing the absolutely nonsense of a threshold and changing it to a top8/10 teams system gives a very clear definition who is allowed to access. With the current system there are so many ways to completely manipulate the top20% which is an issue.
To make the content even more accessible for players add a lockout for the top10 teams for an entire week cycle.
As example: Me (Callmerengod) + 3 of my teammates make it into the top10 teams and get access for the hunting grounds in week1. All 4 of us will not be able to submit anything for the leaderboard for week2. Starting week3 we are able to submit again.
This way the maximum amount of ppl being locked out for an entire week would be 40 players. Obviously this includes alt accounts. So if I make it into the top teams week1 and would be locked out for week2 I would not be allowed to submit on an alt acc for week2. The same goes for the other server. If I'm locked out week2 on silver I would not be allowed to submit on gold during week2.

Well, now to the most obvious part - communication. It's a shocker but just communicate. Especially such crucial information needs to be communicated. It happens that you forget to add it in to the ingame dialogue - we are all humans, mistakes happen. But then simply communicate it, apologize and take accountability for it. The fact it was known for weeks that it's missing in the dialogue (be it deliberately or not) and didn't even take 5min to adjust it yesterday, after some backlash, is already an issue. But then taking zero accountability for it and not even apologizing for something which needed to be communicated from the start is a bad look.

I'd like to hear some other ideas from players on how to make this content better.
I think I speak for the majority here (correct me if I'm wrong) when I say that we all love the idea of the WQ. But it needs changes.


Thanks for reading, you can keep the typos for yourself.

Edited 8 hours ago by Callmerengod

[Rhpositive]

The idea of a Party WQ is quite cool indeed and I really hope it will be explored more during the future events.

 

As it is right now, it feels half baked. It simply doesn't align with PRO's standards. The commitment it takes to reach a decent score surpasses the "rewards" by a mile. 

 

1. Hunting time

 

Reducing it from 24h to 12h was a pretty good decision. Now players don't have to hunt for an unhealthy amount of time and they actually get a chance against the macro users.

 

I don't agree with Kamui's suggestion to lower it even more as that might have a negative effect. The contest  would basically depend too much on luck, while currently I'd say there is harmony between the luck you need and the dedication it takes to hunt for 12 whole hours. 

 

However, the point Kamui makes is valid. People who work Monday - Friday have barely any chance to reach a high score. To fix this, imo it would be better to be able to compete during the weekend as well. Thus, you would be able to choose the 12h timeframe anytime you want. In this way, there will be more parties overall, more chances for players with tough schedules and in the end more players being able to hunt. 

 

2. Rewards 

 

The rewards are lackluster and I think there are 2 things that should be fixed.

 

Right now you don't get to choose when to hunt the ultra beasts. That sucks. After spending so much time to be able to hunt, players should at least get the chance to choose when to use the 48 hours. In this way, a player from a team who reached top 20% in week 1 will be able to hunt for 48h whenever they want during week 2. In this way, everyone will be able to choose a favourable time and they won't miss out on other stuff like multiplayer bcc, fishing contest, world quests, outbreaks. The teams who were top 20% during the first 2 weeks missed on so much stuff as there were 3 World Quests and also the chance to encounter anniversary larvesta.  

 

The spawns are underwhelming. I get the goal is to catch the ultra beasts, but they are already pretty hard to encounter and there is no guarantee you will get a decent one or a form. The second rarest pokemon are uncommon. I would argue you get more value from hunting on the event island instead where you can encounter 2 or 3 rares in each map. Both Haunted Cave Depths map should receive a second rare pokemon to make it feel more worthy to hunt there. 

 

3. Polishing / Testing 

 

Unlike content from the past, this contest felt extremely rushed. There were (and still are) quite some issues with it which makes it look kinda amateurish.

 

The 24h period to hunt was a bad idea from the beginning and I'm happy it has been addressed quickly.

 

Several pokemon lines or pokemon caught from some places weren't able to be submitted at all. Again, thankfully it has been addressed. 

 

The Essence cultist is far from the PC and since you need to submit the pokemon one by one it takes a while to submit everything.

 

The option to create a party of 2 to 4 players should not be a thing. It should be a fixed number. Currently if you create a party of 2 or 3 players you have no way to reach top 20%. Players not knowing it and creating such parties are doomed from the start. 

 

I hope in the future such new content will spend more time in the oven instead of being released unpolished.

 

4. Communication 

 

The top 20% thingy should have been announced from day 1. Not everything has to be treated as a state secret. Transparency is needed and appreciated by everyone. 

 

-

 

All in all, the Party WQ is a step in the right direction and I'm pretty sure we will see more cool content from the fire content team.

 

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Rhpositive

[Uxxelmon]

As someone who works a 9to5, you almost feel left out. During the week, I have no way to hunt for 12 hours straight.

[Qeight]

I have removed the picture from your post - you know better and if you want to be disrespectful, you can do that somewhere else.

As for moderation aspects of this posts: The rules were clear, they were posted with AlCedo post once again and then clarified with a rule update once again. Just because you do not understand it, does not mean that they were unclear. 

An admin will respond to this post however I will tell you right now, making these kinds of posts without having any clue or confirmed information is just in bad taste. 80% of this post is just false or written under false assumptions. You get a clarification later however honestly you should know better. 

[Callmerengod]

The rules were not clear.
Feel free to let us know how we should've had confirmed information about the entire contest when it literally got added yesterday after 3 weeks of it being released.

The rules are clear now AFTER the adjustment. This entire post has nothing to do with my issue about the dungeon rules, there is a clear difference.

Yet again no accountability taken.

Also, the removed picture is literally accessible for everyone on the PRO discord, so I do not see the reason of removing it. It is not taking out of context, which can be checked on the discord.

Edited 8 hours ago by Callmerengod

[Qeight]

6 minutes ago, Callmerengod said:

Yet again no accountability taken.

Your opinion can remain your opinion, does not mean its true. 

 

6 minutes ago, Callmerengod said:

Also, the removed picture is literally accessible for everyone on the PRO discord, so I do not see the reason of removing it. It is not taking out of context, which can be checked on the discord.

You know exactly what it meant and calling it "disgusting.png" does not really show that your intention are to be respectful towards our staff team henceforth the removal of the picture. 

[Callmerengod]

Yes, this behaviour/comment towards the playerbase is disgusting. Nobody is able to see how I name the pictures I use for a post, so bringing it up here is just trying to find nonsense arguments to justify your last post.

So what you are saying is that I can simply upload the same picture, name it "very nice and friendly reply" and it would've been fine?
Doesn't really make sense.

Edited 8 hours ago by Callmerengod

[Qeight]

4 minutes ago, Callmerengod said:

So what you are saying it that I can simply upload the same picture, name it "very nice and friendly reply" and it would've been fine?
Doesn't really make sense.

Does make sense to us.  You are free to upload it again but just because players can not see it but we can. Its like someone insulting us in appeals and not banning because players can not see it. You again know better than this. Edit: Everyone can see it if you open the image btw.