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TLDR: The playerbase has been presented Product A (Malkarion Crown icon on Slayer’s Path) and are met with Product B (a thinner design that does not come close to Product A’s design), which is bad - or can even be called misleading - advertising, as has been experienced before. The solution to this has the potential to have both versions implemented, which is up to the devs on how they choose to do so.
So, to those who said I shouldn’t have spammed everyone to go to the Mega Bug Threat where it has been stated that the Malkarion Crown ICON will be corrected, rather than the actual product: I present a post to give feedback on it to those who aren’t as much informed about this issue. But to be honest, it’s most definitely towards the devs. At the end I’ll try to propose a solution (not THE solution, mind you), but it is up to the devs on how they choose to have it handled - as with many of their choices. I just want this voice to be heard and I think many other players would agree with it - even if it is to some extent.
So, the issue is known, but what do I mean with bad advertising? Well, the icon for the Malkarion crown presents something different than the actual crown, when worn. Many know this already and this concludes that it is bad advertising: promising A, delivering B.
The worst is though, that the players have put in effort to get the right amount of in-game currency (Heroic Merits) to get it and are presented with something unexpected. The devs stated that the intent was to have the actual product in-game stay, while the advertised product to be corrected. Those who already purchased it with their hard earned Heroic Merits will still be left unsatisfied, as they probably would’ve chosen a different Crown if they knew beforehand what it would actually look like - to those who say “you could’ve known this, as the issue has been adressed many times before by sponsored players and on streams and the such”: not everybody follows these AND the fact is that the game itself is faulty here, as (again) something is presented differently than what the actual outcome is.
The solution? Well, before I get to that, let me tell you a story beforehand. To those who experienced it themselves, this is a little trip down memory lane, but to those who didn’t experience it, you might as well know about this. Let me take you back to the time when Ramsgate 2.0 was presented, specifically: The Clear Skies Hunt Pass Season.
See, this season had a cool promotional visual as the intro/startup screen, right before entering the game. On it were a few Slayers laughing to each other and side by side walking into Ramsgate, with their visors and goggles on the top of their heads. Many assumed the armor set that was earned from the Hunt Pass would include said visor/goggles as a Transmog that’s on the top of the head. Instead, it was in front of the eyes. This specifically is about the Survival Goggles. This dissatisfied conclusion was initially (again) bad advertisement.
The playerbase then was displeased and the devs heard the complaints and then said about this: it was intended to be in front of the eyes, like how you should actually wear it. Even though a portion of the playerbase was still displeased, we’ve all settled for the fact that the devs’ explanation was alright in the end and that we’d just have to deal with it: The devs apologized and said that from then on, the design team would work narrowly with the development team, so that these inconsistencies would not occur again. Fair, good, mistakes happen. Moving on.
But it got worse. After a few updates these same Transmogable Survival Goggles suddenly were placed on the top of the Slayer’s head instead. The playerbase was stunned, thinking that if it was not intended this way, why even present the possibility? It was bugged, or maybe tried out and unintentionally slipped into the live update, but one thing was for sure true: it wasn’t due to technical issues that these Goggles weren’t going to be corrected to be on the head, as advertised. The devs “just simply” wanted to stick to their intentional plans, even if the promotional visual and thus the advertisement was wrong.
This issue outraged the playerbase again, saying the devs should now present both Transmogs, any way possible. What ensued then was quite the surprise, actually: the devs corrected the Transmog and made it so that the Survival Goggles were again in front of the eyes, but a few updates later gave the players the same Survival Goggles, but in another fashion: the top of the head, as a different Transmog. It was then never spoken about again, because that solved the whole issue. But it all started by one thing: bad advertising.
So, this story has some similarities as with the Malkarion Crown. Again, presenting A, while delivering B. The quickest solution would be to give the playerbase both of the Crowns as an option to purchase, especially knowing how it was handled before. But would that be better?
Personally, I think that it wouldn’t, as that would mean that the Slayer’s Path would then have 6 branches (Malk crown 1st variant, Malk crown 2nd variant, Torga, Thrax, Agarus and Urska), which - I pressume - isn’t what the devs would opt to do. But what is the solution then?
Well, since we have no idea if the effect of the current Malkarion Crown is slapped on the visual of the crown or if it is thoroughly designed in the product itself, my suggestion would be to give the playerbase what was promised: the crown as how it was presented on the icon on the Slayer’s Path. Then, if the devs still wanted the effect to be implemented on a crown somehow, it could be the “next batch of 5 Heroic crowns” - since all the other variants don’t have such an effect on their crowns, currently.
You see, I personally would’ve expected that since Malkarion’s has an sparkling effect, Torgadoro’s would have a smoking/smoldering/embering effect, Thrax’s has a darkness poisonpool effect, Agarus’ has a Terra aetheric effect and Urska’s would have some chilling effect. Since that’s not the case, the inconsistency with Malkarion’s crown could be smoothened out by having the to be corrected crown NOT include the effect and have the design be replaced with what the icon presents right now, just like what most of the players would’ve expected it to be when they purchased it.
Don’t get me wrong, the effect is cool and in all seriousness, I would like it to still be on the Malkarion’s Crown, whichever it would be. But the issue here is not the sparkling effect, but how the crown looks and it just isn’t what it should’ve been.
So, even though I’ve voice out my displeasure, I still want to state the following: it could come of as a rant, but it is actually constructive criticism. I like this game (played since the Hidden Blades Hunt Pass) and even though I’m not always in agreement with how the game is handled, I love the fact that the playerbase can still be involved and the devs to listen to it. That’s why my hopes are for this upcoming correction to be seriously reconsidered, I hope the devs could find a way to please the bigger portion of the playerbase, as they have done so before. However the devs choose to do so, it’s up to them. But me speaking up is not just a rant: it’s a voice in hopes of this misunderstanding to be corrected in (almost - because pleasing 100% of the playerbase is just not possible) everybody’s favor.
Here ends my (big) piece of feedback, hoping it reaches the devs in a good manner.
Clear skies,
Rappull
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