Rise of Isengard - The Fall of SSG's mask

[TraumatiseEU]

With the unannounced drop of the increased level cap, and of an expansion that means a great deal to many players (an expansion, quite frankly, SSG could only dream of creating an equal to) you have gutted some of the most enfranchised fans. Fans, who were willing to put up with your complete lack of attention to their server so they could enjoy the old content. Additionally, you also shafted fans who have elected to play on Treebeard as proxy for missing out previous, superior, incarnations of Lotro.

The amount of discord and discontent you have sown within this community is unfathomable and you can be sure to see a sharp decline in activity. Sure, you can make the point that the population was negligible to begin with - and to follow this argument is such a beautiful display of myopia. To boil it down to its essence: You have people paying a subscription for content and services that have been in the game for over a decade. You didn't need to think, you didn't need to do anything special. All you had to do was not screw it up, and you some how managed to do precisely that.

Who thought this was a good idea? Please, for the love of all things holy, tell us - we're dying to know.

You've cooked one of your golden geese, a literal money printer, and spat in the faces of a lot of people. A lot of people who had been preemptively taking time off, organising community events, and generally embodying all of the camaraderie and geniune excitement of the classic MMO amidst an otherwise soulless cash grab. $100 for the 'ReCoMmEnDeD' expansion variant. Get real - Like predatory mimics you masquerade as something inviting, but really all you want is to whack your cash-cow pinyata and call it day. It is really quite digusting how you wear this 'We're for the fans and for the awesome community' skin suit. No. No you are not. What you ARE , are a bunch of carrion birds that feed on the fans' desire to be immersed in a world and IP they love and play with like-minded people.

You DO NOT care about community. You DO NOT care about the fans. You, simply, DO NOT care.

You would still have taken flak for releasing it early, but much less than a: "Oh yeah, by the way guys, we didn't really care to announce this before now. You're getting level 75. Today." - Like come on, you didn't even hint towards this release. I appreciate now you've gone full mask off. There is no room for interpretation. You deserve every calamity and disappointment that befalls you.

Before the SSG shills come with their unabashed, self-derived zenith levels of 'Well ackshually-ism' wisdom lets deal with, what will no doubt be, a common response.

'Well ackshually, I fink you'll find, SSG did this so people wouldn't rush the content and everyone could enjoy the expansion. Besides, technically it falls within their release schedule. You're just salty.'

1. They didn't do this for any of the previous expansion release when they knew this was already the case, that some people would power through the content and race the raids. Why change now.
2. What business do they have in deciding how best they think I should enjoy the game.
3. Even if we offer SSG our undeserved charitable interpretation and say this is the case. Why did it have to be so sudden? A week's notice is not enough time for people to re-organise other commitments and prepare for the next release.
4. Yes. I am salty. Did you roll a natural 20 on your perception check?

Again. How did you think this was a good idea. How did you screw this up so badly. How did you think this was going to go anyway in your favour.

- Mischief

[Dawnsbane]

All of this ^

[Strider5548]

With the unannounced drop of the increased level cap, and of an expansion that means a great deal to many players (an expansion, quite frankly, SSG could only dream of creating an equal to) you have gutted some of the most enfranchised fans. Fans, who were willing to put up with your complete lack of attention to their server so they could enjoy the old content. Additionally, you also shafted fans who have elected to play on Treebeard as proxy for missing out previous, superior, incarnations of Lotro.

The amount of discord and discontent you have sown within this community is unfathomable and you can be sure to see a sharp decline in activity. Sure, you can make the point that the population was negligible to begin with - and to follow this argument is such a beautiful display of myopia. To boil it down to its essence: You have people paying a subscription for content and services that have been in the game for over a decade. You didn't need to think, you didn't need to do anything special. All you had to do was not screw it up, and you some how managed to do precisely that.

Who thought this was a good idea? Please, for the love of all things holy, tell us - we're dying to know.

You've cooked one of your golden geese, a literal money printer, and spat in the faces of a lot of people. A lot of people who had been preemptively taking time off, organising community events, and generally embodying all of the camaraderie and geniune excitement of the classic MMO amidst an otherwise soulless cash grab. $100 for the 'ReCoMmEnDeD' expansion variant. Get real - Like predatory mimics you masquerade as something inviting, but really all you want is to whack your cash-cow pinyata and call it day. It is really quite digusting how you wear this 'We're for the fans and for the awesome community' skin suit. No. No you are not. What you ARE , are a bunch of carrion birds that feed on the fans' desire to be immersed in a world and IP they love and play with like-minded people.

You DO NOT care about community. You DO NOT care about the fans. You, simply, DO NOT care.

You would still have taken flak for releasing it early, but much less than a: "Oh yeah, by the way guys, we didn't really care to announce this before now. You're getting level 75. Today." - Like come on, you didn't even hint towards this release. I appreciate now you've gone full mask off. There is no room for interpretation. You deserve every calamity and disappointment that befalls you.

Before the SSG shills come with their unabashed, self-derived zenith levels of 'Well ackshually-ism' wisdom lets deal with, what will no doubt be, a common response.

'Well ackshually, I fink you'll find, SSG did this so people wouldn't rush the content and everyone could enjoy the expansion. Besides, technically it falls within their release schedule. You're just salty.'

1. They didn't do this for any of the previous expansion release when they knew this was already the case, that some people would power through the content and race the raids. Why change now.
2. What business do they have in deciding how best they think I should enjoy the game.
3. Even if we offer SSG our undeserved charitable interpretation and say this is the case. Why did it have to be so sudden? A week's notice is not enough time for people to re-organise other commitments and prepare for the next release.
4. Yes. I am salty. Did you roll a natural 20 on your perception check?

Again. How did you think this was a good idea. How did you screw this up so badly. How did you think this was going to go anyway in your favour.

- Mischief

I wish I had the time or patience to write up a long post with how I feel as well, I just don't right now, but I'll put down just a few thoughts.

I think SSG royally screwed up and I don't think there's anything they can do to fix it. Never in the history of this game has an expansion been released unannounced. People have work and real life schedules, they make plans well in advance to allocate their precious personal time to play this game in a way that's aligned with the release schedule. Most importantly there are several elements to the 65-75 cap that are not repeatable once the cap increases (deeds that go away, items that no longer drop, server first titles that become available) that cause players to plan their schedules ahead for months.

This is why players have been constantly asking "When is Treebeard increasing the level cap?" All of these players, casual completionists to hardcore raiders, were sadly ignored.

I have many friends across multiple kinships who spent money on valars, expansions, XP boosts, etc. to participate in the server first race. This is not a trivial amount of money either, but as you say players on legendary servers are cash cows. My experience on live since this game went F2P is that most players do everything they can to avoid spending money on LOTRO, while on Treebeard it seems every player is eager to throw cash at SSG (myself included) for the most ridiculous and undeserving things. This one stupid careless mistake has cost SSG many of these high paying users. I just wish SSG analyzed their per player revenue so they would value legendary servers more.

This is the first time since I started playing this game in 2007 that I am angry at the company behind it. You took a special server, with so much potential, and completely neglected it to the point we went from over 600 peak non-anon online per day down to 60. We asked for a rebalance of content when new LIs came out and got nothing, we asked for a quick pass at itemization and got nothing, we asked for phased releases of content so that players don't just max everything in 2 hours each time a new expansion drops and we got nothing, we asked for PvMP and we got it accidentally enabled on our server for 1 week, and some players who went in either intentionally or by accident were even banned!

I am not angry with any of this, and in fact was gladly paying for VIP, ultimate edition of expansions I can't even use, supporter packs, and points in store, as were many others on this server. What makes me angry is that you (SSG) took a fragile server and just punched it in the gut. Our friends are quitting LOTRO for good, our server population is decreasing, at a time where we could have given Treebeard a jolt in population and provided an amazing experience for all its VIP players, you dropped this update unannounced and screwed over every player who was planning to get deeds done, L65 raid drops acquired in December before they go away forever, or were planning to engage in the only element of raiding that is remotely competitive on our server (the OC race).

I suppose none of this should be surprising, and I can already forecast what's next. The few remaining players on Treebeard will stick it out through this current expansion, and over the next year as the population dwindles even further we'll receive the final nail in the coffin, another recycled legendary server. Another opportunity for naive players to jump into a VIP only experience that will leave them with a bitter taste.

I don't normally make negative posts, certainly not ones rooted in emotion over a game, but SSG just killed what me and several others, including my friends, were looking forward to for months. More importantly, they killed our server, because so many of the people we enjoy playing with have uninstalled LOTRO.

[Elmagor]

Since Treebeard get 60 level in january, and 65 level cap in june, you KNOW when Treebeard get next update

[Tinuredil]

Since Treebeard get 60 level in january, and 65 level cap in june, you KNOW when Treebeard get next update

So... January is the answer.

[Starliteyes]

So... January is the answer.

Enjoy every moment of LOTRO on the Treebeard server:

Get only 40% of the XP you would normally receive (-60% reduced XP).
Unlocks less frequently than normal, about every five to six months.

So... now.

[Elmagor]

So... January is the answer.

It's was never exactly 6 months without +\- few days

[TraumatiseEU]

Since Treebeard get 60 level in january, and 65 level cap in june, you KNOW when Treebeard get next update

Did you read any of what I said?

Let me try and make it little more 'accessible' for those that lie more towards the left on a guassian faculty distribution curve. Or for those who miss the point entirely.

It not about timing. It about lack of prior announcement. Do I am make sens fren?

[TraumatiseEU]

Enjoy every moment of LOTRO on the Treebeard server:

Get only 40% of the XP you would normally receive (-60% reduced XP).
Unlocks less frequently than normal, about every five to six months.

So... now.

See the post above

[Strider5548]

It's was never exactly 6 months without +\- few days

Either you don't get it or you are trolling? It's not about the timeline, it's about the communication. Players rightfully feel an immense amount of disrespect and apathy towards them when things like this happen, enough to quit playing a game they actually enjoy because of the people who run it. It's not hyperbole, this is what happened, and it's how a large number of the players on our server felt.

A lot of people don't care, that's fine, but for many people it's really important.

A level cap update is a significant event for legendary servers, it's the significant event for legendary servers, and to ninja release it with no announcement was a careless move. It makes some people lose any confidence they had that their dollars are worth spending on this game.

[Elmagor]

Either you don't get it or you are trolling? It's not about the timeline, it's about the communication. Players rightfully feel an immense amount of disrespect and apathy towards them when things like this happen, enough to quit playing a game they actually enjoy because of the people who run it. It's not hyperbole, this is what happened, and it's how a large number of the players on our server felt.

A lot of people don't care, that's fine, but for many people it's really important.

A level cap update is a significant event for legendary servers, it's the significant event for legendary servers, and to ninja release it with no announcement was a careless move. It makes some people lose any confidence they had that their dollars are worth spending on this game.

I never say it was right move from SSG, I just want to say what this update must be around december/january anyway, so people CAN be prepared for it even without announce. We all know what communication was on and off in different times from SSG, especially after Raninia left.

[marinegamer2010]

I never say it was right move from SSG, I just want to say what this update must be around december/january anyway, so people CAN be prepared for it even without announce. We all know what communication was on and off in different times from SSG, especially after Raninia left.

You can try and defend this move as much as you want. "People CAN be prepared" without an announcement. Yes you can apply this logic to anything. If you are trying for the Original Challenger title, you could have max out mission quests in your log at all times, so you can't enjoy any other part of the game as you wait, until the masters ninja release the XPAC. I am ready! as you sit doing nothing, waiting for the release. Oh but wait, raid teams take leave from work so they can push the server first push. You can't do that when a maintenance releases the expansion. You cannot be prepared for that. But go ahead defend this poor, inconsiderate move. The whole reason I joined legendary servers was to push and get these titles as they released. I had already spent excessive amounts of $$$ preparing with XP tomes and defense tomes and morale pots and everything that would be needed from their lotro store. They got theirs. Then they gave us raiders waiting for it the finger, and told us to sit and rotate. I am not going to spend any more time on this topic, as the disrespect shown by this move is immeasurable. I am sure that this thread will be ignored just like the announcement of the release was. I will take my time and more importantly my money elsewhere, and remember the good times I had in this game.

[Elmagor]

You can try and defend this move as much as you want. "People CAN be prepared" without an announcement. Yes you can apply this logic to anything. If you are trying for the Original Challenger title, you could have max out mission quests in your log at all times, so you can't enjoy any other part of the game as you wait, until the masters ninja release the XPAC. I am ready! as you sit doing nothing, waiting for the release. Oh but wait, raid teams take leave from work so they can push the server first push. You can't do that when a maintenance releases the expansion. You cannot be prepared for that. But go ahead defend this poor, inconsiderate move. The whole reason I joined legendary servers was to push and get these titles as they released. I had already spent excessive amounts of $$$ preparing with XP tomes and defense tomes and morale pots and everything that would be needed from their lotro store. They got theirs. Then they gave us raiders waiting for it the finger, and told us to sit and rotate. I am not going to spend any more time on this topic, as the disrespect shown by this move is immeasurable. I am sure that this thread will be ignored just like the announcement of the release was. I will take my time and more importantly my money elsewhere, and remember the good times I had in this game.

Where I try and defend that? I spend many months in Anor and was very sad when they close server, because I split time between my original characters and Anor character, Maybe if I don't spend time in Anor I can complete HoA T3 more times, I don't know.

But after they done same things for both Ithil and Anor players on other 2 servers must know how SSG threat legendary servers. No difference here. We still don't understand why they introduce MM in month before server close, and Gundabad in month before they kill Anor. Maybe if Treebeard have more players they change way how they approach with updates here. No one want accept sad truth, but it's still truth: legendary servers slowly dying and SSG don't want to stop it.

Sorry, I never want to have people look at my post as defense for SSG, I just want to say what fate of Treebeard depends on players on server, only you can change your fate. But saying what your server need to have more respect when already closed Ithil and Anor just anger players who spend their time on their servers - same way as you put your efforts on your server. With one expection - you can login on your server every day, and they can't do it

[Aurora7]

SSG:
You own this one!

I do understand that the team is very busy at this time of year and some "things" get overlooked in the rush. However.....

What SSG needs is a new hat; one of the staff MUST take on responsibility for the Legendary Servers. Nothing goes "live" without their consent. Every update, patch, expansion MUST be reviewed by this dev to ensure that there are no future "mis-communications" or other mishaps.

So far there have been no apologies or even an acknowledgement from a "blue name".

Ouch!

Aurora7

[Strider5548]

But after they done same things for both Ithil and Anor players on other 2 servers must know how SSG threat legendary servers. No difference here. We still don't understand why they introduce MM in month before server close, and Gundabad in month before they kill Anor. Maybe if Treebeard have more players they change way how they approach with updates here. No one want accept sad truth, but it's still truth: legendary servers slowly dying and SSG don't want to stop it.

I can't disagree at all here, sadly it's the truth. Regarding Anor, if they really wanted to kill the server, the right thing to do would have been to time it so that it closed at the same time a new expansion dropped. It's unthinkable that somebody actually thought it would be a good idea to release MM for one month, and then kill the server. It's really not hard to do this if you plan ahead, but it seems like no planning goes into the legendary servers.

It's day 2 of the most anticipated expansion for TB and we have 40 non anon players online. If only 5 minutes of thought went into the timing and communication of the release maybe there would be a decent # of players to enjoy the game with.

[fealegwe2]

another example of how out of touch $$G is when it comes to knowing the needs of the community

[TraumatiseEU]

What's more proof is, apparently, they had learnt next to nothing from this (https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...ticism-for-SSG) thread from just over 3 years ago.

Jeez, the more you look the worse it gets

[marinegamer2010]

another example of how out of touch $$G is when it comes to knowing the needs of the community

HAHA. I posted on that thread as well in agreement, with the same issues. Three years ago, lol.

[Elmagor]

I can't disagree at all here, sadly it's the truth. Regarding Anor, if they really wanted to kill the server, the right thing to do would have been to time it so that it closed at the same time a new expansion dropped. It's unthinkable that somebody actually thought it would be a good idea to release MM for one month, and then kill the server. It's really not hard to do this if you plan ahead, but it seems like no planning goes into the legendary servers.

It's day 2 of the most anticipated expansion for TB and we have 40 non anon players online. If only 5 minutes of thought went into the timing and communication of the release maybe there would be a decent # of players to enjoy the game with.

I start with Anor really late (when I heard what they will have transfer from it), and when I start playing Anor almost every day, we have 90-115 people online in primetime. When we find out what they decide to release Gundabad here, we have around 19-30 people

[0ldSk00L]

With the unannounced drop of the increased level cap, and of an expansion that means a great deal to many players (an expansion, quite frankly, SSG could only dream of creating an equal to) you have gutted some of the most enfranchised fans. Fans, who were willing to put up with your complete lack of attention to their server so they could enjoy the old content. Additionally, you also shafted fans who have elected to play on Treebeard as proxy for missing out previous, superior, incarnations of Lotro.

The amount of discord and discontent you have sown within this community is unfathomable and you can be sure to see a sharp decline in activity. Sure, you can make the point that the population was negligible to begin with - and to follow this argument is such a beautiful display of myopia. To boil it down to its essence: You have people paying a subscription for content and services that have been in the game for over a decade. You didn't need to think, you didn't need to do anything special. All you had to do was not screw it up, and you some how managed to do precisely that.

Who thought this was a good idea? Please, for the love of all things holy, tell us - we're dying to know.

You've cooked one of your golden geese, a literal money printer, and spat in the faces of a lot of people. A lot of people who had been preemptively taking time off, organising community events, and generally embodying all of the camaraderie and geniune excitement of the classic MMO amidst an otherwise soulless cash grab. $100 for the 'ReCoMmEnDeD' expansion variant. Get real - Like predatory mimics you masquerade as something inviting, but really all you want is to whack your cash-cow pinyata and call it day. It is really quite digusting how you wear this 'We're for the fans and for the awesome community' skin suit. No. No you are not. What you ARE , are a bunch of carrion birds that feed on the fans' desire to be immersed in a world and IP they love and play with like-minded people.

You DO NOT care about community. You DO NOT care about the fans. You, simply, DO NOT care.

You would still have taken flak for releasing it early, but much less than a: "Oh yeah, by the way guys, we didn't really care to announce this before now. You're getting level 75. Today." - Like come on, you didn't even hint towards this release. I appreciate now you've gone full mask off. There is no room for interpretation. You deserve every calamity and disappointment that befalls you.

Before the SSG shills come with their unabashed, self-derived zenith levels of 'Well ackshually-ism' wisdom lets deal with, what will no doubt be, a common response.

'Well ackshually, I fink you'll find, SSG did this so people wouldn't rush the content and everyone could enjoy the expansion. Besides, technically it falls within their release schedule. You're just salty.'

1. They didn't do this for any of the previous expansion release when they knew this was already the case, that some people would power through the content and race the raids. Why change now.
2. What business do they have in deciding how best they think I should enjoy the game.
3. Even if we offer SSG our undeserved charitable interpretation and say this is the case. Why did it have to be so sudden? A week's notice is not enough time for people to re-organise other commitments and prepare for the next release.
4. Yes. I am salty. Did you roll a natural 20 on your perception check?

Again. How did you think this was a good idea. How did you screw this up so badly. How did you think this was going to go anyway in your favour.

- Mischief

This is satire, right?

[Strider5548]

This is satire, right?

Why do you think he is joking? The entire point of Treebeard is progressing through content. People plan their real life schedules around when updates hit so that they can ensure they have completed all the time gated legendary server deeds that are available before they go away. What you may not understand is that Treebeard also has several groups of players who enjoy competing for server first deeds. These people spent real money on valars and XP boosts, ultimate edition expansions for XP gear, rep tomes for acquiring rep gear quickly, and completed 70+ missions beforehand and mapped out all of their plans for acquiring gear and completing the raid as quickly as possible.

I'm not exaggerating, many people spent hundreds of dollars and many many hours preparing for the release. These people are justifiably upset. I personally know several people who have not only quit Treebeard, but LOTRO altogether because of this. I am still here, but I completely understand the sentiment. It's not about missing out on deeds or titles or even the day 1 experience of an expansion launch. It's the attitude SSG has towards its players, especially those on legendary servers. For many players this isn't the first time they wasted countless hours on something because SSG failed to communicate properly. They've done this with live raid releases, and amazingly the same exact thing happened with Anor when Isengard released.

It's a real shame, because the content, itemization, and story are are all much improved at 75 compared to earlier expansions. While balance, lack of phasing content over time (why can you barter for the best raid gear with marks/medallions??), lack of PvMP, and other things are not even acceptable for a VIP only server, it's still a much better game experience compared to SoA, MoM, and Mirkwood on the legendary servers.

Sadly there are too few people to play with, because nobody got the memo. SSG missed the chance to generate excitement around the release. Players are people, we have lives, jobs, families, and are required to plan ahead to enjoy content with other players. What should have been a high point for Treebeard activity turned into a sharp decline that will only get worse as we enter Rohan 6 months (or whenever) from now.

Some people lost interest because they either missed out on completing things they thought they still had time for at 65 or they couldn't get on during what was supposed to be the high activity time period for the server. Others rage quit because they wasted a considerable amount of their time and money preparing for something they were never able to participate in, they feel taken advantage of by a company and don't want to support them financially anymore. Either way, nobody is joking and most players feel badly about the timing and lack of communication around the update.

[TraumatiseEU]

This is satire, right?

I pose the same question to this post - though, it's definitely budget in comparison.

[Sherush]

We would not have complained if you gave us a week or two notice or an actually written schedule (which we understood already was 6 months) not 5 months... Treebeard is (was) filled with great amazing raiders that all were competing for first clears on the raids on day one... that is what caused all this uproar no raider had time to prepared to be ready to raid day 1. This has been the fun part of the server..... Mischief we hope you come back to Treebeard you are missed (this is Lins from BBB)

[0ldSk00L]

Why do you think he is joking?

I don't know ... I thought all the hair-on-fire hyperbole was the poster poking fun at people who take this unannounced update way too seriously. But hey, anybody who is canceling their account over this: Can I have your stuff?

[Sopheliaren]

Big sad