2013-10-07, 09:02 PM
The reasons I played...
First, it was because my lady played with me. We made great friends, who over time had slowly left the game, made and raised a great guild together (which I admit have been heavily neglecting now and I'm very awful about that... I'm sorry), and then she quit but I kept playing. What kept me going was the art, the (good) people and the customization. You had to spend NX for outfits, and I didn't mind that. In fact, I liked spending NX on cosmetic stuff. I was never the type to change my hair/face on a weekly basis (I go with one look and stick with it), but I loved going "Well, this outfit's about to expire... let's see what combination looks good for the next three months!" And even when I had no NX, I took outfits available in-game and wore them around when I wasn't training (Anvils still the best and only thing I would ever even spend NX on with zero regrets, those were easily Nexon's best invention).
Of course, then came the time when I could no longer get NX because I had my own bills to pay, which made permanent NX a godsend. But I still had fun leveling, being with friends... leveling with friends, doing party quests that required actual teamwork and effort (RIP CWKPQ), helping out those who needed something I could help out with. I was slow but I was accomplishing stuff. I was a firm believer in playing legitimately and was highly respected for it. I had always wanted to fight the big bosses at the time, Zakum and Horntail, but was never high enough to do so, but I would always try my best to get up there so I could join in the epic boss battles.
But then potential and such came along and the fun of the game started to slowly dwindle away.
The big bosses got easy enough to the point where big groups of organized people were unnecessary and aren't even considered big anymore.
Even bigger bosses showed up and it required an insane amount of power that could only be met with NX (even if you spent 0 dollars on NX, the point that NX was needed still stands) just to be able to stand a chance.
I had finally gotten my chance to fight large bosses with a group of respectable people on a regular basis, like I had always wanted. It was a bi-weekly Empress run with an always-full expedition of people who are completely anti-hacker, anti-dupe, legit. But only a very small number of them was truly decked out in range.
I had a great time in those expeditions, and heck, I would keep trying with them if I hadn't stopped playing because it was fun and they're wonderful people... but not once were we able to defeat Empress. We got close a few times, but in all of the expeditions I'd gone, not one of them were successful. Full expedition with mostly level 200s and no success. And yet there are people soloing/duo-ing/what have you because they're even more stacked in damage than all of us combined (not to mention duped items but that's another thing altogether).
Really said a lot about what the game demands from people in order to even progress in the end-game. Once a level cap increase was announced, along with revamps that would turn my character into a complete stranger, I knew I was done.
The game I once knew and loved is gone because it'd drifted into something different. But as long as it makes money, it works, right?
First, it was because my lady played with me. We made great friends, who over time had slowly left the game, made and raised a great guild together (which I admit have been heavily neglecting now and I'm very awful about that... I'm sorry), and then she quit but I kept playing. What kept me going was the art, the (good) people and the customization. You had to spend NX for outfits, and I didn't mind that. In fact, I liked spending NX on cosmetic stuff. I was never the type to change my hair/face on a weekly basis (I go with one look and stick with it), but I loved going "Well, this outfit's about to expire... let's see what combination looks good for the next three months!" And even when I had no NX, I took outfits available in-game and wore them around when I wasn't training (Anvils still the best and only thing I would ever even spend NX on with zero regrets, those were easily Nexon's best invention).
Of course, then came the time when I could no longer get NX because I had my own bills to pay, which made permanent NX a godsend. But I still had fun leveling, being with friends... leveling with friends, doing party quests that required actual teamwork and effort (RIP CWKPQ), helping out those who needed something I could help out with. I was slow but I was accomplishing stuff. I was a firm believer in playing legitimately and was highly respected for it. I had always wanted to fight the big bosses at the time, Zakum and Horntail, but was never high enough to do so, but I would always try my best to get up there so I could join in the epic boss battles.
But then potential and such came along and the fun of the game started to slowly dwindle away.
The big bosses got easy enough to the point where big groups of organized people were unnecessary and aren't even considered big anymore.
Even bigger bosses showed up and it required an insane amount of power that could only be met with NX (even if you spent 0 dollars on NX, the point that NX was needed still stands) just to be able to stand a chance.
I had finally gotten my chance to fight large bosses with a group of respectable people on a regular basis, like I had always wanted. It was a bi-weekly Empress run with an always-full expedition of people who are completely anti-hacker, anti-dupe, legit. But only a very small number of them was truly decked out in range.
I had a great time in those expeditions, and heck, I would keep trying with them if I hadn't stopped playing because it was fun and they're wonderful people... but not once were we able to defeat Empress. We got close a few times, but in all of the expeditions I'd gone, not one of them were successful. Full expedition with mostly level 200s and no success. And yet there are people soloing/duo-ing/what have you because they're even more stacked in damage than all of us combined (not to mention duped items but that's another thing altogether).
Really said a lot about what the game demands from people in order to even progress in the end-game. Once a level cap increase was announced, along with revamps that would turn my character into a complete stranger, I knew I was done.
The game I once knew and loved is gone because it'd drifted into something different. But as long as it makes money, it works, right?