A huge issue and message to the community

CrimsonHeart86CrimsonHeart86 Registered Users, Member 1 Posts

Long time reader, first time poster here. Typically I don't bother posting on forums but an issue such as this cannot be ignored.

I am writing this message to the community as a whole to inform you of some underhanded, sneaky things that the Sorcerer's Arena devs/team has been doing to us. In sharing information between players, it was first discovered that accounts were split into 3 tiers (see chart below), and your tier determined what your gold cost for everything (and we do mean every single thing) in the game was. By looking at this chart you can see that people in Tier 2 payed DOUBLE the amount that people in Tier 1 payed. If you think this is bad, the players in tier 3 were paying TRIPLE the amount of gold the players in Tier 1 were paying. To look at this in the bigger picture, that's an extra 2 million gold per character just for increasing their stars from 1-7, not counting crafting materials, buying items from the bazaar, level up costs, etc. This issue was "fixed", ONLY because some players found out and started to make it into a big issue. While costs are consistent now, it does nothing to make up for the extra gold that has already been spent by 60% of the community.


Then we have a MUCH larger issue. Again we have uncovered that accounts were split into tiers (see chart below) that determined the amount of items you needed to craft in order to raise a character to the next tier. Take a moment to re-read that last sentence and really process it. As you can see in the chart, we have players that were required to use MORE THAN TRIPLE the amount of materials as some other players. This is astronomical in the effect it has in game. That means for the exact same material amounts, one player would be able to get 18 characters from tier 1 to tier 5, while another could only get 6 from tier 1 to tier 5. Some players had an such an advantage as to get THREE times the amount of value out of materials. 




This affects every single game mode. This means in tower of endurance, some people had 18 high tiered heroes to cycle between while some of us only had 6, even though we used the same amount of materials. This means in adventure some were able to make strong teams for each side enabling them to progress much further than the rest of us. This means in arena some players have a much larger roster of strong characters to choose between to use to grind trophies and arena currency. It's outrageous. 

We have several comments and posts from the Community Manager, MeatheadMilitia stating the Glu considers the game live. It is up for download in the public app store of several countries, so beta testing cannot be used as an excuse. So we ask you... why, in a LIVE game, would you create such a HUGE imbalance, giving certain players an unbelievable advantage over others? Many of us spend money. Why is my money worth less than someone else's, since I only get 1/3 of the value of items bought with all of my in game resources. 

I am in contact with several well known and respected Youtubers ready to go public with this information, broadcasting it to hundreds of thousands of their subscribers. There are a few players with organized reports ready to take this to the BBB. This post will also be posted on the forums, Discord, Reddit, Facebook group, Instagram, and Twitter. This will be known to every corner of the Sorcerer's arena community. This is unethical, immoral, and absolutely unacceptable.

The funniest part is, players are fully aware of what the A/B testing is for, to determine spending algorithms and see which path generates the most income. We have directly ASKED for more packages to buy in game. Players WANT to spend money. Underhanded tactics is not the way to get it done. It's not hard to TREAT PLAYERS EQUALLY. We have a core group that have played together for some time in various games and as such, we share all info and screenshot basically everything you can think of. We aren't a group of people complaining for the sake of it, we are experienced gamers known in the community for years and will not let this rest until a fair resolution has been presented. (And honestly at this point, the only fair resolutions are either compensation or a global reset in which players are granted the value of any diamonds spent during this "beta")


Thank you to the players on discord that pay attention to detail and gathered this information, many of us would have been blissfully unaware we were being robbed blind.

Comments

  • xDannixDanni Registered Users, Member 13 Posts
    Agreed. Until we noticed the crafting issue, I'd had multiple discussions with fellow players - genuinely confused as to why I was so far behind when we had similar activity levels. 

    My account is permanently behind, and I will never be able to catch up to those that started at the same time as me, as a result of a random account generation and entirely outside of my control. This has crippled my gameplay and has made it really demotivating to continue. 
  • SirKhalidSirKhalid Registered Users, Member 8 Posts
    Really good post, I hope they will do something right about it and not just copy their generic response.
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    Well said. I myself am feeling very discouraged by this, and will no longer be spending any money in this game.
  • JillathiaJillathia Registered Users, Member 31 Posts
    I had been waiting patiently to see MeatheadMilitia’s response to this in the other thread about A/B-testing and was terribly disappointed to see the generic cut-and-paste response that was given there.

    That, coupled with the info presented here, has made me very skeptical to investing any money in this game. I hope the devs come with a detailed and timely response to these findings so that trust can begin to be repaired. Mistakes can (and will) be made in any game. Seasoned players get that. But they need to be acknowledged and addressed immediately and in a professional manner to avoid alienating paying customers and adding to the chaos.
  • CH1EFCH1EF Registered Users, Member 18 Posts
    It is very discouraging that they did this and that there was barely, if any acknowledgement by a dev on this issue. One thing I will disagree on is about the global reset. If a reset is done, my wife and I would be quitting as I’m sure a lot of players would. I was in the highest tier for both gold and mats. I think the best route for them to take is to just compensate diamonds or mats to the accounts that were “high tiered”. 
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    CH1EF said:
    It is very discouraging that they did this and that there was barely, if any acknowledgement by a dev on this issue. One thing I will disagree on is about the global reset. If a reset is done, my wife and I would be quitting as I’m sure a lot of players would. I was in the highest tier for both gold and mats. I think the best route for them to take is to just compensate diamonds or mats to the accounts that were “high tiered”. 
    I agree @CH1EF, I don't want a reset at all, but if they don't give compensation it would be the only fair thing to do
  • JillathiaJillathia Registered Users, Member 31 Posts
    flashhkg said:
    CH1EF said:
    It is very discouraging that they did this and that there was barely, if any acknowledgement by a dev on this issue. One thing I will disagree on is about the global reset. If a reset is done, my wife and I would be quitting as I’m sure a lot of players would. I was in the highest tier for both gold and mats. I think the best route for them to take is to just compensate diamonds or mats to the accounts that were “high tiered”. 
    so you agree that the game is unfair, and the imbalance helped you to get to top tier

    you want some changes but you want to keep your leading position which was basically what make this game unfair......

    funny
    I think you misunderstood Chief, flashhkg. He said he was in the highest gold tier and the costly mats .... so he paid a lot more than many. That he is in a lead position despite having paid so much is impressive. Imagine where he would be had he had 1/3 the costs.
  • CH1EFCH1EF Registered Users, Member 18 Posts
    Thanks for clarifying @Jillathia . @flashhkg learn how to read before you come at me. I had the highest of the highest costs with everything, so I’m not seeing your point. I was in the most unfair bracket.
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    flashhkg said:
    CH1EF said:
    It is very discouraging that they did this and that there was barely, if any acknowledgement by a dev on this issue. One thing I will disagree on is about the global reset. If a reset is done, my wife and I would be quitting as I’m sure a lot of players would. I was in the highest tier for both gold and mats. I think the best route for them to take is to just compensate diamonds or mats to the accounts that were “high tiered”. 
    I agree @CH1EF, I don't want a reset at all, but if they don't give compensation it would be the only fair thing to do
    well what about a new server?
    let this beta server go "live" and keep running. And introduce a new server for new global players.

    This will solve the problem 
    That would only be a solution if compensation is given. since right now in the "beta" server there is a sever imbalance due to this issue
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    edited April 2019
    That response would have been fine, if purchases weren't allowed. Because of this issue, some peoples money was worth less than others. Me spending money on diamonds which got used for gold, or energy to farm items only gave 1/3rd of what another players got spending the same amount, even if we both got the max drop rate possible.

    At this point I don't care if they reset the game and refund the diamonds, or keep it and give compensation... but something needs to be done. I'm already getting messages from people asking for opinions or instructions on how to refund their purchases from Apple/Google.
  • LudgateLudgate Registered Users, Member 65 Posts
    I’m all for beta and data collecting.  I’m 100% opposed to different playing conditions for people in direct competition.

    Having been placed in the best possible tier, I’m ashamed of the unfair lead I have over some friends of mine who play this game.  

    Please Glu, do your players right and give compensation to those that were unfairly held back. 
  • MeatheadMilitiaMeatheadMilitia Registered Users, Administrator, Moderators, Member, Moderator 463 Posts

    Hey folks,

    First and foremost, thank you for voicing your opinion and providing feedback (Always up to listen to better template ideas, been meaning to adjust it). We have always appreciated that since we started Beta.

    Myself and others inside our office understand the frustration some of you are feeling, especially our animator person, they got it rough.

    I have tried my best to get all your previous questioned answered and as they come up, so I will bring this up further with the team but I cannot promise anything beyond that.

    We will do our best to provide you all with as much information as we are able to.   

    Again, as always, please continue to provide feedback as it helps us make a better game for everyone. 


    Bacon and Coffee, that's what I'm fueled by. 
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts

    Hey folks,

    First and foremost, thank you for voicing your opinion and providing feedback (Always up to listen to better template ideas, been meaning to adjust it). We have always appreciated that since we started Beta.

    Myself and others inside our office understand the frustration some of you are feeling, especially our animator person, they got it rough.

    I have tried my best to get all your previous questioned answered and as they come up, so I will bring this up further with the team but I cannot promise anything beyond that.

    We will do our best to provide you all with as much information as we are able to.   

    Again, as always, please continue to provide feedback as it helps us make a better game for everyone. 


    Thank you. I think most situations can be prevented from escalating as far they do by simple acknowledgment that our concerns our being honestly taken into consideration and discussed. Obviously when money comes into play it makes things worse. 

    I am a little curious though as to why the animator got it so rough about this situation? Unless they are responsible for more than that, I don't recall seeing many complaints about the games animations
  • MeatheadMilitiaMeatheadMilitia Registered Users, Administrator, Moderators, Member, Moderator 463 Posts
    edited April 2019

    Hey folks,

    First and foremost, thank you for voicing your opinion and providing feedback (Always up to listen to better template ideas, been meaning to adjust it). We have always appreciated that since we started Beta.

    Myself and others inside our office understand the frustration some of you are feeling, especially our animator person, they got it rough.

    I have tried my best to get all your previous questioned answered and as they come up, so I will bring this up further with the team but I cannot promise anything beyond that.

    We will do our best to provide you all with as much information as we are able to.   

    Again, as always, please continue to provide feedback as it helps us make a better game for everyone. 


    Thank you. I think most situations can be prevented from escalating as far they do by simple acknowledgment that our concerns our being honestly taken into consideration and discussed. Obviously when money comes into play it makes things worse. 

    I am a little curious though as to why the animator got it so rough about this situation? Unless they are responsible for more than that, I don't recall seeing many complaints about the games animations
    We completely understand that and respect that.

    They got in the worst group (Almost no one got in this group but them)
    Bacon and Coffee, that's what I'm fueled by. 
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    Ah, gotcha. Well heres to hoping a fair resolution is decided upon quickly
  • xDannixDanni Registered Users, Member 13 Posts
    flashhkg said:
    well what about a new server?
    let this beta server go "live" and keep running. And introduce a new server for new global players.

    This will solve the problem 
    That would only be a solution if compensation is given. since right now in the "beta" server there is a sever imbalance due to this issue
    well Dev is gonna "guys its just beta, we need you here to test" again.....lol
    maybe a total refund, and then give us some good shits (some free chars?) during global launch.

    my opinion is that everyone should start fresh from day 1 @global launch.
    We, despite being the beta-players, should not be way ahead of others.
    Hi Flash, 

    So the devs have already said that they do not intend to reset the server and they consider the game live. They have also said they will be doing multiple servers, which makes sense. 

    The issue with this is that the people that had the lower costs until now were able to get an extra roughly 12 heroes to Tier 5 that the players with the higher costs were not able to get. They will have these extra heroes for the duration of the game, on this server, and will always be able to perform better in all game modes due to the variety of heroes they have to select from. They will always have this head start because even as the disadvantaged players try to catch up, the advantaged players will still be farming for other heroes. 
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    Hoping to hear something back from the team on this, quite a few people have decisions waiting on the response
  • xDannixDanni Registered Users, Member 13 Posts
    More ways this AB testing has crippled my progress. 

    Now I can’t even stay competitive in Arena - because after a month of reduced materials, the people I play against have not had to spend all of their energy farming materials, they have been farming hero chips. While I’ve been spending gems on more energy to farm mats, they’ve been using them on the grand adventure for hero chips. 

    Not only can I not catch up to the number of heroes they have, but they now have heroes at significantly higher star rankings and I can’t even compete anywhere. 
  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    xDanni said:
    More ways this AB testing has crippled my progress. 

    Now I can’t even stay competitive in Arena - because after a month of reduced materials, the people I play against have not had to spend all of their energy farming materials, they have been farming hero chips. While I’ve been spending gems on more energy to farm mats, they’ve been using them on the grand adventure for hero chips. 

    Not only can I not catch up to the number of heroes they have, but they now have heroes at significantly higher star rankings and I can’t even compete anywhere. 
    Agreed here. Was wondering how people were already getting 6 and 7 stars so early, but makes sense now.
  • MeatheadMilitiaMeatheadMilitia Registered Users, Administrator, Moderators, Member, Moderator 463 Posts
    flashhkg said:
    @MeatheadMilitia any replies?
    If I get information on things game related, I will post about it :) 
    Bacon and Coffee, that's what I'm fueled by. 
  • xDannixDanni Registered Users, Member 13 Posts
    Really hoping for adjustment before the event starts. Those in the lower material cost tier have an incredible advantage; and as it stands I'm not sure those of us with the higher costs will be able to sufficiently participate to get any worthwhile rewards. 
  • xDannixDanni Registered Users, Member 13 Posts
    @MeatheadMilitia it’s now been 10 days since this post was made, are there any updates? 

    Honestly the silence from Glu is really disheartening.
  • LudgateLudgate Registered Users, Member 65 Posts
    I thought Glu had put an end to this nonsense.  Why is it back??

  • ReapersFuryXReapersFuryX Registered Users, Member 105 Posts
    Seriously?? ... @MeatheadMilitia is this a joke? After the first time, you're still doing A/B testing, resulting in peoples money having different values? This is unbelievable. Not even sure its worth being a member of these forums anyways as we'll most likely get the default "i'll pass it on" with no consideration, compensation, or real answer.
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