Saturday, December 30, 2017

I. Am. Not. Amused.

Repeating past mistakes... where will that lead?


By: George Argyropoulos
a/k/a Dragon_Bane   



I'm not exactly sure who the brain-trust is at the moment, but bloody hell, it's just after Christmas. It's time for good cheer, not smacking your customers upside the head. I don't even feel like making a funny from that, I'm just going to hop right in.

TLCs :

If I were running a business, at least one that wanted people to give me money, I would make sure I gave them every opportunity to do so. Why you would want to lock customers out of a possible revenue generating avenue (TLC's, FM, Events due to hull choice/limitation), I can't fathom. It is business suicide. Death by a thousand cuts. I would absolutely LOVE someone to explain to me the thought process behind all of these decisions that essentially limit access to players, thereby limiting the company's potential access to said player's wallets.

The Raid - Part I :

I have to admit, I loved the first two raids. In the first raid could do the Fang targets well and the players that got the Hunter fleets out were reaping the benefits. At this point I and many other players began asking what the repercussions would be of a target specifically designed around a particular hull. We were ignored.

In the second, the Hunters took over and performed exceptionally well in their target in the intended fashion in which the hull was designed- autoing. Again, the questions about targets designed with such specificity transitioning to the map and TLCs arose and was heartily ignored. The Hunter though, performed impeccably. I loved the hull, I loved the option, I loved that it worked as intended - at least as we had been led to believe was intended!!

In the final raid of the set, I was less than amused. The 'auto' target was tuned such that last minute changes to the builds were necessitated (huge thanks to THOR again for testing so much out!), not by the requirement for escalation weapons (they were pretty much needed as well), but in the mechanics that we dealt with in the targets. This is NOT how this is supposed to go.

This is not a raid set anymore, it has become individual raids with an enormous amount of pressure put on the players to 'keep up' month-to-month rather than allowing them to concentrate on, you know, playing the f***ing game. I really worry about how this is going to play out with a 4 month raid set while there is a concurrent FM change going on that the players are going to have to adjust to. This is a path of folly that is going to end up alienating even your most carefree spenders in the game.

The Raid - Part II :

Hope Release : This was a mistake. I understand that the company wanted to get these in people's hands before the ominous T7 hulls made their appearance, however, if you stop and think about this a moment, you'll realize that the reasoning behind that is self-defeating. The company knew the hull would have a limited shelf-life- why in the hell would you release it: 1. That late into its projected life-span; 2. Release it in a specialized PvP event that caters to PvP thereby devaluing that event and; 3. Why even create the need for the hull in the first place if the transition was immenently forthcoming? Is it truly that hard to balance PvP month-to-month? Try reading this and understanding the actual meaning of the word: READ ME

Trident? : This was a clusterf***. Again, changes to the FM necessitated the need for an anti-rocket countermeasure. There are two in the game. Why-o-why would you want to purposefully lock players out of an avenue of revenue generation?!? Particularly one that is universally perceived as a necessity of the game, AND, of which players essentially believe if you can not advance, you shouldn't even play. GIVE THEM THE MOTHER******* TRIDENT! Why is this so hard to understand? If you frustrate players, they DON'T WANT TO PLAY. You run a business based on players wanting to play your game, yet it seems you take every opportunity to push them out of the game. Why?!?

MOW and Ancillaries : Seriously? You haven't nickel and dimed us to death yet so you decided to kick us square in the balls and not only pull the MOWs, but then crudely (I mean CRUDELY) attempt to monetize Uranium, Titanium and Base Parts? Get the hell out of here with that crap. Players are refusing to buy the crapola 70 gold for $4.99 deal because they feel gypped and you think they're going to do this? I flatly refuse to do any of those. I will not buy the 70 gold bullshit offer and I will not buy uranium or titanium or base parts during a raid. You have absolutely CONVINCED me to either make sure I'm loaded up with crews and resources before a raid or just suffer through a couple days without. If that means that I get frustrated and don't want to play? I guess you won't be getting any more money from me either. See how that works?

Charged Armor : 12 Million points per. Because you obviously heard how much the community was begging to be shackled to a computer for 6 days. Because you clearly heard the community outcry that there needed to be an increase in total overall points for a fulfilling experience. Because you clearly heard the community begging you to increase the cost of a now-needed component in the game. Might I suggest: These Guys

Agility 4 : Sweet and short. Heavy PvP presence in the prize list. Very much used in PvP and an apparently required special for TLCs in some instances. Where the hell was it?!?

Generic Tokens : Remember when players would complain about build and refit times and the company would respond 'But... Tokens!'? Yea, well, where the hell did they go. Hull/Store raids used to have 10 days of tokens. Given the averaged loss in the FM and the averaged loss in the raids, you'd think they'd have done this because the builds times were reduced or something, right?

Other Tokens : Speaking of Tokens, those hull specific tokens? Cannoneer, a now tier B hull -maybe, 1 day token at 3 million points, the exact same amount per token as that JUST released Hope?!? Da fuq? Yet the King's Writ token is only 2 million points? Do you not see the apparent repercussions of shitty game balance sitting right in front of you as you write these numbers?!? Seriously - you may want to re-think Toking Tuesday going forward.

Build and Repair time on Auto Hull :

I think this is self explanatory. Sure, it's about the same build time as past hulls... except... less tokens... except... the necessitating of two fleets per cycle... except... concurrent refit/build requirements to the FM fleets. See where this is headed? And you thought I was flipping my **** above for no reason, yea?

Oh! Lest I forget- because of the ever increasing amount of health these ships continue to have (because, you know, designing balance within the confines of the mechanics of the game is apparently too ****ing difficult) there is an annoying little niggle of math that is starting to rear its ugly little head. (Thanks to Rooster of SDS7 for helping me test this out.) You know that little .5% disparity between Siege Battery and Front Line CM and Garrison Battery in the Turret Defense statistic... it makes a difference now. Given the absolute bollocks of a repair efficiency ratio on this hull, and watching this trend continue, I foresee this becoming a serious decision in special choice going forward.

Auto-Hull Offered First :  

Didn't we try this before? How'd that work out again? Is there a reason this company insists on repeating decisions that failed before rather than repeat those decisions that actually produced success? Clearly someone needs to look at 2016 and then 2017 and then go look at the P&L statements. Even a 12 year old could deduce the apparent trends and draw a decent conclusive analysis.

Clear as Mud : 

Communication is at about an all-time at-the-bottom-of-the-sty-covered-in-shit low. References to things that are non-existent persist. See that raid briefing? Recommended level to hit in raid? Where the hell do I find that? I mean, seriously, if I don't know what the hell the level is, nor where to find that information, do you really think a casual player is going to be able to find that information out? And why the hell do we still have level limits on raid targets? Where is the info for the level references? Given the enormity of players that you have driven out of the game, you'd think you would incorporate some options for those players to come back without being utterly and completely boned and lost.

What about the next raid? Do we presume we are seeing the raid targets as part of the 120's currently on the map? Do we presume that the VXP weekend was foreshadowing Zoe and that fat glowing moldy bastard having some illigitimate devil spawn and we'll see Reaver targets that are 'Legion Controlled'? Wtf is up with the weird ass missiles you can't shoot down in the 120? And what's with the flying red-nosed penis in there?

Speaking of questionable communication... what about that POS special you pushed out for the Bucc? Still zero clarity why we had such a (on its face) POS special pushed. Anyone have some dice to throw? You'll probably have as much of a chance of pulling a good answer out of the air as getting any direction from these guys.

The FM : 

Are.
You.
*******.
Kidding.
Me.

Seriously, you've botched this thing so many times this year now I'm beginning to think you're doing it on purpose to **** with the players. WHY do I need 2 zelos to walk through those targets? WHY are they changing again? WHY are you making the 'fun' option in the FM punitive to do? WHY are you hamstringing the 'fun' options in the game for every damn thing? And why in the hell wasn't this communicated BEFORE it happened? Hell, WHY hasn't it been communicated YET?!?! We don't know if this is intended, a bug or some super secret plan to re-tune the FM early. C'mon!

Let's just gloss over the fact that just two weeks ago the IB fleets that are currently getting pummeled were offered in game for purchase for about $90 US. That isn't chump change for most people. We don't want to mention that point, yea?

Bounty : 

Has anyone in the company tried to actually hit a base during this bounty? I mean a decent base? with the venerable Bus/Writ fleet? Yea, great "PvP" event. And the plethora of Jackpots on day one and next to nothing since? What about all those players that have to work and start the Bounty later? If anyone thinks that the first huge big batch of jackpots is somehow going to 'trickle down' they clearly do not understand the mechanics of the bounty function, nor the current status of PvP. That we have explained it ad nauseum on the shows and the company still doesn't understand... Smh. I don't want to hear statistics like 'we saw a X% win rate blah, blah, blah.'. Go out into the game and WATCH what is actually going on. You have the power and ability. Use them properly.

PvP : 

I can't even. There is so much screwed up in PvP that I don't really know where to start. The abhorrent extreme swings in balance suck. The basic ideas inherent in PvP are boned because FvF is completely botched. You have required such specialization that you can't even have a fleet capable of stemming off a snipe. Something needs to be done to bring the WHOLE back into balance. Players that coined up fleets get LIVID getting sniped by some dweeb hiding under a bubble. Their very niche fleets are absolutely vulnerable because you can't have a 'sub-hunter' taking up a slot. Sniping has become a bane in the game and the 'adjustment' to the sub repair requirement was crap. It does nothing but hurt players trying to complete TLCs or targets now. Bases, hulls and defenses have become so complex and complicated players spend hours trying to puzzle through everything which is exacerbated by the company's insistence on obfuscation and information suppression. We won't even touch upon the fact that the company releases new content faster then Trump jumps onto twitter when upset. This is the TL/DNR version btw.

Here is a CHALLENGE to Kixeye: Get PvP base attack/defense somewhat balanced in the next few weeks. Idgaf how, just make SURE it works. Then have a PvP weekend event with these stipulations:

1. 2 coin on the map repair of any Baser fleet. Let the dead fleet sit on map in case of lag or disconnection or allow the same in base.
2. Instant repair of base and defending fleet when a player is online or logs in.
3. Suspend Medals. This is for fun. Make it so there is no ancillary 'loss' tied to this.
4. Block sniping of fleets.

Run it. Watch the numbers. Look at the participation. Look at the profit. Thank me by sending me gobs and gobs of gold. THAT will get players PLAYING FOR FUN again. Learn from Black Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?). Learn from the complaints. Learn from the loss of players. But for the love of all that is holy, LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES! Stop repeating them!!!

PvE :

Similarly to the PvP bit, this is the ultra fast version. PvE is completely and utterly screwed. Worse than PvP if that can be believed. Balance is out the window and replaced by specific niche requirements. Previous class builds are negated at the outset. They are relegated to grind options only. You know how fun that is during a raid that requires hundreds of millions of points to 'keep up'?? The addition of escalation weapons and specials was stupid and unnecessary. The requirement of building both fleets of a cycle is insane. WE WANT TO PLAY THE GAME. The way PvE is going is abhorrent. I want tokens. I want old fleet TLCs. I want free time in my shipyard to do FUN things like play with those old hulls to experiment and puzzle out options for all the f'n CHORES I have to do. (I do have an article started about Expeditions - and it's actually a positive one, but I have a little bit of a different take on them than others). In the old days one of the most fun things that we as players would do is come up with these odd and fringe builds and have some fun whacking each other and the random target or three. FvF is dead outside of sniping because both PvP and PvE are completely and utterly fucked.


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Yea, I can't even continue this. I hate writing these types of articles and unfortunately it seems that I am doing so more and more often. This article came out 6 months ago... and so many issues are still applicable. Not a good trend. Is this a bit rough and blunt? Yea. Partly because I'm really, really annoyed at what is continuing to happen and partly because I'm still recovering from having to fully strip this lappy down and replace mb, cpu, memory, hdd, etc., etc. It may have spilled over a little.

Happy new year everyone!








50 comments:

  1. im almost certain 95% of us players feel this way, i could only hope if a kix person sees this, please run it upstairs to the retards running things, and tell them, george is pretty much speaking for all of us, this is how we feel!

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  2. I totally agree and let's not forget their new way of answering tickets... you wait for two people's answers...and it seems they don't reimburse much these days. I'm tired of playing their laggy slow loading game!!

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  3. Like it George, well written and passionately proposed, I see thousands of nodding heads...unfortunately, none of them seem to belong to anyone in , from or belonging to the anti christ that is Kixeye. 2018, I fear will bring about the end of BP way before the Adobe Flash does.

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  4. Totally agree with all that you said!

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  5. All too true statements well done George

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  6. a lot better than the f bomb filled one i would have written!!!! good job George!!!

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    1. You should have seen the original rough draft... O:)

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  7. well said George i agree with you 100%

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  8. Preaching to the choir, Brother George... If only Kix would listen, but from previous experience, it looks doubtful...

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  9. Can I get an AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kix clean your ears out. I quit this game for over a year. I came back 4 months ago trying to catch back up but that is not possible everytime I build a new fleet you make it useless and needing to be refit. That is real chicken chit. I as Kix are they trying to make everyone quit this game so they can close it down and run with all the money and not be responsible to players for all the money they have spent. Thus eliminating any chance for a Class Action Lawsuit. WAKE THE FUG UP KIX. Players don't spend till they stop trying to bleed us dry.

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  10. Wow... Dead on mate. Couldn't agree more.

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  12. Very well said George. They literally do not want my money. I bought a FB card Black Friday because I was low on gold. I have yet had to redeem it. A huge thing they need to look from pvp is why the game has to die for month's when a tier hull transition's. It happened when our last big mortar came out with our t5 hulls. They just don't learn mane.....

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  13. George why did you not say these things when Raikan was on the final year show. Send this to him. I left the game over 6 months ago because it was just costing too much to play and it was not fun anymore. Kix seems to still have cloth ears.

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  14. Yup.

    Was wondering if you would get to expeditions... BTW I think the problem there is if you look at the resource reward vs your capacity...
    - Base Parts is around 10%, which doesn't feel so bad.
    - Uranium is around 3% which kinda sucks but I'll do it occasionally if bored.
    - Titanium is around 1% which is ridiculous and not even as good as hitting a single target.
    Were they throwing darts to come up with these numbers?

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  15. Very well said George. Its painfully obvious what they did by releasing so many bonus targets starting bounty. It was to draw in players that were not going to play due to bad previous kix decisions. But once they draw them in they are stuck. Another shady call by kix. Its continuous now unfortunately.

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  16. Where is the like button for this post?
    Also does anyone in Kix even read these posts?

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  17. every word is right on point. sad thing is kix either isnt listening, or just dont care

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  19. George, I wish Kixeye would read and understand your article, but ever since Kixeye begged the players to "give them 6 months" after Nash, et. all, left a bit over 2 years ago, Kixeye has PROVEN they don't listen and don't care to improve the playability of the game.

    I keep asking myself "what's the point in planning out a build when the fleet will be obsoleted pdq and the need to continually keep building something new never let's you take a breath and enjoy the game?". And there's the "you can't use THAT fleet for THAT target" and "you need more than one fleet to do the Raid, TLC, etc." What, EXACTLY, is the point of playing this game anymore....to pay for pain and aggravation?

    And now there are even more "coin buy offers" on the table. I guess that means the January Raid is going to be very hard or very costly. Either way...the clock is ticking....where to spend my time and money is increasingly moving towards "anywhere but Battle Pirates."

    Thanks for an article that pretty well sums up how the VAST majority of players feel. But Kixeye seems to think we are all having fun....right?

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  20. Again George your article is excellent, just like your others if Kix would only listen to the players and correct these problems it would be nice.

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  21. Stop sniping.....?> If you can coin $1000 during raid to have TOP hulls, wtf you have to bitch about 15 coins fix? Rest are we all know for years. YOu do very fine job George and take a lot of time to post and write all this. Just one question. YOu do this for past 3 years. And look like only more frustrations from they way game go. I do remember , when you only post your tests and help to all players. Now I see you post more of this one, frustrated and disappointed . Well I wait for 3 years to see some brain in kixeye head. But ... Good luck. Always enjoy reading your posts.

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  22. Wait, Buccaneer is the autohull? Smh

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  23. Sad to say...All things you wrote is accurate and true. I log on and play every day but I actually doesn't care to do things in game cause to much seat time. Game is no longer fun. I have a 6 digit ID so I have seen game go down...down. Many many friends I know have quit lately. Very sad about that Kix doesn't care.

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  24. 2 x 3 words: I love it - sad but true :-( 'UnskinnyBOB'

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  25. Yep that about covers it bro its what we all think

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  26. I have lost all my ali and most of my neighbors have quit, so it is hard to continue playing. My wife plays a game ( household ) and the Christmas gifts to keep the players is absolutely amazing...BP nothing...Enough said !

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  27. a fine article and to the point but its not the first time we have seen them and once again kix will ignore the players concerns the players have the power to change kixs way if only the top players in the game called on all players to boycott raids,tlcs and other money grabbing events until kix see the error of their ways maybe when the coins stop rolling they will listen to the players (paying customers) just a thought and my pennys worth

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  28. Spot on and well said

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  29. 100% agreed well put can only hope kix read this and digest it but they seem thick headed and stubborn and intent on driving players out of the game.

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  30. Nicely done George. I too am fed up with the current situation of things and because of such, I haven't purchased gold in at least 6 months.

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  31. I think this sums up pretty adequately why it is time to walk away from this company. I get the impression Kixeye are like spoiled kids. They don't like being criticized and instead of fixing issues, they say to hell with the players and do what they want as punishment for our feedback.

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  32. Well Written George , from the beginning of specific hulls for each event/aspect of the game, I seen this coming sad to say. Problem is, Kix tries to hard to keep players chasing tech to keep current,saying it is to make game more engaging ! then when that was not enough, "they Doubled it"!

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  33. Here is the thing Kixeye is just going into the last cash grab phase all the while forcing people to quit the game..Why would they force people to quit? Because they already stated that they are not redesigning this game when flash player dies in 2019 or so...They figure if people are gone and long dispersed that when they close it down they'll be less people organizing to file the class action lawsuit that will inevitably follow...I am going to stick around at least a token until the game goes under because i want to be one of the first to sign onto the lawsuit..Kixeye has done the old bait and switch con which is illegal...They have caused people to spend money by just outright total lies and they've even done illegal slowing of the servers to cause people to lag out and have to spend more coin which is in reality monies making their profit margin higher than it should be...I say just sit back people save your money and get your autographs ready for the lawsuit...

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  34. Sad to see you finally understand what a lot of us have been saying for years. And I am not a low level or non coiner either

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  35. very well said old m8 but do you think kixeye will give a dam NO they wont and will not ever give a chit about the players it all to do with how quick they can fill there pockets with our money well as a +5 year player no more i give up

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  36. how about the bit you missed out? When a member of Kixeye is on the tlc show, his answers are more evasive than a politician. Having them on the show is as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

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  37. Bravo! When the heck is kix going to answer these obvious flaws they are writing into the game? Is anyone or group responsible for the whacked out braindead ideas? Where do they come up with this crap.?

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  38. 100% correct George

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  39. I scrolled back up two times during reading. Just to verify that the author is actually you, George. Lol. Good post. Fully agree. Every step/action I can do in the game leads to frustration at this moment. The only good option at this time is not to play.

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  40. I agree with every word 100% and believe 2018 will be the year BP goes RIP...too sad for a game with so much potential but no true leaders running the show...

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  41. Well written, I agree completely.

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  42. Very well put, George. I quit BP 2 raids ago because I was sick of the chores, sick of the repair, sick that my FM fleet that did so well before all of a sudden couldn't do squat. I work a lot of hours at my real job, and I don't want to work when I game. So I quit. When I quit, my alli was thriving with about 35 really active players. Now it has 5. A blackwater alli reduced to practically nothing. That's really pretty sad. I'm sure it's not long before the 5 that remain leave too. What I hear from my former alli members.... They left because the game was no fun anymore, too many chores, and requires too much seat time to keep up = not even worth logging in.

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  43. George, you have done your research, and have properly vocalized the ambient feelings I have had for a couple of years now. I have been playing BP for over 5 years, and used to love it... back when DNX and SWs were KING, and you had little to think about in the way of "specials" to put on your ships.
    I am 66, retired, not mathematically inclined, at least not to the point of trying to figure out the intricacies of the "best" build for a given scenario/raid/event/purpose. I am sure I could have purchased a good used car for what I have paid into this game... but it is the law of diminishing returns... I am no longer having any fun. It is simple DRUDGERY to have to spend days accumulating resources just to start a project, (ship build/turret upgrade/Mega build/upgrade/refit, etc... and THEN have to wait up to a month for it to finish? Who has time for that and still have fun? And, now I have to sift through a myriad array of "specials" and weapons that have specs that are so confusing to me that I simply sometimes can't see the forest for the trees.
    I long for the days of a 3 day build on a fully outfitted DNX that I am out hitting bases with, and it's a close call to win, if the base uses good defenses.
    Right now, bases can be virtually impregnable, which simply causes level 120+ bases to hit level 90+ bases to get their weekly points for the alliance. Where is the equality in that? Kix has made getting into this game at ground level virtually impossible, as evidenced by the myriad of low level dead bases we attack on a daily basis.. I am finally at a point, after reading your most excellent post, that greedy KIXBUTT doesn't give a hoot about the players but only want us to buy gold. Yes, I know it is simply a business model, and a fairly popular one... but as you so eloquently inferred, when they drive out the very people that are paying the bills... who is going to be left?
    I am not as good a writer as you, to express the inner qualities of the game. I can't build fleets as well, I'm not that good a driver. So when I have finally reached my limit of expenditure on this stupid game I will just walk away. Until then, it my New Year's resolution to stop coining in any significant way. Thank you so much for verbalizing what 99% of us "little guys" out here think and feel. Keep up the good work, George..

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  44. Very poignant write-up George. You are spot on.

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  45. Would you be so kind to do a write up on this bullet point from this article posting - Siege Batt/Garrison Batt/FLCM - Turret Defense %'s - Repair times - and explain further so myself and the community know more about how this affects repair times on hulls.

    I see some slight differences on Turret Defense stats when built in Huggy's, but posts on some facebook pages & forums seem to be saying they are seeing large repair time differences on hulls with Siege Batt 3/4 [R15] than hulls with Frontline Countermeasure

    Huggy's build with Turret Defense Specials
    https://goo.gl/sWB5nW

    Thank you in advance!

    Your comment from article:
    Oh! Lest I forget- because of the ever increasing amount of health these ships continue to have (because, you know, designing balance within the confines of the mechanics of the game is apparently too ****ing difficult) there is an annoying little niggle of math that is starting to rear its ugly little head. (Thanks to Rooster of SDS7 for helping me test this out.) You know that little .5% disparity between Siege Battery and Front Line CM and Garrison Battery in the Turret Defense statistic... it makes a difference now. Given the absolute bollocks of a repair efficiency ratio on this hull, and watching this trend continue, I foresee this becoming a serious decision in special choice going forward.

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