Balance..

eekeeboo:   Moderator is VERY different to Community Manager, this is a part of puzzle in gaming ecosystem it's important to learn the distinction of. Once you understand more of the processes of community work and how that affects development, you'll further understand the reason for what you call "mouthpiece of WG"... I'm a person representing WG to the players, putting a personality and getting information across, it's not like a Union that represents the workers, you didn't elect me. Like HR, they are always trying to help people enjoy their time, but they will always represent the interests of their employer as is their job.    The fact the changes are introduced the way they are vs the way people see would be "for the best of the game" should illustrate the way they are acted on. If they weren't looked at in a way that is a balance for the players and for the game you would never get balance changes, they would just be left to constantly encourage people to only got for the newest content and thus encourage more expense by players to earn the newer content. You will see this in many F2P titles where older content is completely irrelevant and I don't mean by it's slightly weaker, underpowered or difficult to play etc, but in that the content is no longer even remotely relevant and you can't access new content at all without paying.    The important thing with game and development models is that you will find, develop and evolve "best practice", this is how you will find and see trends in gaming. You will notice that with "dlc" and the shift you see there, the way you see the gaming industry as a whole evolve. You will see trends evolve for very specific reasons and there are many models of games that you can assess their success. The difficulty you have in finding a gap in the market is you're usually left alone in the models you can use, but benefit from being able to do things your own way without competition. It's all balance. Sorry I deviate a little, in this you will see best business practice and methods used across all society in keeping content relevant and engaging for players.    The example I gave for "everything for free" is just some of the views you will see popularly on the forums and community. The belief that Free-to-play actually means everything should be free without cost, that everything including premium content should be earnable. And an example of how expectations vs business and economic reality do not always match-up.    You say odd to raise, but when statements like... "There are comments all over the forums from everyone about x change they want". The general trap is that people don't come to the forums to say good things generally, it's mostly negative. Not everyone, but you will notice the trend. Like going to support... you don't go to support and say "Good job guys, keep up all the work you do to keep my game running smoothly".    There's a difference between listening and acting on things. I listen and read well, but it simply comes down to, you can listen to what someone says, it doesn't mean they are right. In this instance, when someone says "The game is dying because of balance". If you have the information that proves otherwise, it doesn't matter whether you listen or not, it doesn't make it true. Instead, I have to do things like listen to read and respond extensively with what I can to highlight... no, you're wrong. And by the fact I respond in length and extent should illustrate the listening, but for a lot of this thread, it's been a 1-way street when someone says "head in the sand" 4 times in response to information that counters it. There is a demand I listen as part of WG but that players don't need to listen when information and correction are given back.    Like the 2019 announcement. The decisions made that were praised by the same person who only 2 weeks prior said the game is dying. The actions being taken weren't taken based on the video, the decisions and planning and processes put in place for the changes coming in the next year are made months in advance. That should illustrate the quick turn around how much data analysis and listening takes place.    For the remark about regular spenders, the important with this despite all of the forumites combined, I can guarantee that there are more spenders who never visity the forums for a variety of reasons. Least of which is involved in the atmosphere that usually comes with forums.