I Think It's Finally Time

Marvel Puzzle Quest MPQ General Discussion
1

Yesterday’s 4* DDQ was Jean Grey, mine was decent at 3/0/3 lvl 147. Seemed good enough to beat Moonstone for my third 4* DDQ victory but it was not. I lost numerous times, burning through all AP/Damage boosts plus all of my days healthpacks. Two particular times I had Moonstone down to 100 HP but she still had enough AP to beat me no matter what strategy I used. What pissed me off the most was she would constantly match my Green. My wife looked on as I got pissed at the game. She was scared, she thought something bad had happened, but then she saw it was just me playing MPQ. My wife kindly told me I need to calm down and relax.

I was about to rage quit and blow up on the forums (like most of us do) but instead I listened to my wife by keeping my cool because it’s just a game, right? Well the truth is, it’s not. It’s not just a game because for the past year and half I have allowed it to control my life. I have allowed myself to schedule my life around my game time instead of the other way around. I have found myself playing this game and viewing the forums while at work. I take extended or extra “bathroom” breaks to play. I am constantly angry just because of the game. I stopped going to the gym because I could not fit my fitness into my MPQ schedule. I chose MPQ over my own wife many times. MPQ has brought out the worst in me and I have allowed it to continue to take me over.

Why? Why would I do such a thing? I don’t know, I have played video games my whole life, I love them, I love comics, I love RPGs, I loved the Original Puzzle Quest, I love just collecting stuff! But this is not that type of game. A game should not cause me to gain weight, added stress, anger at work and my home. I have always been addicted to games but MPQ (or F2P in general) is a whole new level. I have never been so angry playing games in my life since the old 80’s games where a game like Contra was awesome but ridiculously difficult. Perhaps, F2P games are the new generation of Arcade games. Arcade games were created to be fun but also make you use a ton of quarters no matter how good of a player you are. That’s what MPQ reminds me of.

So why haven’t I quit? Well everytime I want to quit, MPQ comes out with some new cool gameplay that keeps me hooked. I started playing around Sentry’s release and I quit after a month when I realized how much time is needed to play but then the Anniversary came. I was at ComicCon in NYC that year, it was fun, tokens galore, I was hooked after this. Several new additions and changes kept me going every time I thought it was time to end this game such as Alliances increased to 20 slots, Time Slices, PVE Refresh changed from 3hrs to 8hrs, lowered Iso to level 3* characters, better progressions rewards in PVP and SHIELD Sim, and of course Deadpool Daily Quest. DDQ single handedly kept me hooked for a long time. However since DDQ’s release most of the changes/additions have been lackluster: Time Slice changes that messed up my schedule, Health Increases that extended matchtimes, updated UI to the main menu and the forum that served no purpose, the Vault never felt as awesome as the devs communicated it to be, too many 4* releases, the tech issues with Ultron and again with Galactus, 4* DDQ which have been like Growth Industry or a even extension to regular DDQ, then of course Legendary tokens which extended our play time in PVE. These additions/changes have kept me hooked but more negatively than positively.

It’s all just too much with little reward. The game has become harder or more time consuming. It did not help that the new PVE was not fun at all. Although the devs have stated that some huge changes are coming soon, I think it would be best for me to stop playing now before the changes come because I will just be hooked some more. After my several 4* DDQ losses yesterday, I went to the gym for the first time in 3 months and I spent the entire day with my wife, it was great and that’s what I should strive for, not some new 4* cover. It’s going to be hard to fight this addiction and put the game to rest for good but in the long run it will be a much longer, happier life. I’ll likely miss the forums more than the game itself, I became friends with some players, helped newbies with their roster, created cool surveys/polls, and had numerous laughs. So thank you players for all the times we shared on the forums, it was fun. I don’t know what I’m going to do on my lunch break now.. maybe I’ll read some comics icon_lol.gif

2

I think I will soon follow your footsteps… soon… not yet… but soon

3

I think you are making the right choice for your situation Punisher.

Best of luck to you.

4

Good luck. You just said everything I’ve been thinking recently. I stopped playing for about 2 months a few months ago and then came back again. I didn’t stop playing with the intention of never playing again, I just go really really burnt out. It’s getting that way again, especially after the JG DDP yesterday where twice I had Moonstone down under 500 points and she just completely shut me down with one or two moves left.

5

Brilliant post by the OP - sums up so much of my experience too! Especially raging at the screen. And my loo breaks got so long family and friends thought I had developed a “bottom problem”

6

Can’t help but think that:

T50 PVE Alliance

Is the killer here. I can’t even imagine doing this event in, event out, for weeks, let alone years.

Good luck to you.

7

yeah same for me. calling it quits.
this game is rigged beyond shit now.
i had shield on for 8 hrs…4 hrs into it all i see was shielded from 3 attacks
as soon as i enter to play.. i got hit by 10+ ppl
ridiculous. what are the odds of such timing.
where were those ppl all those time i was shielded?
RUBBISH.
ok enough rant. haven’t got so angry at a game in a long time. not worth it.
bye guys.

8

I noticed a very similar (disturbingly similar actually) situation with my playing habits recently and tried to quit a couple of months ago… right before the anniversary. Worse timing ever, between that, legendary tokens and command points there’s always something to drag you back in for just another 10 minutes…

9

Scary! I could have written almost the same post, and to me the key is “I have allowed myself to schedule my life around my game time instead of the other way around.”. This game is way too time-dependant; it has improved abysmally in this regard (time slices, long refreshes…) but you still have to play on the clock in most of the cases.

To put a recent example, this weekend I watched a TV show with my wife, with popcorn, blanket and all; she asked me to watch another chapter and I almost said no, because it was due GhostRider event refresh time. Sometimes I have rushed returning home from strolls or meals for similar reasons.

Regards, Punisher, and of course you are doing a wise decisión; I should consider couple things myself.

10

I felt the exact same way a few months back when I quit the first time. You cannot be playing this game 5+ hours a day on new cover PVEs + PVP + DDQ and have a decent game/life balance lol.

I tried playing PVE this event for the new covers and I was burnt out already after round 2. I will be sticking strictly to PVP again.

11

This is 1,000 times true sadly.
The video game industry has regressed 20+ years because of it.
We are seeing “time to next quarter” being the #1 driver in all design decisions instead of “is it fun/rewarding to do?”
“Real games” are getting squeezed out at a ridiculous rate, and even when real games do come out, often they have a noticeable portion of their content hidden behind DLC paywalls. Back in the day that stuff (trivial stuff like cosmetic alternate outfits, etc) would have just been part of the base game. These days you’ll be lucky to see that stuff included without it being DLC.
I weep for the future. Or, I guess in this case, the present.

12

Came to a similar realization recently myself in regards to the amount of time and effort needed to currently “progress” at the 4* level but much of those sentiments were better expressed by the OP and others. Hopefully those sentiments don’t fall on deaf ears and we see better player-friendly changes in the near future, in particular the death of the current PvE grind system (3.5 straight hours + 30 minutes of next sub for top rewards), the establishment of tiered versus play with 4* versus events running concurrently with 3* events for different prizes with a lock-out feature to prevent exploitation, more creative Alliance events and non-competitive events and so on (I really could go on and on but I think those are at the top for me).

But what I hope the devs really take away from this is that many people do schedule their lives around this game in order to play at the highest level. I am sure for some this is no great inconvenience depending on the nature of the work that they do, but if your goal is to expand your player base and ensure the longevity of the game you are going to want to focus on developing content that meets the demands of the most amount of players. DDQ definitely achieved this; Galactus did not.

There are a ton of non-competitive challenges that you can design that gives just enough carrot to keep us wanting to come back without us feeling like we are banging our heads against the wall. It is no accident that your most celebrated events are the ones that do not require a strict time commitment and are non-competitive. I have said once, twice, perhaps even thrice but I will say it again, the game needs better balance in terms of competitive and non-competitive content. To the devs credit, since I first uttered those words we have seen DDQ, Alliance boss battles, Growth Industries and the controversial DDQ 4* node. I just hope they continue to go in that direction.

And to the Punisher, I want to thank you for taking the time to write this candid post and wish you all the best. The game and the forum community just lost another good one but I definitely think you are making the right decision. Enjoy your life dude!

13

You lost me at “go to the gym”… icon_e_biggrin.gif

In all seriousness, yah, it’s a game, life takes precedence. We will keep a spot warm for ya, if you decide poke your head in from time to time!

14

Best of luck to you Punisher!!
I’ve always enjoyed your posts - thanks!!

15

Funny, I’m in the same boat, I’ve considered quitting a few times. But I’m just not going to spend money on the game.

The 4 stars that I have maxed or close to maxed are the ones that dropped 1st. X-force, Invis, she thor, and Nick fury. All the rest of the cast are painfully under covered or covered just enough to were they can usually beat the challenges. I understand that its suppose to be hard, but man it really sucks when A long time vet myself who has just about ever character in the game and is only missing 2 of the current 4 star’s completely is overshadowed by RNG and people who have maybe 8 3 stars and Jean/Hulkbuster full leveled and waltz through pvp playing high and most pve events placing decently.

I have friends who start a year after me, played about as much as me and are now sitting on rosters as good as mine or better since there was no jump from 1-2-3 stars, they DPD feed them 3 star covers, they learned who was the best and alot of them have been pretty fortunate with getting good 4 stars.

Its annoying really, when end game is RNG

16

I think the key thing in the OP was the fact that he realised he had the ability to choose not to play. It’s a realisation I came to during the GR PVE, consciously choosing to play that event casually (and thereby still being able to spend time with my son and do my job) meant that I enjoyed the event more. Did I get more prizes? Nope I got far less but to paraphrase Martin Sheen in Wall Street Success should not be judged by the size of ones wallet.

Don’t become trapped by your own habits, realise that you don’t need to be grinding or competing for every prize. Play because you enjoy playing - not because you need another LT/placement award/CP. And you will be happier, not just outside the game, but inside it too.

17

Thanks for sharing this. Like others have said, it sounds surprisingly similar to my own experience. It’s amazing how intensely important it seems when you’re perpetually head-down in it, and how relaxed it can be if you just, well, relax. As an example, I dialed back a while ago and missed Flaptain, X23, and Cyclops … and today I have covers (well, 1 each) for Flaptain, X23 and Cyclops. Recently, though, I’d been amping up and played hard to get Ghost Rider, and got not a single cover. It was a wake-up call. When you set your alarm three days in a row to play a mobile game, you may have a priority issue (and not achieving the thing I was doing it for drove that point home). Glad to see you coming up for air - we’ve all gotta take care of ourselves.

18

When you are shielded, you aren’t added to any new queues. The only ones that can hit you are the ones that had you in their queue before you put up the shield. As soon as you break shield, you can be queued again though, so I guess a lot of people found and fought you quickly. Speed matters.

My phone needs some service, so I’ll have a forced break from the game as I don’t have any other devices to play it on. I’m actually looking forward to the break now though, and I can’t say for sure I’ll care to start the game again when I get the phone back…

19

They should really do more to get the main rewards for pve events being for progression rather than placement and take away the requirements for grinding down the nodes on top of the regular clears, they just need to work out how many clears for each node they require per cover (an average of 3, 4 and 5 perhaps) and then let people fit their 24/48 hours worth of clears in however they like.

They should not turn all events into gauntlets though as those are too inflexible with respect to essential characters, people should be able to do some extra clears on other nodes to offset a missing character in regular events.

20

Well said Punisher, I think most of us feel the same way and have experience the same things with this game, it’s very addictive and a pain in the “Uranus”.
Good decision, and personally, I will be very happy the day they pull the plug on this useless nonsense. icon_e_wink.gif