A message on recent changes to the Trace Charm
hpwulola
Posts: 1,296Moderator › admin
Hi everyone,
We wanted to share an update and provide some additional context around recent adjustments to the Trace Charm.
Over the past few weeks we’ve been working on some fixes to better reflect the intended functionality for how this feature was originally designed:
- In an update last week, we shared how we were working to correct a few text errors that appeared in the Trace Charm information screen.These changes will appear in-game when the 2.15.0 Game Update is released.
- We also released a server update on September 3rd to address a known issue affecting the Rare Trace Bonus of the Trace Charm (Pario Vestigus). This unintended bug caused the Trace Charm to reveal repeats of the same revealed Traces instead of revealing various Traces of differing threat levels. Of the Traces revealed, a minimum of one Trace should be of an equal or higher threat than the original Charmed Trace.
We recognize these changes are different from how the Trace Charm has worked since the SOS Training feature launched, and we understand that players feel that these changes degraded this feature. While the bug fix was unpopular, these corrections were necessary to maintain a balanced progression in the game. When we develop new content, we do so with certain expectations of how long it will take for players to complete it. If we release content too fast, the game will feel stagnant while players wait for the next content release. If we release it too slowly, the game will feel too difficult. This change was required to keep this delicate balance in check. Had these errors gone unresolved, there would be long-term implications for the game. We apologize that some of the previous communications on this topic didn’t fully capture the scope of the issues and planned changes.
We’re always humbled by your passion for the game and for recent updates including the Knight Bus, the broader SOS Training feature, and the in-game events. We appreciate and continue to read all feedback as we look to make future improvements and updates to the game. We’ve got several exciting events, game improvements, and features in the works, and we look forward to getting those out in the coming weeks and months.
–The Harry Potter: Wizards Unite team
Comments
We need another Dragon event. Make that October’s wizarding weekend.
If the feature hasn't worked the intended way since launch why was there zero communication about this fix while it was being worked on? Also was the feature not tested before releasing it to the player base? This isn't the first time a seemingly obvious big had made it's way to players which should be able to be resolved with beta testing.
While the "downgrade" in effectiveness of the Trace Charm makes getting rare foundables & field guides more difficult, I completely understand the balance team is trying to attain as game developers.
Thank you for your hard work and the game as it is and I hope the entire Niantic team has a wonderful labor day/week off.
The problem is not making mistakes, or rebalancing, the problem is how you handle that.
If feature was too good, you should have announced it, or turned it off.
Even with text fixes announcement, it was said "Trace charm mechanics will not change", and now it's suddenly changing.
People have spent lots of resources upgrading what is now useless for them
You still don't get it, Niantic. We, your invested player base, fully understand that you thought that the Trace Charm was overpowered and needed to be nerfed. While frustrating, this is understandable.
What is NOT understandable or acceptable is THE IN GAME RESOURCES WE SPENT TO POWER UP THIS NOW MOSTLY USELESS FEATURE, THAT YOU STILL HAVE NOT ADDRESSED.
We want our rare green and DADA books back! You pulled a bait and switch, and are still not addressing what we spent when we thought the charm was going to stay how it was. THAT is why people are uninstalling en masse, not because you nerfed the charm.
Now do you understand??
This is from the statement last week. "To clarify the above, there will be no changes to the SOS Training mechanics or node bonuses. There will only be changes to the text to reflect the intended benefits. " you promised that there would be no changes to way the charm was working last week only changes in the text. The changes made on 9/03/2020 changed the mechanics . I made choices on how to spend my resources based on the fact that you promised no changes to the mechanics. You lied to us all. How can we ever trust you again.
Thank you for listening to us about being more open and for starting to communicate better with us! I really hope that you continue to do so and I know players will appreciate it. When you tell us what's going on we will be more patient when different problems arise. I just hope you'll also start testing new game updates/events etc. more before going live to avoid many bugs such as the restart loop happening now again. I don't really understand why you didn't mention the TC bug being "fixed" though since you wrote only the text would change. But I am greatful for this explanation. It would also be awesome if you would start to put videos out on youtube or something explaining/showing new content and how it's supposed to work etc. when releasing new features to the game.
Done with this game. So are many others. Moved the goalposts for the last time. What a total waste.
If you don't play test features before you release them that is on you. If you release something and figure out that it was a mistake you need to freeze it or roll back the code. That is also on you. If you communicate something like we're only going to change the text then you need to hold to that. If for some reason you can't you need to do something to make it right. Shrugging your shoulders and saying sorry after you let something run wild and we invested a lot of valuable resources(in game currency, time, and real money) is not acceptable.
If you can't come to terms with that then this game is already dead. It's just a matter of how long it takes for it to completely implode. If you want your investment to pay off then you need to invest in our experience and honor the time and effort that we put into the game as well.
Hi Lola, I think most reasonable people are aware that the trace charm was too powerful. To be able to get 14 emergency level fragments in one sitting is too much, too fast.
Your problem is the constant shifting of goal posts (weak and slow communication) and introducing changes after people have invested time/money/emotion into the skills. All the weak attempts at "compensation" and "explanations" serve nothing to console.
Changes to allow players to catch up with higher level players are good. I understand you are trying to cater to the whales in the game, but whales aren't going to play if nobody else is.
We spent many books getting what we thought we should get based on how things worked. Due to the fact that you were silent about the issues and it was "fixed" without us knowing about you being silent so silent in fact in the forums you see people reporting your "fix" as a bug.
I think in the only fair thing to do at this point is to offer an sos reset feature. Give us one free for this problem you have created, then sell the reset to us in the future. This would give us a chance to regain our books and give another reason for us to support the game in the future.
If the trace charm wasn't working as intended, fine. But you need to communicate this from day 1 so that we don't invest resources that we wouldn't have, if we would have known how it was supposed to work.
For you to wait weeks later, and allow players to waste their resources, an apology isn't enough. You need to refund the resources for those who want to reverse their mis-directed decision, so that they can invest it elsewhere.
the fix is unacceptable
you do not take away A feature and remove the ability to advance
you make it sound like you can’t improve the game
A “mistake “ that makes the game easier to advance is damaging your bottom line
get with the “program” and reinstall your
“error “
Be creative and make the game“ progress” at a faster pace
you may actually get more players $$$$
Thank you all for your responses. We are taking this feedback into account and use it to shape our decisions in the future.
In the meantime, I will close this thread to further comments. Please feel free to add feedback to other forum threads, we are reading it all.
@Canuck3032 Hope this answers your request:
https://community.harrypotterwizardsunite.com/en/discussion/9967/september-event-calendar-update-surprise-dragon-week#latest