Marius,
I think the issue here is getting a little misconstrued. I completely agree with you on compensation for balance changes. I agree with the logic behind it too. If you give compensation for nerfs people will feel like they are owed compensation for any tiny thing that occurs in game that they disagree with. This is true. We all agree with this.
However, that’s not what happened here. We aren’t asking for compensation because steel bowyer is getting nerfed, we are asking for compensation because plarium made a mistake in releasing the champion before fully testing her. This case is unique and different from a balance change. You’re right, do not compensate the players for nerfs. But compensate the players when they aren’t the ones that messed up. You have already stated that the testing falls on your end, not ours. The mistake falls on your end, not the players. Sticking to your guns, and classifying this mistake as a “balance change” is the wrong attitude when that is not why players are upset.
I won’t deign to understand marketing or programming or moderating as well as you folks over at plarium do, but I will claim to understand people. (Not better, just the same as you). Believe me when I say this has nothing to do with anger over a balance change. It has everything to do with anger over being punished for a mistake not made by the players. You can’t honestly tell me that this isn’t a special circumstance after already stating that steel bowyer slipped through the cracks in your testing department? Our compensation isn’t just an apology when people have invested into it, because it wasn’t our mistake. On the other hand if you can state that this isn’t a special circumstance than I suppose what’s the point of having a public affairs department, the people aren’t being heard regardless...
It’s a great game. Raid is better than the others. It’s going to make money, experiences, and entertainment for a long time to come, but that’s because it’s different. That’s because it does listen to it’s players. That’s because it does understand the relationship between devs and fans. The other games, didn’t get that. Blizzard is one of the largest games with the largest player bases in the world. Take a tip out of their book and not the ones that fail. People left summoner wars, Star Wars, etc for this game because it was different. Don’t become another game on the list by refusing to understand the heart of the problem people are expressing.
We don’t want compensation because you plan on nerfing steelbowyer. We want compensation because it wasn’t our mistake and yet we are the one suffering for it.
If the nerf is meant to keep steelbowyer viable that’s fine and we appreciate that. However, give the books back and let the players decide if the hero is still viable. Some won’t reinvest just to spite you, some will reinvest because they appreciate the changes, but either way the players are still playing. They don’t feel like this was a scheme to get them to waste resources (which I don’t believe to be true for a minute). I’m not trying to relate a foundation for compensating on nerfs because it isn’t the nerf people are upset about. This is a special circumstance.
