One thing I've been quite confused by is how it seems that there definitely seems to be a strange bias I would argue towards fancy new classes and units when they get introduced in patches.
That's just power creep. Its a problem in basically any form of game with a long history.
And in some ways, its almost a requirement. People get set in their ways and what was once cool becomes boring. "Heroic Strike adds 919 damage per swing" was great 4 expansions ago, but you can't just add "Anti-Heroic Strike" which does 191 damage per miss. You need to add a move that pulls and roots and damages the enemy to really add any zest to the class.
And more importantly, you get people to try something. To use Starcraft as an example, if the newest patch did make something OP then the meta wouldn't change and nobody would actually bother using it. And then counterplays wouldn't develop and the scene would remain so unchanged it was basically worthless to have done anything at all.
Shit, its even in card games. In Yugioh a 1900 attack 4 star monster was basically the GOAT and a game winner, no effects needed. If they didn't introduce OP shit with 3 effects and 2800 attack you could summon from the deck that made 1900 cute to try, no one would ever remove Gemini Elf from their deck. It would become a card you were required to own to even remain competitive and then none of their new packs would be as in demand.
Its a balancing act to constantly do it without completely invalidating what came before it. Gentle push and pull. Most companies are not capable of that and instead just triple down on the creep until the vanilla content is so badly outclassed they need to "rework" it entirely to even keep up.
In Yugioh a 1900 attack 4 star monster was basically the GOAT and a game winner
I was like 5 years old when I started playing that, then I stopped for 20 years, and came back to it in master duel.
Holy fuck it is impossible to win now unless you are playing meta. Literally everything revolves around special summons and shutting down the opponents field with ash blossom, etc.
There is a reason why the biggest Yugioh game of this decade was Duel Links. Because it started with the original sets and let you play with your old favorites again in a newish mode.
That's also the reason why the game dropped players hard after the GX era, because they started reaching the "more current" metas that everyone hates.
Personally, I just play Legacy of the Duelist if I don't use my physical decks and stick with the eras I enjoy. It gives plenty of fun even with only like 40% of the game I engage with and me and the boys can have that nostalgic fun.
That's just power creep. Its a problem in basically any form of game with a long history.
And in some ways, its almost a requirement. People get set in their ways and what was once cool becomes boring. "Heroic Strike adds 919 damage per swing" was great 4 expansions ago, but you can't just add "Anti-Heroic Strike" which does 191 damage per miss. You need to add a move that pulls and roots and damages the enemy to really add any zest to the class.
And more importantly, you get people to try something. To use Starcraft as an example, if the newest patch did make something OP then the meta wouldn't change and nobody would actually bother using it. And then counterplays wouldn't develop and the scene would remain so unchanged it was basically worthless to have done anything at all.
Shit, its even in card games. In Yugioh a 1900 attack 4 star monster was basically the GOAT and a game winner, no effects needed. If they didn't introduce OP shit with 3 effects and 2800 attack you could summon from the deck that made 1900 cute to try, no one would ever remove Gemini Elf from their deck. It would become a card you were required to own to even remain competitive and then none of their new packs would be as in demand.
Its a balancing act to constantly do it without completely invalidating what came before it. Gentle push and pull. Most companies are not capable of that and instead just triple down on the creep until the vanilla content is so badly outclassed they need to "rework" it entirely to even keep up.
I was like 5 years old when I started playing that, then I stopped for 20 years, and came back to it in master duel.
Holy fuck it is impossible to win now unless you are playing meta. Literally everything revolves around special summons and shutting down the opponents field with ash blossom, etc.
There is a reason why the biggest Yugioh game of this decade was Duel Links. Because it started with the original sets and let you play with your old favorites again in a newish mode.
That's also the reason why the game dropped players hard after the GX era, because they started reaching the "more current" metas that everyone hates.
Personally, I just play Legacy of the Duelist if I don't use my physical decks and stick with the eras I enjoy. It gives plenty of fun even with only like 40% of the game I engage with and me and the boys can have that nostalgic fun.