CommentStreams:Fc54c83827bf2c0299ddf128455d1515

There are other ways to achieve that, though. With the two new sets, for example, we could separate out players based on prizes. That way, players competing for their first five Bone Walker dupes wouldn't even be put into the same group as those who have dozens of extra Forest Rage dupes and are only in it for the gems and items.

The big problem with how they've changed things is it actually shafts new players the most. In most games, power creep makes the oldest players stronger, but it generally helps the newer players catch up faster. For example, I play on my second account. I started before Duels, and when I heard that Duels was being released in beta for new players first, I started a second account to try it. That change was so powerful that, in the month or so before Duels was released to everyone, my second account had surpassed my months older original account.

Most other multiplayer online games aren't as extreme, but follow similar patterns. A new player won't catch a three-year veteran in a single year, but chances are in that year he'll make more progress than the veteran did in his first year.

Smutstone's nerfs tend to send things in the other direction. A newbie who started before this last map release will progress more in a year than one starting now. A newbie who started before Castle was released (and it's accompanying nerf) would progress even faster. The best time to start was probably around the release of Islands. IIRC, the first big "adjustment" to silver chests happened once people started pushing hard into that map, but slightly after we had WoF and Soulbind, which both helped everyone, especially newbies.