I write this message with the players currently unhappy with New Rise as a whole, and those that have quit as a result of it in mind. I don't know any better, so I assume anyone that is displeased with the update's overhauls is displeased by them for the same reasons as everyone else is, including myself. But the
survey* lets us voice those concerns as wholeheartedly as we can.
I beg anyone that sees this post - I am not sure how active these forums truly are, with lurkers and writers alike, but I beg all the same - partake of the
survey*, and speak. Do not be afraid that it might be null and void - staying silent is how these things are thought 'okay' for the game, and you've the right to speak. If you can't, or have already, please share the
survey* with anyone else that is unhappy, or has quit the game. Spread the word.
*EDIT: As of a few days ago, the survey has ended. Thank you all for participating, thank you all for voicing your opinion, one way or another. I'll keep this post up so that more can come. If it doesn't get through to the heads, at least this wall will serve people who just want to vent. Personally, I'm more than happy that there's more people out there thinking what I am thinking. It helps knowing I'm not insane.
The former title of this post was "Please attend the 2026 survey! [ New Rise 
]"
I am a player of nearly 2 years before the posting of this discussion. New Rise has effectively killed what the game was for me. Not every single change, no, but namely the way content has been altered for the worse, and gear progression treated just the same. Early-mid-game content that used to feel like achievements to overcome further and further, are now being reduced to easy chores not providing any engagement - slot machines to roll weekly. The removal of Project Theta was unprofessional - no single game should do away so simply with content that was still being played to that day. The overhaul of Tech Duinn Dungeons is terrible- they are even worse than AHM dungeons (i mean the ones before the update - these were hit even worse), where it used to be a fine stepping stone for people building into the midgame - a fine step of progression, ruined. The Crom Bas overhaul, while not as worse as the other examples, also share this odd philosophy of dumbing things down and making it easier. It was all fine as is, there was hardly any need for such massive changes. The game is *not* that complicated, and even if it turns out to be otherwise, that can be overcome. It's difficulty. It's natural.
Not to mention, that Crom and Glenn no longer allow entries for those that have already spent theirs. Prior to the update, people could still party up with their friends, even if they've acquired all of their rewards - they could still play the game together even if they wouldn't get rewarded for it, and were not limited to an arbitrary number of entries. This is how I could play with some of my friends who get their content done day 1, while I had work to do. They could still come around and help me out, but that's no longer possible, and we can play the game together less and less as a result.
The Weapon Quality system, and the overall overhaul of certain dungeon rewards now simply dropping gear like an ARPG or a gacha, is terrible. Acquiring Celtic or Perseus weapons, and the materials for them, was a fine line of progression - you play the content, you save up materials, and you craft the weapon you'd like, akin to any other normal MMO out there. Now they drop like common trash, and there's little to no point in crafting weapons unless it is your endgame choice, like a Nightbringer, or Ruination. Furthermore, I suspect that the loot pool is now obscenely bloated to the point anything rare that could drop, is now even rarer - Glas materials from Crom, for example. Alongside that, now Perseus weapons inflate the pool, and I haven't seen a material drop since the update dropped, and if my suspicions are correct - this means that mastercrafted weapons are now even harder to get prior to the update.
If the worry was that it took too long, or that it didn't respect the time of players, this could be simply addressed by doing smaller things such as easing up drop rates for materials for weapons and armour, or adding more pity systems that eventually reward you for simply playing the game. (Techs before New Rise lacked this exact system for Ruination/Geas/Demo gear, which may have been a roadblock for a lot of people if the drop rates were unfavourable - this could've eased gear progression in a simple, non-intrusive way).
Other, minor things, also bother me. The overall nerfing of gold drops is one. Free-to-play players may find it harder to save up money in a steady fashion with gold cuts. Let alone the fact that a fair few materials may or may not be useless thanks to the new Gear Progression system - this leads to said materials selling less and less on the auction house - another important venue for gold. I reference the above - how weapons simply drop from chests, and that there is little incentive to craft instead of rolling the dice, unless you're crafting your endgame weapon.
The overhauls to Alts - for a game that encouraged multiple characters per account, especially with the character cards - is a foul taste in the mouth of anyone that has taken the time to play through the game over and over again, just so they could play a different character, or simply- play the game more. Perhaps some of these changes were necessary as to not put those with alts with an edge over other players, but ... I feel like it all could be done a different way.
My guild is currently dead. Where there were always people logging in to play daily, statics organized to go through Techs, Croms, Glenns, as we made our way steadily toward Glenn VHMs and, hopefully, Bri - now there is nothing, and no drive. For much the same reasons I find this update unsatisfying and more, they have essentially quit the game and moved on to other things, alongside most of my friends list. And I personally cannot bring myself to play the game properly anymore - I simply log in and idle sadly, lamenting on what happened to the game I loved and played daily otherwise. This update's overhauls have discouraged us all from keeping ourselves engaged with the game, because the content is a lot less engaging to run now, and solo-play has been encouraged further and further ever since the Leprechaun event, which - for an MMO, is a sin.
I write this because I want it to be otherwise. I want the game that I loved to remain stalwart- for me and my friends to have reasons to log in pertaining to all of the above, I want that drive to progress step by step over the months, to grow slow and healthy, toward the harder content this game has to offer. I want to do so with the aid of my friends, and the excitement we once had. This is all coming from a place of love. Seeing this game rot away would break me, and I want it a different way. Perhaps this will resonate with more people than I'd expect, or perhaps I'd simply be a vocal minority, and that I'll slowly find out, this game is no longer for me, however much that might hurt me.
I suppose, I simply wish things mostly went back to the way they were before New Rise, and by extension - probably before the new director's takeover. The path was steady back then, and nothing was for the worse.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
