Player Discussion Event: Defending in DoA

[Christina Kabam]

[SIZE=3]UPDATE: The discussion event is over! Thanks to everyone who participated for giving us their feedback![/SIZE]


Dear Citizens,

Combat is a part of all of our lives in Atlantis, whether against the Anthropus or fellow players. It’s a lot of fun and a huge part of the game to go on the march and attack other player-controlled or computer-controlled forces. The less glamorous part of combat is something that is often fiercely debated on these forums: defending. Since troops in your cities can be set to hide or defend through the Wall, the question of whether or not to actually defend when being attacked is a significant one.

The release of the Wraith Dragon has brought up the question of defending vs. hiding anew, and we at Atlantean headquarters are interested in the way all of you think about defending - when you do it, why you do it, and how the Wraith Dragon has changed the mechanic for you (if at all). So, we’re having this moderated discussion today to see what everyone thinks, and we encourage you all to participate so that the DoA team can get the most complete picture possible of defending in the game.


[SIZE=4]Questions We Want To Hear Your Answer To:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]- In which cases would you defend against an attack? Why?
- In which cases would you hide your troops and not defend? Why?
- Is defending (or not defending) against the Wraith Dragon different from normal defending? Why?[/SIZE]


Discuss away! Don’t forget the rules, though!


[SIZE=3]Rules[/SIZE]
- Stay on topic. Posts that attempt to derail the conversation may be edited or deleted. Bug reports belong in the Bugs & Known Issues forum.
- Be constructive. Posts that express an opinion without actually contributing to the conversation may be edited or deleted, particularly if they are inflammatory.
- Be courteous. Posts that troll, flame, or otherwise demonstrate rude or overly provocative behavior may be edited or deleted.



~The Dragons of Atlantis Team~

[roy7roy]

I will defend any attack that I can beat and not lose too many troops. Also, the wraith has made it harder to defend but with superior tactics such as a well used Cease Fire item I am able to defend and then they are unable to speed attack with the Wraith dragon. The main change is that now just need to use a CF item to defend an attack. I will never intentionally defend a wraith attack because you don't do anything to the dragon, as of right now he has to be resummoned even if he is not defended against.

Dear Citizens,

Combat is a part of all of our lives in Atlantis, whether against the Anthropus or fellow players. It’s a lot of fun and a huge part of the game to go on the march and attack other player-controlled or computer-controlled forces. The less glamorous part of combat is something that is often fiercely debated on these forums: defending. Since troops in your cities can be set to hide or defend through the Wall, the question of whether or not to actually defend when being attacked is a significant one.

The release of the Wraith Dragon has brought up the question of defending vs. hiding anew, and we at Atlantean headquarters are interested in the way all of you think about defending - when you do it, why you do it, and how the Wraith Dragon has changed the mechanic for you (if at all). So, we’re having this moderated discussion today to see what everyone thinks, and we encourage you all to participate so that the DoA team can get the most complete picture possible of defending in the game.


[SIZE=4]Questions We Want To Hear Your Answer To:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]- In which cases would you defend against an attack? Why?
- In which cases would you hide your troops and not defend? Why?
- Is defending (or not defending) against the Wraith Dragon different from normal defending? Why?[/SIZE]


Discuss away! Don’t forget the rules, though!


[SIZE=3]Rules[/SIZE]
- Stay on topic. Posts that attempt to derail the conversation may be edited or deleted. Bug reports belong in the Bugs & Known Issues forum.
- Be constructive. Posts that express an opinion without actually contributing to the conversation may be edited or deleted, particularly if they are inflammatory.
- Be courteous. Posts that troll, flame, or otherwise demonstrate rude or overly provocative behavior may be edited or deleted.



~The Dragons of Atlantis Team~

[11doski]

I will defend any attack that I can beat and not lose too many troops. Also, the wraith has made it harder to defend but with superior tactics such as a well used Cease Fire item I am able to defend and then they are unable to speed attack with the Wraith dragon. The main change is that now just need to use a CF item to defend an attack. I will never intentionally defend a wraith attack because you don't do anything to the dragon, as of right now he has to be resummoned even if he is not defended against.

well the wraith has turned the game around and is actually making people quit the game including ruby buyers , why would u defend the wraith and lose all ur troops with no possible way of defeating him and no known troops to defeat him so u can defend . i believe he was created to make ruby buyers buy more rubies after they lose their troops and in reality it is making them quit the game . i know when i lose mine because of it i will quit and i have spent loads on the game . it makes no sense to create a creature that cannot be beaten .

[Robamm]

I will defend any attack that I can beat and not lose too many troops. Also, the wraith has made it harder to defend but with superior tactics such as a well used Cease Fire item I am able to defend and then they are unable to speed attack with the Wraith dragon. The main change is that now just need to use a CF item to defend an attack. I will never intentionally defend a wraith attack because you don't do anything to the dragon, as of right now he has to be resummoned even if he is not defended against.

Agreed it does absolutely no good to defend against the wraith dragon. The wraith dragon is a mistake. It gave low level players the ability to hit and steal resources from players who have earned their power in this game. You made it way to strong and difficult to beat, and there is no downside if it loses the battle. I personally think people should have to rebuild the altar from level 1 if they lose in a wraith battle it will make them a little more cautious about sending it out and will make others more likey to defend to beat it, but only if it's a little more beatable.

[sevok]

Agreed it does absolutely no good to defend against the wraith dragon. The wraith dragon is a mistake. It gave low level players the ability to hit and steal resources from players who have earned their power in this game. You made it way to strong and difficult to beat, and there is no downside if it loses the battle. I personally think people should have to rebuild the altar from level 1 if they lose in a wraith battle it will make them a little more cautious about sending it out and will make others more likey to defend to beat it, but only if it's a little more beatable.

That is the good thing about the wraith, yes it is too strong, but gives the smaller player a tool to make the bully type player (usually larger powered players) think about effects of the attack instead of simply attacking a weaker player with no worries.

[Noob_57QHF6W]

For an attack the wraith, a player should have to sacrifice souls from their mausoleums. Each troop should have a different (soul) value possibly based on it's power. This may be too much, but what if the player can select different wraith level attacks with different amounts of souls.

This should make players defend and/or attack more to get the souls to send it. If a player successfully defends the wraith, he or she should win those souls or a certain percentage of them. If the attack is successful then the souls are returned to the mausoleums. This will add both a risk to the attacker and a potential reward to the defender within the current flow of the game.

The idea of collecting another player's soldiers or souls from successful defense could add an incentive for some to defend if used for all attack/defense scenarios.

This is obviously and undeveloped idea, but I just thought that I'd throw in my 2 cents.

[Solstice]

Hello,
As i read through everyones thoughts, it is quite clear that there is no benefit for defending. Whether it be a glitch issue or an attack advantage issue, and so on. And the wraith dragon, though not a major game changer to speak of. It is right now the first thing on everyones mind. "Can this powerhouse take out my troops?" Now if someone is attacking another player, it is for the benefit of the resources he or she possesses. So what benefit will the defender get other than a successful defense? How about a percentage of the atacking players troops? Now that is a benefit. How many would take a risk at adding to his army just by defending? I might. and if you succeed in defending against a higher powered player the benefits increase..... now your talking. The same should go to reinforcing a team member. At this time there is no benefit reinforcing even if you have a Ruins. If you lose troops defending at another players city you lose everything. No revival awarded. I would say the percentage of troops you regain should be higher to promote more teamwork amongst the alliance members and share the troops bonus between the host city and the reinforceing members.

There is no limit to the possibilities where this game can go. and i hope to share with you other ideas that will put a spin on this game.... i.e. Spells... lol thx

[burning]

Defending is a disadvantage ... rarely will anyone defend as the attacker has what seems a 3:1 advantage .. we can easily decide what we have and what is being used in attack so only a fool would pit forces against a much stronger opponent. what should occur is when an attack is launched, an ally should be able to launch counter attack, i should be able to launch counter attack, etc .. right now it is just attack or defend ... not real war .. for example, if someone launches an attack, i should be able to immediately go after those troops solo or with allies and not just wait for them to hit my city

defending for the most part just doesn't happen, especially in the older established realms. when realms first open and there's an influx of new players you will find more players defending until they get all their troops wiped and then they either quit or never defend again. then the game just turns into resource grabbing so players can continue to build but not fight. it doesnt take long for this to occur with there always being a good number of ruby players that can balloon their power and troop numbers so high that the majority of players cannot even attempt to engage them. if kabam doesnt implement something where players can choose which troops they want to defend or engage incoming enemies then nothing will change. it takes too long to rebuild and people will not risk it. when somone can send a wraith or 180k lavas and wipe millions of power out theres not much incentive to defend. and i dont believe a player should lose power based on troop loss. your power level should represent your ability to play the game and your level should reflect how much battle you have encountered. a player should gain power points for killing other players troops and should not lose all of his for getting defeated. and as players get to new levels of power there should be benefits to your attacking and defending abilities for doing so. the way it is now people just train train train and dont want to lose power. i bet if a player could keep his power level close to the same even in defeat there would be a lot more attacking and defending going on.

[Immolator]

This game has really gone for the worst with the wraith... its basically a game of tag now. nobody is going to defend after spending countless hours on a army and then bam get wiped by a single troop. So now the scenario is, "he hit me with his wraith and then cf'd", " I'm gonna hit him with my wraith as soon as his cf is up." thats how the game is being played right now. When the strongest players in the realm are afraid to defend then there's a problem, these are also the players that are spending money on this game. You will begin to see a drop in sales if something isnt changed. We play the game because we like strategy! Theres nothing strategic about sending a wraith, you know your going to win. The other guy knows hes going to lose = no defending.

Lombard Realm

[Michelle Shonty]

I have not had a battle in a while where I was not the defender. I have also used the wraith a couple of times and as much as I like the idea of that dragon, if the defender hides, it turns the wraith into a pack dragon on steroids.

I know that you all have read the numerous threads on how to change the wall to improve it. Selecting troop to defend, rather than an all or nothing aproach. Implementing a seige format to battles. These should be implemented to encourage people to defend.

Most people are not great risk takers, especially if they have any amount of rubies invested in their troops. And since most of the power base of each player is in the actual possesion of those troops, there is even less incentive to use them in risky battle. Perhaps a change in the way power is awarded, not for training troops (above a certain level) but for the actual use of them. We already lose power if we lose a battle, why not gain power if we defend successfully?

the wraith needs to be balanced... reduce the attack power, eliminate speed use for it, restrict its use and if it loses a battle it should cost the player serious power loss (maybe troop sacrifice to bring it back??)