The real issue bothering new players - Part 1, The Problem

[drew]

Inspired by my own small issue (wolves everywhere when you start playing & no chance of getting a belt or any similar recognition), this evolved from a small idea into a huge post. The issue is small for me, because I'm not that new anymore and I've been playing long games for a long time and am used to the long term grind, but it could mean a difference between staying and leaving for a decent number of people. Since the initial post grew too big, I've decided to split it into 2 parts, as there's a problem that needs to be solved and a proposed solution and they each deserve a discussion of their own. So this is part 1, and here's part 2.

 

Part 1, The Problem

 

First, the issue - when you're a new player, you can only dream of getting any worthwhile and recognized accomplishments. I could or could not have a potential to become the best, but nothing is going to test me or validate & reward me in a looong time. Everybody is writing about the top 10 managers constantly and veteran managers not close to the list have their own businesses and alliances to keep them happy and involved, but noobs have none of that.

 

Nobody ever writes about a best rookie manager in a certain month and even the "best new manager of the year" is mentioned only when it's time to vote for one. Very disheartening and probably the biggest problem for keeping new managers. No real rewards.

 

Now I'm not saying that new players deserve the hard earned reputation and glory that the vets have and I'm not going to go into making the game faster, training shorter etc. People at the higher levels often think that's the problem for new players, while it's actually not, except maybe for the ones who used to be on top and started playing again, but they're a different animal altogether and not really our targeted audience here. So after a lengthy introduction & explanation, here's the real problem for new managers:

 

I couldn't care less if my fighter was quad sensational or quad competent, as long as my opponents and peers surrounding me are the same!

 

As a new player, I don't really care how often my fighter pops or what the numbers in his description say - that's only something that the game eventually teaches us to care about. What I DO care about right away is knocking out, submitting or otherwise gloriously overpowering my next opponent AND getting praise and rewards for my accomplishments, however small and insignificant they might seem to the top dogs. That way I'll be happy with myself and with the game and not at all bothered that I'm not in the top 10 anything, in the same way the kid winning his high school tournament doesn't care about not being a world champion at that moment. He's accomplished and respected among his peers, and that's actually all that ever matters.

 

I'm obviously not the first to recognize this problem, but the topic usually gets derailed as the conversation steers towards specific solutions and away from the core issue. That's why I separated the thread into 2 parts - we need to have the problem clearly defined and if you don't like a specific solution, you can try to think up alternative ones while not forgetting what the real problem was.

 

If you are a new player and have a big issue apart from what I mentioned, mention it here so we can try to make a list of the biggest ones and if you're an experienced vet and want to add something that I missed, that would be nice too.

 

For all who feel that the problem is well defined here, you might want to contribute to finding a solution and should check out Part 2 - The Solution.