RAGEQUITTING AOE3

[Mitoe]

Feels like a lot of players are leaving AoE3 right now, or at least taking a break. I don't know if it's just me but people feel very unhappy with the game / community nowadays.

I'm not immune to it either. I've also not been having as much fun with AoE3 either; and I think for me it's because the current meta is so build-order focused and it doesn't feel like there's as much room to outplay people as there was in the past. Also the community has seemed pretty negative overall the last few months, and that's not doing my mood any favours either.

What would it take to get you more interested in playing/watching the game again?

Personally I hope DE makes the game more interesting / fresh and succeeds in bringing new players into the fold.

[007Salt]

I think we're all waiting on DE and it feels like we're stuck in this waiting room with what we currently have.

[helln00]

A bit of a copout answer but I think its a bit of all the above. With the background IRL stresses it will amplify any problems in the community as people become more irritable.

Combined with how events management played out in recent events (delayed winter tourney and staff resigning, banning) and with I think taking a lot more ambitous steps in tourney org which would be very stressful, the age old tensions about the patch, awaiting DE and so forth, it will just make the environment here a lot less hospitable. Personally I think that we may just need to disconnect a bit and people will probably come back when they feel better.

[giveuanxiety]

I would say Burnout, community, and then meta. With today its easy to get burned out/ mad at tour results. There are often tours and when so many ppl are watching and criticizing everyone it can be like devastating to lose a tour series. For example like if somp vs kaster was a tour series it would feel like somp has to win 100% since he is the favorite and if he doesn't thats so huge and devastating. While in reality it wouldn't be that big of an upset since kaster is also a very talented player himself. Then ofc the meta with otto be strong is very dissappointing.

[iNcog]

I think for me the two are "drama" and "can't find games"

Drama is a problem in itself, it's a bit tiring to come to the forums and just see a fucking cessfuckpool of Zoi hate. Zoi's just doing his job, whether it's good or bad I don't really care, what I really don't like is how we have pages upon pages of people arguing pretty violently about how shitty he is. I don't think anyone deserves that treatment and someone who is actively trying to make things better does not deserve a hundredth of the shit that Zoi has gotten. There is a way to deliver criticism constructively and we don't do it. that is a LOT of crap that is aimed at a SINGLE person. what the fuck is wrong with you bullies?

secondly, can't find games. rather, it's a hassle. you beat someone and they're bad because they lost to you. oh well okay, I guess it wasn't because I played well. everything has to be negative. and then it's hard to just get online and spam a few games and games only. if I log on, you need to be friendly with people and cajole them into playing or not. and you either destroy or get destroyed. I log on to AOE2 and find a game within 3 minutes easily, against an opponent I can beat if I play well or lose to if I drop the ball. matchmaking in SC2 and AOE2DE is the primary reason I will play those games a lot more than AOE3 and its crappy ass lobby system where you get kicked for being too high, kicked for being too low, or can only find mismatched games.

I love AOE3 to death and I do plan on playing more when I get to it, but right now AOE2DE is just a treat to play and discover and just more interesting to be around than AOE3. This also means I tune into AOE2 streams and forget about aoe3 streams like esoc or aiz because I only ever spectate a game that I'm actively playing, frankly.

[iNcog]

Had I been drafted for EPL I would definitely be active, come to think of it. I was honestly hoping to get picked up for it and would have spammed practice games with better players to get back into real form than just me playing casually. But alas I didn't get picked up and some meme picks were made instead. tsk. to be fair, it's supposed to be on me to be in prime form before the draft, not promise to be better after I get a team. but eh

But right now being active in AOE3 just doesn't hold much appeal. I suppose I should try to play more actively but getting rated games in is just too much of a hassle. I think, for me, this is the bottom line.

Edit: and yes for the record I am a flamer shithead too so I participate in the community negativity dynamic. I do apologize for that. but for once, I think I'm not exactly the worst element out there like I may have been before.

[Squamiger]

well i made a meme about it just now because it's how i feel, that i've basically been stuck at pr23-24 for so long and I KNOW how to get better, it's to play france and germany and practice cookie cutter semi-ff builds until my macro is super tight (or just learn to botto, lol), and i was doing that for about a week and actively feeling myself improving, but then i just got bored of spamming the same builds and civs over and over. and i can catch a glimpse of the time required ahead of me just spamming french standard builds, if i want to actually get really good, and it just seems like it would be such a slog and i'd rather just put my time into getting better at something else.

still enjoying watching aoe3 though! streams are great.

[deleted_user]

You can actually get better without semi ffing every single game ngl

[PancakePrincess]

First of all, it's really tough to find games. Especially when you're not that good (like me!) and want to play EP, since RE can be wonky (looking at you "standard maps").

Secondly, while most of community seems nice, the forums have been kinda off-putting lately. Now, I'm not one to shun discussion, in fact, I really like discussing the game, but it doesn't seem constructive atm and if everyone's mean to each other I don't feel like commenting on stuff. However, I'm a pansy, so what do I know about that?

Lastly, as others already said, with DE around the corner, it feels like being in a waiting state.

Edit: I'd love a CPL format for AoE 3. It does a lot of good for BW and I think it's great to get people together and just be friendly and play!

[Squamiger]

You can actually get better without semi ffing every single game ngl

yea but the common wisdom is to pick like 1-2 build orders and practice them over and over so you get a really solid foundation for macro and timings. french semi-ff and french samwise build are probably the two safest and most straightforward ones to pick, so thats what i did

[silky]

I like to ragequit.

[iNcog]

You can actually get better without semi ffing every single game ngl

yea but the common wisdom is to pick like 1-2 build orders and practice them over and over so you get a really solid foundation for macro and timings. french semi-ff and french samwise build are probably the two safest and most straightforward ones to pick, so thats what i did

well you can also try Spain FF or Aztec Rush or Aztec FF, Indian Consulate FF, etc. there's a ton of builds out there to choose from and being able to do one quite well will make you better. it's all about clean execution.

[BrookG]

People have more time to spend with their favourite hobby. With all its bads and goods, it is the game it is. It can be frustrating when strategies don't work out, BOs fail, misplaying happens and many more. In addition, a 5-6 week tournament is happening at the time. There is no room to release this built up tension. Therefore, it leads to explosion.

Usually people if they felt mad with the game/community, they could take a break, and go on with their life. The temper would drop. Now this is harder with more time at home. Inevitably, you will end up browsing on your laptop or your mobile phone, and not giving time to step back.

Now I want to touch a bit the community's toxicity. We are a small community. Many of us have met in real life, and we associate actual people with their nickname, that string of letters on the screen. We have come close. And that's beautiful. One of the reasons we still hold strong. Like families, there are hardships and issues to overcome. It's common among friends to joke around and flame, and most likely is readily forgiven. This happens here too, people do feel close to each other. Now this is the tricky part. Some are friends, some are very familiar with others, however, this doesn't apply universally to the entirety of the community. There are two possibilities, either that familiarity is only from one side and can be misinterpreted, or in the name of familiarity, it is abused. Anonymity of the internet and lack of body language adds immensly to their effect.

I don't think we have a property that makes us toxic or bad. Rather real humans that have troubles and worries.

[deleted_user]

I don't like losing so I don't play. Call it a character flaw.

[edeholland]

None of the above. I still like playing AoE3. If I can't find a good 1v1 or team game I just play Deccan 3v3 or a scenario, those lobbies are always available.

The toxicity seems better now than a few years ago. Don't forget there has always been drama and we always overcome it.

[duckzilla]

I ragequit when I play a "4v4 NOOBS ONLY" game, planning to spam fully upped German mercs on Carolina with self-imposed restrictions such as no settler wagon shipments, and I get rushed at ~12 minutes.

[aligator92]

Interesting topic. I think there are 3 things that limit my enjoyment of the game currently:

1.) (and least important) The top player scene is quite stale. It seems like the top 4 of every tournament is populated by a group of maybe 6 players

2.) When I log on to ESO there are a few possiblities:
a.) there is a captain who I can play 4-5 games against, winning some, losing some and chatting in between. Nice :)
b.) no PR25-PR30 around, so I either stomp some frustrated lieutenants or get myself stomped by a lt.col. who will beat me every time.
c.) I have to play on RE and we know how that feels...
d.) There is somebody on my level but he does not chat, does not gg and always complains/flames when I win. I need some harmony to enjoy myself

3.) The EP/Zoi drama, Somppu drama and EPL/SKG situation all had very unsatisfiing results. None. They all addressed important matters but quickly evolved into pages and pages of the same 4 people saying the same thing to each other over and over again until the threads were either locked or people just stopped reading. I actually think this is the worst one because it gives you the feeling that the existence of the community is at danger and without this website this game dies an immediate death for me.

[Imperial Noob]

I've lost my patience for actual playing after years of observing ESOC's unwillingness to make all cards at least somewhat viable.
Even League of Legends treats the variety of its content better.

I only tune in to some streams now.

This might seem like a bizarre reason, but in games I like to surprise someone. If my surprise is pathetic, because nothing is viable other than what everyone does every game, then I have no incentive to make strats and try them out.

[deleted_user]

I've lost my patience for actual playing after years of observing ESOC's unwillingness to make all cards at least somewhat viable.
Even League of Legends treats the variety of its content better.

I only tune in to some streams now.

This might seem like a bizarre reason, but in games I like to surprise someone. If my surprise is pathetic, because nothing is viable other than what everyone does every game, then I have no incentive to make strats and try them out.

Trash post ngl

[Imperial Noob]

I've lost my patience for actual playing after years of observing ESOC's unwillingness to make all cards at least somewhat viable.
Even League of Legends treats the variety of its content better.

I only tune in to some streams now.

This might seem like a bizarre reason, but in games I like to surprise someone. If my surprise is pathetic, because nothing is viable other than what everyone does every game, then I have no incentive to make strats and try them out.

Trash post ngl

get lost, I'm talking to Mitoe

[deleted_user]

Tbh my bad

[Sargsyan]

play 1 game win > play again lose > alt+f4

[_RDX_]

I feel like this one here is a perfect post. I ragequit like 3 months ago for not getting good at the game and also because of the amount of interest, effort and time going in vain and i felt i was without any proper guidance and then i came back hoping that i could improve since a week ago, i was able to grab a few wins and losses along the way and then all that kept coming were too many smurfs and people who use lame or troll strategies on me, RE is full of them. I decided to stop playing and realized that i ragequit long back to ragequit again. Maybe AoE 3 DE or AoE 4 could come in handy for my cause.

[BrookG]

3.) The EP/Zoi drama, Somppu drama and EPL/SKG situation all had very unsatisfiing results. None. They all addressed important matters but quickly evolved into pages and pages of the same 4 people saying the same thing to each other over and over again until the threads were either locked or people just stopped reading. I actually think this is the worst one because it gives you the feeling that the existence of the community is at danger and without this website this game dies an immediate death for me.

I ensure you that staff is working towards it. A bit slowly if you ask me, but they do. I wish the relevant people shared the status of the process, since EP's impact is big in the community.

[Mr_Bramboy]

The toxicity is way better than it was a few years before in my opinion. I have never been more satisfied with the game and the community than now.