Exit survey

[Kail]

I got this survey today.  I guess they no longer want to hear about it taking too long to level or the population.

To be fair, I don't know that the problem is taking too long to level, specifically (as the amount of time it takes to level seems less than that of a lot of other MMOs) so much as it is that the leveling process itself is so repetitive that it feels longer.  To that end, if people keep ticking "took too long to level" then the only real feedback they can get from that is to shorten the levelling curve, which is only band-aiding the real problem.  If they were going to shorten the leveling curve, they probably would have done so by now, it wouldn't take them like two months to do.

And I'm sure the "too few other players online" option has kind of risen to the top of their "problems to fix" list, if only because it correlates directly with their paycheck.

[Hindenburg]

If they were going to shorten the leveling curve, they probably would have done so by now, it wouldn't take them like two months to do.

Following that logic, they also  will never nerf BW's, or fix the cloak and helm glitch, or fix the chat box, or stop people from dropping group in scenarios.

[Jherad]

If they were going to shorten the leveling curve, they probably would have done so by now, it wouldn't take them like two months to do.

Back here again?

Just because they don't look like they're going to do the right thing doesn't make it the wrong thing.

So many of the other issues stem from the grind. People are deserting, en-masse, before they even GET to tier 4, which exacerbates the population problem in endgame open RvR. People are also avoiding certain parts of the game because they feel the pressure to level, and don't want to be left too far behind the curve (too late now). Sure, you could try and make the leveling more fun with new content - but its much easier (and cheaper/quicker) to just make it less grindy. Never underestimate the power of the ding.

[Kail]

If they were going to shorten the leveling curve, they probably would have done so by now, it wouldn't take them like two months to do.

Back here again?

Just because they don't look like they're going to do the right thing doesn't make it the wrong thing.

So many of the other issues stem from the grind. People are deserting, en-masse, before they even GET to tier 4, which exacerbates the population problem in endgame open RvR. People are also avoiding certain parts of the game because they feel the pressure to level, and don't want to be left too far behind the curve (too late now). Sure, you could try and make the leveling more fun with new content - but its much easier (and cheaper/quicker) to just make it less grindy. Never underestimate the power of the ding.

Eh, maybe.  I dunno.  Personally, I suspect that boosting the XP rate would just see everyone cancel at level 40 rather than at 25 or whatever, unless they look at the things that are making the game un-fun (SEE: ORvR, Lack of).  Not that I would complain if they boosted XP, mind you.  I'm just thinking that, from Mythic's POV, if they're interested in making the game better, I can see why they'd take "takes too long to level" off the list.

I mean, it's not exactly a secret that people think the grind is too long.  As I recall, Schild was explaining that to Mark Jacobs personally for the forty-five minutes he was posting here.  They have to know that people are getting annoyed by this.  They can either fix it or ignore it, but either way, having a thousand more exit surveys come back with "takes too long to level" checked off probably isn't going to make the ol' light bulb come on.

[CecilDK]

The leveling issue is the deal-breaker for me.  I like MMO's for the progression, not the post-level cap action.  That's why I have innumerable alts in WoW and made probably 20 characters in WAR.

So for someone like me the glacial pace of leveling takes away the thing I find the most fun about these sorts of games.

[Bismallah]

I just got my exit survey, clicked the link and this is what I found at the link:

"The study you are responding to is now closed. Thank you for your time and interest."

No, thank you...

[rk47]

They should really have the balls to just put "Wrath of the Lich King" and "You disagree with the direction the game is going." >_<

The game is not fun nailed it for me.
The direction they're taking is too grindy and casual unfriendly.
The Untouchable Six in my guild spent their time in Lost vale, Bloodwrought yada yada while the rest of T4 are collapsing one by one. I think the only rank 40 zealot decided to quit, one of the Six said 'we'll miss you'. I couldnt' resist and just typed, "Ofcourse you will. He's the only rank 40 zealot in guild, now we have to find others for Lost Vale amirite?". Or one of those who complained "I'll never go back to Bastion after getting my final piece man that place sucked", I just had to tell them "Yeah, but some never even stepped in there, cause nobody would farm influence for them, nor would start a group taking them in.". And then the guild chat would go dead quiet.

Oh also, the amount of more 'fun games' are available contribute to the quitting. Red Alert 3, Fallout 3, etc. I know I'm having a blast.

[gamerjock]

Can't imagine why people would resub, I've been playing in Darklands and most of the time zone control and fort taking resulted in server crash. All that hard work for nothing. Adding new classes won't solve anything, class balance won't fix server instability. I'm sorry man, if you are promoting massive RVR but the server fails to cope with 200+ people, then what's the point?

1. The game's only been out one week , you can't expect things like Keep raids to work , give them 16 months first nub

2. My 486dx with and original voodoo runs it FINE , it's all your machines , I stayed in the zone even after the server crashed

3. You should only be level 2 , it's your fault you leveled high enough to raid after 2 months of the game , get outside some

4. It's Mythic , they've gotten everything else right always , MJ says so , its supposed to do that

5. Go the fuck back to WoW you stupid 2 year old, WoW crashed every 3 seconds for 7 years after launch

6. We don't need you here , my server is high/high with 1k queues at all times , so just leave

Did I miss any major ones ?


I think I covered all the usual responses I am seeing on the other boards atm , desperation mode seems to be incoming on the head in the sand crowd

I've copied and will paste this into my sig.  This was funny. 

[Arthur_Parker]

EU Version sent out today.

Hello xxx,

We've noticed that your Warhammer Online account is not active anymore. Alas, the War still rages everywhere and your departure has left a hole in the frontline defenses. Would you please take a few minutes to complete this survey and tell us why you chose to leave the game ? We value your feedback as it will allow us to continue to improve the game experience for everyone.

Answer the Warhammer Survey

Should you ever wish to revisit the battlefields of WAR, your account and characters will await your return. Simply visit the official website and reactivate your account. This is also the place to find information about recent updates to the game, including the Heavy Metal live event and the addition of the Knight of the Blazing Sun and Black Guard careers.

The WAR Team

To log onto the portal, please visit Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ - Europe
General User Conditions and Code of Conduct

My answers in bold.

Q1: Why did you decide to stop playing Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 Not enough time to play
 O2 The monthly subscription fee is too high
 O3 I didn’t like the game experience
 O4 Not enough players online on my server(s)
 O5 Too many bugs
 O6 Performance problems
 O7 Problems with customer service
 O8 My friends stopped playing Warhammer Online
 O9 Started playing or went back to another massively multiplayer online game
 O10 I decided to stop playing MMO’s
 O11 Did not like the graphics
 O12 Billing issues
 O13 None of the above

Q3: You mentioned that you didn’t like the game experience.
What aspect of Warhammer Online did you LEAST enjoy?
One answer allowed
 O1 Realm versus realm(RvR) and Player vs Player(PvP) experiences
 O2 Overarching story
 O3 Quests
 O4 Public Quests
 O5 Tome of Knowledge
 O6 Careers
 O7 Crafting
 O8 Leveling
 O9 Combat system
 O10 Rewards and loot weren’t gratifying enough
 O11 Other

Q4: You mentionned that you experienced too many bugs within the game.
What part of the game had the most bugs in your opinion?
Multiple answers allowed
O1 Realm versus Realm(RvR) and Player vs Player(PvP) Experience
 O2 Public Quests
 O3 Quests
 O4 Translations (removed in UK poll)
 O5 Tome of Knowledge
 O6 Crafting
 O7 Combat System
 O8 Artificial Intelligence system
 O9 Collision system
 O10 Targetting system
 O11 Other

Q5: You mentioned that you experienced performance problems while playing Warhammer Online.
How would you best characterize these problems?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 Long loading phases
 O2 Long exit times
 O3 Low, or erractic frame rate
 O4 Other Graphical problems
 O5 Crashes
 O6 Audio Problems
O7 Network issues (latency, delay between actions while playing)
 O8 Other

Q6: You mentioned that you had an issue with Customer Service while playing Warhammer Online.
How would you characterize this issue?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 You appealed in game but were never contacted back by a CSR
 O2 Your wait time after appealing was too long
 O3 The answer to your appeal was unsatisfactory
 O4 You found the online knowledge database to be lacking
 O5 There is no phone support for the billing
 O6 Other
Q6B Please specify:
You signed me up to a recurring subscription without my consent and despite two efforts on my part to ensure that didn't happen.

Q7: You mentioned that you started playing or went back to another massively multiplayer online game.
What game did you start playing or go back to?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 Age of Conan
 O2 Asheron’s Call
 O3 City of Heroes
 O4 City of Villains
 O5 Dark Age of Camelot
 O6 Dofus
 O7 Dungeons and Dragons Online
 O8 Eve Online
 O9 Everquest
 O10 Everquest 2
 O11 Final Fantasy XI
 O12 Guild Wars
 O13 Lineage
 O14 Lineage II
 O15 Lord of the Rings
 O16 Maple Story
 O17 Runescape
 O18 Ryzom
 O19 Star Wars Galaxies
 O20 Ultima Online
 O21 Vanguard
 O22 World of Warcraft
 O23 Other

Q8: On a scale of 1 (Definitely Would Consider) to 5 (Definitely Would Not Consider),
how likely would you be to play Warhammer Online again if your issues with the game were addressed?
One answer allowed
 1 - Would Consider
 2 - Might Consider
 3 - Undecided
 4 - Might Not Consider
 5 - Would Not Consider

Q9: What additional features/changes to Warhammer Online would influence you the most to log back in?
One answer allowed
 O1 Better zones, creatures and quests
 O2 Better items and character customization
 O3 More spells and combat animations
 O4 Additional RvR systems and options
 O5 More player races, armies and careers
 O6 More instanced content (Dungeons, PvE scenarios…)
 O7 More events in game
 O8 Better crafting system
 O9 Nothing can be added or changed that would influence me to log back in


Q10: What was the main reason you started playing Warhammer Online?
One answer allowed
 O1 I try every new MMO
 O2 I read a good review (paper or online)
 O3 I tested the game during an event/show
 O3 I am a fan of Warhammer
 O4 I am a fan of Dark Age of Camelot
 O5 My friends convinced me to play
 O6 I followed my guild
 O7 Other
Played open beta during the 34 minutes GOA managed to keep the servers online.

Q11: What did you like most about the game?
Select up to 3 answers
 O1 Being immersed in the Warhammer universe
 O2 Playing with friends
 O3 Items and Loot
 O4 Realm vs. Realm and/or PvP
 O5 Building and customizing my character
 O6 Quests and/or Public Quests
 O7 Socializing with other players in the game
 O8 Tome of Knowledge
 O9 Crafting
 O10 Assisting other characters
 O11 Other
I couldn't find a third answer, no wait, I liked my hat, does that count?

Q12: Were you already playing MMO’s before Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?
One answer allowed
 O1 No, this is the first time I have ever played a massively multiplayer online game
 O2 Yes, I have played other massively multiplayer online games before Warhammer that required a subscription
 O3 Yes, I have played other massively multiplayer online games before Warhammer that did NOT require a subscription

Q13: How many other MMO’s did you subscribe to while playing Warhammer Online?
One answer allowed
  0
 1
 2
 3 or more

Q14: Have you ever subscribed to any of the following MMO games?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 Age of Conan
 O2 Asheron’s Call
 O3 City of Heroes
 O4 City of Villains
 O5 Dark Age of Camelot
 O6 Dofus
 O7 Dungeons and Dragons Online
 O8 Eve Online
 O9 Everquest
 O10 Everquest 2
 O11 Final Fantasy XI
 O12 Guild Wars
 O13 Lineage
 O14 Lineage II
 O15 Lord of the Rings
 O16 Maple Story
 O17 Runescape
 O18 Ryzom
 O19 Star Wars Galaxies
 O20 Ultima Online
 O21 Vanguard
 O22 World of Warcraft
 O23 Other

Q15: How would you describe your general play style in MMORPGs?
One answer allowed
 O1 Primarily a solo PvE player – quests, monsters and story
 O2 Primarily a group PvE player – instanced content, large group adventures
 O3 Primarily a PvP player – player killing, small commity
 O4 Primarily an open RvR player – structure capture, massives combats
 O5 Primarily an instanced RvR player – scenarios, team versus team fights
 O6 Enjoy both PvE and PvP/RvR

Q16: When you played Warhammer Online, how did you primarily play?
One answer allowed
 O1 Solo
 O2 In pick-up groups
 O3 With people you know / friends
 O4 With your guild mates

Q17: When you played Warhammer Online, what were you doing mostly ?
 O1 PvE (Quests and or public quests)
 O2 Instanced RvR (Scenarios, Capital Run…)
 O3 Open RvR (keep sieges, skirmishing…)
 O4 Crafting
 O5 Socializing
 O6 Exploring the world

Q18: How did you learn about Warhammer Online ?
Multiple answers allowed
 O1 Advertisement online
O2 Press Magazines
 O3 Shows / Events
 O4 Adverstisement in cinemas
 O5 Advertisement on TV
 O6 Warhammer Stores
 O7 Friends
 O8 Videogames Stores
 O9 Orange promotions
 O10 EA promotions
 O11 Other

Q19: How old are you?
One answer allowed
 O1 12 and Under
 O2 13-17 years old
 O3 18-24 years old
 O4 25-34 years old
 O5 35-44 years old
 O6 45 and Older

Q20: What is your Gender?
One answer allowed
 O1 Male
 O2 Female

Q21: How many hours a week do you typically spend playing games (PC, Console, Handheld, etc.)?
One answer allowed
 O1 Less than 5 hours/week
 O2 Between 6-12 hours/week
 O3 Between 13-20 hours/week
 O4 More than 20 hours/week
 O5 I am not sure

[Nebu]

Q17: When you played Warhammer Online, what were you doing mostly ?
 O1 PvE (Quests and or public quests)
 O2 Instanced RvR (Scenarios, Capital Run…)
 O3 Open RvR (keep sieges, skirmishing…)
 O4 Crafting
 O5 Socializing
 O6 Exploring the world

I think I see why you didn't like the game. 

[Arthur_Parker]

Is the one liner a comment on my playstyle or the game?

I'll treat it as a comment on me. 

Not my fault they made a boring level grind, considering the time I spent playing, which was an awful lot, I wasn't going to constantly do scenarios, I just got bored with only seeing one or possibly two at most in each tier.  I couldn't constantly do open RVR as there wasn't any to speak of, after the first two weeks.  Crafting I make a point of never exploring any more until max level, as it's generally unfinished in a new game.  Socialising, um I was in a guild, that helped a bit until they all started leaving, exploring I like that, so did a lot of that it while questing.

I made level 39, I was bored doing it and couldn't see anything else to do at 40 that wasn't going to be even more boring.  The couple of fortress defences I attended didn't spark confidence due to the crippling server lag.  I explored some of every element of the game except crafting, I don't think I'm the one at fault here.

[Lantyssa]

I think I see why you didn't like the game. 

It's why most of us didn't like the game.  The choice was PvE or endless scenarios.

[Nebu]

It wasn't meant to be snarky.  It was an honest comment.  Playing WAR as a pve title is going to be terribly unfun. Mythic has no business making a pve game.

Where Mythic screwed up was that their PvP game was nearly equally unfun (after tier 2). 

[ghost]

It wasn't meant to be snarky.  It was an honest comment.  Playing WAR as a pve title is going to be terribly unfun. Mythic has no business making a pve game.

Where Mythic screwed up was that their PvP game was nearly equally unfun (after tier 2). 

To be fair, they almost made a very good PVE game.  They really aren't that far away.  All they would have to do is tweak the instances a bit and put in more content.  Then add a more developed gear grind and there you go.

I'm not sure they aren't closer to making a good PVE game than one that focuses on PVP.........

[Nebu]

[To be fair, they almost made a very good PVE game.  They really aren't that far away. 

THIS I disagree with.  The PQ concept is good, the PvE is not.  The AI is terrible, the encounters are too simplistic, and the flavor of PvE is almost 8 years out of date. 

What is it you find engaging in the pve?  I guarantee it's not the pve itself, rather the accompanying bits (PQ's, Quests, etc.)

[Lantyssa]

The AI is worse than terrible.  MUDs had better mob proc scripts at least fifteen years ago.

[ghost]

[To be fair, they almost made a very good PVE game.  They really aren't that far away. 

THIS I disagree with.  The PQ concept is good, the PvE is not.  The AI is terrible, the encounters are too simplistic, and the flavor of PvE is almost 8 years out of date. 

What is it you find engaging in the pve?  I guarantee it's not the pve itself, rather the accompanying bits (PQ's, Quests, etc.)

Oh, I agree with you.  I don't think it is good right now, but I still think they are closer there than they are at the PVP. 

To be honest, I find nothing engaging about the game.  I certainly do enjoy bitching about how shitty it is though.  Gotta get my 50 bucks worth of enjoyment somehow.

[Tarami]

THIS I disagree with.  The PQ concept is good, the PvE is not.  The AI is terrible, the encounters are too simplistic, and the flavor of PvE is almost 8 years out of date. 

What is it you find engaging in the pve?  I guarantee it's not the pve itself, rather the accompanying bits (PQ's, Quests, etc.)

You mention quests. Do you really think they were interesting? The capitals had a few quests of the more interesting kind, but I found the chapters to be absolutely horrible, horrible I tell you.

Aside that, dikus are interesting thanks to handcrafted content and the inherent fun of exploring the unknown. WAR on the other hand is an appealing game (craft-wise) that has gone two-hundred passes through a randomizer. After tier 1, 90% of the content seems auto-generated and no asset design ever will ever disguise such a fact.

[Nebu]

You mention quests. Do you really think they were interesting?

No.  I think the PvE in WAR is terrible.  The only worthwhile thing WAR brought to the table was the PQ concept and even it was flawed. 

[Bismallah]

And living guilds, not a bad idea just really poorly implemented in WAR.

[Arthur_Parker]

It wasn't meant to be snarky.  It was an honest comment.  Playing WAR as a pve title is going to be terribly unfun. Mythic has no business making a pve game.

Where Mythic screwed up was that their PvP game was nearly equally unfun (after tier 2). 

That's what I thought you meant.

I didn't play WAR as a PVE title, it just turns out than when asked, I honestly think I spent more time in PVE than PVP.  If someone had asked what my preferred play would have been, I'd have listed ORVR > Scenario PVP > PVE.  But I'm not the one who made ORVR virtually worthless for exp compared to scenarios and questing.  I'm also not the one who made T3 and T4 incredible exp grinds, I also didn't decide to add about 2000 quests to each faction, WoW launched with what 600 quests total?  DDO launched with 150?

Lets make up some figures and say I spent 8% of my time in ORVR, 40% in scenarios and 52% questing/travelling.  What % of my time should I have spent in Scenarios to have enjoyed WAR more?  I finally quit logging in because I didn't want to run Serpents Passage another 1000 times (or whatever silly number it was) just to be able to wear my new boots at RR45.

The different parts of the game don't fit together, saying somebody didn't play it right is a bit silly.  I played AC1 Darktide and UO pre trammel, during the character advancement process in those, I also spent most of my time in PVE, because character advancement doesn't have to be the whole game.

[UnSub]

The AI is worse than terrible.  MUDs had better mob proc scripts at least fifteen years ago.

Coming from CoH/V, I'm used to using terrain as an advantage for ranged characters, not see mobs run up the side of steep hills to get me, or swim at the same speed they can run over lakes, or see 90% of mobs run straight at me when I attack them. Or what mobs instantaneously heal themselves due to some kind of anti-kiting code when I'm in the middle of attacking them. "Target is Retreating"? Sure, just with their pointy bits in my direction.

[Malakili]

]Why did you decide to stop playing Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?
Please select all that apply.
__ Too many bugs
__ Too few other players online
__ Problems with customer service
__ My friends stopped playing Warhammer Online
__ Performance problems on my PC
__ Rewards and loot weren’t gratifying enough
__ Stopped playing MMO’s
__ Took too long to level
__ Started playing or went back to another massively multiplayer online game
__ Not enough time to play
XDid not enjoy Player vs. Player (PvP) /Realm vs. Realm (RvR)
X The game is not fun
__ The monthly subscription fee / not worth it
__ None of the above

You mentioned that you didn’t find Warhammer Online to be a fun play experience. What aspect of Warhammer Online did you LEAST enjoy?
Please select one response only.
__ Tome of Knowledge
__ Crafting
X Realm versus realm and PvP experiences
__ Overarching story
X Public Quests
__ Careers
X Quests
__ Other

How would you describe your general play style in MMORPGs?
Please select one response only.
__ Primarily a solo PvE player – quests, monsters and story
__ Primarily a PvP/RvR player – battlegrounds, player killing
XEnjoy both PvE and PvP/RvR

You mentioned that you experienced performance problems on your PC while playing Warhammer Online. How would you best characterize these problems?
Please select all that apply.
**** I actually didn't have this one****
__ Low frame rate
__ Crashes
__ Graphical problems
__ Audio Problems
__ “Hitchy” and erratic frame rate
__ Long load and exit times
__ Other – Please specify

You mentioned that you started playing or went back to another massively multiplayer online game. What game did you start playing or go back to?
Please select all that apply.

EVE Pick your generic MMO here

What makes that game experience better/different than Warhammer?

Real PvP, player driven economy, not many artificial restrictions on players, etc etc.

Please be as specific as possible.

Comments:  (I wrote: Level 1-20 was wonderful.  Fun and balanced fights, rapid advancement, and fast queue times.  After level 20 the crushign grind and the ambiguity of RvR objectives killed the game for me. )

When you played Warhammer Online, how did you primarily play?

Please select one response only.
__ Solo
__ Solo RvR
__ Public Quests with an informal group
__ Public quests with a group you joined
XJoined and played in a Guild
__ Scenario RvR
__ Joined a warband to crush my enemies

On a scale of 1 (Definitely Would Not Consider) to 5 (Definitely Would Consider), how likely would you be to play Warhammer Online again if your issues with the game were addressed?
Please select one response only.
 1 - Would Not Consider
 2 - Might Not Consider
 3 - Undecided
 4 - Might Consider
 5 - Would Consider

What additional features/changes to Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning would influence you most to logging back in?
Please select one response only.
__ Better items and character customization
X Better zones, creatures and quests
__ More spells and combat animations
__ More player races, armies and careers
XAdditional RvR systems and options
__ Nothing can be added or changed that would influence me to log back in

What was the main reason you started playing Warhammer Online?
Please select one response only.
__ I am a fan of Warhammer
__ I try every new MMO
__ My friends recommended the game
__ Read a good review
X I am a fan of Dark Age of Camelot
__ Other – Please specify

What did you like most about the game? Select up to 3.
Please select up to 3.
__ Items and Loot
XSocializing with other players in the game
XRealm vs. Realm
__ Questing
__ Building and customizing my character
__ Crafting
__ Assisting other characters
__ Exploring
X Playing with friends
__ Being immersed in the Warhammer universe
__ Other – Please specify

Were you already playing MMO’s before Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?
Please select one response only.
__ No, this is the first time I have ever played a massively multiplayer online game
XYes, I have played other massively multiplayer online games before Warhammer that required a subscription
__ Yes, I have played other massively multiplayer online games before Warhammer that did NOT require a subscription

How many other MMO’s did you subscribe to while playing Warhammer Online?
Please select one response only.
X0
__ 1
__ 2
__ 3 or more

Have you ever subscribed to any of the following MMO games?
Please select all that apply.

__ Insert all MMO names in a list here

Please indicate which of the following you would consider as your first, second and third gaming platforms.
Please select one response for each ranking.

List of platforms...

How many hours a week do you typically spend playing games (PC, Console, Handheld, etc.)?
Please select one response only.
__ Less than 3 hours/week
__ Between 3-5 hours/week
__ Between 6-9 hours/week
XMore than 10 hours/week
__ I am not sure

How old are you?
Please select one response only.

18-25 Age ranges...

What is your Gender?
M
Please select one response only.

___ You get the picture...
[/quote]



 













[/quote]

[Riggswolfe]

Oddly enough I got an email survey from them that read very similar to this but I'm still subscribed. The end was quite fun. It asked what other games I'm playing, then asked why I played the other game (LOTRO fyi) more.

I put down at least 10 items I liked better in LOTRO.

[Redgiant]

The most telling indication they either don't get it, or don't want you to know they get it, is the very obvious lack of letting you distinguish Open RvR from Scenarios.

They keep refering to "RvR" and "Realm"  to lump them together.

Why did you decide to stop playing Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning?
Please select all that apply.
__ Too many bugs
__ Too few other players online
__ Problems with customer service
__ My friends stopped playing Warhammer Online
__ Performance problems on my PC
__ Rewards and loot weren’t gratifying enough
__ Stopped playing MMO’s
__ Took too long to level
__ Started playing or went back to another massively multiplayer online game
__ Not enough time to play
__ Did not enjoy Player vs. Player (PvP) /Realm vs. Realm (RvR)
__ The game is not fun
__ The monthly subscription fee / not worth it
__ None of the above

You mentioned that you didn’t find Warhammer Online to be a fun play experience. What aspect of Warhammer Online did you LEAST enjoy?
Please select one response only.
__ Tome of Knowledge
__ Crafting
__ Realm versus realm and PvP experiences
__ Overarching story
__ Public Quests
__ Careers
__ Quests
__ Other

Oh come ON, they are trying too hard to ignore the obvious elephant in the room. It isn't "RvR and PvP"; it is "Open RvR" vs. "Scenario mini-games".

Scan WarhammerAlliance, here, VN, Mark's State of the Union threads. By far and away the most common complaint, civil and vitriolic, is squarely about Open RvR vs. Scenarios. Now, I understand interview-speak and why Mark doesn't say the same things there that he does on f13, but c'mon even the exit survey papers over the part that matters.

I can't get the picture out of my mind of the poor author of this survey, constantly keeping his pen-of-truth from penciling in the real response choices like Peter Sellers' Sieg Heil in Dr. Strangelove.

Frankly, I can't answer the exit survey because it is missing many choices I would need to have to be accurate (the freeform text box notwithstanding).

[UnSub]

The survey wasn't written by someone who knows how WAR operates; it reads like it was written by someone who had some general ideas explained to them about WAR's gameplay and just worked on it from there.

[Soulflame]

The survey wasn't written by someone who knows how WAR operates; it reads like it was written by someone who had some general ideas explained to them about WAR's gameplay and just worked on it from there.

So... probably one of the lead architects for Warhammer?

[syd]

The survey wasn't written by someone who knows how WAR operates; it reads like it was written by someone who had some general ideas explained to them about WAR's gameplay and just worked on it from there.

That and the survey was written for people who have already quit -- doesn't really do much to address the people currently playing and considering quitting.

[UnSub]

MMO companies are about 20 years behind most other industries in talking to their own customers about what concerns they have. Not on forums - those channels are meritocracies of the loudest, where s/he who posts the most wins - but across a broad spectrum of players.

Here's a very simple question every MMO studio should be asking a random assortment of their players every month or so: How likely are you to continue subscribing to this title over the next payment cycle (i.e. month, 3 months, etc)? And if they aren't very likely, that's when you ask them why not. Exit surveys are lag measurements where the player has already left the game. Better to ask players before they leave and see if you can make (or promise) the necessary changes to keep them.

[ezrast]

Seems like if you survey the existing player base, any usable signal is going to be drowned out by the noise of frothy asshats taking advantage of the soapbox handed to them (I WILL CANCEL FOREVER UNLESS YOU NERF WARLOCKS RAWRRR). The people who are going to quit next month will mostly do it for the same reasons as the people who quit last month, so you might as well ask the ones that jumped ship first in order to address the most pressing issues.

And anyway, at this point do you really want to trust the opinions of people who are still playing WAR?

[UnSub]

You take a random sample, not let people self-select.

And yeah, the opinions of people still playing WAR are important, since that is the revenue source. Not caring what the existing players think and aiming completely at the new audience of gamers who will come flooding into your much better game now is a path to self-destruction.

[ezrast]

But even in a random sample, assuming the MMO isn't hemorrhaging subs phenomenally, most of the people selected will probably have no intention of leaving the game, and they will use the survey as a way to sound off about whatever their pet peeves are, however inconsequential those may be in the big picture. Out of the people who have legitimate complaints, I don't see why your method would get significantly better results than an exit survey. The only difference between a current subscriber and a recent unsubscriber is that the former hasn't quit yet.

The bit about WAR players being untrustworthy was just unwarranted snark.

Edit: rethinking this, what I said only makes sense when increasing immediate player retention is the number one priority. But you were talking about establishing better communication in general, which would include establishing a good report with the player base for better long-term retention and word of mouth. Which would make me wrong.

[Jesper]

still hadn't received my exit survey (europe)...how long did you wait for it? Thanks.

[Sheepherder]

You take a random sample, not let people self-select.

Data collection and automatic selection of a large sample is the key.  Have the servers collect shit like how many of class x a player killed recently, then send a small three to five question survey to people matching the specified conditions asking specific questions.  Filter the data from shit for brains out ("On a scale of 1-10 how hard is it to kill the class that you just killed 20+ of the other day") and use the numbers to form your decisions.  Keep track of people who are/aren't helpful and maybe even get devs in direct contact with groups of these players (give them a test forum invite?)

[Lantyssa]

But even in a random sample, assuming the MMO isn't hemorrhaging subs phenomenally, most of the people selected will probably have no intention of leaving the game, and they will use the survey as a way to sound off about whatever their pet peeves are, however inconsequential those may be in the big picture. Out of the people who have legitimate complaints, I don't see why your method would get significantly better results than an exit survey. The only difference between a current subscriber and a recent unsubscriber is that the former hasn't quit yet.

There are ways to write surveys which don't let people give you information you don't want.  Like not including a text box.  They have these people called sociologists who do this sort of thing for a living.

They do need to ask players who left, however it is vitally important to make sure the players who are still with them are happy.  Chasing after mythical players at the expense of the ones who are expecting a service results in losses like the NGE.  If the current ones leave, there are no funds to work on changes to bring in new players or make old ones consider returning.