Forums → Games → GemCraft CS: Let's talk about nerfs... (Peter, read this)

V1.0.7 - it is good one, current level system is for me OK.
V1.0.10 - I also hate that, it wasn't so OP that it had to be nerfed.
V1.0.12 - If I'm correct more games you play on specific field with this trait later shadows will appear. First game on some map with it I've got 90% 7 shadows in first 100 waves. It's OK, prevent SC farming on low-waves levels.
V1.0.14 - more important was nerf of prism cascade spark (no charge time decerase anymore). It was too big nerf for me, I think that now shrines charge time shouldn't incerase every use.
V1.0.16 - nerfing black is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Also venom shrines are pointless crap. They had to be nerfed, but it could be done better.

Yea, nerfing isn't a good way. Venom/blades combo had to be nerfed as it gived ability to kill everything regardless on its HP, OK. Black nerfing is pointless for me. Peter, can you consult updates with us? There are smart people too.

BTW: Peter, firerate isn't fixed. It's still capped but now by 4 per frame -> 120 per second.

Yeah. Peter I'll stop hating your guts if you make firing speed infinite, eg, no max on shots per second. That's the only thing keeping me from leaving, the tiny possibility of you doing that. :/

Also, about shrines. Gratz, you made TWO more shrines useless now.

See-

Scale- -100% useful = should be buffed until it's OP, 0% useful= needs large buff. 50% useful = small buff. 85% useful = just right, 100% useful = maybe make it less common...?

Leech shrine - HATE this one, its HORRID. You NEVER get more then you spend. EVER. Except with G1s. REALLY? -100% useful

Wisdom - Probably the best XP maker now, if only it didn't increase chargetime. about 25% useful

Poison - Utter bloody poop now, it sucks totally. Grade 11: Does 99K damage over 30 seconds. WHAT? My g11 does more than that in 0.5 seconds. LAME.

-1,000,000% useful(don't even have a category!)

Infection- Useless now that no one will get near end of endurance. Nerfed along with venom due to this.

-80% useful now.

Blades- Useless now that poison is useless(second shrine nerfed indirectly by 1.016)
-50% useful
Slow: 10% useful, only for very low levels.

Tear- Joke, earlier post of mine said it only tore 130K total(I think) w/ grade 24. on 3.5K monsters. -30% useful.

Gem Enhance - 60% useful, only good on grade ones.


Overall: Shrines need huge buff, 99.99999% of them really, really, suck. Only non sucky one is gem enhance. Which already got nerfed and can't appear from shrine scroll sparks, and only appear on 5-7 fields in the game. Isn't that LAME?

Was just about to play again but won't now. Am having trouble enough as is finishing a field with a one dmg tower on lvl 70... Don't need more nerfing

- V1.0.7: Wizard level capped at 10k. >> with all the nerfing going on with the rest of the game, even getting to 3000 is a grind; and 4000 is near impossible; and 10000 is NOT going to happen just like winning an endurance run..
- V1.0.10: Gem enhancement shrines no longer given by sparks (possibly)
- V1.0.12: Shadows called to the field by the Chasing Shadows trait may now be held off until the player is in endurance mode >> I understand the wisdom behind this change; to make it a little less complex and intimidating for lower wizard level players.
- V1.0.14: Shrines of Venom and Blades max power decreased and limited to 50% of target hp
- V1.0.16 (supposedly): Bloodbound no longer amplifiable (killed the game) >> TOTALLY. KILLED the GAME!!!

it seems there is another update:

now during a game suddenly the whole display disappears, no commando
icons, nothing. only a few seconds, but you should be prepared.

It's dark lady effect, it's here from 1.0.0 version. Not another update. We all come through it and even written about it -.-

In addition to the ones already mentioned, there's actually been a fair number of other nerfs that have also affected late game play. Below is a recap of all the changes I could find that would affect endurance play:

1.0.1
- Orb Damage removed
- Fury Skill Bonus XP decreased
- Enraging Bonus XP decreased
- XP Gain bonus from Talisman Fragment decreased

1.0.2
- Monsters/wave capped at 999

1.0.3
- Chain hit in trap cannot hit same monster multiple times
- Poolbound destroyed

1.0.6
- Corrupted Mana Shards capped

1.0.7
- Wizard Level Capped at 10,000
- Level scaling above 500 severely changed - making max level impossible
- XP and mana values drastically reduced on some items

1.0.10
- Enhancement shrines not given from sparks, and give smaller bonus

1.0.12
- Shadows Nerfed to crap
- Endurance buffed - monsters given 2% mana burn

1.0.14
- Shrines of Venom/Blades damage reduced
- Prism Spark

1.0.16
- Venom Shrines limited on top of previous reduction
- Bloodbound no longer amp-able

Now, some of these were quite game breaking. However, imo, Peter's done a really crappy job handling the nerfs. Instead of actually fixing these, he's either removed them entirely (orb damage), or nerfing them to the point of absolute uselessness (venom shrines).

Actually, I feel like "nerfed" is the wrong word for most of what's been happening here. Nerfing something reduces it's effectiveness. Making something entirely useless, or removing it altogether isn't nerfing - it's a knee-jerk reaction that comes from lacking a real solution to the problem. Peter hasn't been dealing with game-breaking issues in the game. He's been doing the opposite - avoiding the issues altogether by absolutely destroying the above-listed aspects of the game.

With all these changes, it seems like the main goal is to prevent players from reaching high levels. I can't come up with a good reason as to WHY that would be his goal, but the net result of the changes has actually been to prevent players from progressing.

Particularly with the Gemcraft series, the long-term replayability has always come from being able to push things to ridiculous levels. Instead of fostering that with Chasing Shadows, the majority of changes seem to have done the exact opposite - players who find ways to push things to the extreme are punished by having that aspect of the game nerfed, shortly after discovery.

This is why these changes are so upsetting - they directly go against everything the Gemcraft series has been up to this point. At best, Peter is unintentionally sucker-punching his long-time fans, and at worst, he's deliberately making his game less enjoyable.

TL;DR The majority of "nerfs" made to the game directly go against what Gemcraft fans expect in a Gemcraft game.

To be honest, the real nerf here is not to Black gems in Amplifiers.

Oh, no.

It is to any gem in a tower that has a high firing speed. I used to be able to handle 2k to 3k monsters on screen at once. Now, with a high level gem in a tower, the sheer number of shots slows the game to a crawl.

The other effects really just cause a radical shift in thinking (transferring the Orange/Yellow from your gems into the Amplifiers, and using mostly Black in the trap gem; how much Yellow/Orange is needed for the kill and mana farm gems?) but they do not break the playability of the game.

I don't tend to moan about other peoples work, but I completly agree with the above written. I don't know any shrine which could help me in late game, they are reduced to "look how nice, we've got shrines". And I don't even know, what this should be good for as there is no scoreboard...
I really hope that some of the nerfs are taken back, maybe I should clean one of my three 11675-slots and enjoy the old stuff.

This is why these changes are so upsetting - they directly go against everything the Gemcraft series has been up to this point. At best, Peter is unintentionally sucker-punching his long-time fans, and at worst, he's deliberately making his game less enjoyable.

TL;DR The majority of "nerfs" made to the game directly go against what Gemcraft fans expect in a Gemcraft game.

I have to agree with this here selection of text. When I first played Labyrinth, sure, it was a bit difficult, but it was enjoyable at the same time because it wasn't OMGWTHGETMEAWALKTHROUGHNOW hard.

This isn't the case with Chasing Shadows, now that black is not amplifiable.

I'm ready to simply quit the game and head back to Labyrinth.

To be honest, this is the very reason I asked that Peter take some suggestions from the fans...because now look at what's happened to the game. He's ultimately destroyed it.

it's a bit of an over-reaction to say that nerfing items that really only appealed to the hardcore players "destroyed the game". There is only a handful of people that any of these nerfs affect. Sucks for those of us that enjoy pushing the game to it's limits, but we are in no way a majority.

All that said, the fact that we can't amp Bloodbound seems really unnecessary. Venom I can understand - as it lets you kill anything regardless of HP. But the bloodbound thing seemed hardly game breaking.

it's a bit of an over-reaction to say that nerfing items that really only appealed to the hardcore players "destroyed the game". There is only a handful of people that any of these nerfs affect. Sucks for those of us that enjoy pushing the game to it's limits, but we are in no way a majority.

I would never refer to myself as a hardcore player, so there you go. I don't push the game to its limits or whatever. I simply play for the fun of playing.

And I still hate the bloodbound nerf, and I think a lot of other people do too.

BUG: Despite claims by the developer in today's update, X5 field is NOT fixed for endurance run with FULL traits. As soon as the gem was charged, the game ended. Here is the picture.