[Detective100]

Guess I'll put my own two cents on this:

1) Maybe getting a bit off topic,but since it is connected to conflicts, I'll bring it here:
I believe that captures, and being jailed needs to have a better set of rules. As it stands, the only "legitimate" way to break out of jail, is through full frontal raids, which aren't always desired by both sides, with sometimes the captured person not even being important enough to motivate his side to act. 
I am bringing this up, because when it comes to potential self-breakouts, it is generally impossible to get out by yourself. Speaking as both someone who was captured, and among those who held people captive on their side, I'll say this:

The rules about being jailed are vague and almost non existant, where it doesn't even matter if you have a collar on you or not (Such is the case of a demon getting the "cage is made of Tyrium" reasoning as to why she can't escape, or no answer at all, from my case).
I understand that being captured generally means game-over to many people, and being too forgiving can make the whole point of capturing people moot, but still: There should be strict laws about this. 

When the rules are vague/unclear about such matters, we run the risk of making players feel their cases were done unfairly, with verdicts being given differently depending on the person and the admin handling it. Sure, there has been at least one attempt made by another that was proven successful, using witch hexes (which I am glad was allowed to happen, I should note). However, this brings up the problem of different verdicts being given: If the cages are made out Tyrium, wouldn't it make sense that the witch would have been unable to use her hex?

For the record: This isn't about critizing past verdicts involving captured people.  This will just get us into debates that will lead nowhere. What I am suggesting is more clear, definite rules about captured people. Be they harsh, or lax, they'll at least be more standardized between each captive for all sides, and would be more fair overall.

With that out of the way, back to the others:

2+4)Mapping isn't really my area of expertise, so I can't say much. However, I should bring up your feedback about possibly bringing custom building back. If they do get added, then the map should be big. At least, big enough to allow multiple people to attempt building their own places, rather than end up not having enough space left for them all. That is at least my opinion on the matter.

3)First of, allowing people to fully respec a certain magic tree once they get a new one that needs an app like occult/holy sounds good to me. Needing to do events so that you can clear up the RPP needed for the new magic you attained is mostly just a hassle. They can't be blamed for wanting a full respec too, since unlike the other trees that are avaliable from the get go, you need to get the dev to unlock those magic trees, while potentially still be capable of fighting should conflict arrive. Meaning, you'll end up taking a different tree in the meantime until you get the tree you want. 

On those occasions, I agree wholeheartly in giving people the ability to fully respec one tree.
As for those that want it, in an attempt to redo their build... I believe players should be allowed one full respec for their character throughout their life- Mainly to help the new players, who pick trees more out of thematic reasonings than build reasons, and end up having a build that doesn't suit them, or spread all over.
Still, I can't help but be hesistant about it. As someone noted, this might be abused by people to switch to a different tree, the moment theirs get either nerfed, or a different magic gets buffed in a way that makes them want it more. At least, if it is something that is only allowed once, it would be less abusable, and players generally will think hard on this decision before going through with it.

5)We are walking into controversial territory here 
The way the situation is, as far as I can learn about hiddens, is that you need to "show an impact" on the story. 
Before I continue, I should say that in my opinion, hiddens should indeed be an ability that should generally be more powerful than what you can normally get without an app, as a form of reward (Though, they shouldn't become OP incarnate), and I am going to treat hiddens like they are such abilities/buff when I discuss them. With that out of the way, let's continue.

There are two main obstacles for someone that hasn't made an impact yet to go through with it, in my opinion:
1. At the front line, generally it'll be those already on the high end in RPL, and with hiddens on their side as well (sometimes being two hiddens for a character, too). Unless you are in raids, where the battles are organized around the opposing side's RPLs, you'll generally end up fighting those same powerful fighters, who have gotten strong enoug to where only very few can match them (And among those, are people who have gotten their hiddens together with 100% RP rebirths/character apping).

Even in raid, though, there are two problems: 1.1. The battles are set around RPL, but not around hiddens, so someone without any hiddens can end up fighting someone with multiple ones. This is a problem that is much harder to resolve than some people might think. It is one thing to set people up according to their RPLs, is is another thing entirely to try and set them up according to hiddens as well. It is a much more grey area where, should hiddens be taken into account as well, you end up matching people based on their builds as well, which can just cause more problems.

1.2 Even if you two end up in raids, they could end up not being considered good enough to ''make an impact''. Unless you end up with a cap kill, raid battles seem to be looked at as more of "how many won", rather than who won. A victory or loss is looked at as more of a +1 to one side, rather than an impact made by those who fought. Could be wrong on this, but this is how it looks to me, when I notice that the fights that happened at the raids are generally forgotten and unspoken about, with only the result of numbers being the one that matters.

2. As someone pointed out, being unable to scene lock when fighting inside cities/settlements can make trying to do impact on the story much harder. You may be able to walk in to enemy territory, and find a match where you can actually win to make that impact, but then you'll end on the risk of getting chased by those on the stronger side as discussed at problem (1), making the attempt possibly trivial with you getting permed/captured/killed.
I should point out that while I am putting it as a problem, I still believe that fighting inside settlements shouldn't be scene locked to avoid such retaliation. It made sense back when it was a one-city RP, less so when the game changed to incorperate multiple factions. Fighting inside a settlement should be a much riskier endeavor, rather than ganking someone you know you can win, and then dip out.


One possible solution, is to help those who at least try: Even if they fail, that their losses should still be counted as an attempt to make a difference. As milly said, to reward those who do step up to the challenge, even if they might lose. There is a feeling in the community that I noticed, where one has to ''win'' to get stronger, but I do not think this should be the only way if this is indeed true. There should be growth from losses, as well, from all sides.

[Milly]

I do wanna point out when I realized there weren't Crellus in the swamps I went ahead and fixed it. Uploaded my changes already so hopefully it'll be in an update soon. :)

Additionally @ Detective -- you don't have to win fights to get hiddens. On my past characters they usually never won a single fight, fyi. It's all about telling a story dude.

[Detective100]

I do wanna point out when I realized there weren't Crellus in the swamps I went ahead and fixed it. Uploaded my changes already so hopefully it'll be in an update soon. :)

Additionally @ Detective -- you don't have to win fights to get hiddens. On my past characters they usually never won a single fight, fyi. It's all about telling a story dude.

Hope you are right. The problem with a word like "impact" is that can be very subjective. In fact, it is the very word that was used in my app. In fact, it is the opposite for me: "Nice story, not enough impact."

Mind you, my post is indeed based based on my own experience, since it is the only thing I can see when it comes to apps. Can't be helped if it might look biased that way 

[Jetniss]

If you're going to let people build custom, cutting down the size of the map is bad. I used to use a lot of the unused regions of the map for scenes gathering and meetings. The only thing about it is that it's a chore to get to those places, and there's nothing keeping me there. If I can build something there, then that space is valuable because it's more room for more people to do more things.

Comments on: War--
War should have consequences, but I think there's much bigger issues with wars on Eternia. Fundamentally speaking. There's little agency to it, and tons of stakes. I'll just say wars are lame because it's just a battle simulator where everything is on the line. There's no tactics, no strategy, there's the few admin-nuanced opportunities that aren't clearly explained and is usually exclusively done by veteran players or staff members (that often is perceived as some special boon to some favored player/group), there's no choices to be made. You show up, admins make all the choices, you fight. If someone was lucky enough to get an actual working war idea involved -- See Moonfall's fog of the underworld stuff that (though they had 2 admins), had some effect that most outsiders didn't know about, cool. But more often it feels like you'll get syndicate'd (where your elusive and disguise traits, traps, and greater knowledge of the underground) results in absolutely nothing but fluff to the battle sims that you can't even control on your home-ground. It's not a fun experience.


Annnd...
And I wish a lot of these ideas/realizations would've come up sooner in E3-- or at least listened to when proposed by different community members who already mentioned this kind of stuff. Good luck!

[Volatile]

As far as scene locks are, I think if you haven't posted by the time conflict intent has been stated, and your first RP in the scene is a flee/pursue roll, you should be counted as not within the scene. Otherwise all the dramatic buld up and tension of that scene can be ruined. And in my case with Blake, can result in the death of the character.
Should've taken Nerin or Marisol... Woulda made more sense for either of them not to be cap 3.
SWEAT
PERSONAL VENT ASIDE...
If Person A came into Moonfall to fight my Demon and Person B was literally just... watching until a flee roll popped by person A when my Demon attacked? I'd be hella pissed. Person B, who was just watching, doing nothing to contribute to the scene, should not be allowed to pursue, or to interact with the scene no matter how strong or weak the ally was, if they didn't even post or have a dot up before Person A tried to flee. It cuts out the tension. And even if I was on their side I'd be like 'dude really?'
Scenelocking casual situations in settlements, outside of homes? No bueno.
But scenelocking conflict should always be a thing.
Once hostile intent is stated no matter where you are, scenelocking should be default.
It makes going against the opposition, attempting to be 'huhu shneaky' not possible. It makes minor antags not be able to be minor antags and build up their rep.
It makes it impossible for any good guy trying to go and sneakily slay a witch/Demon after comming out an inviso pot, impossible.
It makes taking a character whose a relative nobody becoming relevant without lurking in the shadows of others and riding their coat-tails far more difficult.
But they don't have the ability to scene lock, dev rivalries, build proper nemesises... Nemesi? What is the plural for this? IDK.

Wars should have some sort of home field advantage. There should be the ability for winners of their battles, if seeing their allied captured, have the right to fight and attempt to prevent capture of an ally. There should be special magical abilities that leaders can enact in times of war where their troops morale is increased or decreased. Adding a bonus to AP or DR or something to their allies. Chaos and Order Magi in Spires used to have a buff like this. I think Chaos Magi could buff their allies AP by 5%? And Order DR by 5%? Maybe pre-war preparation should allow an faction to get small bonuses in this regard, or nerf their enemies slightly. Something, anything to make feeling like Defending your home has home-field advantage.
Because it doesn't exist.

War may be 'fairer' when fight re done one on one, but there should be some home field advantages when defending your territory.

[Detective100]

Comments on: War--
War should have consequences, but I think there's much bigger issues with wars on Eternia. Fundamentally speaking. There's little agency to it, and tons of stakes. I'll just say wars are lame because it's just a battle simulator where everything is on the line. There's no tactics, no strategy, there's the few admin-nuanced opportunities that aren't clearly explained and is usually exclusively done by veteran players or staff members (that often is perceived as some special boon to some favored player/group), there's no choices to be made. You show up, admins make all the choices, you fight. If someone was lucky enough to get an actual working war idea involved -- See Moonfall's fog of the underworld stuff that (though they had 2 admins), had some effect that most outsiders didn't know about, cool. But more often it feels like you'll get syndicate'd (where your elusive and disguise traits, traps, and greater knowledge of the underground) results in absolutely nothing but fluff to the battle sims that you can't even control on your home-ground. It's not a fun experience.

Bolded what I agree with, here. There isn't much wiggle room for tactics, strategies, and the like. At least, not without hopefully getting an approval from admins for certain scenes. Want to employ hit and run tactics? Too bad, they took out smoke bombs. Want to break someone out of jail stealthily? Either you happen to have a man from the inside of the guild that should have the keys, or too bad, you have to do a raid.

The syndicate is an interesting example, which I believe I once pointed out before: It has less value now that there are multiple factions, but back when it was a one-city RP, the disguises that would have been a must were scarcely given. Meaning that instead of being able to rely on striking and then returning to the shadows, you either had to not do anything at all, or risk doing something while you don't have a disguise, and then be hunted across the one hub of roleplay. (Case in point, Rosalie, who had a mask during the raid on the syndicate, yet because she didn't have an in-game disguise, she was found out because someone "recognized her voice.")

That is to say, there -has- been at least one case of a successful win through strategy and deceit, but that was still reliant on the whims and willigness of the admins to allow it in the first place. 

Part of why I want more definite, clear rules about most things, so that we'll be able to know what actions we can do and then set proper plans, without worrying that such plans would be foiled on an admin's decision on the matter.
A relatively recent example of this is the attack of two knights on a demon by moonfall's gates, where an admin stepped in and said that a scene-lock does not seem reasonable when done in such close proximity to a settlement. A decision that while I agree with, I still have to admit that it was another case where a certain group thought that they can make an action (In this game, attacking someone and then booking it), only to be negated by an admin's decision.

Now, the knights did manage to still win, and walk away mostly unharmed   . Still, this is another example of why I believe we need clearer rules, especially during times of war.

Sure, some addition of certain rules in the future I'll might disagree with, but at least they'll exist    .

[Koden]

5.
More leaders, less followers. If someone is: Making posts in the IC forums, causing visible impact, has a group of followers or is a part of a group, and is active on most days, empower them. This can be done with hidden spells or even just direct communication/guidance, but it does more good than harm to lift someone up (within reason) who is ticking all the boxes. 

I think it is awesome that you are taking the feedback people gave into consideration, but people have been saying these exact things on this forum and on the spires forum since before the game went down. The vast majority of the players that could have been leaders and the experienced veterans that were leaders in the past don't want to give it a shot anymore because they see how impossible it is to do things/get support/get apps through if you aren't a member of the staff or someone very close to them. Or in some cases, a very cute female character.

Some people have been handed out hidden magics already, and it worked out well for them. others had to fight and scrape and claw to get what they had, and even then it wasn't really enough to go toe to toe with the people they are meant to stand against to make a grand story. I think that if your plan is to hand out things, you need people who are actually paying attention/closely monitoring the RP people are doing, and not just the group/faction that they rp with.

I walk around the game sometimes looking for scenes with the people that used to make the game really fun for me, only to realize that they are (mostly) long gone. And the ones that are still around really don't have the motivation to play a consistent character.

So my question to you, Chance, is why did it take so long for these realizations/recommendations to get taken seriously? why did we wait until so many people stepped away from the game to publicly address these issues and look for serious solutions to them? Do you honestly think that making these changes this late will bring back all of the players the game lost? Or bring in new ones, when coming into esshar as a new player is incredibly difficult?

I really hope it works out. But if it doesn't, I hope you are able to take a step back and reflect on where things went wrong by seeing the perspectives of the players who felt like they just couldn't enjoy themselves on eternia 3.

[Ravenette]

1.
Organized conflict needs to have a beginning and an end, rather than fizzling out - previously, it has done so because the other side was perceived as being too weak and that felt unfair in the moment, but this isn't good storytelling. Defeating another faction should have direct consequences and a set number of battles that are hosted regardless of circumstances, unless the war is called off ICly. Never stop short.

Map changes / removal of spawns, or in Osrona's case, the destruction of districts and/or heavy damage to them. Visible change and player impact is important and it needs to show, because that's half of the fun in a game like this. Gathering the group and the momentum to make that change should be the only challenging part, other than the IC resistance. I think we have struggled a little with factions not going all the way or slowing down half-way through, but it does need to be made clear that end-game goals are possible (because they're quite literally the most memorable moments from Eternia / Spires) and that any plot armor is minor at best. 

2.
The map, as is, is much too large. Half of it is giant forest filler. A smaller map with iconic, recognisable areas would be good (& a return of Spires' region descriptions). To accomplish this, we really need more people than just Milly helping with mapping, and maybe we need to do some things to encourage people to mess with the tools (a guide on mapping? A contest?). The map editor is better than it's ever been and it's very easy for someone to add a headquarters for their group, spruce up their house, etc etc. It's a bit of a shame to not see it be taken advantage of.

3.
Refunding openers shouldn't be an event reward, since I've seen a lot of these requests pass through and they feel a little menial / chore-like. If someone takes a different path IC, such as holy magic/occultism, then they can have the option to re-spec a tree. If someone has royally screwed up their build (and this is plainly obvious) then an admin needs to give them that option. The same extends to stat points. Flexibility is fine so long as the reasoning is good enough.

4.
More dynamic, sandbox-y features wouldn't be terrible. Custom in-game building, crafting stations, camp fires, tents, chicken coops / barns, etc. I think things feel a little more organic when you have this, but it needs to be done in a way that meshes well with the map. Maybe not a super big deal, though.

5.
More leaders, less followers. If someone is: Making posts in the IC forums, causing visible impact, has a group of followers or is a part of a group, and is active on most days, empower them. This can be done with hidden spells or even just direct communication/guidance, but it does more good than harm to lift someone up (within reason) who is ticking all the boxes. Also, encourage people to DM / speak to an admin about their goals some way, since that line of communication really does help and experienced advice and suggestions go the distance.

1---
While this is a fair point overall, you defeat yourself by talking about presence and the importance of being able to participate on it's own.  Instead of allowing other people to take positions of power within the various factions, the same people possess power within multiple factions, which not only OOCly makes it feel like the only real conflict is purely OOC, but also encourages people to believe they CANNOT ever be given the ability to take part in conflicts like that.

More than that, you've also showcased that plot armor is very much a thing.  More than that, beyond a smattering of instances, the truth is that the most "power" often lays in the hands of those the people already in power side with, because- as noted from the beginning of the game- almost everyone has swapped sides while continuing to play whatever side of the conflict they want to win.

Realistically, as an actual piece of feedback on this point, I would recommend or request that "power positions" be limited per forum account/player.  I realize this is difficult to enforce, but it's also something that needs to be enforced, because it will:

1.) Enforce people playing a character to completion rather than simply swapping sides with their mood.  It's both bad IC and OOC.  Which this game is already rife with, when we have people in control of multiple factions and making it feel more like clique-warring rather than actual RP.  Obviously, I'm only one person, but I would ask most "How many times have you refused to join an IC organization because of who runs it?"

Because the answer for me is "every time."

2.) Allow new blood to thrive in the game rather than butt out any new players to the game.  I started playing the game in this "era", and I've honestly struggled to get any real enjoyment out of the game, because at most, you have your own clique- group of friends, etc- to run around with.  I know when the game first launched, the numbers were much higher, and they reached a record low before the release of demons, and- at this point- I can't even make a guess-timate about the actual amount of real players and those just multi-keying or who are just alts.


2---

Fully agree.  While it would put more weight unto the App team, why not allow people to do map sections and then have an approval process for it?  A simple solution to app team stress would be to add more to the App team, as- as far as I understand it- there are people in the community that could be trusted with more specific roles like that.  Of course, I admit I am biased, and love world building.  If I understood how to do it via the map editor, I would build areas for people happily, because I actively enjoy that stuff.

3---

My issue here is that Blackout potions were a thing, and then they were removed.  Referring back to my response to point two, I feel like that would put more pressure upon the App team to make it necessary to just app for a removal.  From what the text describes, you used to be able to refund things yourself, and I question why that was removed.  If it was because of abuse, I feel it's necessary to note that abuse will happen regardless.  However, amongst the people I've been around, most DO see it as a chore and irrelevant.  However, as a counterpoint:

Perhaps it's time to take a look at the magic system as a whole, and- instead of encouraging nerfs- perhaps begin encouraging buffs?  Obviously, a fight shouldn't feel like rocket tag, but there is a notable difference between BUGGED trees, and trees that are simply "strong".  I admit, I don't have the system know how to make a detailed analysis- and from what little I've played of the game (often without being the meta build, as I personally enjoy thematic builds rather than focusing on what's strong at the moment) most of the trees I've played haven't suffered anything beyond the nerfs to Unarmed, and the bugs that made it nigh on unplayable.

In my own experience, the tree I loved playing the most with was Time- both because of it's nature fluff-wise, and because it's a Tree that is very particularly attuned to an aspect of gameplay I often lean towards- so I've only ever really been on the side-lines studying how the nerfs and buffs affect people.

I meandered from the point a bit, but OVERALL I agree- but I would suggest perhaps either:
A.) Make refunds refund -EVERYTHING-.  It will be more of a pain for people who just want to make slight adjustments to their builds, but it will also allow less of an issue for people who have either outright fully messed up their builds, or who simply want out of a tree.  Obviously, I don't know how viable this is, but it's my immediate thought.
B.) Restore Blackouts / make an item that makes you forget all of your spells.  Less pressure on the app-team, gives Crafters an item to create as something of a "cushion" for coinage, since most crafting at this point is limited to perm boosters, or requests, etc.

EDIT: If the issue is that people can just Blackout/etc into a fight, give them either a nerf of some kind to make it unviable, or make them literally unable to RPB someone for a given amount of time. That's just my first thought, though.

4---

Returning to an earlier point: Make a "Builder Team" or something, where people can put in either fully-fleshed out designs, or make requests of people who CAN use the map-editor.  From what I understand of stories about Spires (as I didn't play it myself, and only have word of mouth to go on), the issue was that people abused the system.  That's a given due to the very nature of people on the internet, but punishing the majority for the actions of the minority leads to tyranny.

That said, also as stated above, that kind of thing flicks my DM switch and makes me want to map out areas and the like.  Part of my enthusiasm for the Demons was my desire to make a full blown demonic church in Theria, and I even had one (poorly) mapped out in paint before my enthusiasm for the idea was murdered violently.  So, overall approval, with what feedback I -can- give.

5----

And now I reach the greatest point of contention, and where I'm likely to begin to froth at the mouth.

If you want people to be more active, to showcase more presence in the game...

PLEASE ACTIVELY RESPOND TO PLAYERS WITH QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS.  Right now, it feels like speaking to a brick wall to approach any of the admin/mod team- or, worse than that, like a gun is put to your head if you have an interesting idea that you want to implement.

Right now, it feels like- unless you are a notable player from the old generations- no one will review your apps.  No one will respond to your DMs.  No one will pay attention to your forum posts.  And in no way am I saying that I've suffered terribly from that, as I admit I stepped away from the game with the release of the Demons because I had a vision for what I wanted to do with them, and that vision could not occur.

I will attempt to keep this feedback impersonal, as I do not wish to come across as whinging, rather than wanting to make the game better- playable- even.  But, first and foremost, it's important to remember that people have lives outside of this game- and some can't even play it that much.  So, rewarding people who are ALWAYS ON is a slippery slope.  I understand that part of the idea is to meter rewards, but the problem overall is that currently-

That doesn't occur.

Comparing someone who has the ability to play consistently, day in and day out, almost like a robot, versus someone who can only play maybe two hours in a day save for their off days- is going to encourage the playerbase that either work at home, don't work at all, etc.  When I had far more free time, I was able to enforce my presence on people, and- even then- I felt like if I had to put in an app for something, I really didn't need to bother because I wasn't playing a character that rotated through the admin/mod circle.

Which is a disheartening feeling, when you play a character you love and end up feeling like your only way to progress is being blocked because you can't get a response out of someone.  I've even felt targetted, even though I know no one actually knows who I am because-

I actively stay away from the ones in control of the game, because it feels like pulling teeth to even get a response to a DM.

Perhaps I'm not the target audience of this game, however.  I can say, however, that as a new player it feels like a very unwelcoming community.  You put heart and soul into something, and your reward for it is to be ignored-

Or worse, targeted.

I may not have experience on the whole with the Spires community, but I've been a Roleplayer for over twenty years, and- while I can assure you- a great deal of the issues inherent in the Spires/Esshar community is endemic as a whole to RPGs, I can also say that there is one that can be corrected a lot more easily than you can in most other games.

TL;DR
Talk to your playerbase.  And if admins and mods aren't going to listen to feedback, respond to player queries, or try to make the game enjoyable for the playerbase?

Close it down.  Let it be your own personal sandbox.  Because all you're going to do is hurt feelings.

But, hey, I'm just a new player.  Throw my two cents in the wishing well, if you want.  I want to enjoy the game, I want to play with people, I want to make friends, I want to write stories that will be shared amidst groups just the way everyone in my friend group talks about the fun times they had in Shards.

I want to be a part of someone else's story.  I want to be the villain they can't forget.  I want to be the romance they would call poetry.  I want to see a world develop and change because someone said one of the most powerful phrases in Human languages:

I have an idea.

[Chance]

5.
More leaders, less followers. If someone is: Making posts in the IC forums, causing visible impact, has a group of followers or is a part of a group, and is active on most days, empower them. This can be done with hidden spells or even just direct communication/guidance, but it does more good than harm to lift someone up (within reason) who is ticking all the boxes. 

So my question to you, Chance, is why did it take so long for these realizations/recommendations to get taken seriously? why did we wait until so many people stepped away from the game to publicly address these issues and look for serious solutions to them? 

These aren't any ground breaking realizations or conclusions I've come to, and I don't think that's really implied anywhere, but moreso a thought spiel that I'm just writing down while hoping for some useful food for thought (and have to an extent pointed this particular point out in past posts). We've also always been looking for solutions and improving since day one, so I don't really think that framing is fair. It may not be apparent to you in particular, despite the host of structural changes and tweaking of the game to figure out what works (factions, map, events, magic, administration, etc etc), but it's a constant process that's always happening.

As for your specific criticisms, I think the application process is okay as is since it provides different admin perspectives (but could always be quicker, and we do get overwhelmed easily), although maybe it would be best not to focus on it as much and have people submit a summary of what their character has been doing + possible boons as a reward? Something a little lighter. Being a cute girl probably won't help your application, considering who votes on these? And being close to a staff member does help, but I don't think it's essential either since the moderators as a whole do go out of their way to point out promising characters. It's fairly easy to get noticed in a small community like this I think, but the hard part is figuring out your own direction afterwards, even if you do have people complimenting your writing and wanting to roleplay with you (we should assist more here, somehow, but not necessarily in a handhold-y way).

And while I'm sure others might disagree, the real issue with Eternia3's enjoyment levels was the slow start & structure. Very slice of life-y, nothing to do for a good month or so vs. the chaoticness of previous games. That kind of continued, too, where wars died prematurely due to circumstances or didn't really lead anywhere, and it was easy to lose interest. Huge map, difficult to encounter people organically unless at a city spawn. Those are the true problems: the administration is arguably far better than it's ever been in every way, from ensuring fairness to processing abilities, to making sure a-helps are dealt with, not that there aren't areas to improve on (but acting like it's the main cause is insincere imo; it's certainly the easiest to put blame on while frustrated).

[Chance]

...

It sounds like your biggest issue is being ignored, and I'd like to find out what the source of that is exactly. I don't see any interactions between us on Discord where I've specifically been asked questions, and I don't see many posts from you in the Discord server, either. Your applications all received a swift reply besides the noble one, from what I can see.

Maybe it's in-game / admin helps? In that case, it's often better to stick to the Discord if it's a lore related question or something that might take some time to handle within the game. I'm very curious as to how and why things are going wrong for you regardless and the specific exchanges that made you feel neglected, if you'd assist.