Free Coven weekends might actually hurt the game

[Bodhrak]

Do free Coven weekends actually hurt the game?
I have no statistics for this, but here is my reasoning.

1. It gives false impressions of the game
During free weekends all Coven modes will fill up quickly as players want to try them out, but usually some modes will be dead or will take forever to will up outside of "peak hours".
While this isn't bad for sales, it can lead to players feeling deceived, giving bad reviews or quitting the game entirely.

2. It highlights Covens problems
Coven has many problems. Some have to do with a lack of balance or some roles feeling lackluster in certain modes. Some have to do with more roles solely relying on RNG.
VIP for example is a mode that can easily be ruined by a single player making bad decisions. During free weekend this is often the case, as new players have no understanding of the mode.
Having these problems so exposed may lead to players thinking Coven might not be for them or be simply unbalanced and RNG-heavy (which it might be).

3. Classic modes might suffer
Obviously a lesser problem, but during the free weekend classic modes like Dracula's might not fill up, as most players want to play the limited thing.

[Roarstrum]

I agree. Lobbies for the regular game have been notably slower because everyone is flocking to coven, which I totally understand, but it can be quite frustrating to be sat in a lobby for a long duration, made even longer by the fact that people get impatient and leave because of the wait. Normally, games fill up quite quickly, so I agree this could give a false impression.

Also, this is just personally, but now that I've had the chance to play Coven for free, I now know that I have absolutely no interest in buying it, whereas before I might have considered it at some point when I had the money just to see what it was like. That obviously might not be the case for a lot of people, but I know it's definitely a buy they won't be getting from me.

[Achilles]

I agree. Lobbies for the regular game have been notably slower because everyone is flocking to coven, which I totally understand, but it can be quite frustrating to be sat in a lobby for a long duration, made even longer by the fact that people get impatient and leave because of the wait. Normally, games fill up quite quickly, so I agree this could give a false impression.

Also, this is just personally, but now that I've had the chance to play Coven for free, I now know that I have absolutely no interest in buying it, whereas before I might have considered it at some point when I had the money just to see what it was like. That obviously might not be the case for a lot of people, but I know it's definitely a buy they won't be getting from me.

Can I ask what specifically you didn’t like?

[id10ts]

Suggestion.

Remove free coven weekends - the appeal of buying coven is to bypass trolls etc, which doesn’t work when everyone and their mother can go there.

Instead, maybe let people use merit points to buy a pass for a game, or even coven itself. Then it’s optional, still exclusive, and something you have to play seriously for a bit to be able to do.

[shapesifter13]

We are already working on a ticket based system to get a few free games of Coven.

[Roarstrum]

I agree. Lobbies for the regular game have been notably slower because everyone is flocking to coven, which I totally understand, but it can be quite frustrating to be sat in a lobby for a long duration, made even longer by the fact that people get impatient and leave because of the wait. Normally, games fill up quite quickly, so I agree this could give a false impression.

Also, this is just personally, but now that I've had the chance to play Coven for free, I now know that I have absolutely no interest in buying it, whereas before I might have considered it at some point when I had the money just to see what it was like. That obviously might not be the case for a lot of people, but I know it's definitely a buy they won't be getting from me.

Can I ask what specifically you didn’t like?

It's not so much that I disliked it, I did find it quite fun when I played it during the free weekend, I just found that I didn't like it enough to consider buying it after the free weekend ended. I don't think there's a problem with Coven as a whole, it just didn't grasp my attention enough to warrant a purchase at this moment in time.

[shapesifter13]

Isn't this really better as people get an idea of what they are buying, and will be happier with their purchase? It may mean we make less money in the short term, but it will likely mean better reviews, a happier user base, and users that are more likely to refer the game to their friends.

[jyutta]

I bought coven. I enjoyed it since it was mostly troll free. I mostly play on weekends. Guess what. Not enjoying coven anymore since its filled with trolls, gamethrowers, ppl harrassing eahcother. Sure, there are always some. But during free weekends it just gets too bad. I don't see how free weekends would make anyone buy the game since the people during free weekends in coven are the worst.

Aka; this is not what I paid for, please give me my money back or remove free coven weekends.

[MarvelsTheFixer]

No, I do not think so. A lot of this just sounds like you hating on noobs, but after enough free coven weekends this supposed "problem" would sort itself out.

The original ToS game has points where it will lull as well. It is a game lobby that works the same as any other, I think the fan base is smart enough to realize that it would not be that way all the time.

Coven does not really have that many problems, outside of Ranked...and there will always be arguments Coven or otherwise over how Ranked should be run because, honestly, with a game like this the Ranked versions require a complete overhaul like every couple of months.

As for Dracula's, that one might actually be a legitimate gripe as I had no idea that even existed. Perhaps better advertising is needed to curtail that problem.

[jyutta]

A lot of this just sounds like you hating on noobs

You just... didn't read my message at all. It is ok to make mistakes, it is ok to be new. It isn't ok to spam, use words which will get people banned (at some point at least), harrass people, leave just because you got coven and "coven never wins", as town working against town, or as coven telling the roles of the other coven to all players. Many times my lover has killed me on lovers mode. Many times coven has just left in vip. During. Free. Weekends. It happens more then. Way more. Im aware that some of this happens during the weeks too. BUT. It is just so much worse during free weekends when they let the trolls loose to coven. One thing Im liking is the shorter waiting times for games, but... the amount of trolls. Maybe at least require some play time or something before letting people enter coven at all.

[MarvelsTheFixer]

I was talking to OP. I don’t care about your message.

but it can be quite frustrating to be sat in a lobby for a long duration, made even longer by the fact that people get impatient and leave because of the wait.

It is unlikely that anyone who has actually bought Coven goes back and plays in the regular game lobbies because Coven custom can still provide that experience for them if they want it. That being said, that doesn’t really have much to do with Free Coven weekend because people will stop playing the regular version after they purchase Coven anyway, unless they get banned. Especially with the free version and Coven being given the same value by BMG, there is almost no reason to even play the original version anymore if the Coven expansion is available to you. I don’t really know why you’d want to play the regular version on free Coven weekend anyway.