ok, not what was said at all..... never said anything about quitting because of the upcoming set.



well.... I will do what I should of done long ago and delete my account, sorry for causing problems, and being vocal about what I do/did not like. I guess the designers are untouchable and should only be praised like gods. all hell breaks lose is you disagree with them publically so, I will go lol. have fun tyrants and despots.

I think it's OK to voice some dissent - I think there are a couple of pieces that shouldn't have had rapport (Poggle the Lesser and Captain Panaka of Theed), although they both slipped through in the first couple of sets. I think it's also been noted that the design team themselves aren't unanimous about a bunch of things. But I think the process is working well, and turning out really good sets and v-set 5 has raised the bar again IMO.

I'm humble enough to realise that I don't know more than the combined intelligence of all the v-set designers and play-testers, and neither have I matched the hard work they have done. In general they've done an amazing job of broadening the scope of the competitive game - the game is in far better shape than where Wizards left it.

I think the design process does need to be centralised, as there does need to be some overall pattern to the direction each faction takes. If it's just people submitting customs, then I think inevitable in the long run each faction will end up losing its flavour and the game will get homogenised. There is much more opportunity to suggest ideas and playtest than there was when Wizards ran the game.

Well maybe it could just be 2-5 custom pieces: Desogned by blank, just like Rebel Kyle or new Jango in S&V. I know the design team is better at designing, but maybe this could help. By the way thanks for all your work. It might seem like I've been complaining or arguing a lot, but I'm just trying to help improve stuff, sorry if I seemed angry at times.

Often, when certain pieces are designed, they are intentionally made to be a bit over-the-top at first. Then playtest reports show what was too strong or extreme about the piece, and those things are trimmed down. This method tends to produce pieces which are both interesting and fun. I could give specific examples from V-Set 5 (as I was one of the Designers) to show where playtest feedback led to significant changes in the pieces. Luke GH is a good one: he's clearly been one of the most popular pieces of Set 5, and he went through a PILE of changes, with lots of input from playtesting.

This is especially the case when designing pieces for a certain strategic role. If the Designers recognize that a certain strategy or mechanic is becoming overpowered in competitive play, they'll sometimes make an intentional counter for it; the thing is, in order for the counter to have an impact at all, it has to actually be cost-effective for its purpose, or else it won't get used. This kind of piece is always a tricky one to design, because we don't want to create a new broken piece, but we also have to make it effective enough to serve as a real counter. These pieces need extra-careful playtesting, and the Designers pay very careful attention to these playtest results.

As we've always said, the playtesters have a *very* important and valuable role in set design, and the Designers DO listen. Seriously, if you're a playtester, then prove your concerns via solid playtests and the Designers will respond. It is NOT an adversarial relationship between playtesters and Designers...it's a symbiotic relationship.

So, in an attempt to help get this thread back on-topic, I want to send this simple message to playtesters: If you're serving as a playtester (or considering it) for V-Set 6, then please rest assured that your work is valuable and it makes a difference. Just make sure to send in your PT reports promptly, and also make sure that they are "good" playtests...that is, a solid squad vs another solid squad, rather than a solid squad vs a mishmash of pieces. If we have enough people doing prompt and solid playtests, we'll see fewer and fewer pieces that drive people crazy.

Are playtesters still needed for set-6? If not, can I get on a list for set 7? Now that I have my own collection, I'd love the chance to help with the v-sets in any way I can, and I'm very opinionated with things like balance and such. I would provide as accurate feedback as possible, and, while it may not be a HEAVY amount, it wouldn't be a LIGHT amount. And, no, at this point I'm not on a path of world domination, and I'm not trying to get on the design team. In a few years, that might change (if this game is still in v-set production, but as of now, I've not been to any tourneys or such, and have only recently gotten into the game, about 18 months ago), but as of right now, all I want is to help in any way I can, namely playtesting.