A little status update, and a reflection on the past.

[Vinkera]

Do you know what really important date is coming up?

If you said... "Duhhh... AO's anniversary!" Well, yes, but that's not what I'm referring to.

Tomorrow, it will be exactly one year ago that NT's were nerfed. I can't really describe in words the anger and frustration I felt. Many NT's I knew quit, and so did I... almost. I have to give credit to my old org, Carpe Diem. They convinced me to stay, and I'm glad I did.

For those who don't know, what I'm referring to is when Detonation Matrix was replaced with the, then incomplete, Garuk's Improved Viral Assault. It required the caster to have 3000 MC or higher, and was comparable to Izgimmer's Last Word, in terms of how bad it was originally.

To add insult to injury, the previous Game Director even inferred that we deserved to be nerfed. While motives are up for anyone's own interpretation, we felt the situation was rather malicious on her part. We were given an adjusted version of GIVA, and it felt like table scraps. The damage figures on it were pathetic.

A few months later, Mastablasta stepped down, and all hope looked lost. A rather lighthearted, yet concerned, thread emerged suggesting anyone would have to be crazy to accept the NT Professional position now. I received a possibly random nomination. (and to the nominator, I hope I've exceeded your expectations.) I can imagine as I took this position, no one's mind was at ease. No one here knew me, and I honestly didn't know any of you, either.

18.7 testing brought us hope, and I commanded threads dedicated to each incremental patch. There are pages and pages of posts working out ideas, suggestions, and alterations. Many hours and months of our own time went into 18.7, and boy did it pay off! Again, to all who participated in 18.7 testing, thank you so much! We really did work together to finally set so many problems with NT's right.

As things are right now, I see many players finally able to enjoy their NT's as I hoped. There are some minor tweaks we had to make to set a few bugs right, and more to come soon. In regards to recent PVP complaints, we will be making some changes to tone things down a tad. I'd invite the Non-NT's among us to keep their comments on that topic to themselves, but also NT's to hold their complaints. I know how a lot of you feel about it, but the topic has created a very toxic and unhealthy attitude between players, and something has to be done about that. Like it or not.

Will we be facing a similar situation to the DM nerf? No, not as long as the changes are properly worked out between Michi and myself. I'm not able to go into any details at this time, but I'll still take suggestions on the matter. I'd prefer to get them either as PM's here on the forum, or /tell in game. Even if I'm offline. I read every /tell I get. I'm not interested in more discussions that degenerate into petty and pointless arguments, and for the most part, you'll just have to trust mine and Michi's best judgment on this.

But, all that sour stuff aside, we've come such a long way from a year ago, and I'm glad I have been here to see it and be involved in it with you all. As I see 220's now, we're in great shape, and my future concerns are focused more on 1-214. There's still a lot that needs to be done there, and hopefully over time we can start to see some things I want make it into the game to make, not just 215+ fun, but 1/0/0 all the way to 220/30/70.

Going into, what I'll now call, "Nerfday" anniversary, and AO's anniversary, I hope you're all still having a great time, and I wish everyone happy Nomad hunting! It's been a pleasure to be your Professional, and I hope you can look back on the past, and feel proud of where we are today, but also ahead to hopefully a continued bright future.

Thanks again, and continue to have a blast! :P

[Nanofat]

Yeah; the DM nerf was what made me retire from AO this time. Most players have a selection of characters; but I'm just my fat technician - so you can imagine how disappointing it was not only to be nerfed; but to have it suggested that I deserved said nerf.
Though! I had hope; I've been NT long enough to know that we're frequently getting the crap kicked out of us, yet persist and recover. I just chose not to suffer through this one as I had previously with the Absorb nerf and the release of LE nukes then GTH :P
I still hope one day to return; sadly though I went and found a social life out here in the real world so my Cyberdeck is going to remain firmly on the shelf for now. All you guys and girls are always in my notum-infused heart though.

Also; I'm glad to see you're steering the profession well through it all Vinkera; keep at it.

[Vinkera]

Thanks for that!

When I took the Professional position, I gave my word that I would do everything in my power to be sure we're treated right. Now, I'd say we're looking good, but there's certainly more to do.

Next on my punch list is getting something together for lower level NT's. We're not much of a damage profession before Garuk's, and something should be done about that. I've sent Michi specifications on what I want, and been poking him about it. With everything going on lately, I think he hasn't been able to find time for it yet.

Hopefully he frees up some in the near future, and we can get insight on what he's thinking.

[Demoda]

Doing a cracking job! Keep up the good work!