Opinion: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Game

Welcome back Explorers! This is the 2nd featured article today and this one was written by another one of our discord mods, CopperKiwi87. As we have written about before in previous opinion pieces, the game is a crucial point right now and people have always had various opinions about many aspects of it. Copper would like for us to step back and look at the game from a fresh perspective to try and learn how to love it once again. 

Dear Explorers,

            The holidays are upon us. It is always a busy time of year and one where we feel compelled to get the most fun out of everything we do, from celebrating the holidays, to office party's, to playing fun mobile games. And that last part is one I want to stress:

“Fun”

            It seems a great many people have some nagging issues with this game. People moan about every little change to DC; they either celebrate or lament the endless Boost sales; curse the RNG gods in battle while praying to them when fusing; and nobody likes shiny new creatures, fresh to the game, that aren't accessible.

            I agree, there is a lot to care about. A lot of complaining, or grumbling, to the right people, can actually affect change. But, I ask you, to take a step back, and look at things from the other side. Flip the coin, so to say, and see what it is like from the other side. And no, I don't mean the game developers. I mean the n00bs, the novice, the beginner, and so on.

            I recently started a baby account, so as to get a fresh perspective on the game, and one of the first things that struck me was that people in the JWA Community (especially our Discord and the Forum), were almost universally upset with the Thylacotator Hybrid Pursuit. Ludia didn't just blindly spin the wheel of hybrids and pick that one. One of its ingredients is Suchotator, which we ALL know to be one of the most viable builds in the game. It is one of the keystone hybrids. A Gatekeeper, if you will. In order to do well in this game, everyone has been through Suchotator, for however long it took to progress to the next level.

            But many people in the community, including myself, have been playing for a VERY long time. Some of us have gotten to where we are, progress-wise, through determination and skill, and others through persistence and teamwork. Me? Attrition. Seriously, I have been playing so long that I have seen players come and go, rage-quitting with each patch that brings change (Oh no, scary change!) to their play style, only to rejoin a few minutes, to months later, coming back to the game they love.

            Please, dear player, remember that. Ignore the DC's, and the boosts, the good and bad RNG, and remember that somewhere out there is someone new, just starting off, and needs to hear words of encouragement, of hope, . . . of FUN. You still love this game, we all do. It's a game where you get to dart and battle Dinosaurs! Remember this community, and this game can only grow with new players, new participants. If you are scaring them away with all your tubthumping, or hatred of something, they likely won't want to stay. Just try to recapture that feeling you had when you first started playing this game, when you didn't know better and thought Majundasuchus was super cool.

            Sincerely yours,

CopperKiwi87

We couldn't agree with CopperKiwi more and we sincerely hope you find something about the game that you love again. We know it's a tumultuous time for many, but ultimately it's a game and games are meant to be enjoyed. Make sure to join our discord to keep up with the conversation and all the JWA news. We can't wait to see you over there!