Deadlock makes big changes; still a MOBA

 A lot has been going on with Deadlock lately.  It recently became the most wishlisted game on Steam.  There were also a sweeping set of changes to how the game plays along with a revamped map.  Because while players are wishlisting the game players are also able to play the invite-only early access alpha beta testing version of the game.  Honestly, who a I kidding here?  The game is effectively a live game and its a MOBA.  And it's still a MOBA even after all of the changes that were made recently.  And to me that is a damn shame.

 First lets look at Deadlock's popularity since its invite-only test launched.  It rocketed up to 170,000+ peak concurrent players but has steadily dropped since and now enjoys about 17,000 peak concurrent players.  Considering it is a new game from Valve those are not huge numbers.  For comparison Valve's other MOBA, DOTA2, sees 600,000+ peak concurrent players and while not its absolute peak it is not far off.  DOTA2 also saw a steady climb from it's earliest test periods (i.e. there was no drop off as we are seeing with Deadlock).

Chart from SteamDB

 

 So Deadlock is on a downward trend in it's early access phase which makes you wonder if that downward player trend is resulting in the team reconsidering the design of the game.  With the most recent changes many of the gameplay aspects that set Deadlock apart from other MOBAs are being replaced with standard MOBA fair.  The map went from 4 lanes to 3 lanes.  Last hitting became more static.  Mobility and map traversal is reduced.  Basically Deadlock is more like any other MOBA that has come before than it has been at any point in it's early life.

 For me personally the biggest disappointment of Deadlock is that it still remains a MOBA.  Why is Valve making another MOBA?  The theme of Deadlock is fresh and new.  There are so many more interesting things Valve could be doing with that theme.  And so far it seems players are saying the same thing by voting with their playtime.  16,000+ peak concurrent players is nothing to sneeze at but its tiny for a Valve game.

 Maybe I have too high of expectations for Valve and bringing a new game to market that doesn't fit into their stable of existing genres.  Even so it still seems like a waste that the creativity behind Deadlock, it's world, and it's characters is just for another MOBA.  Maybe I'm just not like other gamers with my expectations.

February 25 In Review

February 2025 is already done!?

The Blog

Blogger stats for Feb: 40,187 (note: below graph includes March dates)

In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 0
• Posted: 3
• Difference: +3 (I was really demotivated in Feb so the fact I got 3 posts out is a win)
•  Search Trends
• "once human end game" (and its variations) along with "once human lea research lab" popped up this month and there was increased traffic to my August 2024 post: End Game Thoughts On Once Human: Finished LEA Research Labs
  
• "new world inferno build", "inferno build new world", "new world flamethrower build" keep on trucking as folks continue looking for builds for the Inferno artifact.  My out of date but mostly still relevant Frigid Inferno Build is where they often land.
• "new world PvP server" also caught some traffic directing 
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" continues with my post Best Battlefield!?
  

What I Played

For Feb it was ... wait for it... New World.  Shocker! I still love this game and still play almost daily.  The big change for this month was that a long lost acquaintance and a chance encounter in 3v3 arenas convinced me to try out the Season 7 PvP servers.  The selling point to get me to jump is that he could get me leveled up to 65 "in 5 minutes".  True to his word I was basically leveled to 65 in a few minutes thanks to being able to turn logs into ethereal dust which crafts into animus that you get 2,500 XP for opening.  So a few minutes at the crafting station and hundreds of clicks opening animus and I was 65.

There is also drop on death PvP gear that is easy to obtain (easy to lose as well) so I was geared up in no time (and then promptly ungeared with my first open world death).  And while I was max level with gear there were still some annoyances I had to deal with such as leveling my faction up to max level which requires me to finish the main story quest to access a specific zone. I am still working my way through that and enjoy the frequent open world PvP skirmishes since everyone is flagged and there is always the chance they are loaded with PvP drop-on-death gear! 

I also jumped into the Anvil Empires early access test and that game simply isn't ready for much serious testing consideration.

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

Feb of 2024 brought us Enshrouded and I enjoyed my time digging around that world.

My beloved Green Bay Packers once again exited the NFL Playoffs with a loss to the dreaded San Francisco 49ers.  Boo!

I was also in my very early stages of playing around with AI image generators.  Its a bit crazy to look back over the last year and see how much AI has changed.  I really need to take some time to share more of my AI dabbling.  There is some cool stuff out there.

5 Years Ago

Feb 2020 featured no blog posts.

10 Years Ago

Feb 2015 I felt obligated to post and so I did.

15 Years Ago

In Feb of 2010 I was playing Allods Online open beta and then had my launch reaction and then promptly started arguing about its plans for a cash shop.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was a hot game heading our way in Feb 2010 and still ranks as one of my favorite Battlefield games.  I spent time comparing it to Battlefield 2, talking about SecuROM DRM, and 

Some of us bloggers also challenged ourselves to try and make believe that Warhammer Online wasn't shutting down or going into maintenance mode.  Oops.

 Oh and I started the idea of posting regular monthly look back posts with my first "What I'm Playing/What I'm Paying" post that looked at the month prior of Jan 2010.  I must have had more free time back then; I played a lot more games.

 20 Years Ago

I started blogging in 2005 but not until May so come back in May for the big 2 0 extravaganza.

 

Playing 3v3 Arenas with PvP Server Gear and WINNING 1vX

 I made another New World Aeternum video; this time showcasing my new character "heartlessgamer2" from the PvP server Scalvia.  I just finished leveling to 65 and grabbed a set of the 725 "Swarm's Mighty" gear which is unique to the PvP server.  This is a great way to jump right to 725 gear score and jump into arenas.  I ended up winning against the odds 1v3 in the first round and we brought it home at the end for a great arena win!

 

New World's New OPR Map: Coral Divide

 New World's new outpost rush (OPR) map is available to preview this weekend so I gave it a spin and boy did I have some fun!  So much fun in fact I had to clip one of the matches where our team came back from 300+ points down to steal a win in the final moments!  Not only that but I scored first place! This new map is a ton of fun!

 First the video:

 I am playing my heavy sworld and shield/firestaff build with a key change to using Burnanator as my firestaff.  This thing BURNS; even after a slight nerf this patch.  It fits my playstyle perfectly!

 A screenshot of the scoreboard as well; 1000 to 986 is about as close as you can get in OPR!  I went 31 kills / 6 deaths / 61 assists.  Over 2.3 million damage!

January 2025 In Review

The first month of 2025 has come and gone; lets take a look back.

The Blog

Blogger stats for Jan: 21,700

 In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 22 (weekdays minus holiday)
  
• Posted: 9
• Difference: -13 (motivation, lack there of)
  
•  Search Trends
• "new world inferno build", "inferno build new world", "new world flamethrower build" have been gaining momentum since New World Aeternum (NWA) launched thanks to my build post: Frigid Inferno Build.
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" continues with my post Best Battlefield!?
  

What I Played

For Jan it was more New World.  I just can't stop playing.  I enjoy the game and play almost daily.  I cycle through the same activities: play the in-game market, queue up for 3v3 arenas, and then queue for Outpost Rush.  Once a week I venture off into the FFA PvP zone for my golden coconut.  Some call it boring and repetitive; I call it just plain fun.

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

January of 2024 brought us Enshrouded and I enjoyed my time digging around that world.

My beloved Green Bay Packers once again exited the NFL Playoffs with a loss to the dreaded San Francisco 49ers.  Boo!

I was also in my very early stages of playing around with AI image generators.  Its a bit crazy to look back over the last year and see how much AI has changed.  I really need to take some time to share more of my AI dabbling.  There is some cool stuff out there.

5 Years Ago

In January of 2020 I was putzing around with a mono black devotion deck in Magic the Gathering: Arena.  If memory serves me it wasn't exactly competitive but it caught some folks off guard every once and a while as its a nonstandard way to win a game.

10 Years Ago

In January 2015 we received the announcement about Guild Wars 2's Heart of Thorns expansion which was the first expansion for the game and piqued my interest.

15 Years Ago

In January of 2010 we were beta testing Allods Online.  I am sure my younger self thought it surely would be the World of Warcraft killer (narrator: it wasn't).

Star Trek Online was entering open beta as well. 

And we were all enjoying Avatar in movie theaters.  I really didn't want to like the movie but had to admit it was a fun movie.

 20 Years Ago

I started blogging in 2005 but not until May so come back in May for the big 2 0 extravaganza.