D&D General How much do you care about rule change specifics?

[Micah Sweet]

Does this then mean that you reject WotC's survey data in general as being unrepresentative?

I suppose I do at that. I just don't see how it could be with the way they seek respondents compared to the general player base.

 

[Zardnaar]

I just bought a 2014 today.

I would buy whatever the players want to play.

 

[Zardnaar]

Does this then mean that you reject WotC's survey data in general as being unrepresentative?

I wouldn't reject it but put a * beside it.
If they're only using D&D beyond anyway.

There's also a DM shortage. A poll woukd probably get more players. So you get something popular in polling (9/10 kids want candy) coukd backfire.

Conjure Minor Elemental for example made it through playtesting. Probably because few people play the levels where it's potentially broken.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

Conjure Minor Elemental for example made it through playtesting. Probably because few people play the levels where it's potentially broken.

MANY people reported this spell being completely bonkers, and needing to be nerfed, including prominent Youtubers. It "made it through playtesting" because WotC knew it was busted and didn't see a need to change it

 

[DrJawaPhD]

I suppose I do at that. I just don't see how it could be with the way they seek respondents compared to the general player base.

Playtest responders are definitely a tiny sliver of a minority of DnD players. In my experience, the majority of DnD players don't even know what Wizards of the Coast is, much less keep up with daily news about the game.

The purpose of the surveys wasn't to make game design decisions based on the opinions of a representative sample of the player base, it was to gauge whether the ideas they were planning to implement would cause massive riots or whether they would go over relatively well. As far as taking a temperature check on whether their ideas would go over well, they surveyed properly by asking the section of the player base most likely to have strong opinions (and most likely to make those opinions known)

 

[Micah Sweet]

Playtest responders are definitely a tiny sliver of a minority of DnD players. In my experience, the majority of DnD players don't even know what Wizards of the Coast is, much less keep up with daily news about the game.

The purpose of the surveys wasn't to make game design decisions based on the opinions of a representative sample of the player base, it was to gauge whether the ideas they were planning to implement would cause massive riots or whether they would go over relatively well. As far as taking a temperature check on whether their ideas would go over well, they surveyed properly by asking the section of the player base most likely to have strong opinions (and most likely to make those opinions known)

They should probably explain that the purpose of the survey isn't actually to survey the player base.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

They should probably explain that the purpose of the survey isn't actually to survey the player base.

Why? They don't owe us any explanation. They put out a survey, feel free to respond if you want your opinion to be collected, or ignore it if you don't care.

It should be self-explanatory that an online survey of far less than 1% of the player base is not intended to survey the entire player base

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why? They don't owe us any explanation. They put out a survey, feel free to respond if you want your opinion to be collected, or ignore it if you don't care.

It should be self-explanatory that an online survey of far less than 1% of the player base is not intended to survey the entire player base

I don't know...still seems to me the common understanding of the purpose of a survey being subverted isn't "self-explanatory".

 

[Lanefan]

Yeah that's to be expected though.

Personally I'm expecting a more 2E trajectory. Could be wrong.

Covid peak may have been a suger rush.

I don't subscribe to D&D doomerism but the peak may be over and jury is still out on 5.5 ultimate reception.

Given that 2e's trajectory led to a crash landing that nearly killed the game, the two bolded statements would seem to clash.

 

[Lanefan]

Does this then mean that you reject WotC's survey data in general as being unrepresentative?

Largely, yes, starting in 1999 and continuing still.