What is your opinions of the reason why Naraka has less players

[Abbeyabbiebaby]

I am a new game researcher in a game consulting company, my job is collect players' game experiences and opinions and trying to figure out what is happening in this game.( I mean not only Naraka game, like any games I got).
So I am trying to understand why people play less Naraka now, I'm not a Naraka player myself, but I watched some live stream and videos abt it, it looks fun to play, it seems like people disappointed, if you are interested share your opinions please leave your comments here, it will very helpful. Thank you.

[Howl]

I played from beta, Loved the game but the cracks show. My reasons.

Hero Balancing is horrible
Aggressive and overly expensive cosmetics (In a b2p game that has loot boxes and a battle pass???)
Time gated content (PVE and other modes only available on weekend?)

THE BIGGEST REASON
Ping abusers from other servers and constantly fighting Chinese players every match, this wouldn't be a problem if every time you fought them it didn't feel INSANELY unfair. Ill probably get hate for this part or people saying "skill issue" or some other nonsense but that is just the reality of the game, I have played hundreds of hours and every time the above reason is why I quit playing.

[It is my CAT]

Has less players compared to what?

The closest to Naraka is Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and that game is pretty bad gameplay and amount of players wise.
We can't compare Naraka with usual "battle royal" games such as ARMA mod, PUBG, Fortnite, Apex... They all are shooters. No rocket science here. Players just need to kill others from distance. But if we take Quake Champions or unfinished Unreal Tournament, where skill required - these game very unpopular.

Naraka with close combat system force people to think, analyze opponent. In this regard it closer to usual 3D fighting games such as Soulcalibur 6, Dead or Alive 6, Virtua Fighter 5 or Tekken 7. All of this games sold well enough (more, than one million of copies for every game for sure, Tekken is best here). But online population of these games fall dramatically after few months. So now most of fighting games devs/pubs support game only 2 year (season passes, new characters...). For example, Tekken 7, the most successful and popular 3D fighting, sold 10 mln copies. But if we look at online numbers - there are 2000-6000 players online and PC is the best platform for Tekken. Also keep in mind, that some players have game copies for all platforms. So it can be, that one person have 3 copies of game (PC, PS5, Xbox). And it doesn't mean, that he even play competitive online at all.

So... When the game launches, sales and player numbers are high, but after 2-6 months we will see a huge drop in player numbers. For example, in Soulcalibur 6 this drop was insane after 2 months (from +-6000 to 800).
Fighting games are considered a niche game genre in general. And so Naraka is also close to it.

Also, Naraka is even more difficult because there is a lot going on on screen and a lot in the game (leveling up characters, leveling up weapons, unlocking skills, unlocking passive skills and upgrading them...). Most people are just overwhelmed with all these things + activities/events.
And also there is no good training mode and a visual explanation of what you will see on the main screen.

As for the visual explanation - beginners need a special mode where one playable character (or all of them) will explain all these tabs and menus. (How to check seasonal quests, how to check your profile and change your avatar, how to invite a friend, how to upgrade your character...). It should be as easy as if you were doing it for a monkey. And you should be able to start this mode at any time.

Another thing is training. It's just not enough. It's okay if you need to defeat simple bots. But there is no information on how to deal with experienced players. And in general, it does not show the game properly.

I spent 40 minutes in the lobby for my friend to show him "advanced" things - how to move fast, dodge types, basic combos, cancels, etc.
I showed him a completely different game, as he told me)

The best training mode was made in Dead or Alive 6 (aka DOA Quest - in addition to basic tutorial/character training and free tutorial), which has a lot of special missions (100+) with explanations and rewards. So players better understand what to do and why.

The training mode for Naraka should include material from high level players. So the players will practice and be able to fight with experienced opponents.
The best example how it can be:
https://youtu.be/K6JZV3obM18
https://youtu.be/edUbKLwQsvI
This should be implemented for all characters and weapons in a playable way.

Right now, humans after defeating some bots will end up fighting veterans, which will kill them very quickly.
For example, a beginner might have blue armor and lame weapons with a few Souljades equipped. Compared to a veteran with golden armor and an epic or better weapon. Not to mention, a veteran can beat a rookie even while wearing lame armor. Combat experience is more important than equipment.

Another thing is the current season. He has nothing to offer the old characters. New male character... I don't know, I don't care about male characters in any game. And so are many other players.

What else... We don't have a normal campaign mode where all the characters will have their own stories. Every fighting game has a story mode. Most of them, of course, are rubbish, but they help people understand the characters better. Speaking of characters, there is no trial period for characters either. Thus, players cannot try and understand which character they want to play. To play the new female character, players must earn 12,000 silver or pay real money. For new players who want to try out Feria Shen, this can be disappointing.


So:
1) The right training regimen to help beginners fight against experienced ones.

2) Demo mode to explain everything in the game.
3) Something to keep players from dying too fast. Maybe reduce combo damage (damage scaling is common in all fighting games).
4) Better season, that will offer something for more characters. It was a pretty bold decision to make the whole season just for two new characters.
5) Company mode, which will explain the history of all the characters.
6) Trial mode for all characters.

[Lord Beckett]

In this game, in my opinion, the number of players has not changed. As at the start, no one played it in the morning / afternoon, and now it is played only in the evening (Moscow time 17:00-20:00). At any other time, it's just a dead game. CN servers are not available, but they are exactly what this game is online. After the censorship of booba (no more segs), 2-3 thousand left, but nothing has changed and has never changed before.

[Valravn]

You know you can ask a question about a game without pretending to be a 'new game researcher'.

[雷电]

Game developers can permanently block purchased games at will. Permanent injunction
随意封禁玩家购买游戏，永久封禁。并且没有客服可以申诉

[It is my CAT]

Originally posted by SAM:

Game developers can permanently block purchased games at will. Permanent injunction
随意封禁玩家购买游戏，永久封禁。并且没有客服可以申诉

客户服务: [e-mail]
看起来这些禁令对中国玩家来说是个问题。我没有看到其他玩家的抱怨。

[Rob Halford]

Weapon and characters are not balance in my opinion. I am at the Platinum and most of time 80% of players using dagger right now, it's very annoying. I rarely see Viper Ning and Justina Gu in game as well. Matchmaking for solo take 5-8 minutes, Duo around 2-4 minutes, Trios around 2-3 minutes in SEA sever which it's very long compare to other mainstream Battle Royal games. Apex Is the fastest matchmaking and it's the state that Battle Royal game should be for me I mainly play on SOLO and 5-8 minutes is not good. This is a nearly dead game for sure less people = long matchmaking, no people = forever matchmaking.

[Krwawy^^]

B2P is not helping at all.

[JamieLinux]

Originally posted by Krwawy^^:

B2P is not helping at all.

So is smite, and it still is pretty popular. Trust me go try and play smite without a god pack.

[seiko]

Originally posted by It is my CAT:

Has less players compared to what?:murasame_smile:

The closest to Naraka is Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and that game is pretty bad gameplay and amount of players wise.
We can't compare Naraka with usual "battle royal" games such as ARMA mod, PUBG, Fortnite, Apex... They all are shooters. No rocket science here. Players just need to kill others from distance. But if we take Quake Champions or unfinished Unreal Tournament, where skill required - these game very unpopular.

Naraka with close combat system force people to think, analyze opponent. In this regard it closer to usual 3D fighting games such as Soulcalibur 6, Dead or Alive 6, Virtua Fighter 5 or Tekken 7. All of this games sold well enough (more, than one million of copies for every game for sure, Tekken is best here). But online population of these games fall dramatically after few months. So now most of fighting games devs/pubs support game only 2 year (season passes, new characters...). For example, Tekken 7, the most successful and popular 3D fighting, sold 10 mln copies. But if we look at online numbers - there are 2000-6000 players online and PC is the best platform for Tekken. Also keep in mind, that some players have game copies for all platforms. So it can be, that one person have 3 copies of game (PC, PS5, Xbox). And it doesn't mean, that he even play competitive online at all.

So... When the game launches, sales and player numbers are high, but after 2-6 months we will see a huge drop in player numbers. For example, in Soulcalibur 6 this drop was insane after 2 months (from +-6000 to 800).
Fighting games are considered a niche game genre in general. And so Naraka is also close to it.

Also, Naraka is even more difficult because there is a lot going on on screen and a lot in the game (leveling up characters, leveling up weapons, unlocking skills, unlocking passive skills and upgrading them...). Most people are just overwhelmed with all these things + activities/events.
And also there is no good training mode and a visual explanation of what you will see on the main screen.

As for the visual explanation - beginners need a special mode where one playable character (or all of them) will explain all these tabs and menus. (How to check seasonal quests, how to check your profile and change your avatar, how to invite a friend, how to upgrade your character...). It should be as easy as if you were doing it for a monkey. And you should be able to start this mode at any time.

Another thing is training. It's just not enough. It's okay if you need to defeat simple bots. But there is no information on how to deal with experienced players. And in general, it does not show the game properly.

I spent 40 minutes in the lobby for my friend to show him "advanced" things - how to move fast, dodge types, basic combos, cancels, etc.
I showed him a completely different game, as he told me)

The best training mode was made in Dead or Alive 6 (aka DOA Quest - in addition to basic tutorial/character training and free tutorial), which has a lot of special missions (100+) with explanations and rewards. So players better understand what to do and why.

The training mode for Naraka should include material from high level players. So the players will practice and be able to fight with experienced opponents.
The best example how it can be:
https://youtu.be/K6JZV3obM18
https://youtu.be/edUbKLwQsvI
This should be implemented for all characters and weapons in a playable way.

Right now, humans after defeating some bots will end up fighting veterans, which will kill them very quickly.
For example, a beginner might have blue armor and lame weapons with a few Souljades equipped. Compared to a veteran with golden armor and an epic or better weapon. Not to mention, a veteran can beat a rookie even while wearing lame armor. Combat experience is more important than equipment.

Another thing is the current season. He has nothing to offer the old characters. New male character... I don't know, I don't care about male characters in any game. And so are many other players.

What else... We don't have a normal campaign mode where all the characters will have their own stories. Every fighting game has a story mode. Most of them, of course, are rubbish, but they help people understand the characters better. Speaking of characters, there is no trial period for characters either. Thus, players cannot try and understand which character they want to play. To play the new female character, players must earn 12,000 silver or pay real money. For new players who want to try out Feria Shen, this can be disappointing.


So:
1) The right training regimen to help beginners fight against experienced ones.

2) Demo mode to explain everything in the game.
3) Something to keep players from dying too fast. Maybe reduce combo damage (damage scaling is common in all fighting games).
4) Better season, that will offer something for more characters. It was a pretty bold decision to make the whole season just for two new characters.
5) Company mode, which will explain the history of all the characters.
6) Trial mode for all characters.

at its core it is still a battle Royale . Compared to apex legends and Fortnite ,Naraka is garbage at best

[It is my CAT]

Originally posted by Jade Raven:

at its core it is still a battle Royale . Compared to apex legends and Fortnite ,Naraka is garbage at best

I found Apex extremely boring and Fortnite more like woodcutter simulator. Guess, just not for me)

[RemedyPlays]

All the things mentioned above apply, but I'd also like to add alot of players in the west were angry about Naraka having outfits and such censored recently and chose to left after they were offered to be refunded in game currency for purchases later. It left many players disappointed and disgruntled.

[It is my CAT]

Originally posted by turabo40:

All the things mentioned above apply, but I'd also like to add alot of players in the west were angry about Naraka having outfits and such censored recently and chose to left after they were offered to be refunded in game currency for purchases later. It left many players disappointed and disgruntled.

Players need to understand that developers are censoring their games not for fun.
It's usually "do as the SJW wants or leave the region". Since Naraka wants to be popular in the West, the developers/publishers will accept the terms. It was similar with DOA6, now the game pretty much dead anywhere. But in the case of DOA6, there were too many other mistakes.
I know of another Chinese game with a melee combat system where the clothes a lot more provocative and "open") . They just don't care about West. Of course, the game is much smaller than Naraka.

[KanashiPanda]

they took out the jiggle mechanics for all the female characters... i love the game but... seeing Yoto bounce while i was beating ass made me fight harder.

[It is my CAT]

Originally posted by KanashiPanda:

they took out the jiggle mechanics for all the female characters... i love the game but... seeing Yoto bounce while i was beating ass made me fight harder.

I think they can turn this "feature" on/off in the game menu with the default setting being Off. It can also be adjusted according to the dress.