A New World Rises - Vindictus Changes [NA]

"Welcome to the New Vindictus. Welcome to a world beyond."

The times they are a changin' in Vindictus

Directly from the desk of...Zoltar, Vindictus Community Manager, More Changes in store for Vindictus NA...

This is a big one. Zoltar has posted a message indicating seemingly drastic changes for our world. A post entitled "A New World Rises" was added to the forums.

It reads like a memo, describing things to come, touching on major aspects of the CHANGE but remaining as ominous as ever, the message did manage to include a semi-official statement on the significance of the "new logo".

Click to read Zoltars Message

It seems that we will be getting a "sexier and sleeker" Vindictus coming with the new forums (thank gawd) and that the ingame in experience will also be changing... 

Whoa...whoa...whoa...Personally, I'm not sure what exactly to think about that part. I'm all for "good" change, but watering down the game is not something I'm up for.  While that MIGHT not be what is being indicated, I can't help but think about all those constant complaints on the forums. As loud and comprehensive as some of those complaints are there is good reason to avoid listening to them.  In fact, caving in to the majority of those would be bad for business. Ironically, I wrote a spoof article on that a few months ago called "This Isn't the Game You Want".

Though Zoltar was rather ominous in the pronouncement of change, he did try to correlate the new logo to the change and describe how they felt it embraced the Celtic lore that resounds throughout Vindictus. This connection is a bit late and probably should have been delivered with the initial message to avoid the rollout reaction, but is appreciated none the less.  

I can say I most definitely am up for actually improving the game and player experience, both the little and big things without watering it down or catering to only one type of player. 

As someone who gets excited about any type of change from a business perspective, I'm especially intrigued as to what Nexon has in store for us and more importantly - how they handle the transition.  

Zoltars message can be read below and includes the following highlights.

Changes covered include:

• New Logo/Rebranding
• New Forums

In game Experience

• Combat
• Battle EXP
• Character Selection Screen
• Rebuild of the Monetization system...from the ground up

...I'm reserving my official judgement until we receive more about these changes "in print" and they become actualized. There is no sense in speculation right now but we'll be watching closely and providing some insight (and scrutiny) in the "Focus on Quality" segment.
______________________________________________________________________

Zoltars Avatar
(Stribog)

Posted by Zoltar, Vindictus Community Manager - Nexon [NA] [2:26 PM PST]

As you may have noticed, Vindictus now sports a new logo, both on the Nexon Launcher and in-game. Astute players may have noticed that the logo, inspired by the same Celtic mythology Vindictus is based on, features the goddess Morrighan at its center. This attention to detail not only shows our appreciation for the game's lore, but the direction we are taking Vindictus in the future. We want the style, look and feel of Vindictus to match the brutal combat and dark world players have come to know and love.


To that end, we are improving the in-game experience in addition to the new logo, new art, and new brand image. From technical changes that will improve the combat and battle experience to a more streamlined character selection window, we're implementing changes that will improve your Vindictus experience across the board. We're also redesigning our game forums to provide you with a deeper, more immersive, and more enriching community experience. More details on forum changes will arrive later this summer.

In addition, we're rebuilding the monetization system from the ground-up. We hate the label "pay-to-win" and want to ensure that Vindictus is fun for all. This is a work in progress, and we’ll have more details for you on our new shop system in the coming months.
Though we know change can be scary, we believe that ultimately these adjustments will better reflect the true spirit of Vindictus.

Welcome to the new Vindictus. Welcome to a world beyond.
- The Vindictus Team

New Mobile Game: Durango

Brought to you by What!Studio and Nexon, Durango is a survival MMO set in the wilderness. Watch the trailer and check out that NAME DROP 23 seconds in!!!

Its sort of  really nice to see Vindictus being used to publicize new games - we still need some specifically for us though.

Strange Traveler...Mysterious DevCat

Read on for some other juicy news about DevCat.

The game is still in its early stages so not much is known.  Durango is set in the past and I'm talkin' way back - yup, the prehistoric era.  Back when the girls wore denim jean shorts while hunting for berries and the men rode dinosaurs as they shot them with harpoons...wait what!?!

Nexon NA: Min Kim Appointed Chairman AIAS, Vindictus on Display

Nexon sporting a Vindictus background

Today Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) announced changes to its Board members including the promotion of our very own Min Kim as Chairman. The news also brings some exposure to Vindictus - the worlds best free to play action MMO.

Congratulations Min Kim!

The AIAS Board is composed of 15 volunteer directors, each of whom are leaders and trailblazers in their field.  AIAS is looking to the new Board to bring keen expertise from each of their respective fields to help advance the mission of AIAS projects and initiatives.

But that's not all. This is also great news for Vindictus. Check out that Nexon logo....Vindictus is prominently displayed on the AIAS press release as the backdrop for the Nexon logo.

Could this be another sign of change in the air?  Could Nexon really start advertising Vindictus more frequently? Could we, dare I say become the flagship of the NA branch?! Stay tuned, we'll be watching.

Update May 24

@VindiTrixie thank you! Really honored to be a part of it.
— Min Kim (@5toVe) May 24, 2014

To find out more about AIAS and the changes to the Board, please visit their site: Interactive.org
Keep reading for a Min Kim throwback...

Vindictus: May 2014 Patch Notes [NA]

Hero Rocheste Raids

In the world of Vindictus, the summer months are a brief moment of relaxation for mercenaries. It is the only time of the year that the rains truly cease, and be it the increased heat or sunlight, something makes Fomors and other monsters less likely to emerge from the dank holes they call home.

Karok has taken this opportunity to hone his pillar into a weapon of even greater power. He'll need his Karok Revamp because the new Hero Mode Raids make even the easiest dungeon a true challenge.

No longer harried by monster attacks, the townsfolk of Vindictus have started to host carnivals, fairs and other events to celebrate the warm weather. Take part in the month long Golden Time Event or participate in Monster Bingo.

Read on for more details...

Vindictus Receives New Logo

Change is in the air over at Vindictus [NA]

Friday, Nexons North American action title, Vindictus unveiled a new logo that sent shockwaves through its playerbase. Players were led on a scavenger hunt spanning several hours of hunting for clues revealed on Facebook, Twitter and the NA Forums.

 The effort was led by Zoltar - Community Manager [NA], feeding the clues directing the crowd to put together the puzzle. Piece by piece the tension built, excitement boiled and players were intrigued as they attempted to "Unravel the Mystery".

Once the final piece was in place, my fellow Vindiers processed the news...

Vindictus is getting a new logo. 

Nexon Reveals New Vindictus Logo

Change is in the air over at Vindictus [NA]

Friday, Nexons North American action title, Vindictus unveiled a new logo that sent shockwaves through its playerbase. Players were led on a scavenger hunt spanning several hours of hunting for clues revealed on Facebook, Twitter and the NA Forums.

 The effort was led by Zoltar - Community Manager [NA], feeding the clues directing the crowd to put together the puzzle. Piece by piece the tension built, excitement boiled and players were intrigued as they attempted to "Unravel the Mystery".

Once the final piece was in place, my fellow Vindiers processed the news...

Vindictus is getting a new logo. 

Dragon Nest Warrior's Dawn Official English Trailer

Dragons
Nest
Is
Getting
A
Movie

It actually looks pretty dern good. This exciting revelation is sure to give their game a player boost and should mean great publicity for Nexon and other Nexon games...like Vindictus!

The movie is set to be released in 3-D and expected to hit the US in late Summer/early Fall.  I think I might watch JUST to make sure they threw in some of my favorite dance emotes in there :)

Part 2: Nexon Promises to Focus on Quality: Q1 - Strategy and Vindictus

Nexon has promised shareholders to renew its focus on quality this week as its first quarter results show revenue and profit growth have slowed.

Part 2 - Strategy and Vindictus

Part 1: Nexon Promises to Focus on Quality: Q1 - Financial Results

Nexon has promised shareholders to renew its focus on quality this week as its first quarter results show revenue and profit growth have slowed. What will this mean for Vindictus? Pt 1 of 2.

The Mahoney Era: Going after Whales

Nexons new CEO, Owen Mahoney talks about Free to Play games and his vision for expanding Nexon in the West.

From the Re/code interview : Free to Play is Not What You Think It Is:

[Q:] Re/code: What's the first step toward finding a better foothold in the West?

[A:] Owen Mahoney: We think there's a couple things. We're going to make immersive games that are properly done free-to-play. Free-to-play does not mean trick your customers into paying you money or give them something that is potentially free or supposedly free but, in fact, in order to really enjoy yourself, you have to pay money. That is not free-to-play. 

Going after whales is a fundamental misunderstanding of what that really is. Our objective is to bring really good, immersive, synchronous online gameplay to the West. We have to have an infrastructure, an operating team that can execute that as well as we do in Korea, China and Japan, and also we have to have the types of IP that really resonate with Western users.
---------------------------

Hopefully his vision will sink in on Vindictus quickly. Its a good vision even it isn't exactly what his operational support teams are putting out into the world.


We hope he's got his drill bit ready because the North American branch has some work to do.  The NA version of Vindictus hasn't exactly been operating under a best practice, Customer first mentality putting them far from this vision.  There have been more than their fair share of instances that have led to player dis-satisfaction - more than I care to count. They include massive bannings for "just" playing the game, lack of communication on everything from outages to events, erroneous mistakes (you can almost count on an Event notification having at least one mistake), and a Customer Service team that flat out does not seem to care about us as their customers (burnt out or not) - they can use a lot of work.

Here is to looking forward though. 

We are absolutely looking forward to toward any potential changes that might come from his leadership that trickle down and improve our game.  We're specifically hoping that Vindictus Production Managers - take a real honest look at those enhancement and enchant rates, drop rates, P2W events (and gachapons) and other "stuff"  that can be fixed to fit into the mold a bit better.

I'm sure we are willing to continue to deposit funds into the Nexon Piggy bank if the game were changed so that one did not have to depend on these things or even have them at all. There are other offerings that would probably make more money and leave us as players, feeling more fulfilled in the long run - like Dye Ampoules for Outfitters. <hint, hint - nudge, nudge>

I'd love a return to the "normalcy" that we used to have when we could pay for "fun, pretty and non-P2W" items instead of things that should be achievable by normal dedicated players. I would also personally like to see us have the service quality that EU does. Their Customer Support team is impeccable - they are both seen and heard and its a refreshing change from the laid back attitude of NA.

Read the full Q&A with info on the Westernization of Nexon here:
Free to Play is Not What You Think It Is

Meet Your New CEO, Owen Mahoney

Owen Mahoney, CEO Nexon

This just in Re/code is reporting that Nexon has promoted Owen Mahoney to the helm as  CEO (Chief Executive Officer and President). The change is set  to take effect given shareholder approval at the March 25th meeting.

Owen Mahoney is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrator. He has been with Nexon since 2010 after leaving EA where he was the head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Development.  A major achievement for Mahoney was ushering Nexon through its 1.2B IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange back in 2011.

But wait there is great news. Mahoney is indeed an American.  Originally from California, he will be the first American to lead the company.  His vision for the future seems to include a passport back to his roots where he intends to extend and solidify the companies holdings.

"I and we believe that there is a huge market opportunity in the West," Mahoney said. "And the industry is moving in our direction, which is online, synchronous free-to-play games."

I definitely dig the fact that he's an American and wants to see Nexon do better here. Hopefully this will be the much needed change we've been desiring.  As our previous CFO, he already has an understanding of the company, where we are - what works and what doesn't to make the game profitable. Hopefully his desire will translate into support and guidance for NA.

Read the Re/Code article here: Nexon Names New CEO: Ex-EA Exec Owen Mahoney
Follow the forum discussion: Meet Your New CEO
Check Out Credentials via Crunchbase: Owen Mahoney

Ode to Zinyden

ODE TO ZINYDEN

Ziny is one of our GM's over in NA. 

I absolutely love Ziny to pieces.

Ziny

 I guess you could call me a fangirl...

WHY ZINY?

Well its not solely because he has great taste in fashion.
Nor is it because he's got a great sense of humor.
Its not because his Hurk is the sexiest thing on the server (but it helps).
Its because he's awesome!

"Ziny" joined our support team at a time when we needed it the most.

He came to the forums and began answering questions and fixing things

His responses were genuine and factual...and he's FUNNY

He didn't feed us a bunch of nonsense but got right to the point.

My favorite line of his - "You mad cause you bad."

More importantly - he did what he said he was going to do.

I had a rush of bots on my channel and within minutes of posting about it on
the forums Ziny went to action. He showed up on my channel, watched the
bots run their scripts and hung out with the Inner Sanctum crew a bit.
While this might be par for the course in most games - in Vindictus (at that time) it was not.
Seeing a GM was almost as rare as having spotted a Leprechaun. 

Within the week bots were gone from the server.

This provided us with some stability to enjoy our 3rd Anniversary events.

Subsequently, illegitimate gold prices rose the highest I've ever seen them (that's a good thing)

Zinydens continued presence is a sign of support from Nexon.

The combination of he and SamoSam was a much needed and awesome change.

As long as he's there, I know there is someone behind the scenes doing it right.

 Zinyden - I salute you, thank you for being around.

~ Ode to Ziny ~