Alright guys, I'm going to jump on ye olde bandwagon and send some advice to Ubi.

1) Communicate.
Right now dev and forum communication is barely existent, and there's also a PR nightmare with game bugs, issues with connections, and other things. All you guys say is "we are looking at it" and no concrete info. This makes players more frustrated. Tell us not only that you are looking at a fix, but when to expect it. One huge problem was that the "upcoming changes" were not shipped with the hotfix patch. This is extremely irritating and seems almost like deceiving the players. Your PR is horrendous and needs some serious work, and silence does not equal damage control. Start by communicating openly and clearly. Show some presence aside from "hi, we see your post". Communicate how and when the issue is going to be fixed so we have some sort of understanding. The enemy of PR is lack of knowledge. We have ZERO information outside of the problems we already knew, so give us something. ETA for fixes is the top of my list. Also great would be an actual Q&A thread. Oh, and for the love of potatoes don't nazi mod. I've seen a few posts well deep into good discussion be locked. Sometimes it was for a "bump" on the first page when it was five pages in at that point. Removing troll posts and posts with extremely argumentative or insulting conversation is one thing, but when a post is locked or removed for something so trivial it sends the wrong message.

2) Hotfixes.
Some problems are major and warrant hotfixing. Instead, we are left in the dark and with game issues that need to be resolved. Matchmaking is a perfect example of this. Players who are legitimately knew are being queued against prestiged players, and they are turning away. This should be hotfixed, not pushed off until some unknown date. The same goes for Skirmish/Elimination. That isn't even a complicated hotfix compared to actually changing and fixing MMR data or balancing the game. Hotfix the major issues. Let balance problems wait a bit until the game is in a better, less frustrating state.

3) Explain.
A lot of people are frustrated with parts of the game, or lack understanding. This game pretty much throws people headfirst with little explaining, and the tutorial is lackluster. There's also a lot of information lacking in the tutorial, and there is still confusion on how much equipment effects things and even what it effects. The most basic problem is a lack of description on the stats. While some are easy to figure out, like attack and defense, some are harder. What does "Debuff Resistance" do? Bleeds are commonly agreed on, but some people say it impacts recovery animation speed. "Speed" is even not fully understood. I've read claims it makes dodges faster/farther. Sadly there is no official statements. All we have for stats is a vague bar, and actual numbers and explanations would go a long way to making a lower barrier to entry.

4) Barrier to Entry
In many games there is an idea of a "Barrier to Entry". What this means is how easy it is for a new player to enter a game and learn the basics, and be able to compete with others around their skill level. In some games like Mario, the barrier hardly exists. Anyone can jump into Mario. This game, however, has an obscenely high barrier to entry. League of Legends is known for having a high barrier to entry. It has 30 levels, a lot of item complexity, and over 100 characters. This game, despite having less characters and levels, is worse. A new player can be put against prestiged players. They can be put against people who have a lot higher item levels. They are taught next to nothing in a combat system that is unforgiving. There is a lot to learn, and unfortunately the game is very bad about introducing you to actual applications. It makes the game highly undesirable to new players, who can become frustrated and quit.

5) Matchmaking/Game Setup
As a final point, I want to touch on matchmaking. You all dropped the ball. This game has a huge range of skill, yet the matchmaking will go from "Strict Skill" to "All" in under a minute. It will place 4 people with no prestige against 4 others with multiple per person. It will place new players against ones playing since day one. Heck, we can't even choose between Skirmish and Elimination pre-game, and there is no logical reason for this. Sure, we can set preferences, but it does almost nothing. Alongside this, there are "settings" we can't interact with. The overall feeling is that this was rushed, and no thought put into it. I fought a new player last night, and I felt bad. I genuinely felt bad that a person who, as he put it, had "Just started 2 minutes ago", was put against me. I've been going since day one, though not hardcore. I am almost prestiged on two or three characters, and he was at level one. Terrible matchmaking puts new players off, and puts old players off too. I don't want to stomp or be stomped by every person I meet, it takes away the fun.






Now some tips for players!

1) Phrasing
Don't say "OMG _________ Is so OP I can't beat them". This makes you look like you are whining. Say something closer to "I am having trouble with __________, can I get some advice?" Less whiny, more solution based. Also, try not to curse a bunch. It makes you look bad and people won't take you seriously. It's also hard to read a post with "**** **** you **** my ***** ********** game" as half the text. This also doesn't help Ubi or players help you.

2) Actual Problems Vs Skill
Before posting, consider if something is more skill or problem based. Right now, with the game status, a lot of it is hard to tell. PK is hated a lot, but why? Player skill may well be a part of it, but it may also be a problem. With the current balance, it is nearly impossible to tell. However, getting thrown into a spike is more of a skill issue than an actual problem. Try not to complain about skill issues, but also try not to jump on someone when it could fall into either category.

3) Complaining About Bleeds
Bleed is not OP. The way a bleed works is that it trades immediate damage for damage over time. The thing is, bleed can be stacked, so it easily looks OP. When you look at Nobushi, for example, each one of her bleeds at the outset does about as much as a light attack. The way her kit is designed, she wants to stack them for more damage.You can easily end up with a bar of bleed if you aren't careful. The bleed itself isn't the problem, it's perception. It feels cheap to die to a bleed. Well, what if the bleed damage was instant? You would still die, and wouldn't have anything to complain about. Bleeds might be annoying, but it all has to do with how you think of them. Then again, we still have a lot of issues. The case remains, bleed itself is not OP. At most the individual characters with it might need minor number tuning..

4) Thinking
We all want to be gods at the game. Be honest, you want to trash your enemy and watch their world burn. That's why we play competitive games; we want to win. Getting beat messes with this idea we have, and we want to blame anything but ourselves. "Clearly, I must not be at fault!" Well, sadly, you are at fault for a great many things. Sometimes it seems like there is nothing you can do, but there is some sort of counterplay to nearly everything. There are moments where the game will fail, (I personally have my blocks just randomly not, well, block) but judge every action as if it was your mistake. This will not only help you improve, but save others from dealing with complaints, DCs, and childish remarks. Think about every action you and your enemy takes, and figure out how to improve from it.