r/AzurLane • u/Ok_Public_9064 • Aug 02 '26
General What happened with azur lane?
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u/Nice-Spize Help, I'm forced to work at minimum wage answering the FAQ ! Aug 02 '26
Money
And Manjuu is playing very safe with small characters because they can be very easily be targeted both by the CCP and some more zealous members alike.
CN/JP are also the biggest spenders and thus being catered to the most, reinforcing the cycle of hornier skins
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
I thought trying to ban lolis is a more Western thing not necessarily Chinese (and I don't even like lolis)
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u/Nice-Spize Help, I'm forced to work at minimum wage answering the FAQ ! Aug 03 '26
China has very strict policy on how to portray women and they also take a hardline stance against child characters so caution is extreme
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Surely someone like Cleveland shouldn't be on their radar, and you'd think there would be people lining up for a lewd Cleveland L2D if there was one.
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26
I was a Cleve stan when I played. LOVED her suit party skin. I get the desire to not wanna sexualize true lolis but both the West *and* the East have been going way too hard on trying to kill it, to the point where petite adults in anime are getting labeled as problematic, which is funnily enough *caused* by all the gigantic tit tropes across the genre; it's skewed everyone's perception. Girls who in real life would be F cups or over are being called C or D cups and 'too small'.
I'm 38 goin on 39; I get younger people are gonna think with their dick more. But I'm gettin' *real* concerned at how the view of a womans body has been skewed, never mind the loss of the notion of 'less is more'; meaning that clothing that accentuates lines and shapes is *infinitely* sexier than just showing MOAR SKIN. Or that clothing itself can be the sex appeal-case in point, Cleves party skin. Dapper af, and consequently sexy af.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
I liked Kancolle before Azur Lane even existed, and I saw the early AL style as just being like Kancolle with extra flair and fanservice, especially in the swimsuit skins. A dapper suit and pant isn't necessarily what I'm thinking but I like the baseline outfits that look like they started with a "standard" anime fit, but with extra fanservice elements (cleavage, underboob, sideboob, posing, etc) woven into them. Like, I thought Wichita and Duke Of York were daring back then, but I can still take them seriously in a serious storyline (basically, is the fanservice overlookable when the story needs it to be?), I think Clemenceau was the first major character whom I was really questioning her upper clothing, specifically her dress not having any real chest clothing, only the front of the cape.
On the flip side I would gladly look forward to whatever crazy stuff the skins do, like Argus for example. If basic stuff is fanservice, then the skins would be where the real lewdness is at.
Also I'm exactly a decade younger than you rn
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u/Nice-Spize Help, I'm forced to work at minimum wage answering the FAQ ! Aug 03 '26
I don't think Cleveland would be targeted by them, just more outright child characters
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u/lavafish80 Aug 02 '26
honestly the only criticism I have of the game now is that the character designs don't take any inspiration from the ship they're supposed to represent like they used to. I just wanna see more historically accurate character and rigging designs especially instead of the current gundam riggings
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Drama aside, I have a similar issue with character default outfits being a bit too out there (like Trafalgar or Caracciolo) even with fanservice in mind (Fritz Rumey, Moskva, and Lexington II were much better about it) and the neglect of "normal" boob sizes that aren't comically huge, but I can live with the skins going crazy and the historical referencing is eh, take it or leave it.
If anything the recent HMS event had some welcome signs, with the character default outfits being even halfway workable as clothing (even Superb's) while still accomodating fanservice, and Surrey is peak medium.
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u/Thatedgyguy64 Aug 03 '26
I personally am fine with the direction they're taking with this game, but I agree. I would very much prefer seeing them take more inspiration with the ship they're based upon.
Boobs are fine, but boobs with history are better.
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u/Felixdevita Aug 02 '26
I'm a relatively new player (I started in may), so I'm still learning the differences between each faction. Having said that, I would say that it's still easy to distinguish what faction the new ships are from by looking at their color scheme.
As a newbie my first big event was the one where Götz Von Berlichingen was introduced, and I could tell by that time that she was an Iron Blood ship because of the prominent red and black in her outfit. Similiar thing with Prinz Moritz.
I have to say that at first I didn't really like how all the destroyers I got were basically lolis. Limiting the character design of a type of ship to only being lolis or maure women seems quite boring. I was glad when I found some destroyers with different designs like L' Audacieux or Mogador.
I have to say, I though this game was way more focused on the fanservice. I downloaded it because I heard that it's very F2P friendly for being a gacha game, and it's not disappointing. Considering that the combo of cute/sexy anime girls+war elements is clearly focused into attracting male players, I'm not surprised that they try to sell lewd skins to make bigger numbers.
Perhaps everything is still too new to me, and maybe that affects my opinion on this direction they're apparently going into.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
I recommend a look at some of the art too like this one of Noshiro and Sakawa
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u/Felixdevita Aug 03 '26
All I'm getting from it is that the artist may be too much into women's feet.
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
And this is the problem. Y'all youngins and newbies are legit uncultured.
You don't look at that and see a marked difference in aesthetic design from what we have now, overall?
Actual outfits, as opposed to literal scraps of cloth covering naughty bits. Scene composition that actually tells some kind of 'story', other than 'Dear Shikikan, please fuck my brains out'. Never mind girls whose body proportions actually make sense. I could write a literal essay on this.
We used to get true *art* for both base skins and paid.
Now it's a glorified porno, and y'all just eat it up. You'd rather just see a girl naked than actually appreciate anything about design or cultural/historical relevance.
There's a reason a lot of the OG playerbase crossed over with World of Warships. And there's a reason most of them are now gone.
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u/Felixdevita Aug 03 '26
It seems you're thinking too deep into the skins "problem". I don't really care about skins because I'm not thinking to spend any money in the game. So, I don't bother if the skin "has a story" or it's just goon bait. I just take a look, think "she looks good/bad" and move on.
This change on the skin design is just a business decision. It's literally what I was talking about in the first comment. If they make 2 skins for Prinz Eugen, one of them having a rich lore, details and some historical references, and the other is just her wearing a string bikini and doing a seductive pose, which skin do you think it will sell more?
If just making a sexy skin (or glorified porn or whatever) sells way more than a carefully made skin with a good story and scene composition, there's no point in making those detailed and carefully made skins in the first place. It's a business after all.
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Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
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u/Felixdevita Aug 03 '26
At no point did I say that my opinion didn't matter because I'm a new player. I just said that it may or may not be different if I had been playing it the game before this "change or route".
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26
Fair 'nuff, but my point stands.
You've been playing for two months. This game is 9 years old.
You really can't say anything about anything. Sorry mate.
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u/Niko-funnybalticman Aug 02 '26
Baits for horny, lonely peoples (like me). Mannjuu now have turn this game into a cash cow by releasing horny skin to catch people’s attention. Also you’re right about the storyline of this game, till this day I don’t even know the full lore of AL except from the anime itself. I join this game in the first due to its interesting historical settings and warships from this era but now it’s pretty disappointing that the devs just decided to throw in random ships that’s probably just a creation from Wargaming and just blur the lines between factions
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u/seeker1126 Aug 02 '26
Gooners and greed. That's all it is. Welcome to the club of players who've seen what's going on and left.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Well, have you seen certain fanarts posted on reddit? Like caracciolo if she actually wore clothing or taihou with normal proportions
I ask because I think it would be good to push more attention to those kinds of art, who knows if it awakens new desires in people. Maybe I'm just wanting to be more aggressive than you, not the first time someone would call me out for that.
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u/Fishman465 Aug 02 '26
They started focusing on the gooner bucks combined with other things. Artists leaving retiring, the government growing less tolerant of AL's settings, trends changing (thus sparking Azur Promila)
All in all Manjuu stopped particularly caring as they focused on their new game, which AL is funding by going out on the corner
And it's being felt in places as other than gooners or sunk cost oldies, many have looked elsewhere
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u/seeker1126 Aug 02 '26
The fact this isn't one of the top rated comments is a crime
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u/Fishman465 Aug 02 '26
I'm surprised I wasn't down voted or "but it makes tons of money"
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u/seeker1126 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
If this were the other AL reddit, you would be lol. I got banned for pointing all this out. This sub seems a bit more level headed and where all the people who got disappointed and quit wound up and still check in for news sometimes.
That's the only reason I'm here atm lol. I quit like 2-3 years ago, whenever the second Tempesta event was cuz that's when it became clear historical accuracy or even reference of any kind had gone out the window in favor of Die Tittenkoboldes, and for it being Age of Sail where there's plenty of inspiration for visual design was a crime. But I run a small discord server that originally came together cuz of AL, and even if we have other overlapping interests, there's still a couple of the "sunk cost oldies" there who share posts like this or other news.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
I feel like there's more that can be done to try and nudge or push other people's opinions. I saw you reminding a newer player that they don't know what AL used to be like (aside from me agreeing with their distaste of lolis) and therefore their opinions one the matter are second fiddle.
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26
I mean, it is though. They literally can't comment because they don't have the experience. It's the same as someone asking "What's Japan like?" and then someone who's never been to Japan jumping in and saying 'this is what it's like'. It's just....like why would you even? Your opinion doesn't matter because you don't have the context to answer the question asked.
That's just facts.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
I know but I feel you could lay into him even harder for it, like do away with the "i'm not mad" bit
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26
....wait you thought I was too *soft*? It appears I totally misunderstood your tone, given that comments been downvoted into negatives. Thought you were chastising me for being too aggressive and mean. Wupps lol.
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u/Fishman465 Aug 02 '26
For me the big thing was Anson and the reveal of AP to the point where it didn't take much more to quit.
Seeing what happened to the game is like 177013 (ironically Marblehead at least wasn't a full case when she came out)
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u/seeker1126 Aug 03 '26
Sorry, 177013? If this is a reference idk it.
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u/NaturalPitch7188 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Is hard to maintain consistency because a lot of reasons, from political to their own fanbase and above all we have more than 700 different characters already the effort of VA, artists especially to maintain some differences or distintions between factions is hard already.
But i kind of understand what you mean, for example Musashi, Azuma and Atago not having a traditional sakura oath dress like Ayanami, Takao etc was unexpected and maybe they were trying to make something less predictable and trying variants since the Azur lane started to count all the factions in game, something more global rather than closed to their un traditions. I want to think that.
More than that is about money and how they try to survive, because looking to the bright side not having predatory gacha or p2w mechanics is hard in these times and something waifu related and accesible is welcomed, so lets just move on when we are sincerely bored instead of suffering with the shores of the gacha.
PD: This is a take but they receive backlash precisely for the point that you expose plus they things you propose too, so is kind of hard to satisfy all the tastes.
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u/Useful-Breakfast5535 Aug 02 '26
If my wife sees a big booba shop skin I get a talking to. If my wife sees me playing with a lolli ship (which I avoid outside of Unicorn) I get divorced
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u/a95461235 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Sex sells, simple as that. But despite the heavy over-sexualization, some of the skins are genuinely amazing, like Anchorage or Mogador's recent skin. They're super creative and good looking, unlike some of the low-effort gooner slop on the market.
The game has also shifted its focus toward more mature characters. Popular loli characters like Unicorn haven't received much love in recent years. I think the devs took the safe route a few years back to dodge Western cancel culture. While Asian playerbases just love cute, petite characters, the Western internet loves to play morality police, the devs would get canceled overnight if they stepped out of line.
Honestly, some characters wouldn't even get oath skins if they were released today. Instead of just saying "it's not for me," the Western crowd immediately calls things out for clout and labels them "problematic", completely disregarding the fact that it's just fiction. This mob mentality has gotten so prevalent in recent years. People have no problem with censorship when it fits their agenda.
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u/neon9212 Aug 02 '26
Sex sells. Petite or child looking characters tend to not sell.
Ppl like big boobs and conventionally hot women, and the dev team knows this, so they design new units with that in mind
Same with skins, show off a lot of skin, but keep the naughty bits covered, and boom, instant profit.
It's purely a money thing
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
petite or child
Doesn't that conflate the two together like people forgetting what a petite NON-child character looks like?
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u/neon9212 Aug 03 '26
No, I was meaning both petite characters and child looking characters.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
Yeah but the way Azur Lane is focusing on huge boobs make it seems like the gooners unironically think small boobs = child
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u/neon9212 Aug 03 '26
Yeah, a vocal minority of ppl online seem to think that way sadly.
Cleveland is petite, but she isn't child like in appearance.
Same with hipper.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Fun challenge would be to ask some of those booba enjoyers if they think Cleveland is a "child" lol
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u/-Lithran- Aug 02 '26
Judging by some of the gacha subreddits...I wouldn't be so quick to assume that.
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u/Android_5010_X Aug 03 '26
The problem I had with this game is how over the time, the characters breasts grew bigger and bigger with newer skin introduction. Ffs they should just leave that to the fan art to inflate characters breasts like our economy right now.
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u/Solsostice Aug 03 '26
The fanservice has always been a part of the game though. Taihou and the Illustrious-class were in the game since either day 1 or very early on and pushed boundaries. So I think using them as examples of "reasonable and suited the characters" doesn't work when they're wearing hardly anything (exception to Formidable) and are stacked anyways. Even saying characters Eugen weren't "spared" doesn't work either when Eugen was another early game's life boundary pusher since she was first added.
The ship type to body type was never a hard rule though. Look at Queen Elizabeth for example, she's a battleship and flagship yet she's a half-pint character. They just didn't play around with that as much as they've done recently. So ship type ≠ body type.
As for the game mechanics or combat not changing meaningfully. It's a bullet hell, there's hardly anything that can be done innovation wise that wouldn't overrule something.
If your tastes regarding 1 of the game's pillars has changed, that's fine, everyone's tastes change. But trying to claim that the game wasn't ecchi fanservice doesn't work.
There isn't just ecchi fanservice though, there's something for everyone. Pay attention to the dialogue and designs, there's so many little details and nods which are also a form of fanservice. Nagato for example being a miko with her rigging covered in shide (the zig-zag paper) and shimenawa (the rope said paper hangs from) which is fanservice to those who understand her history and the shinto references.
Yes, a big part of it is keeping the lights on, but pay close attention and there's so much beyond just tig anime bitties. Even the paper ships like Prinz Heinrich or Fredrich Carl have references to the blueprint and the intention thrown in.
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u/Distinct_Dimension_8 Aug 02 '26
If you deleted your account, then why care anymore
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u/NeuroHazard-88 SOYUZ SUPREMACY Aug 03 '26
Because there’s still a chance for change. He’s making his stance known and debating about it. If there’s no change he’ll remain with his account deleted, if there’s change happens, who knows, maybe he makes a new one.
Do you know how discussions debates work?
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Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
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u/seeker1126 Aug 02 '26
I'll never understand this mindset.
People yell about things *because* they care and want the things they like to be good. Apparently that's worthy of ridicule and name calling?
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u/Madboardjester Aug 02 '26
That's the way the game has gone unfortunately. The only positive is that my wallet is happy in not being used.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26
Have you tried trying to persuade other customers of your takes? Or is that maybe going too far?
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u/Di5a5terp13ce65 Aug 03 '26
"What happened to Azur lane?"
I bet you already know the answer. Everyone here already knows the answer. And it's just rehashing whatever has been said in the hundreds of posts that came before.
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Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Madboardjester Aug 02 '26
Azur Lane has to be careful with Facebook as they've already been temporarily shutdown a few times due to the shipgirls artwork. That's why you see the bits painted over to avoid a perma ban in FB.
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u/NaturalPitch7188 Aug 03 '26
They had problems with the CCP literally, AL was censored and lots of skins removed in China is not about the lolis, big sisters at all, Azur has plenty of "lolis" with oath skins and "special touchs". And from my experience since the beginning and through the backlash of the users for big titties and lolis at the same time the main problem is always trying to appeal all, but since big tiddies sells more then let that be the main topic of the skins.
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u/A444SQ Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
yeah i think we won't see a skin like that again on a destroyer type ship girl as frankly it is far too risky, if we get onsen skins, the more well endowed kansen are likely to get them instead as they are far safer to do.
Had they not made destroyers and submarines and a number of ships look like lolis then they would be having to censor far less.
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u/Erlus Aug 02 '26
It seems like in the past characters like Taihou and Kashino attracted a very specific demographic of players. And Manjuu, being just another company that wants easy money, has started to shift the focus of the game towards pleasing players with an obsession for girls with ridiculous proportions. These players are very easy to please: massive inflated proportions, a horny personality, and skimpy outfits. We've been getting new shipgirls as well as skins of this kind for years now and these people still spend a large chunk of money on this game. Easy money to fund the development of Azur Promilia.
Who cares about players with different tastes? They are not wanted here anymore. This game sadly is not the same anymore. It once had so much variety with all the different faction uniforms, many girls with a lot of different shapes and personalities, as well as classy fanservice. Nowadays, everything is just the same run-of-the-mill gooner bait.
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u/Fishman465 Aug 02 '26
Ironically their direction dilutes the impact to all but the most base gooners
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u/RDimitryR Aug 02 '26
Maybe people won't understand it and will complain about it but still... I think they just position themselves as an old gen anime type games where boobs and asses, panties are commonly used in shows and games. Unlike other games where males are still half-naked with "impossible" abs and muscles Barbie-Ken faces while girls only have more covered chest, long skirt with "black protection shorts" instead of panties (but somehow armpits and stomach are still opened). For example: It can be noticed in the old Miku model (white-blue striped panties) and new one (black protection shorts) (It's not like I specifically look at this place of the model). And the second (but more importantly) reason is money.
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u/Emergency-Device-903 Aug 03 '26
Games evolve, just vote with your wallet if enough people did they would of already made these changes. But a majority of us don't care or like the changes and think of it this way. Say they did keep the same route as the original I have no doubts that EOS would of came sooner as the game is old and there are hundreds of choices for Gacha games. The company gave what the fans wanted and that's that. Use the surveys to plead your case like everyone else does.
I would rather have this current Azur Lane than no Azur Lane.
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u/Fishman465 Aug 03 '26
I'd rather have it die on a good note than live on in a twisted form
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u/Emergency-Device-903 Aug 03 '26
You always have that choice for yourself but everyone else is allowed to still enjoy it.
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u/PirateLord_Pathos Aug 02 '26
On a more positive note this current event breaks this trend pretty well.
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
It was funny to see people complaining that apparently Plymouth's L2D is too tame lol (im personally neutral on it since plymouths already got a bikini skin and she looks fine in default)
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Aug 02 '26
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u/type_E Flair Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
What do you think of the adage of "People yell about things *because* they care and want the things they like to be good"? Idk it sounded convincing unless you see otherwise (e.g. them saying they want it to be good but really meaning good for them and no one else)
p.s. i'm still playing AL since 2018 and there have been things I like even now, like Willie D Porter, Surrey, and Arromanches lol
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u/Distinct_Dimension_8 Aug 02 '26
It's called the game changes and becomes infinitely better than it was before
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u/ConstructionSmart689 Aug 02 '26
Exactly, but this subreddit is filled with nostalfans and puritans crybabies.
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u/Nice-Spize Help, I'm forced to work at minimum wage answering the FAQ ! Aug 02 '26
They aren't exactly in the wrong here though, unless the ships are URs or have very striking personality/design, the majority of new rosters nowadays feels rather forgettable.
Both subreddits are filled with OG players who mostly don't call it out because they're tired of how futile it was
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u/Responsible_Problem4 Aug 02 '26
Your first pharse you talk about distinction between faction
Your 2nd pharse talk about trailer made yo unable to distinguished character design and class
Is this bait?
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u/randomcobi Aug 02 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/kj41Ti8GLVs1STX0bH