The Truth - Part 2 - The Present

Part 1: http://dangerascend.blogspot.com/2011/02/truth-part-1-past.html

Under my investigative patterns, I figured out that Duel Monsters Expert was changed from bad to worse with a certain group walking around and tossing that place into a negative environment. I'm beginning to wonder why, then it hit me. The environment I use to know was literally gone and was replaced with a competitive environment, and at the end of the tourney, it falls apart. So I thought to myself, "What happened?" Then, upon further analysis of the issue, it seems that a group of people really wanted to play competitive and leave everything else to dust. Which makes me disappointed is that the actual game itself is suppose to be a casual environment and Duel Monsters Genesis was in agreement because the one thing that was good about Duel Monsters Expert is when a non-top tier deck can reach the finals and potentially win. At Duel Monsters Expert's current state, that's no longer the case.

That's besides the point. I finally got a response from my friend, but the toll of that conversation really left me thinking: "Is it really worth it to continue caring about people? If the online conversation ends, would you left wondering under a number of reasons what happened?" I don't feel a bit of regret knowing the truth about what happened from his perspective, and if he wants to stop being friends, then so be it. I don't have to live with the regret of not knowing the truth upon why he stopped talking to me.

Besides that, I find it funny that their (Yes, Duel Monsters Expert makes their own ban list. I'll explain another time.) ban list is much more heavier on the meta and left the anti-meta alone. If people want to play to win, sure, but don't drag down everyone's self-esteem with it. As mentioned in Part 1, I explained that arguing and bickering consumed the place. Now, imagine Six Samurai running through the tourney. Would you think that'll stand for a second without anyone noticing? Yeah, I think not. Especially, since that group is in the tourney (most of them) are usually partaking in it. I remember one tournament I partook in with Eccentric Assault that anyone I faced down with a first turn Stardust Dragon/Buster called me cheap and takes no skill to utilize Stardust Dragon/Buster. Well, let me ask you this: "Is it worth it to live a lie where everyone else ran the same typical archetype, or would you rather play something crazy which makes you enjoy the game more?" I could no longer stay in a game where everything I did was get bashed on for what I play. That group was the cause of that pain. I couldn't even blog properly until 4 days later, because I thought about what you guys wanted to see, instead of what I want you to see.

So I started off making customs, then posting about single cards again, then eventually back to deck making. So, I started deck making in Duel Monsters Genesis under solitude, without anyone bothering me on how I "should play" an archetype. No, I don't need that advice, because I give you guys enough information to enjoy playing a game. I try the best I can so when I leave, I actually make something out of myself about what knowledge of the game I have. It's not like "Oh, everyone should know this, and if they aren't, then they shouldn't read about it." It's what I want you guys to read. When they heard that my blog was a hit, they simply remarked "Oh, 1,000 people misclicked on your blog."

Being able to enjoy part of this game is when you can mix and max, and see what you can get (as LFN mentioned in Part 1 comments). In Duel Monsters Expert, you have access to TCG cards, OCG cards, anime cards, manga cards, and customs. Unfortunately, with this group and the state that Duel Monsters Expert is in, barely a handful of people actually care about creating decks. Others focus on their real life builds, and when that occurs, most of the top decks become real life builds, so I wonder to myself: "Is it even worth it to make customs or look into anime/manga cards, because the majority of the player base is running real life decks. Why waste the memory? Because a handful of people still care about the game; however, whenever an anime, manga, or custom card is defined as broken, the admins of Duel Monsters Expert have to make a decision on banning it, limiting it, or semi-limiting it.

However, this morning, I was able to feel relaxed. I was able to play Duel Monsters Expert like I normally do, under two reasons:

1. I was able to play as "me", not someone that has to run a real life deck, so that it doesn't get destroyed in the process; however, their tournament ban list got in the way of that, and it gave them more power than they actually should need. However, thanks to a few people, I was able to come to my senses on a topic that I desperately needed to know. The topic was: "Was it worth it to continue playing Duel Monsters Expert? Was it the game itself...or a group of players that were playing a game just to win ruining it?" Obviously the answer I got was: "A group of players that want to "help" Duel Monsters Expert, but instead of insisting on trying to play the game for "fun", they insisted to play the game to "win".
2. Being creative and helping people with their decks through strategical means. Not blindly stating "You must run this card or you're a noob." The three components of any deck, regardless on how it looks, is as follows: Balance, Strategy, and Power. Yet, people insist that my opinion didn't really matter, but as you can see, if people can't learn a basic deck, then how can they even survive in a competitive environment? Just a thought for you guys.

With my thoughts now clear on what's actually going on, I must make a decision on what to do...

~~~

I still know that it won't affect most of you guys, but you got to wonder: "Has this happened to me?"