Leshma, at least one time think before you say something. I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT BALANCE. This game gives a pleasure of even fights sometimes. Sometimes even when it isn't fair it gives fun as well but I am really happy of what developers have done with this mod. Don't say that everybody is addicted and things like these. Please don't speak for all the players.
Imagine that one day they will release MB2 and new crpg will start, new wipe will come, or our cRPG will just get sooo old after a few years that people will play something else. Our cRPG is bound to be closed one day as well but we play it and we don't really worry about it.
Balance might be better than year a half ago but not as much as people like to believe (especially fail ninjas like Teeth).
What I think is that balance is there but it isn't awesome at all because it favors herp derp weapons like pikes, throwing and mauls. All because game is a lot slower than it used to be.
About new players and mod dead:
At first, chadz decided to change the mod because he was afraid that new players won't play cRPG because they got roflstomped. But what has really changed?
Nothing. They still get owned by veterans, only difference is that now some veteran disguised as peasant will kick their butt with peasant weapons, just a few moments when they finally, after 200 deaths, managed to save enough to buy some good lookin' armor and decent weapon...
After that, 5 out of 10 new players GTX this mod. Three players out of five left, are patient people and they will stay for few days more. Two who decided to stick with this mod are masohists, like majority of game population. They will go through intial rites, learn how manually block, get looms etc.
So it's not different to what it was before. Major difference is that before there were The_Finn, Tulsa Doom and other noobs who had epic gear and for a new player in every online game that's a sense of greatness (take WoW mounts for example).
And they don't mind to die to great players. What they do mind is to die to people who wear begginer gear, because they think they are:
CHEATERS!!!
Then why they changed the mod?
Because spineless, let influential clans asked them to change it to suit their taste better. Now you'll ask me to tell who I am thinking of? No problem bro, I'm not afraid to say what I think even if that means I'll get hatred on me. Who are they?
Mercs and Shogunate among the first!
Their self sense of greatness, their elitist attitute is something I never did and will never approve. Also that same attitude is the main reason why they don't have many players and why they NEVER will be important in the main feature of this mod, Strategus. Only thing left for those guys is rolfstoping pub server which is kinda sad imho, considering that two or three of them have trouble to take me down, casual and pug player, average at best...
There are so bad, they can't outwit a bunch of russian and polish kids who aren't smart at all. Yet they rape these so called "pros" Strat after Strat. Sad indeed.
That's why I think we don't have proper rewards and we're all forced to play on same level and retire and retire, like that has any point at all!
About strategus, I could tell you the story of one Finnish player who did something his ancestrors never did (made a pact with Russians) but that's a totally different story.