I'm disappointed Bungie.
This article on the clan limit for Destiny 2 is heartbreaking for my clan, Ethereal Ravens, we had expected bigger and better with the upcoming game but we're still stunted in our growth because of the clan cap choice. While it hasn't been revealed how the activity loot table will work let me break it down why this clan limit with the loot table will destroy what we have built.
Take any clan with multiple divisions, from Dames of Destiny to Ethereal Ravens, and look at what we're facing in nearly all of the scenarios I can imagine.
[b]Clan Limit[/b]
The limit itself is restricting and has been since the launch of Destiny which has caused large clans to make separate groups, networking them together with the Alliance feature which is nothing more than a drop down menu. Combine the limit with the fact that both PS4 and Xbone take up equal space, which means you can really only have 50 members on each console. With D2 coming PC people are going to take even more space if the logistics work the same.
This clan limitation is damaging right now. I myself sit in Ethereal Ravens Staff while I have members in five other divisions, so I don't even see who's online in the very clan I created. All because of this cap. Going into D2 this is going to be a nightmare because the Alliance option is being taken away, how will I navigate between the divisions? Will I even be able to maintain Founder status for all six divisions of Ethereal Ravens? Do I have to choose one of my staff to transfer ownership to? This limitation will only become more suffocating.
[b]Clan Limit + Loot Table [Situation 1][/b]
While I have no idea how the loot table will actually work in D2 I'm taking the liberty of creating assumptions. Let's assume that six of my members, two from three different divisions of Azure Crimson and Muave, are completing the raid. Does the loot table recognize the completion just for those two in the Azure division so they have access to the loot? Would everyone else in the Azure division have access to the same loot despite not having the completion? This would turn the more active players, raidaholics as I call them, the carriers of their division which can create animosity towards the less active people.
[b]Clan Limit + Loot Table [Situation 2][/b]
Let's take another perspective on the loot table. Let's say that the six from different divisions get nothing at all from the loot table because they're not in the same "clan", or division. This means that the work they put in for the completion equals nothing and makes the game a moot point. Does the fireteam have to be from the same "clan"/division for loot? If so this means I have to reorganize the entire structure of my clan.
Right now the divisions are set up by location to completely omit skill and activity to avoid elitism. Do I now have to pick who goes where? Half being raidaholics the other half members who don't have that much time to game? Or do I shove all the high activity players together and leave the low activity players to suffer and miss out? With this you are forcing me to put a quality check on each player and say "you're not good enough, sorry. Don't be married and have kids or pursue outside dreams and interests".
[b]Clan Limit + Loot Table [Situation 3][/b]
The last idea I came up with since the release of the article is this, rotation. Every week my staff and I would have to coordinate who gets to be in the "raid clan", a division that rotates people in and out for access to the loot table once completions are obtained. There are so many reasons this won't work but it all boils down to a logistical nightmare.
[b]Clan Limit + Guided Games[/b]
While we're excited for the Guided Games, to help those in need which is what we do, we're also stressing. To invite someone to the clan in-game because they had a great time with us is a wonderful idea, but what if the division the new person is supposed to be in isn't present in the fireteam? That means the new recruit has to wait for someone else from the right division to come on and invite them. If no one is available that means we potentially lose that person and stunts our growth even more.
[b]I want to know why.[/b]
Why is there a limit on clans to begin with? The Bungie Spotlight has been held by so many massive clans that you know we're out here with multiple divisions. To say its for the "tactical chatter" and "maintaining the family feel" are the flimsiest reasons ever created. You are tearing my family apart, a family that has been through so much together, a family that has been to each other's houses, graduations, and roomed together at conventions.
I want to know why this choice was made. Is it a programming issue? Can the back end of the game not handle more than 100 people for an in-game clan list? This wouldn't make sense to me considering my friends list can populate with 900+ people on my PSN friends list. Is it a logistical issue? This doesn't make sense either since all of the game coding is done in-house and you know the sandbox's every grain of sand.
[i][b]Show me the game breaking code that forces the clan limit.[/b][/i] A string that breaks the game irreversibly should be the only reason the clan limit exists to begin with. That is the only reason, any others are merely excuses.
Bungie, do not make me split up my family by skill, do not make me choose who stays and who goes, do not force me to decide who I will take into D2 with me. We have laughed in the greatest times together, have dried each others' tears in the worst of times. We even have two Guardians who met only because of this game and are planning their own Destiny themed wedding. We are global, that cannot be ignored.
Please do not make me abandon or cast anyone aside. Please do not make me choose who are my brothers and sisters, to hand pick out of the people who call me Momma Kole for who goes with me into D2 exploration and raids.
[b]Solution[/b]
Abolish the clan limit, please. If that is too tall of order at least raise the limit to a thousand players. Not only could my divisions collapse back to the original Ethereal Ravens clan but it would also solve every single situation I've presented.
Please tell me why I'm standing here with my people staring into the Void and left wondering if we even have a future together as a family.
[u][b]-EDIT-[/b][/u]
There's been a numerous amount of replies stating that 100 people or less is fine and that a clan larger than that is impersonal and looses the family feel. That's not how most of the larger clans work. We have a Discord server with several channels for Raids, Trials, Crucible, and Destiny in general, one of our members can reach out to see who's online or doing what, to ask for help if they need something.
Not everyone works an 8-5 job that's a set schedule, nor does everyone have a set time they're online playing. People have irregular job hours, college work, a spouse, kids, projects, and a myriad of other things than gaming. Life gets in the way, everyone knows that.
Members of massive clans have the ability to reach out and see who's online, to get help when they have a free moment to raid, play Crucible, or complete a quest that requires other people. This freedom is why these massive clans exist. To have to rely on five other people to be on, or even twenty to be active, is stifling to any player. What if one of your five quits the game? Now you have to find someone new or hit LFG, the latter no one likes to do.
For those that say massive clans are toxic, full of cliques, or are impersonal, I apologize you had an unsavory experience, but not all communities are like that. I hope you can find a better home soon, and before D2 drops.
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Edited by Rich00p: 6/30/2017 3:00:24 PMA 100 member cap is all well and good until you start building a successful thriving community. Simply getting a spotlight causes a massive influx of members which in turn brings it's own challenges, not least a considerable amount of administrative work which, lets face it we'd rather not be doing in favor of actually playing the game. The tools you provide us with Bungie, are poor no way around it. So much so that those with 100+ members are forced to look elsewhere to provide an infrastructure for their clan, a simple message board and forum are not sufficient to administrate a large community, so we outsource to a clan site provider to make sure we are all in the same place [b]somewhere[/b], we'd rather it was here but for some reason it's not possible. A huge amount of administration goes into maintaining a multi division clan, as Kole has already highlighted, why not take the opportunity to make it a little less of a chore for us? at the very least provide us with some decent tools to manage our rosters that don't take a zillion years to load, maybe start by allowing split platforms, [b]something[/b], [b]anything[/b] to make the job easier? Clans like Resolute, Allegiance, Insidious Knights, Ethereal Ravens and countless others, these are the backbone of your community Bungie, why force them to look elsewhere? it seems like the features and the game are growing, but your infrastructure are lagging (no pun intended) behind.