@Apolloz_99_MLBTS said:

@Dolenz_PSN if offline complains too much they will pull from online it’s pretty simple.

That makes no logical sense. It's not an either or choice.

If you can't see other reasons (collections, packs with 15 cards, etc) why they might have changed the online modes then I have to conclude that you simply have tunnel vision. You have found your scapegoat for the online changes and nothing will change your mind.

But I see your points.

@SpawnOfDitka_XBL said:

@Teak2112_MLBTS I hope you are right. And its not sds just trying to make them happy by taking away things. But I feel like they have been trying to appease the offline community a ton.

I'm with Teak. I don't think offline players had anything to do with it. Was I annoyed when a player I really wanted were stuck behind an online mode? Yes. Did I ever want those modes to be diminished or removed? No. It simply meant that I needed to buy them.

I think your disdain for offline players is steering your opinion of the cause for the online changes.

Couldn't be just as likely that all of the cards that would have been rewards for each online mode before have all been shifted to expensive packs (Chase or Headliners) or as a reward for one of the myriad of collections (which require pack cards)? After all packs remove stubs from the community entirely where selling program rewards simply redistributes those stubs.

@Apolloz_99_MLBTS said:

@BalsamicArrow88_XBL suck it soft. You want to [censored] about everything leave. There are plenty of worse games out there just in the sports industry. Madden and 2k are clearly worse.

Suck it soft is one I haven’t heard in a minute or two.

I kind of hate comparisons to Madden and 2k though as we’re comparing trash to trash and using them as a guideline for more trash

SDS can fix this game and make it better, there’s no need for them to compare themselves to [censored] expectations.

If they don’t then we quit, it’s not rocket surgery

@SpawnOfDitka_XBL said:

@Dolenz_PSN yes good points. But I also believe offline players are the reason sds took away br and ranked programs. There is a reason they have shifted to so many offline grinds when there used to be just as many online grinds. Because they absolutely refuse to play online! You do not hear online players refusing to play offline? Right. Let’s put some blame the correct way. Sds is to blame. But so are they. When a bunch of people complain and absolutely refuse to play a certain mode. Things change.

See, the problem is time. If someone only has 3 hours they don’t want to spend it getting destroyed by bots or elite players once they dip their toe in. It’s incredibly frustrating for people to have to deal with the toxicity etc in their 3 hour window

Unfortunately SDS hasn’t done enough to make it more fun for offline players to try online. They need to correct their match-making, for sure. I’ve said it a thousand times if they used their matchmaking that they do for ranked in events and BR more people would try it out or engage in it

The thing that also sucks is 95/100 people aren’t toxic online, it’s the 5 bad apples that ruin everyone’s day. For the most part everyone’s just chilling playing baseball

@SpawnOfDitka_XBL said:

@Dolenz_PSN yes good points. But I also believe offline players are the reason sds took away br and ranked programs. There is a reason they have shifted to so many offline grinds when there used to be just as many online grinds. Because they absolutely refuse to play online! You do not hear online players refusing to play offline? Right. Lets put some blame the correct way. Sds is to blame. But so are they. When a bunch of people complain and absolutely refuse to play a certain mode. Things change.

No offline player wanted BR removed. They may want the cards to be available in offline modes too (which again no person should object to this), but lets not make up a fantasy that offline players are the reason it was removed.

I think Weekend Classic has been detrimental to the inning structure of the game and has reduced my enjoyment of the game the last two years but you dont see me blaming online players for it. Its a good idea and online players have been wanting this. Its just SDS decided to release it at the start of an inning at the expense of all the good content that used to come at the start of an inning. But instead of wanting it removed I suggest it would make more sense at the end of an inning.

Stubs, I can figure those out. Cards to buy to complete collections, again I can figure that out. XP to finish just one of the inning paths, I’ve yet to get there. And that is very frustrating.

It’s really all about how people want to spend their time. To me conquest is definitely unrewarding because there’s so much needless filler in between games and the games are always away so you have to play a full 3 innings and it is a boring slog. Especially if CPU has some dumb long windup and throws nothing but balls

Miniseasons is pretty nice, some of them. It’s actually a pretty chill grind and the games fly by since you’re always at home and don’t have to do the pointless auto battles in between games

I play offline a lot and it’s not too hard to make stubs just playing. I’ve had horrible pack luck for the most part but I hit here and there

Ranked is easily the most fun though. It’s fun to just play my theme team and win or lose, it’s so much more fun playing a human instead of the CPU

Its just that the mini season/conquest grind is more RNG based and can feel unrewarding so it feels worse than it is, and there are a LOT of cards to buy. Especially if you want chase cards or rare rounds, it feels like it keeps piling on. There are very limited opportunities for offline players to get bigger value cards (you need to win the lottery on getting a good pack and then getting a good round from it) but it certainly adds up over time.

Multiplayer program does have a good return for time invested, but online stub making dries up after that for the vast majority. Even the event programs are of questionable value.

Hey now. I use Ozzie online. Leadoff

He destroys lefties on occasion which is nice
You also do bring up good points like Teak

Hopefully SDS is soaking up all this feedback

@Teak2112_MLBTS said:

SDS has been pushing this divide. Nobody wanted no sale cards locked behind offline modes.

I said this in another thread. It is not the offline players fault that online players must play offline modes. It is SDS' insistence that Offline rewards all be No Sell. Even when you look at this program where the cards are sellable it is only because it is essentially an online program with a few offline components.

What options do offline players have to make stubs by playing the game? The DeGrom Showdown? The final showdown happens on Hall of Fame difficulty. I would guess that the overwhelming majority of offline players can't beat this on Hall of Fame. The other option is Diamond Quest, where again the best option is to play on higher difficulties. If it was easy to get these cards then a player like 92 Ozzie Smith, that nobody uses online, would not still be going for 30K a month and a half later.

So SDS' decision to make all offline rewards No Sell is what forces Online players to play offline modes and why offline players are upset that the chance to actually earn a decent amount of stubs is hidden behind what is essentially an online program. Offline players abilities to earn stubs by playing the game essentially boils down to pack odds and luck.

I like that they even give rewind packs. As I’ll never reach World Series it’s a lot better now than it used to be - for sure.

Sure we have to wait a few weeks for them but it is very nice that anyone can eventually get those online cards now

@LadySwampfox_XBL said:

@JenkinMeyer_PSN Some of us are upset because the June countdown requires you to play online game modes to advance. Not all of us play or enjoy the online modes and would prefer a way to progress without them.

You can buy the cards if you don’t want to play online.

Or you could go back to 2017-2018 where you COULDNT buy some online-only cards.

This may not be ideal, but it’s better than what we had.

Yeah you do make some good points

I can't understand how anyone (besides SDS) could be against the idea of having ways to earn everything by playing either offline or online. Its not hurting anyone if someone earns a card in a different way then you do.

SDS has been pushing this divide. Nobody wanted no sale cards locked behind offline modes. These are rewards moved from programs to take the spot where other rewards would have been in the past. Offline players buying the online cards was less of an issue when packs weren't as dominant.

The switch from TA to being 'just hit a lot of HR with a team for show packs' removed what was once a rewarding and interesting regular longer term program. The removal of BR program has killed a mode many enjoyed.

The issue isnt with offline players or online players, its with the changes made to the content structure. Not everything SDS has done has been for nefarious reasons, but they have doubled down on most of what people didn't like about 25.

@Bridge-Piece_XBL said:

@TheGoaler_PSN said:

Hostilities, disrespect, and violence are way high because we are living in end times.

Certain feels like it but I hope not.

The end times thing is a little strong but the hostilities thing is pretty accurate

Seems around Covid we certainly did become polarized, at least in America

Not quite sure why people have to be in one camp or another, online / offline etc. I am a moderate, I like both

Seems like people now love to be extreme on all things. It’s terrible if you’re not on a certain side

@TheGoaler_PSN said:

Hostilities, disrespect, and violence are way high because we are living in end times.

Certain feels like it but I hope not.