R492

I feel like at this point I should probably clarify that my frustration is not with my alliance or the fact that 100/100 is a thing some places do. I think the only complaint I could have with them is that it's not made clear how competitively focused a player should be when applying or how narrow their particular path is. My main frustration is with the game itself, my actual suggestion in this would be to have a popup when changing trading blocs that warns the player of how their income will be affected in the change (since currently it's my understanding that taxes are tied to the blocs, though I have only been around for 5 days at this point). Spending 10 minutes after a tick wondering where my income that I built up for and had already made plans for is a shitty feeling, and at least if I had had some warning that it would happen I could have planned around it.

I specifically mentioned my issue with the application process towards the end of the process itself, that's there more to bring home the main point though rather than a point of its own. The tax rate is the issue, I understand the reason a tax rate needs to exist but setting it to 100% is way overboard and the fact that there is no warning of tax rate changes when moving between blocks nor any way I'd noticed to check tax rates until they're listed in my revenue screen and it's too late needs to change. I would say that taxes are fine but setting them to 100% is a big issue for me, not just because it's all my income and forces players to go to war from day one just to meet the basic needs of their empires but also the fact that it's allowed to be done in the first place just doesn't sit right, and especially when there's no warning before it just happens and it's too late to turn back, and even beyond that there's nothing about it in any part of the tutorial I've encountered including the part where it has you join an alliance and switch your trading bloc. It's a frustration with the game mechanic itself as much as it is with the alliance, and at least going forward I hope you'll let other players know about the tax rate before they make a decision, it's not a good selling point but players deserve to know what they're getting into when they join an alliance.

Alliances shouldn't be able to squeeze every last bit of production value from their members, even top alliances that offer significant protections and grants. As a new player being spammed with messages to join alliances, then picking one and being dragged though an application process that takes an hour or more, then told to switch from my noob protection beige into the faction's trading bloc colour and suddenly finding that all of my resources are being taken without having been given so much as a heads-up from the system feels outright scummy and even if veteran players can find their justifications it turns away newer players who feel like their hard-earned resources are being stolen by players who simply know the system better and exploit it.