Welcome to Gaia! ::

Knight Survey ::

Something we've been hearing quite a bit of is that knights are considered 'useless' in a lot of ways. If our player base is unhappy then we definitely want to fix the source of unhappiness, but we need to understand what you think the problem is before we charge into potentially fixing something that you don't think is broken, and leaving the broken thing where it was!

We would like to make it clear, from the outset, that just because something is disliked does not mean we are necessarily going to remove it or change it. We want to get a feel for how you guys are feeling but cannot, at this time, make any promises about anything we'll be doing in the future.

Thank you!

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them:
Yes, Camelot of Earth.

How long have you played your knight?
Over a year and a half.

If you don't have a knight, are you questing one?
--

How long have you been questing?
--

What do you like about the knight faction?
I like that it's simple and not bound by the need for a space Queen or over organization. I feel like there is a lot of room to play and for player run plots, which is encouraging and could be interesting. Most of that room is unexplored, though. They do not have to follow the same rules as Senshi or the Negaverse, which makes them much more alluring to me because I do like that they're this product of the shop, for the shop.

I enjoy their histories and the way knights have links to Senshi and the White Moon through their differing wonders and planets, but are still all united and separate at once. I feel like they have so much potential for creative and interesting uses, outside of just fighting youma and playing support to the Senshi.

What do you dislike about the knight faction?
The Knight faction is fairly inactive in plots and it has not evolved too much since being introduced quite some time ago. The focus has just been drawn away from them since than, and they've been a bit aimless due to staff changes and a general lack of direction as a stand alone faction.

What would you like to see added to this faction?
I'd like to see more of an over arching sense of purpose for the knights. Why are they really there, and what is their purpose? Knights serve and defend, sure, but it's only vaguely established and not really a compelling reason to play them by itself. I get this feeling that knights need something to quest for, to make them unique and to give them, and their players, a deeper sense of connection and investment.

I would like to see their meeting realm completed and in use. Group RPs for the faction have not been that great, there has been a lot of bickering and pettiness, but I don't want that to define what the faction is. They do need a place to be united, whether all the players or characters are or not, and a realm of their own, away from the Senshi, would help in that urgent need to define them as their own faction and not just an extension.

And maybe a skill or objective that sets them apart from Senshi and other factions a bit more would help as well. Something that gives them more of a unique draw. In theory, the senshi and knights are fundamentally the same. They have similar abilities with their magic and wonders, and the differences in quests for them are small and mostly aesthetic or even just age based. Knights need to be more than that.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction?
Regimentation and ranks. I think knights work because they're easy, welcoming and fun, and while they need a bit more plot direction I think they would suffer from too much direct control or if people are made to vie for ruling positions. While they do need strength and ways to communicate and share their information with one another, as well as their safe haven, I don't think they need more people to bow down to. Part of what I enjoy about them is the fact that they don't have to be one giant team under specific banners, and that it is not a detriment to them.

If you do not have a knight and are not questing one, is there anything that we could add to this faction that would make you want one?
--

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them: Yes; Aventine
How long have you played your knight? A little over two months

What do you like about the knight faction? Initially coming into the shop, I liked the idea that I could play a more neutral character. I liked the idea of themes and the idea of being able to work in a group with other knights of the same planet, with a sort of unity. I like the use of aspects to give them a much needed extra to help them compete against senshi and negaverse agents.

What do you dislike about the knight faction? They feel like they are second class; no matter what they do, they are always beneath the senshi of that planet. Since Polaris is the only princess with knights, I'd like to use her as an example. Despite Iris being very welcoming to those questing and playing Polaris knights, from another perspective, I view these knights as being in service to Polaris—beneath her. Which means that no matter what any of them do, for example, they will never be as important as Polaris. And what happens if any of them were to go fourth stage? With the logic of 'knights serve princess', even a Templar is beneath Polaris. While I am fine and love the idea that they could work with the senshi or princess of a planet, I dislike that it seems as if they have no other purpose than to serve beneath her. Additionally, right now the knights seem as much an enemy to themselves as the negaverse is to them [especially now that the majority of the Negaverse does not seem to be actively looking for trouble]. I dislike that there is no real reason for them to work together at present; there is nothing to distinctively motivate or unify them.

What would you like to see added to this faction?
- a purpose other than serve the princess/ protect innocents.
- something to allow them to be more unified/share ideas. The last event the knights had resulted in a lot of arguing, and while I don't want to see anyone forced to work together or in groups with each other, something to motivate knights to work together and not just bash heads would be fabulous.
- a safe haven. They are currently the only faction without a 'safe place'; there is the moon [which they can get to, though only with a senshi, for only three days a month], mirrorspace and the rift, so it's something every other faction has but which they are deprived of.
- a Templar. I think this would be good not only for the faction, but for the shop. With GKs being available to play as Templars in the past life subforum, I am more curious now than ever to see how the Templars factored into the past, and I think that since these doors have been opened, this is something that needs to be looked into. I think Templars would be beneficial in giving the knights not only something aspire for, but also maybe some more clear cut goals that could individualize the knights from the senshi and make them more than just subservient.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction? While working with or slightly under the princess/senshi of the planet they serve is fine by me, I don't want to see the knights as just bonuses for senshi. I also do not want to see them militarized in any manner. I think the knights represent people who have come together for the greater good and have the potential to work together without needing to assign ranks or leaders. I think doing this could cause a lot of discontent among players and characters, so I'd like if the knights could remain under their own control as opposed to being lead by another.

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them: yes - Sutai Squire of Polaris
How long have you played your knight? Oh goodness... Maybe six months? More? I'm not sure.
If you don't have a knight, are you questing one? --
How long have you been questing? --

What do you like about the knight faction? That it's the purified form of a Nega officer, that way there's a bridge back and forth for corruption and purification. I also dig how they're modeled after their senshi but still very unique and their weapons/magic serve a supportive function. The signet rings and Wonders are also a fun addition that I really enjoy even if Sutai doesn't ICly have her ring yet.

What do you dislike about the knight faction? They don't feel like they have a purpose or direction. I feel quite lucky that Sutai herself is fairly simpleminded and is more than happy to take a backseat role but I am concerned for knights with a more forceful personality. Why do knights do what they do aside from support their senshi or their planet? I have no idea. I'd love to see some form of direction or some kind of purpose because the faction as a whole feels rather aimless.

What would you like to see added to this faction? A Templar. Most definitely a Templar and I think you know who I believe would be the best candidate for this. I think this would help unify the faction and make it feel more legit. And giving the knights a goal - maybe organize a meeting or two? Right now the faction feels the least organized of the factions in the game.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction? Ummm I have no idea. Knights are independent of cats so knight cats would be silly.

If you do not have a knight and are not questing one, is there anything that we could add to this faction that would make you want one? --

((This may not quit be to your uh form here. I ran off on tangents (important ones but still...) SORRY!!! sweatdrop ))

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them: Niflhel of Saturn, Buyan of Neptune
How long have you played your knight? Niflhel has been in play since May 13, 2011; Buyan has been obtained recently.
If you don't have a knight, are you questing one?
How long have you been questing?

What do you like about the knight faction? I like that the knight faction gives players another option besides Senshi or Negaverse; for those characters that do not fit those roles. As a player and since I've owned Azzo (dating back to Nov. 2009 with the start of barren pines). I never felt that the senshi faction truly fit him and because of things that had happened in the BP event I saw him never going to the dark side. Back then in old shop the answer to that had been Cavaliers and I had desperately attempted to get one for Azzo as there were a few that I felt he fit theme wise. However, as we know the shop had a melt down that left players confused and upset until new staff took over. They then, later on created knights.

What do you dislike about the knight faction? To be honest my one biggest dislike is the fact that most characters do not have anything useful to defend themselves against the negaverse with. At least prior to the negaverse's new set up. Now? I feel that they're being over looked and well don't have much of a reason. Senshi exist to do one a few things - find their moon queen, protect peace and love, and bring rightousness to those evil doers of chaos (or so is my opinion and this may vary with mileage.)

What would you like to see added to this faction? I would like to see the knights either gain some propose, some reason of being now that there's not that much do to. They as have been described in the past are a naturally neutral good. Knights in their intended set up, I believe, were not designed to seek out negaverse and beat them to a pulp; but instead protect civilians. This, I feel, has fallen to the wayside because of other changes in the playing system to attempt and better the shop. However, the playing system changes have unfortunately wreaked a little havoc for some of the players in the form of "what are we to do without having x or y there?" Honestly, Niflhel's not going to attack anything that doesn't attack him first. Thankfully I don't have to worry about growing him to knight hood anymore to have to deal with how to handle the new growth reqs. For Buyan on the other hand, things are going to become much more interesting and perhaps difficult for me with her. This new requirement change has sort of thrown a little wrench in things and while I never mind playing with other people, it's occasionally hard for me seeing Buyan fighting a negaverse agent. Unlike Niflhel she does not have any training in kick boxing or another martial art; she's a health nut and ex-teacher. She's not going to be really keen on beating up kids (no matter how lame she might be). Not to mention her weapon's magic is purely support. Without a team honestly (and I do know this and I choose to do it anyways though I wish I'd known about the req changes sooner or I might have rethought this a little better), but like I was saying, without a team it would honestly be hard for her to do much of anything. That's where my greatest problem steams.

I'm not going to say I want to see them all gain offensive weapons. However, I believe a few more options of being offensive instead of defensive would greatly help the problem. Though I would like to see some degree of new functionality that gives the knights at least some usefulness. The aspects were a great way to add to the knight's faction, and a great idea. I think maybe something along that line could aid our fellow knights. I also think, maybe (and I know it's impossible without one existing) knowing what templars were capable of, has the potential to also make knights appear more useful.

I also think, and sadly so, that knights just being from earth is kind of limiting to those that own senshi and haven't planned on their planets mingling with earth's people. Either because they're "too far away" or some other reason for the players choice. It might be nice if this could be broadened a little bit to include people of those planets that they inhabit as knights. Just as a possibility, it would be nice to see knights that were native to the planets/princesses they protected.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction?
If you do not have a knight and are not questing one, is there anything that we could add to this faction that would make you want one?

((edit I want to throw in another disclaimer because I've seen mention of this in later posts - when I mentioned templars I mean in general. I would like to at least know what they do, maybe even eventually see one exist. IDC who gains or plays the templar as long as you know it's deserved - as the other existing four stagers have been.))

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them:
Bifrost Page of Chronos
Andronicus Page of Uranus

How long have you played your knight?
I've been playing Bifrost since the Surrounding Meta, however long that is. Andronicus I haven't started to RP yet.

If you don't have a knight, are you questing one?
N/A

How long have you been questing?
N/A

What do you like about the knight faction?
Generally, I over all like the Knights. I like that's its a bit of GM created canon put into the SM universe, and for the most part it's done well and the information makes sense, and they feel like they fit.

What do you dislike about the knight faction?
That said... I dislike that the Knights are 'lawful neutral' to be honest. I would like to be able to have a knight who is 'gtfo' to the Senshi AND Negaverse, and be there for the civilians. Esspecially for the Sol Senshi knights who's princess isn't going to ever come back; Chronos and Polaris have their Princesses in this life, which makes me think those senshi have a bit more control over what direction their knights go. The others? It feels like they need to be sub servant to a senshi who's dead.

Knights are rather... limiting in terms of battles. For instance, Bifrost Pages does not have weaponry. She has rings as her 'weapon'. She has no magic, no real weaponry, and I spend most of her battles running away from the Negaverse characters. Bifrost, how she's been designed, will never have a physical weapon and have to rely on her defensive magic, which could mean she could become a real gimp in battles if she doesn't get resourceful. While this leads to a lot of comical encounters (like Bifrost throwing the rings at Remarque to no effect what so ever), I don't want Bifrost to be all comedy when she's powered up. In Andronicus' case she has a mace/staff thing that at least can be used to bash people in the head.

The fact that Knights are proposed as simply "buffers" and "defensive" class is outdated. I know that when the class was introduced, the DMC didn't exist, and the GMs thought it appropriate to have two classes of offensive/defensive and one class purely of defensive, given that Knights are 'lawful neutral'. However, when the DMC were introduced, no such limit was put on the mirror senshi, and we now have two (three, really with the corrupted) factions on the Negaverse side that do offensive abilities, and one faction on the good side that's offensive and one that's defensive. It's out of balance.

In addition, to me this means that Knights will -never- be on par with the Senshi because the Senshi have to go and 'fight' while the Knights stay in the back. In the hierarchy of things, it means that Knights are always somewhat sub servant to the Senshi, even if it's never explicitly stated. If the Knights are there to protect the -civilians- as was the impression I first got, then they have to be their own entity ENTIRELY and not buckled down under the senshi.

You guys have tried to facilitate some good RP for the knights and it hasn't clicked yet. The Knights really don't have a direction besides a vague 'learn about our past', but there wasn't any follow up to it. I felt with that RP that we'd see -more- of it, with more history slowly developing over time. As it is? Nada, nothin'. The only thing I got out of it was a kick start to Bifrost's -civilian- plot line, as the entirety of the meeting was people trying to throw their weight around (myself included). The Knights are unorganized, but have so much great potential it makes me sad to have most of the emphasis on the Negaverse and the Senshi.


What would you like to see added to this faction?
A Templar. Please, even if its an NPC. We are the only faction without a fourth tier, and I feel like the Knights could use one at least as a guiding force on wtf is going on. That said, while there are a number of people who eligible, I wouldn't rush into it. Facilitate faction RP and then see how the leadership drifts and flows, so its not just "oh hai this your templar" without any indication if the faction is going to follow them.

Or if not a Templar, at least something to -unify- them. Or at least get them all on the same page and not so lost. Since Knights don't need a cat to awaken them, they really have no way of knowing what's going on unless they try to ask someone. Something that helped get information around easier in the faction would be nice.

Balance verses the Negaverse; Since they are, essentially, two sides of the same coin, I feel like there needs to be some balance between abilities, weapons and such. Knights will probably never need the ability to kill, but you can't rely on a channeled magical ability to defeat your opponent. And continuing to have the Knights as soley defensive characters, without the ability to defend themselves is going to result in a lot of running away, and show the knights as weak. Not everyone is going to come armed with martial arts training and carry a knife in their pocket. Some, like Bifrost, are woefully ignorant about self defense, and while resourceful, are easy targets.

Something to make them more unique than cosmetic uniforms. Wonders are to Knights as Planets/Stars/etc are to Senshi. Any defensive ability a knight has can be tweaked and put into a senshi. While the idea is nice, and intregal, there isn't much that keeps them different. There needs to be something, as right now I'm stumped for suggestions, that diffintively makes the Knights different, like how the DMC are different from the Corrupted.

Somewhere to go. Knights can go to their wonders, yes, but that's on a cooldown that's -shared- with the Senshi. Personally the moon doesn't even count as a place to go because there are only -three- days out of the month its usable. The Negaverse are the best off with the Rift, which is available 24/7, 365 days a year. The Knights need some place they can go too that isn't hampered by cooldowns. Even if its just a magicked warehouse on the outskirts, or maybe, the dream room, would be better than the lack of a safe place.

And to be honest? An expansion of where the knights can originally be from, as civilians. Yes -most- knights were born of earth, but its possible that knights were born on other planets too, and didn't awake for those planet's senshi, or were born on those planets and are knights for those senshi.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction?
Becoming permanently beneath the senshi, I'd hate to see. Anything that militarizes them like the Negaverse is a no go.

More cooldowns on things, though is sort of overall. I've never really understood why the cooldowns were there in the first place (besides the moon I guess), and there was that whole confusion on whether the Wonders on the Surrounding counted or if just going to the Surrounding counted, and I felt with Bifrost (which is why I don't have any solos of it) that if I did one I'd loose out on the other. Keep the cooldowns to a minimum; there's no need for them if one whole side of the fight can indefinitely stay in their faction specific locations, but the other can't.

If you do not have a knight and are not questing one, is there anything that we could add to this faction that would make you want one? N/A

Do you own a knight? If so, please list them: Valhalla Knight and Sessrumnir Squire of Jupiter
How long have you played your knight? Since May 2011
If you don't have a knight, are you questing one? N/A
How long have you been questing? N/A

What do you like about the knight faction?
I like that there’s an option to pick something other than pure magic when deciding on faction upgrades. My personal experience comes from the fact that my character had been written to be a Parallel Cavalier, and when that faction fell through, any kind of senshi sphere seemed forced and the faction itself didn’t really fit the character.

I like that knights are defined as “neutral good” for the most part. I feel it gives them a much different range of interactions than senshi would get, and I like that and my experience with it has been rewarding for me.

I like that their weapons and magic require a little more thought than the typical Negaverse weapon, and magic can be fun and unique, as opposed to the typical offensive-type magic.

What do you dislike about the knight faction?
I dislike the fact that they rely on the senshi for everything. They rely on them for information, they rely on them for piggybacking to the moon, they rely on them for communication with the rest of the senshi... They feel like they’re below the senshi, and not equal to them. Their first stages are weak, and while they can obviously manage to get through to second and third, it feels like they’re just there for the lulz.

I’m not a big fan of the aspects as I feel like it had been thrown together without much consideration for the characters already under each planet/princess. I haven’t seen anyone use the aspects, either, but I’ll admit to not always thoroughly reading through every RP.

I dislike with a passion... the name “Templar”. That isn’t something I expect to change, obviously, but it answers the question. ;;

There are just so many religious (Catholic) connotations to the name, and too much history and legend to really make the name unique or original or differentiate the rank from the historical Templars. I don’t think the Templar name is really the fairest representation of what the Knight faction was intended to be. Plus, with the Templars having such a presence in Earth’s history (and in our literature), to me personally it has always seemed as if Earth Knights are viewed preferentially, particularly by players, though this obviously isn’t something that can be changed and probably isn’t even intentional. The Templar/Holy Grail connection bugs me a lot, especially when there’s a “Holy Grail” in Sailor Moon canon. Anyone who picks a name in any way associated with the Holy Grail thus has some sort of an association with the Templars of history, even if that association is simply that they were questing for the same thing which happens to have its name used in Sailor Moon.

Also, the historical Templars didn’t exist prior to the Silver Millenium (1000 AD), so it always confused me why that name was picked. All the other Knight ranks seem more logical in comparison, probably because the terms are a little more generic.

Some of the middle eastern themed Knights being potentially slapped with the name Templar also seems kind of... I don’t know. Ironic, maybe. And not necessarily in a good way. It’s definitely something of a contradiction — being middle eastern themed with a Catholic name.

Really, I don’t get why the name “Templar” was picked when there were/are other Orders (historically) to pick from (Hospitaller, Teutonic Knights), unless it was because of the popularity of the name. And stage four knights are named after a military order. As a faction, they don’t seem very military-like and are actually kind of weak compared to other groups. Something more along the lines of a Chivalric Order (The Order of the Garter, the Order of the Dragon, the Order of the Rose, etc.) seems like it would have made more sense with how the Knights are currently set up. Like a Galactic Order of Knights or something, I don’t know. Or a separate order for each planet/princess based on their themes/powers.

What would you like to see added to this faction?
I would like to see some sort of growth with their communication and maybe a more thorough explanation of how they can determine if there’s danger or something important going on like how the senshi get an alert on their phone. During the Summer Camp event, when an alert went out, I’d asked Mouse how knights were supposed to know, and she said that knights were able to feel energy from farther away than senshi. I don’t think that has been written anywhere official, but I think that would be a great way to help boost the knight faction a little. If their internal intuition was stronger than senshi and those on the side of Chaos, I feel like it’ll even the field out a bit more, though still not as well as I and others might like.

Because there are so few knights that are active, I feel guilty asking for some kind of event that would draw them together. But again, because there isn’t much the knights do without the senshi, there might not be anything that could really force them to work apart.

Basically, they need a reason for existing, other than being the sidekick of senshi, or another option on the side of order.

What would you like to never see become a part of this faction?
I don’t want guardian cats to become attached to knights. It would feel like a consolation prize after all the work people have done for their existing characters.

I don’t think the knights have established themselves enough to see a “Templar”/fourth stage character, yet. The faction shouldn’t need a fourth stage/”leader” in order to function/exist or have some sort of purpose. If they can’t do that on their own, first, why even bother having them around, is my thought on that. Once they’ve been able to establish themselves and realize their purpose, then sure! But until then, we’ve got our work cut out for us!

If you do not have a knight and are not questing one, is there anything that we could add to this faction that would make you want one? N/A