Why Our Player Retention Sucks

Day 794, 20:15 Published in USA USA by Glove

I am a fairly new player and because of this, I am able to briefly describe why eUsa's player retention is not so hot. I was a bit confused as to why eUSA is not ranked 1 or 2 in the eWorld, especially since in the real world almost every American has access to the internet, but after a couple of weeks of study and analysis, I have come up with a conclusion.

First, I spent some time learning about the game. I introduced myself on the forums and I joined a party (United States Worker's Party) when the option was given to me. From the party and Usa forums, I got a few friend requests and a welcome. 'Tis was nice of them and I thank you, but I was still very much confused onto what I was suppose to do in this game. If it had not been for the owner of Chesehead Industries, I probably would have quit by now.

On the first day I joined, I found the game to be extremely boring. I noticed lots of announcements and there were a couple of wars going on, but I was unable to take part in them due to my low level. It said I had to be level 5 and when I asked Chesehead if this was true he told me yeah but to be patient.

Well eventually the day came that I could finally fight. Chesehead had given me a job since day one and I had some cash to spend (except I spent quite a bit on food). Being the noob I am, the first major investment I made was Q3 pistol. Unfortunately, no one ever told me that weapons were a one time deal (how realistic). I got a screen that said good fight, private! and then I fought again, only to find the weapon gone... I had spent the money I had slaved for over several days in an instance...I was ready to quit the game.

Now I am a bit wealthier, a little stronger, and a little bit more knowledgeable about the game. I have read several articles about player retention and many of you have ideas on how to deal with the situation. Well sadly, I'm going to be blunt, most of the ideas just aren't going to do much. Sure Q2 hospitals in every province would be nice, sure cheaper iron sounds like a good idea, but they aren't. Noobs don't care or know about hospitals, and they are too poor to buy anything. The first few days are vital. The noob needs to be exposed to all aspects of Erepublik. When all he can do is work...well he gets really bored. The noob needs someone to guide him, to give him food, guns to play with, an organization to join and feel useful. It is no use having 400 new accounts made in eUsa everyday if only 205 are actually online.


Now to be honest, I don't know why we eUsa noobs leave so frequently. Maybe its a global thing, maybe its a cultural thing, maybe we just need a friend to be there every step of the way, to stop us from spending all our earnings on a Q3 gun.

I have read articles about partys' and companys' offering to help noobs with gifts and tips but I have yet to have any help whatsoever (except from Chesehead, who I know personally). I don't know if this is common but I just felt I should point this out.

I think the best solution to raising eUsa numbers is by allowing more immigration to occur. I was looking through the Citizenship request page and there are lots of people willing to join the American cause. If we cannot get a babyboom and retain more players, I think giving out more American citizenship is the next best thing. I don't know how the government operates when dealing with foreigners, but this seems like an excellent alternative to the massive player retention proposals out there. Maybe the government already gives out a lot of citizenship, I don't know I haven't been here long enough to observe. Theres over 13 pages in the citizenship section.


For you military guys out there, I reccomend you distribute more propoganda. I remember on my second day I saw an ad from an Latvian hiring people. He promised certain things and I was immediately persuaded. However, I did not meet the requirements (he wanted people with 13+ strength lol). I say if we cannot get a baby boom, then we should redistribute the world's population.

Well those are my two cents on Erepublik and the eUsa.



The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American. ~Thomas Jefferson