For years, Strongholds had been my favorite exotic in the game. As a 54-year-old player, I didn’t care about being the best or pushing the limits of competition. I just wanted to log in, have fun, and escape for a while. Strongholds gave me that sense of joy. They were tanky, they could absorb damage, and they let me dive into the action without the constant fear of dying. It was all about the experience a balance of power and survival that felt uniquely satisfying. But that changed when the nerf hit. Suddenly, what was once an unstoppable force was reduced to little more than a shadow of itself. It wasn't just the Strongholds that were affected it was the entire spirit of the game. Exotics, once a source of joy and identity, were constantly tweaked or reworked to “balance” things for the competitive crowd. While some players were calling it “broken,” I was left feeling like something I cherished had been stolen from me. What happened to the fun? The game, which used to be a place where I could relax and enjoy myself, had become this ever-changing landscape of constant adjustments always in the name of “balance.” But I didn't want to be forced to adapt every time a patch came through. I wanted to enjoy the Stronghold for what it was, not what someone else decided it should be. Every nerf, every change, made the game less enjoyable, until it just didn’t feel like the same place anymore. The Strongholds weren't just exotics to me; they were a part of what made the game fun. And now, I couldn't help but feel like the game had lost its magic. I felt like the devs were changing everything to appease a vocal minority, instead of letting players like me who just wanted to play and enjoy themselves have fun. In the end, it became too much. I found myself logging off more often, unsure if the game I once loved was even still there.