We should make this clear:
There is a button (actually 3, one per type: Friends, Guild members, Neighborhood members) that is FREE (non-paying) for people that play on their PCs.
That's a GIFT.
The rest of us low-class citizens (MOBILE PLAYERS) get to pay for this "privilege" if we want that same level of accommodation. We either have to BUY that right via Forge+, or watch 3 video ads/day (so that we can do each of the 3 mentioned types, above).
So ENJOY your free gift, because a lot of people don't have that.
I generally agree with you -
There is something in the DNA of this game AND it's current designers that continue to myopically insist on building new things with "tedium" in them. That might have worked 12 years ago when this game was born, but they think it needs to continue to be viewed as such today.
So far, they will not acquiesce to reducing game tedium, for anyone - without payment for such. In fact, new venue designs employ it on purpose. *(notwithstanding the recent fast POSITIVE beta change for assembling inventory items "en masse").
FoE leadership mandates design marching orders that "saving player time should costs player money" - and Inno marches to that by keeping old designs and features in the current game, and new design to that principle.
They want you here...FULL STOP. If you're not here, there is no opportunity for you to spend money. That's the brass ring.
I don't believe that should be happening as pervasively as it does (mostly due to the veteran maturity of the player community), and for the countless requests to streamline the long list of incessantly repetitive and mundane game functions, it falls on deaf ears. In fact, it goes the opposite way, entirely too often.
I was
encouraged by the recent letter from Matt, who I will call, the player's "messiah". If what he's going
to try to do for the game and for us gets any percentage complete to the goals he set out, it would be a good thing:
But back to your 1 button,
TAVERN ALL:
People that have the "one button" FREE Aid-ALL gladly will press 3 buttons a day, to aid everyone, but many people who enjoy that feature have STOPPED tavern sitting because it falls off their radar -in other words - because TAVERN sitting is still manual, it isn't as quick or compelling.
The path of least resistance really demonstrates an overarching principle here. The items ( A tavern sit and an aid/polish...) were
historically paired - until the change to FREE on PC vs Cost vs the mobile.
They're NOT paired anymore, and PC players typically don' bother with the MANUAL process of tavern sitting - but always aid each day.
I see it time and time again in my beta friends list - day in and day out.