How can we make unbalanced fights more fun for the underpopulated faction?

Anyone remember this from WoW?

http://www.wowwiki.com/Tenacity_(Wintergrasp)

Maybe in addition to an experience bonus there is an equally (or greater) proportionate increase in health and damage for defenders. Suddenly, being that one person versus 48+ is fun when you have 100k health and one shotgun shell can take out a MAX.

Because most fights where you're outnumbered, say 2 to 1, end up being a spawn camp. You'll see some hopeful defenders try to sally out and defend while half the defence sit in the spawn with Sniper Rifles trying to pick off stragglers. Eventually the number of actual defenders at a base becomes almost negligible due to the often vast numbers of attackers and people giving up after 3-4 futile deaths.

I'd like to say that I enjoy being the underdog but it'd be a lie. There's no sense of reward for beating back an attack on a base, since you've more than likely conceded ground at another base as a result of pulling most of the defence from other regions just to hold one base. It's why Continent Locking is skewed atm, since most alerts are won with 40% populations or continents are locked 80%+ ghost cap populations, either during off-peak times or during alerts on whatever isn't locked. I know CL is only Phase 1 but why it was implemented without some sort of faction capping is beyond me.

Disclaimer - Haven't actually played the game, waiting for the PS4 version, but I've been lurking here and generally keeping up with game developments since early last year. I also love watching live streams and YouTube videos for this game. Looking forward to playing it very much.

In general it seems like direct deployment needs to be toned down, but the distress beacon idea seems like a good one for those lopsided engagements. Maybe the same people who could put the "Attack Here" and "Defend Here" icons on the map could put similar markers around the base in places where it might be strategic to drop in and at least attempt to flank, take out an enemy sunderer, or whatever.

That, along with a substantial XP bonus for joining the underdogs seem to be good things. I don't like the idea of health/shield/damage bonuses personally, but again… I'm the noobiest noob that ever noobed. The backseat driver that's never driven.

My two cents.

SOE doesn't need to do anything. It is down to the community. If your a underpoped faction and are being zerged by both empires and you know some of the outfits pushing are the good and respected outfits.

Just tell them in yell chat. Just say I thought you guys were good, why are you pushing the low faction? A lot of times they might reply saying you guys camped us last night or you won the last couple of alerts. If none of these are the case a lot of the times these good outfits which are the backbone of the push will redeploy to the other front unless they are trying to cap that map.

I ve been in platoons that have seen this message and been ordered to redeploy. I have also given the order as a squad/platoon lead.

If you want to experience how to hold or hurt a zerg, join a spec ops outfit that specialize in these tactics. All servers have them and all factions have them as well. They will be know on your server and are thought of as elite.

Elite because they have been know to defend a base with 3-1 odds or take a base by locking down A point with no spawns but defending that point against massive odds.

What solo players need to know is that platoon and squad leads have a thing called leaders chat or orders text. They can organise a defence and a lot of times this will be happening without the solo players knowing. Underpop factions need to use these well while large pop factions can get by without using it 2 much.

What tends to happen is a call will go out, saying outfit (name) we have a 48+ pushing down (name) lattice we have 1-2 squads defending this line will need back up once they hit ( name of a good defensive base.)

Response will be this is outfit (name) we are fighting other faction, will redeploy when you call for help. Leader who made the call can then ask for air support, armour or infantry.

Solo player is being camped in the 2 bases before the picked base and is having nerdrage fits (All players get this at different times in game.) Then like magic they see that zerg of pain smashed at the picked base by their factions outfits working together and suddenly the game is great and they enjoy themselves camping the poor solo players who have joined the zerg that the outfit or outfits who formed it have redeployed to another base.

The camped become the campers and its another day in Planetside.

For the solo players thinking that's great but I m not in a outfit and don't want to join 1 hears some tips. Sundies are spawns if your being camped you can pull one from next base drive it to a hidden spot close but not 2 close to next base, pull a sniper, smg inf or light assault and find a good spot to snipe or kill enemies trying to camp spawn with their back to you.

You can also pull eng's, HA with c4 and light assault with c4 and blow up some of the tanks sitting still looking down their zoomed gun at spawn waiting for someone to come out. Perfect for you 2 walk up and c4 them and blow them up. This will help your outfits when they respond by weaken the force.

Know the places sundies like to park and mine them or sit at the next base waiting in a hiding spot near were you think they will park, let them pull up and get out and run towards base then stroll up with you mines or c4 and blow up their nice sundy.

Known the enemies good outfits so you know which outfits will defend against these attacks well. You would be surpised how many outfits these tactics work against. Just find another base against these outfits, unless you enjoy a challenge these outfits will be tough and shut you down pretty hard.

If it gets to much for you or you run out of resources look for other maps that has more even pops with your faction having territory.

If you think its a important base being zerged look at the map an see were a large number of your faction is then deploy or fly there and tell them in Region chat. (/re) If they don't respond move to another map or just log and maybe next time you play more good outfits will be on and you have a good days gameplay.

Everyone likes to be a winner but in this game underpop factions have to lower their standards of winning. Winning for them is holding 1 Tech plant, 1 Amp and 1 Bio. Feel pride when you have this because it is a achievement. Large factions would judge winning as locking a map or holding 60-70% of map.

How about when you overload an SCU it gives the defending infantry a 20 -50 pct personal shield boost until it either explodes or its repaired....and then remove SCUs from biolabs.

That's strange, the "dome shield" biolabs are the biggest stalemate camps in the game.

How about, "there is no way to redesign bases to stop getting your *** rolled and spawn camped by being overpopped in a hex."

Sure, we're outnumbered 3:1, everyone spawn at the next base to.....AWE we just lose the base.....OK, we're still outnumbered 3:1, everyone spawn at the next base to......AWE we just lost the base......OK, we're still outnumbered 3:1....


Base capture timer is too short to try to save any bases, that's why we sit in the spawn room and snipe out, that and we're still outnumbered 3:1 so it doesn't matter what you do when you're outnumbered 3:1 you're outnumbered 3:1

Remove Vehicles, besides sundies for spawning.

They are what ruin every fight. one side masses vehicles and it ends up turning into a farming simulator. no one can move up because the vehicles give their infantry infinite cover. No one can kill the vehicles because they hump cover and are protected by a ton of infantry.

Combined arms just doesn't work in games when you make vehicles so grossly overpowered compared to infantry.

And it's the quickest way to get people to just leave and go somewhere else and let the vehicle side just ghost cap it. cause no one wants to deal with that.

Next time you're getting spawn camped look at the population numbers in that hex you're in.

It's always fine until the vehicle zerg shows up, then everyone leaves because the vehicles decide no fun is allowed.

They are too damn strong and you can't do anything about them when they are hiding behind a bunch of rocks and infantry. Rockets barely tickle them, the default rocket launcher requires just about every single rocket you are carrying to hit in order to kill a tank, never mind the 3 year long reloads between each shot, and being in line of sight of the tanks and all the infantry in order to take the shot.

The only real option is for your side to pull a bunch of tanks and flank them. Which isn't an option for someone who doesn't like vehicle play to begin with and hasn't been playing long enough to have enough spare certs to make one capable of battle in the first place.

So being outnumbered on average 3:1 is "fine" huh?

50/50 isn't outnumbered.

It only gets 3:1 when the vehicles show up.

The problem is population imbalance, not vehicles.

Even with population imbalance overall, not all fights are going to be imbalanced against them.

Vehicles however are a force multiplier, and they ruin any fun in the game, especially if you get overpopped in a hex because of them as you will never be able to fight back at that point. At least with an infantry overpopulation you still have a fighting chance and people will actually leave the spawnroom.

Vehicle force multiplier meet defense (we got an invulnerable spawn we don't have to repair, and it's closer to "A") force multiplier. Why do you think biolabs are so hard to take.

server and hex pop resource/xp boosts. That also helps to offset continent locks.

meh. I'd rather have tools to be able to fight against imbalanced fights, like the PS1 AMS/CE.

Would love to see a 10-25% defense and 10-25% damage boost would be a huge in fighting when down 2-1

Hell, i currently look for fights where i am outnumbered. More targets to shoot and more friendlies to rez. Best exp around.