Alerts: VS>TR>NC! Why?

The big question is how does primetime look like? If VS has a lot of Asian outfits (which is something I keep hearing; no clue if true) they could easily be winning alerts on empty servers due imbalances outside prime time. This only tells you that there are imbalances outside of prime time because there's one side with more organized outfits in a time with limited activity.

Even prime time is a question of focus; I remember back on Miller with 26% primetime population if the alert was not on Indar VS would not bother (this was before the continent locks) simply because we'd get roflstomped by NC or TR due to population and simply did not bother. That type of mentality can easily settle in and players simply don't bother any more even with equal pop online.

I saw someone on TR /yell "Why don't you go fight VS, NC always fight TR". While they had 98+ at our tech plant and VS were pushing NC hard in the north. I remember thinking, 'This guy has a sense of humor'.

Let me put an idea out about snowballing and use MAG as an example.

MAG, a PS3 MP only game with 3 factions, started off good but ended up with MASSIVE balance problems. SVER, Raven, and Valor at first sight seemed not different enough to make any problems. But then came the maps and how they played to the factions. SVER was CQC focused and had CQC focused maps with great kill zones. Valor was general use focused and had maps to show that. Raven was more of the tech faction and favored aim, but had **** maps with no roof cover protecting them from airstrikes for MONTHS.

With all game modes needing some CQC fights for control points and such, SVER took an extra lead. Even when all the maps was finally shared to all factions for defending and attacking. SVER still had a natural lead thanks to CQC focused weapons. But also by then with everyone seeing SVER winning so much in their views or by stories on forums SVER gained a LOT of of the player base for easier wins. Basic snowball that grew to big for it to be dealt with when action was finally taken.

Zipper may have failed in running MAG and let it go to **** but it was a very good game while it was going.


Now on to PS2, since launch one thing as been said over and over again. VS=easy mode, TR=normal mode, NC=hard mode with numbers backing up that to a point and so much talk on forums saying it over and over again. Flinch ****-ED NC at launch and we still have some of the worst performing classes according to some forums. Can't say for certain myself with any proof on that but it is what I read and see. Yet I keep hearing praise to VS weapons for being easier to use for new players and old players. Plus VS has had some really good and OP toys in ZOE and the Magrider before they got nerfed that lasted for a long time and still have good weapon systems on them still in my opinion. TR had ups and downs with how the forums treated them. Always in the middle but for when having the recent OP weapon till it gets a nerf.

Maybe a part of as to why NC is getting **** on right now is the 2 years of snowballing against them. Anything that the NC had that could have been OP never lasted long enough to take hold of players (Phoenix) if it even was let to hit live servers to start with (Railjack shotgun mode). The NC Scatter MAX was the only thing I can remember that was really seen as OP and yet they still couldn't be used to good effect outside of extreme CQC fights against limited numbers and lost hard when taken to courtyards or open fields, but that has been nerfed for a while now and there was more than enough bigger bases to make this not as big of a problem. I can't recall much of the past GU patches, but I don't seem to remember much of ANY real nerfs to the NC but do recall a fair bit of buffs over the last 2 years. Yet NC is still lacking behind is so much after all that.

Just an idea. All of this could be the end workings of the 2 years of stuff adding up and not some recent thing. I for certain KNOW that NC of Waterson could be great things if they wanted. We formed the NCC between the outfits and had about a TS meeting a month to talk over our needs and had an active forums. Then the merge happened and Emerald NC had NCHQ to link each other but that has since seemed to died off with the last post on its forums being the 18th then 28th of last month.

The VS and TR are generally organized and approach the alerts with a continent-wide strategy. If the command channel is used it's to request help, which they then receive. The NC ignore all of that. Either they don't want to play an alert or they are stuck, single-mindedly farming the same location for hours. Mani Fortress will be contested by them for 5 hours straight with no progress because it's a killzone. Normally though the winner either already has a foothold on one continent because everyone moved when a continent unlocked, or there is a significant population shift to play an alert and every battle is 3 to 1. The actual faction differences are negligible, it's just the players.

Connery NC outfits are completely disorganized. There are quite a few smaller ones which can easily pull more than their fair share of the weight of the empire. But the zergfits and many other zerglings have noone to pull them out of their comfort zones and light a fire under em to get em to move.

Has little to do with our equipment, everything to do with inept or non-existent leadership.

So I think after the changes alerts lost the fun.

They care about good fights? Not the NC on emerald. All they wanna do is sit in Biolabs in their scat maxes and farm.

The NC don't care for good fights, they'd rather overpopulate an under contested continent and avoid alerts. Ie. take the path of least resistance.

Oddly, one of the most hated songs ever written...

... I wonder why.

I'd pay good money to have my ScatMax do that "scat" ramble at the beginning of the song randomly in voice chat.

Repeating your arguments about TR and NC while ignoring the meat of mine, whines about my "personal attack" after literally claiming that NC/TR is just not competent enough to lead well compared to VS.

I am TR main. I play on Cobalt. I know the stakes and the score, and your arguments are still far to generalized, far to arrogant and far to elitist towards VS to be anywhere near the truth.

Clearly the quantity and quality of overall leadership on the different factions on different servers varies and this has impacts. Regardless, your assessments are not accurate - in fact as stated they are overly elitist.

There's no proof to be had that somehow the NC leadership accross the board is inept simply because they are NC. Anyone who's played all the factions knows that every Empire has unorganized Zergfits and smaller but more focused outfits. They all have derps, they all have trolls, they all have good players as well.

So get off the idea that one faction attracts good and another attracts bad. PS2 attracts players, simply as that.

The issue, like I said before is the NC arsenal is good at what it does. NC can kill others just as easily as they can kill NC. Its balanced in that sense. The problem is what the NC is good at, isn't strong in the current over all base design. Which is preventing swift capture of objectives like the other objectives are good at.

The idea that somehow 1/3 of the playerbase is overall bad at the game is false, look at the vehicle stats and weapon stats. The players are just as good. The outfits are just as good. Which leaves the playing field as the problem.

If you look at the server populations (since that site was reset) even off-peak the population has been relatively equal...... whether it is asian only guilds only playing VS off-peak, I dunno.

But assuming that is the case then there is still the BIG difference between TR and NC to explain.

Most alterts end pretty close. Mostly it is up to 1 or 2 bases capped or lost in the last 10 minutes to cost or give your faction the victory. Maybe the VS command is just a tad more cool headed during those situations. I don't know, since I only play VS and thus cannot compare our order/command chat to the NC or TR.

My rule of thumb is: The faction that has the most territory at the half time, will most likely not win the alarm (unless said faction has a serious population advantage).
The other 2 factions usualy gang up on the leading faction at half time. Either intentionaly to deny them the victory, or unintentionally because the lattice leaves them no other choice.
On Cobalt this happens all the time.
Another factor is, how many biolab grinds are going on to trap all those random players. I've seen the VS loose alerts because 70% of our continent population joined the stalemates in 2 biolabs and the remaining players were too few to take/hold the other territories.

CUZ VS ZERGS.
Nobody wants to fight a zerg and get crushed so TR and NC would rather fight each other and let VS just camp spawns.
It depends on the definition of fun:
To TR and NC having a good fight is fun
To VS "fun" is camping a spawnroom with an overwhelming advantage

I can hardly remember the last time I fought VS without being outpopped at least 2 to 1

Organization and allocation of resources and units from command is very important for VS outfit fights.

Basically the general feel I get is "meh" to alerts from me and at least some fellow NC. I only get involved properly if there looks like a chance it'll be at least a decent fight - most of the time I find they start with TR or VS at 40% control and 36% pop so I don't really bother.

Unless it's in a biolab, then it's farm time

You just attacked me again for no reason

So you do understand what I am saying? Why the arguments? I didn't mean VS was the best in terms of leadership. We are just more consistent than the rest.

You are getting dangerously close to being intentionally dense.

I'll explain in a slow and careful manner. It will involve loads of colour. Deal with it.

You say "have you ever played on the TR and NC? That lack of teamwork and leadership is what i call pitiful."

I respond with "Repeating your arguments about TR and NC while ignoring the meat of mine, whines about my "personal attack" after literally claiming that NC/TR is just not competent enough to lead well compared to VS."

Then we get the "You just attacked me again for no reason" claim. Somehow you don't understand that saying this "Nice try to those saying VS are OP yadda yadda, the simple fact is VS has more skilled players. Heres why

• VS Like to work together
• TR Like to lone wolf
• NC Like to lone wolf

More recently a TR outfit came back which works together [VG] i think they are called. and they are annoying (because they are good) and I have to give them credit for being a pain to deal with.

This game supports team play so naturally those who work as a team, succeed. It's not that hard to understand." and have it responded to with this "> Laments that VS is considered OP, and claims VS is just better overall, to explain why they win so much more than others.

> Cites the lack of teamwork in all teams besides VS as another reason for the alert win differences.

Pitiful. Next you will tell me it's just a L2P issue and VS are actually underpowered but this attracts more team-oriented and skilled players, so that VS is just that good.

If so you would not be the first one, this is very standard rhetoric from the average members of GOKU and many other Emerald VS outfits, even earlier in this very tread.

Let me know when you get over yourself and deflate that massive ego of yours, you might become more interesting to talk to." means, in short...

"You should not say that VS are over-powered because the VS are simply [in the most general sense possible] better."

I point out that this means exactly what you said "You don't like that the VS is considered overpowered and at the same time you claim VS is simply superior because everyone else is less effective in leadership abilities etc."

Well, being told by you that the VS is simply superior and the TR and NC inferior, and pointing this out and calling you out on it are NOT personal attacks, it was a synopsis of your statements and replies to them. You made a statement in the most generalized manner you could "all of X are better/worse than all of Y/Z" and got called on that "that's extremely generalized, not to mentioned arrogant and elitist of you."

Ofc, this lead to...

"OMG personal attacks!"

No, not quite. I did not personally attack you by saying that, nor is "Repeating your arguments about TR and NC while ignoring the meat of mine, whines about my "personal attack" after literally claiming that NC/TR is just not competent enough to lead well compared to VS." personal attacks either - I stated that you repeated your arguments (you did) while ignoring mine (you were) and that you complained (whined is less polite for "complained") about me personally attacking you.

Finally, stating that "Clearly the quantity and quality of overall leadership on the different factions on different servers varies and this has impacts. Regardless, your assessments are not accurate - in fact as stated they are overly elitist." don't mean I agree with your assessment that VS is superior. Because what you said was "the simple fact is VS has more skilled players" and that's blatantly not correct.

"I didn't mean VS was the best in terms of leadership. We are just more consistent than the rest." you just contradicted yourself AND repeated your inaccurate generalization once again. Let's see if you spot it.

Ive been playing my nc and tr alts on Emerald this past week. TR is fun. People work together. Guns are decent. Base taking is easy with the right tactics.

NC, hily shashta, is hard mode. The guns vehicles and weapons are not conducive for offense. It even seems as if they suffer the worst lag and could prob use a projectile velocity boost across most weapons to compensate. They wield sledgehammers when surgical tools are required. They have no long range spray n pray. They have no purple population numbers. Leadership and followership is lacking more so than other factions. Many nc are rambos with no tactical thought or afraid to pop rush. They really need a few good leaders capable of rallying troops and leading them in tactical combat. Id encourage a few brave outfits to run regular nc ops just to keep the nc from becoming am endangered species.

You are still doing it.