Continent desgin and mid map blenders

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by RabidIBM, Dec 9, 2020.

  1. RabidIBM

    I have noticed that while mid map blenders do happen sometimes at The Ascent on Amerish, they are not nearly as common as T.I. Alloys on Indar or Nason's Defiance on Hossin.

    I believe that the sequence of events that leads to the blenders is as follow:
    -In many of the bases in PS2, a minority population cannot beat back an established majority population well enough to get to the control point
    -Therefore, forget winning the fight, the minority population can't even slow the capture clock down.
    -There is no point in leaders bringing their squads or platoons to defensive fights where they will be at a disadvantage.
    -There is no fight for these bases, just a platoon spawn camping the few poor souls who did show up.
    -Players' choices are: 1. participate in a zerg 2. oppose a zerg 3. go to the mid map blender for certs and a fight

    At this point, it becomes obvious why so many players make the choice they do. Once the behavior is established, they stop even looking at the map at all, and we get the current meta and all the frustration it causes for those trying to lead. Yet why is this so much less common on Amerish? I think it comes down to a feature which some lament as bad base design, but actually addresses this issue. Many of the multi point bases on Amerish have a control point very close to the defender's spawn and deep within the no-deploy zone for sunderers. D point at Split Peak, B point at Crux Headquarters, A point at West Pass Watchtower etc. Now there's a reason for leaders to show up even when they will be at a disadvantage. They might not be able to win outright, but they can hold one point, slow the clock down, and hope for reinforcements. Even if nobody helps them, they can still feel like they accomplished something by stalling. Because of this, there actually will be a fight somewhere other than mid map, and other players will start showing up, potentially creating a balanced, large scale, fun fight that people play PS2 for.

    Now, I know this post will never be read by devs, because I don't have 10k subs on YouTube, but I would still like some discussion in case I've missed something. And if there is someone here who has the ability to get the devs attention, I think this is worth bringing up. We know they recognize the need for new continents, and to shake up the existing continents, but I don't think they actually know what they need to change. I really think that having 1 easy point for defenders at more bases will help to break up the endless mid map blenders.
  2. ican'taim

    Nason's can handle large fights well, and people don't stay there forever unlike TI Alloys. Same with Amerish and Esamir.

    Indar is the only cont that has this issue.
  3. JustGotSuspended


    lol no

    have you ever tried a 3-way at lithcorp? Or eisa? Only Nason's is the best adapted for "balanced" 3 way fights. And still, it could use some tweaks.
  4. RabidIBM

    Ok, here's a thought. Some folks specifically seek out the 3 way fights, and there are both a new continent in development, as well as almost certainly more continent reworks in progress. I also find that those end of alert for 1 minute bases in a near draw situation make for a fantastic climax to finish the alert.

    What if, and yes it is a major shake up, a continent were released with a 1 minute mid map base? Imagine it, end of alert, no permanent resources in place, you are looking at a 3 way tie and just dipped under 4 minutes left in the alert. All 3 factions grab what they can, and have a 3 way mosh pit to close out the alert. Tell me that wouldn't be fun!