To me new player retention is probably one the largest issues with PS2's current state. As all of us know PS2 is not kind to new players as they are thrown into a very large and complicated game with no way to easily contact mentors or have access to tools and guides that can explain weapons and mechanics easily. To make matters worse they are usually always alone running around aimlessly not having a clue of what to do and how to actually read the maps for good fights. This has to stop if PS2 is to ever truly succeed, especially in the console market. I wish to propose an idea that would not only benefit new players but also help swell the ranks of participating outfits. My idea is simple, when new players create a character and finish the tutorial they are then given a screen with the list of all recruiting outfits. Outfits will be given a choice to open their ranks to new or older players that use the in game outfit Lister. Each outfit could be given a monthly quota to be filled by individuals using this automatic method of joining which keeps zerg fits from obtaining to many members and allows fair distribution of newer recruits. This option should also be toggled on and off by outfit leads so they can control the flow of new prospects entering their outfits so to avoid being over burdened with newer players. This allows new players direct access to experienced and willing outfits to assist them with the game and actually teach them how to play. But also allows outfits to have an easy way to gain fresh members to maintain their active members they want. For this to truly be successful outfits would need the ability to write up a list of requirements and expectations of newer members so to help avoid newer players joining the wrong type of outfit. And as previously mentioned it is imperative that each outfit have a max quota of new recruits that can join through this method which can be reset every month. To me PS2 is not about lone wolfing or playing it solo, and for new players that usually means they are getting farmed. That leads to very frustrating game play and simply a much more shallow experience. SOE you need to enforce the idea that new players join outfits, and you need to make it easier for both sides to make that happen. I know we have a new outfit listing update on the way but I feel it simply wont be enough to help keep these new members playing this game. You have the experienced player base that would love nothing more then to help these new players experience and learn the game yet we lack the tools to make the connection. Help create an easy way for new players to join outfits, almost force them to join one as that single act completely changes the experience people have in this game. If there are not major changes on top of the already coming outfit listing you will still see more losses of newer players that gave up because they never got the chance to really experience the game the way outfits do now.
Outfit Recruitment is one of the things on the Roadmap that needed to be present on launch day. Things like Hossin, Continental Conquest, Resource Revamp etc may be more glamorous to us players that are already established but retaining new players is so important especially for a game with a niche like PS2. Just thinking of all the players that have left because they felt lost and spammed because is horrible. New players (not all but a good portion) need some form of guidance because of the scale of the game. Just a simple outfit that can outline the basics and offer support during the initial opening hours of a new players experience will really help ease them into it. They can be guided to where they need to be and told where not to be. Being in a squad where you have a reliable group of medics keeping you in the fight and not finding yourself back in the spawn room constantly. Having a team that you can roll out in a Galaxy or just as a gunner in tank with really helps bind players to the game When I first started I felt all of these things. I felt over whelmed and had a terrible experience and if it were not for my persistent and stubborn nature of hating to lose I would have quit mere hours after starting but I insisted on winning before I left the game Being a lone wolf suits some people, I play often as a lone wolf nowadays and if new players decide that is how they want to play then fair enough. For those that are not suited to that style however there needs to be a simpler way of getting them into an outfir that suits them. Outfit Recruiting will hopefully do that and it is LONG overdue
I dont get it. EQ2 already has this system. They could literally copy/paste and make a few edits and have had this feature years ago
With a game as open ended and large as PS2 I cannot answer why they have not done this already. Helps outfits maintain new recruits without jumping through hoops and gives new players vets to teach them how to play this game correctly.
No man, the priority here should clearly be adding more guns to the game. Frankly with how poorly managed this game is on the development level I'm surprised they managed to get themselves together enough to make Hossin/Continent Locking at all, and the latter is probably going to held together by spit and elbow grease more than anything. But that's asides the point. Outfits are and always have been the backbone of PlanetSide, both 1 and 2, despite 2's... undesirable... state. The negligence SOE has shown them in terms of feature design is, putting it nicely, appalling. Outfits dying has been the main bane to this game's population, and there is, of course, a correlation. But that could have been offset by features such as this. However, that damage can be patched up if they get their priorities straight after Hossin by designing the game around Outfit-orientated features, both in terms of endgame content(More "continent features") and features specifically for Outfits themselves. There's plenty of content in the game now for the lone wolf. Such a feature as the one in the OP is not a major one, but it is significant. I know EVE online immediately and thoroughly instilled the extreme importance of joining a Corporation in terms of the wide range of benefits it brought and how much it improves your game experience. It even went so far as to throw you into a Noob corporation afterwards. Needless to say, the shooter crowd is much less sociable than the niche MMO crowd EVE caters to, but the principal is the same.
