Run with Zerg, Capture, Repeat...

I know that Defense gets bonus XP and they are trying to make it more noticable, but here is what I'm seeing...

I spawn at WG, there are a ton of vehicles at one or maybe two spots on the map. They move from facility to facility and capture it with ease. The defenders get overrun and, "ding" you get the XP. The Zerg moves on and the opposing faction moves back in after a while and defenders get overrun and "ding" they get the XP.

So what happens is there is a round robin run of bases that get capped and abandoned and with very few exceptions such as "The Crown", this happens regularly. I'm sure it was not by design, but this is what happened when defense bonus chunk was removed. Noone stays even if there is a small presense, and if you do, you get overrun.

its bad base design

Hows the XP daisy chaining?

This is my biggest complaint right now. There is absolutely no incentive to stay and defend what you have, except the chance to AoE explode 3-6 enemies at a time with grenades spam or suicide mining. I thought this particular issue was worked out years ago. Why are we having to re-learn it all over?

I love sitting in a Magrider as the gunner, watching tv and occasionally taking potshots at airplanes to let my driver know I'm not afk, even though I basically am.

I don't, really. But it's easy XP.

No, it's the lack of PS1 mines/spitfires/motion detectors/cloaked AMS.

no its idiots not realizing that if you join an outfit you don't have to do that.....

I know I'll get flamed for mentioning a PS1 mechanic that somehow didn't make it into PS2, but there is a solution to this that has worked before. It goes like this:

The number of enemy in the territory during the time when the base is in a contested state, has an influence on the XP reward for the final capture (or successful defense) of the base. So if you take a base with no defenders, you get little-to-no reward besides the base's granted benefits. But if you attack something they are defending with decent numbers, you get a decent reward.

Likewise, this is an incentive to defend the bases you already have. If you successfully defend a base that the enemy is attacking with large numbers, you get a whole bunch of XP. Much more than you would by easy-capping un-defended places.

XP is fine when doing this, tho my FPS tanks with the 30 vehicles so close together. I get that we need certs to progress, but this shouldn't be the main way. A bit boring, and the other faction does the same.

If I remember correctly it was Command Rank that went up with more defenders. Players grinded Command Rank to get their CUD cheaps (reveal enemy cheap, EMP blast cheap, Orbital Strike cheap).

If this was translated into Battle Rank, it would help break up the zerg. Zerging is boring.

So outfits are out doing fun stuff while the others do this merry go round all day?

Yes.

Or, you could not even join one, but *gasp* CHOOSE to do something else. Just because it's fast and easy XP doesn't mean it's the only way to play, I have way more fun doing things that maybe aren't as materially rewarding, but leave me with a much greater sense of accomplishment and cool memories.

And this is true, until I spend my certs again and need another 100-200 for some next level, then it's back to the merry-go-round. Do you think I like it? It's like going to "work". hahaha

From my experience as an outsider, outfits just join the zerg.

I often see a bunch of people from the same outfit bunched up together.

Problem with the "zerg" is that enemies try to keep up with the zerg, or try to stay behind the zerg, so they're never creating a focused attack because they're desperately trying to counter the zerg with their own zerg.
This means that you can't really get a good fight going elsewhere because the enemies are spread out too thin, or the zerg will simply join your fight and steamroll it.

This gives outfits very few opportunities to do anything else but join the zerg.
Other than going to a continent without a zerg, but this isn't always an option.

Nothing worse than arriving at a base, working on taking it from the enemy, and then having the zerg arrive halfway and taking most of the people who initially joined with them after capture, so the base just gets taken the moment the zerg leaves, because there's only 5 people left defending.

I was playing tonight on Jaeger as Vanu and I know the mantra is defense nets no xp blah blah blah

BUT!

We took Eisa around 8:00 pm and continued to hold it for about an hour. In that time, I think I earned 200+ certs. It was constant action defending those two doors on the southwest side.

My point is defending on some bases CAN be fun and rewarding. I will say that defending the amp stations is almost useless if your fellow space dudes won't push out to the walls with you.

That does happen true, a good outfit will have lots of randoms trailing around them creating a semblance of a zerg. But you can always choose to go backlane people and mess up their bases in prep for taking, or go to a continent where there is either less action or your empire is getting owned and try to push back.

But yeah, outfits that just stay on whatever they consider their faction's continent and go for biolabs and tech plants do pretty much the same thing.

Outfits don't join the zerg, outfits are the zerg.

Once a base gets taken, all the solo players look for where the largest group is heading and follows them. This is usually outfits.

Well, the smaller outfits do join up and become the zerg that everyone else follows for the fast XP. The larger outfits do this too and take care of their members by getting them leveled up with good gear.

That means the "fun seeking" outfits are not exactly getting this large XP experience like the merry-go-rounders, which is ok as that is what they want.

Empasized "some bases" as that has been my experience too. Until the XP-go-round comes around again and takes the defenders with them.

Lack of incentives in defending, thats the main problem.

No real xp bonus in defending
no proper base defenses
defenses are easily breached
base design funnels defending faction to their death

take a look at the defending teams, where is there spawn point? its never close enough to the actual points to make a difference, and even if it was we would have nothing but camping outside spawn rooms. Apparently that doesnt happen already?

im sorry but this game needs more OP defensive positions. Defenses are designed to funnel THE ENEMY, NOT THE ******* DEFENDERS, to their deaths, or at the very least stall their advancement. we currently have in place a BS shield generator system that does just that, stalls, nothing more. If this generator was so dam important, why is it situated in a position easily accessed. The main points that secure and keep the bases defended should be areas easily accessed by the defenders and should NOT have so many obstacles and buildings between the spawn and the points.

These are basic concepts that determine whether or not there is any point in defending any points.

The players who are zerging already figured out the point in NOT defending. there almost no point at all

im sorry but the game needs more Crown fights like we had in beta, but they need to be on EVERY front-line where at least 2 factions are engaged. there NEEDS to be a struggle to maintain ownership of bases.