The shattered stupidity

Y'know what. I've seen enough that I can safely correct my own statement. I honestly think that this update is more like an online mental health test.

In the most literal sense, that there is an uncomfortable number of the playerbase that could be declared clinically sociopathic.

Things I've seen over the last week couldn't be any less. The sheer number of people that find enjoyment over making everyone around them suffer. Tormenting every last person they can find, even if it's on their own team. That their sense of enjoyment comes from the misery of others, through straight malice.

The A2G groundpounding was the start of it. Before people even got the quests to kill people there were ESFs and Liberators attacking everything that moves. Teamkilling and especially TKing sunderers in the SWGZ. The bases people have been building directly on objectives, that server no purpose than to screw over the other two teams (Which, besides 'lore' there's no downside to letting them just complete the damn missions). People building bases to cover plant spawns (I didn't think to get a SS of two last night. A field of 30+ plants spawned and a group of players built a bunker over it and killed anyone trying to deconstruct it). The people that think it's 'sport' "hunting" players just trying to complete their already tedious missions.... I could go on, I've seen far more unsettling stuff...

But this is not healthy, sane behavior. And this isn't your typical 'pit faction versus faction for lulz', the missions are activly encouraging people to be the worse they can be while the game tells everyone to go at the throats of anyone nearby.

It is a cycle though. In the beginning I witnessed (and participated in) combined efforts from players of all three factions to find and complete objectives. Later the killing started and I got paranoid after being killed several times by people clearly workingon the same objectives as me, so I began shooting first whenever possible. AM I 100% sure every single one of the people I shot wanted my head on a pike? No. Did I not want to die 3 m from the objectives and have to run 600 m again? Absolutely.
It is only natural that fights focus around the areas with resources, in this case mission objectives, especially the carrots. And the desire to secure this for their own faction is understandable, given that a harvested carrot counts for all faction members in close proximity. So it IS a faction effort there, also making this a "you or us" kind of situation where you don't want another faction to get to the carrots in order to complete it faster. This would only be counterproductive if they would be harvested cross-faction, which they aren't. Honestly, I don't have a problem with this, the forest fights can be fun, provided all sides have about equal strength and a spawn to keep things interesting.
I do, however, agree that those who only hunt objective seeker for fun aren't the nicest bunch around. They have no stakes, don't need to try and protect their progress or their factions' efforts. But at least in my expereince, they are the clear minorits. Most people in the SWG want to do objectives (and defend themselves) or want fights. Sometimes both.

Dear Dr. Finklestink,

Nice highfalutin diagnosis Doc. o7

Here's my blue collar diagnosis: Don't put those ridiculously junk missions in an Combined Arms shooter. Problem solved.