[Video] Is Planetside 2 Becoming More Friendly To New Players?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by gregfox89, Mar 2, 2014.

  1. gregfox89



    My opinions about the latest patch and how it affects the game
    • Up x 1
  2. Metallic123

    I agree with everything except that it's a bad idea to give new players access to a default shotgun. Variety is good for new players and keeping them.
  3. gregfox89

    Yeah I tried to say that I had mixed feelings about it
  4. LT_Latency

    You need a shot gun, If a very good player is flying around a tower with a shotgun it sort of sucks no having one yourself.

    Espically at the top of the tower where you fight very close range but other then that good video.
  5. gregfox89

    Yeah, that basically supports my view that shotguns are OP. There's a lot of stuff in the game like that, stuff that defines a class, vehicle, or playstyle, but previously there were budget options available as a solution. All I am wondering is now that shotguns are default, why not make some of that other stuff default too? I do ultimately want more variety available to new players. Most of what makes shotguns OP is due to client-side hit detection, so I think they're impossible to balance, so I definitely see why they did it.
  6. Littleman

    They did a poor job of it in my opinion. I think the quiz should have just been used to suggest a starting class and given ALL of the prizes to the new player.

    There are certs I think need to just be maxed out from the start.
    Medical tool.
    Engineering tool.
    Nanite mesh generator.
    Hunter Cloak.
    Jetpack.

    These are core abilities for each class, and they all have other things to cert into, even side grades to their default ability. Without these certs, the classes themselves are pretty much crap. Some more so than others... like medics taking too long to heal/revive and do so with only a portion of HP and are thus practically worthless until rank 5-6 for example. LA can't really get anywhere quickly (or even at all) without certing into their jetpack.

    People dedicated to these classes will eventually cert these abilities, but I know newbies will jump around. Making each class initially more capable isn't going to destroy this game. There are a myriad of other factors doing more than enough damage - including, but not limited to, long time players having tons of certs already over the newbie.
  7. Codex561

    Umm... that breaks the game. The point of it is to get certs and use them to get upgrades or new guns.
  8. FateJH

    I'm not confident that (new) player retention is actually achieved by giving away free things.
    • Up x 1
  9. Littleman


    FIVE whole certifications being maxed out breaks the game, huh? There's no...

    Drifter jumpjets?
    Stalker cloak?
    Nano-armor cloak?
    Advanced Equipment Terminal Hacking?
    Nano-regen device (AoE heal?)
    Triage? (LAWL)
    Ammo boxes?
    AI turret?
    AV turret?
    Resist Shield?
    Adrenaline shield?
    Advanced Shield Generator x5?
    Nanoweave Armor x5?
    Ammunition belt x5?
    Flak Armor x5?
    Utility pouch?
    Munitions pouch?
    Grenade bandolier X5?
    Adrenaline pump x2?
    Resurrection grenades?
    Healing grenades?
    Concussion grenades?
    Flash grenades?
    Smoke grenades?
    EMP grenades?
    Decoy grenades? (More lawl.)
    Sticky grenades?
    C4?
    Tank mines?
    Anti-personnel mines?
    Recon device?
    Motion sensor?
    Six assault rifles? (T1S, T1B, TRV, TAR, SABR-13, NS-11a)
    Six carbines? (Trac 5 -S, Trac 5 Burst, Lynx, Jaguar, T5 AMC, NS-11c)
    Six LMGs? (T9 Carv -S, T16 Rhino, T32 Bull, TMG-50, MSW-R, NS-15m)
    Two SMGs?
    Two auto shotguns?
    Two pump action shotguns?
    Four handguns?
    G2A lock-on rocket launcher?
    G2G lock-on rocket launcher?
    Annihilator?
    Decimator?

    And I haven't even listed off the vehicles yet!

    But no, 5 little cert lines that are the beating heart of each class will break the point of playing the game...

    Right now, certing up any one of these classes feels WAY BEYOND a mere "20% increase." Newbs can feel it. The experienced players know it. There still needs to be a few more bones thrown the new player's way. I want new blood in this game. 1500 people online at a time per server is NOT a good sign, especially when each continent is supposed to be host to two-thousand players. After year one, it's looking like Planetside 1's hemorrhaging all over again, and this time there are no mechs to point towards.

    It helps. A lot of the problem is new players getting doubly screwed over by players with still far more options, more power (certing up IS a huge boost to power, whether One wants to believe it or not) and a greater understanding of how to abuse the netcode used in PS2. Wide eyed pilots getting shot out of the air without ever having the chance to do anything discourages that crowd. People seemingly dropping the newb in one to two shots when the newb feels like they have to empty entire magazines to maybe get a kill isn't helping the infantry crowd. Tank spam isn't very exciting either.

    CoD and Battlefield are easy to get into. TTK's are so short that people need only snap aim and spray a few rounds to score a kill, then they get their dopamine release and feel good for a few seconds before getting offed by the next lucky newb. PS2's TTK is in a special place where it is long on the giving end, but extremely short on the receiving end. No one likes dying around corners and no one likes putting round after round after round into someone only to die to that very same person seemingly in a single shot.

    Basically, a better development lead with a better understanding of how an MMOFPS should play. Shoe-horning Battlefield into an MMOFPS format is NOT going to work without everyone on Google Fiber first.
  10. Codex561

    I also said guns so your list becomes:
    Shorter, is it not? And I use maybe 2 of the things you named. Giving the main upgrades for free is absurd. What you named are more specializations not upgrades. Which brings us to a even shorter list:
    So 3 of your items accually made sense but guess what, they are free and upgrading them aint worth it.
  11. Crackulous

    Though the increase in shotgun popularity is sure to increase, at least beginners aren't going to be at a loss in close combat. 250 certs is a significant amount for someone starting off. A shotgun and another armament of their choice is a gift that they'll surely appreciate.
  12. Littleman


    Just because you said guns invalidates nothing. You are looking at 800 certs worth per class and claiming giving these for free will break the game. What will break the game is when there's more people leaving than coming in.

    This is already happening.

    There's no good reason to intentionally handicap a class' core role at this point in the game. A great number of players already have at least one or two roles with their core ability/tool capped out. Your argument isn't about the point of the game, it's clear that's a facade, it's about not wanting to give newbs what they need to compete. They don't need the whole list of guns right away, the variety is just nice. Class abilities can spare to not be $#!% to start off with so a newb that wants to be a medic isn't dancing for three seconds just to get me up at 75% my HP when other medics will have me up in one second with full health.
  13. Codex561

    What you named were specializations, if what you say is implemented, people will only need to get 2000 certs to be better: Get an smg and a good pistol. (or maybe a nice shotgun). So a guy with 2000 certs will be WAAAAY better than someone with 999 certs, do you want that? Do you?!?!
  14. z1967

    I feel that, since all gear is a side-grade, giving free weapon will allow new players to be somewhat competitive with veterans. But, I feel that leaving vehicle gear out was a bad move considering that vehicle gameplay is one of the hardest to get into of them all. Lightnings would get HEATs and MBT's would get a ESAI secondary and one level of fire suppression and IR-smoke (I feel like these would be more beneficial than Anchor mode, Magburner, and Vanguard shield). ESFs would maybe get the big mag nose cannon and Flares/fire suppression. Sunderers would get a front bulldog and one level of gate shield defuser. and yes to the AMS being a default (what else are you gonna use the thing for anyway?). Harrasers get wither the Bulldog or the ESAI secondary with a level in turbo and fore suppression. Finally, the underloved flash gets a cloaking loadout designed for hit and run (scrapper, wraith, and basilisk) and a transport loadout (racer, turbo, basilisk).

    I feel like giving free stuff to new players is a step in the right direction.
  15. GlassItem

    I'm pretty sure no one wants that. And with the changes he's proposing, that wouldn't happen either. Certs are important, but they don't solely make you good, like you're proposing. Players in this game become good through skill. Newbies don't have skill. By giving them free items like he's proposing, they would be able to perform actions on the battlefield better, like reviving or flanking. They would have more time to do other things, like react to an enemy's presence. However, this doesn't make them better - as a newbie medic, even with more time to react, you could still get gunned down easily. As a newbie light assault trooper, even though you're flanking an enemy, because you don't know how to compensate for recoil, you miss several shots on them and still die.

    Skill is a huge factor in determining how good players will be, and simply put, newbies don't have that. Newbies will still be bad even with the benefits he wants to implement. Doing this will lower the skill/learning curve for them significantly with their better and more competitive equipment against veterans, easing the learning experience for newbies and making more of them stay and increasing the population of the game.

    Of course, more people = more potential buyers for SOE as well. This is good from both a gameplay and business perspectives. His idea really is a good idea.
  16. Sarcasmo

    Its no fun when a newbie is unable to do very well. Newbies need an easy low risk high reward thing.
    I AM GOING TO USE A COD EXAMPLE DONT BURN ME!

    Think of the grenade launcher in COD games, it is easy to use and incredibly powerful. Despite how much people complain about it, it is a necessity, newbies can use it and get a decent score, pros dont use it so much because they have learned and adapted better tactics and weapon choice. They have their mode of getting a good score just like the noobs do, but since they are more skilled, theirs has more finess. As newbies get better they will learn that their method isnt as great as it used to be, they will then develop new strategies to take on their challenges. Without the grenade launcher, the game would be an old guys club and newbies would not often have as much of a good time.

    By giving newbies a shotgun and some more free stuff, you guarentee they are more able to effectively help the team, instead of being a decimal percentage or a straight up liability.

    I recently got back into Planetside 2.

    When I saw I got a shotgun I was very excited, I had never had a chance to use it before. It is a wonderful weapon to use in biolabs and such. I have been able to adapt my strategy for close range to use that in tandem with my other equipment. I used to spray my pulsar like a maniac to get kills and I did ok, but then I discovered the Solstice SF and its multiple firing modes, now I am able to take down even the most sneaky long range infiltrators with my Solstice and then immediately turn around and burst fire down the light assault trying to float over the wall to my sunderer, then proceed into the capture point room spraying full auto at the medics guarding the point, but then a max walks in and smashes my face in, I can switch to my shotgun and run in behind him and put a clip or two into his back and take him out, whereas if I only had my pulsar or Solstice, I would have to peek around corners and slowly whittle him down.

    I would have probably not ever been able to do that using my old strategy, but as I played and tried new things, ever so slowly deviating from my one size fits all strategy, I discovered glorious ways to improve my game. Having a few free things, and some low risk-low cost very powerful options lets one ease into the scene instead of having to slowly crawl with one hand up the spiked ladder of pain and suffering that is Planetside 2.

    I lead alot of squads, and I frequently ask people if they have any neat tactics or strange improvisations. If not for my own betterment, but for the betterment of everyone in the group. One person noted that most people just hid behind boxes and things, he though, used his engineer turret to prop himself up and use the top of the boxes as cover and being able to shoot down on people. Another person learned to use his underbarrel grenade launcher as a knee mortar of sorts, taking out large amounts of enemies just lobbing shots from on top of hills or firing it near straight up from behind a wall where he knew clumps of enemy soldiers awaited on the other side.(I have adapted this tactic and it is a very good one.)

    In all, giving newbies a more level playing field to start out with is never a bad thing. It gives them a larger base of which to expand on, even if they miss out on spending a thousand certs on upgrading their tools.
  17. Ronin Oni

    I think it's good.

    I dunno, I tried the VS free shotgun... went back to my Deimos