When Cortiumfarming replaces playing the game

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by TR5L4Y3R, Feb 21, 2019.

  1. TR5L4Y3R

    This is gonna be a bit of a rambly post and i may not quite be able to fully explain what i want to talk about
    but it´s something that bothers me about PS2 for quite a while ..

    also funny enough within the context of this thread i found this old video



    so what is my problem?
    the progression of the game .. and how you progress through the game in whatever you do ...
    what is it that you do? in the grand sceme of things from my perspective PS2 always was about capturing bases and territory until the continentlocking alert comes in and either you or any of the opposing factions wins the continentlock .. that is what i feel of finishing a match or a gameround ..
    and coming back to the video and title once you end a match/round you get rewarded during and by the end of the match/round ..

    and here is were i feel the game is lacking for the longest time .. specifycally for the F2P noviceplayer were Subcribers may have less to no problem with this ..

    sure the rewards you get are based on your performance and that is fair enough ..
    it becomes a problem however when certain aspects of the game become not rewarding enough (outside of being fun) and instead it´s the from my view more laborius and less to no fun tasks that get you more reward which in this case is me farming cortium for hours as that gets me the most certs in the least stressfull way (and that is NOT a good thing as this should be optional and not the main way of gaining certs in a fair ammount of time) ...

    specifically if one of your goals are unlocks .. and unlocks in this game are very plenty .. and i´m not even talking about the various auto- and semiautomatic infantryweapons but rather the options that imo allow you to participate in the other planes of battle better weither that is for oneman options like the Max, lightning and esf or the crewed options like MBT´s, Valkeries and Liberators because (unless you rather like to fully dedicate yourself to just one role) you may want to have an answer to any situation that arises and switch to the according answer/option ... and it becomes even more problematic if that unlock has even more and not inexpensive unlocks ... and i´m a guy that likes being flexible ..

    what that ultimatly does to me atleast is that i start caring more and more to reach that next unlock because in my mind it becomes neccesary instead of just simply go around and kill infanty, blow up stuff and take territory bases which is the fun stuff ..
    the things i don´t want to do is to constantly repair, heal, suply infantry and as mentioned farming cortium because that gives me more certs ... these tasks rather should be because they are part of the gameplay, you do them unconsciously and sporaridicaly while participating in battle or building your PMB ..
    they should not be your conscius effort to gain certs ..

    but imo the way PS2 ballance currently is, the way players start with their default options and the way gaining certs is it just incentivises going through these laborious tasks ...
    and with all that it should be not suprising when people leave the game ..

    i didn´t even include archievements in this cause these are just as much a PITA to get forcing you to play suboptimaly and in a non fun way ...

    /ramble
  2. Pacster3

    Seriously: I prefer to have the best gains in something like cortium mining that hurts none than having them in point and click spawnroom shelling that encourages gameplay that is really hurting the fun for the other side.

    I absolutely agree that cortium farming should need less time(for less certs) so it does not play such a big part in construction...and that construction should play a more interesting part in the game(cause currently you only need it for OS fun once in a while and for cert-cortium-farming).

    If you want to make actually playing the killing game more cert rewarding then we need different rules for different guns. So Daltons, Hesh, ESF, Sctamax(current one) would have to be much less rewarding when killing infantry than if infantry kills infantry. Elseway it just results in more one sided killfarming(which is already rewarding for the KPD stats) which is NOT my idea of fun.
  3. TR5L4Y3R

    it´s NOT purely the killing i want to be more rewarding (in fact killing specifically killingblows should be secondary imo )
    it´s the general participation in the basebattles and territorycontrol by ANY means that i want to be rewarding enough ..
    you are bringing a deployed sunderer or build a forwardbase to start an assault on a opponents base? get rewarded
    you successfuly capture or defend a base? get rewarded
    you are forcing an aircraft to retreat using your machinegun? get rewarded ..
    you support your team and keep the opponent from advancing? get rewarded ..
    you are tanking damage that is meant for others? get rewarded
    the simple action of hitting your opponent with anything damaging should give you a small reward ..

    so basically the sum of any of the above or similar should give a propper reward for how you performed in your playsession
    yet instead the rewardsystem is very specific AND stingy on being rewarding enough imo ..
  4. DarkStarAnubis

    You could make XP reward based on the distance between the killer and the victim and consider the threat posed the victim with reference to the killer.

    So sniping infantry with a tank sitting on top of a faraway hill or hitting them with LoLpods should give the least amount of XP whereas a knife kill close and personal should give the most.
  5. TR5L4Y3R


    instead of distance rather go with general threat level ..
    tank kills infantry low reward
    tank kills other tank decend reward
    tank kills AV aircraft highest reward ..

    or
    engineer kills heavy assault with carbine decent reward
    engineer one or 2 shots infantry with AVturret lower reward?
    engineer kills tank big reward
    engineer kills Liberator ... JACKPOT

    just as examples ..

    still what i would rather want is damage dealt being rewarded ..
    because too many times did i engage against any type of opponent with any kind of damaging weapon were i didn´t manage to finish him off nor another factionmember and i got nothing for it ..
    also when it comes specifically to support weapons like say the em1 ... how are you supposed to reliably kill with a weapon that is meant for supression? ..
  6. Who Garou

    So, yeah.

    Everyone likes to Ding. That's one of the pay-off for playing ... getting that Ding.
    It's like the Pavlovian Dinner bell. Like a mini-climax as it where.

    You're almost leveled up and then ... Ding! You leveled up. Woot. Gratz. (Let's do it again).

    It's kind of the same with weapon unlocks but they aren't necessarily as exciting once you have been playing for a while.
    When you unlock your first submachine gun, lock-on rocket launcher, or CERT up your first vehicle, it's way more exciting.

    So the DEVs have to mix-up the game dynamics in order to get players excited about the Ding. As the Ding is "the thing" for most players.

    Some players Ding by getting a high KDR regardless of how much sitting around it takes to get there.

    Some players Ding on base captures or base defenses ... or getting their outfit name on a base.

    Yeah, It's all about that Ding and how to make that Ding exciting for the player, even if it means making some of the players disappointed because they can't get an easy Ding doing what they usually have been doing.

    Maybe that's a life lesson in general?

    To each their own! **** DING!!! ****
  7. Zagareth

    Well, you problem is the same almost every RPG player has - you always want the next best stuff to always be able to be equipped with everything you want - which causes you to grind the game in the most effective way.

    I can only tell you about my experience and it may solve the things for you (or not).
    I play PS1 and 2 since the beginning of PS1 and it was always a game where you never had to grind the stuff you need to compete with others. Right from BR1 you was and still are able to get tons of kills for a good progression through the game and still having fun.

    The key is the mental attitude to get the rid of the "RPG grinding attitude" for the equipment and just PLAY the game.
    Everything else comes with time. The standard equipment is in every case enough to compete with others - and the more options that come with progression through the game are ofcourse (or maybe) more satisfying, but still you robs yourself the fun of the game, if you start grinding it for the equipment.

    Ask yourself: Is the time grinding through the game (being an unenjoyable time) worth it, to have all the equipment to choose from and have the fun at a later time?
    Or do you want fun right from the start?

    Whatever your answer is, it should solve your problem.
  8. TR5L4Y3R


    i answer your question with another question ..
    is there anything else in the scope of ps2?

    yes i could immidiettly stop and not care about ps2 anylonger and just move on despite my time investment ..
    but do i realy want to? cause i would rather want that PS2 changes torwards giving newcomers and novices incentivs to stay ..
  9. Zagareth

    In that case, you need to know, that almost every game developing company develops games to create revenues in the most effective way - they give a damn about a single players wish how the game should be, they create the game for the mass of gamers who are satisfied with the things they usually get from a game. If they are not satisfied they usually leave and the game fails.

    The devs of PS2 are not an exception. They create the game for the majority of the gamers, following the trade rules "offer things that easily sells". The problem here: Not everyone would agree on this and not everyone likes it - nevertheless, they do what they want with their games to get a good income from it - nothing else counts for these companies. Its a hard business...

    Unfortunately in this case, its rather on you to adapt and get the best out of this game for you... or leave. You always have a choice, at least.