Looks like we'll be waiting an additional two months now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the Infiltrator update so many of us were eagerly waiting for. Dunno about the rest of you, but I'm absolutely infuriated by this. One month is somewhat understandable...but two? Really SOE? I've never made a thread like this, honestly, but this really pissed me off. I understand they need time to polish it, but clearly they're prioritizing "more important" things. Thoughts?
If they're pushing it back as a matter of prioritization, sure. What if they're pushing it back to develop it further instead?
I think: 1) They don't have any idea or plan on what to do with the Infiltrator Class. 2) They don't really have much time playing as the Class, they don't really like playing the Class, and they really don't understand the Infiltrator Class as it is currently played. 3) Briefly reading player feedback and forum posts, it hasn't helped them figure out what to do. 4) They really don't want to spend their time working on a Class Update for it because (a) they don't like playing it and don't have any personal interest in it, (b) it's not used very much by players, (c) it doesn't really fit well into the game, (d) the game is ok no matter what happens to Infils, (e) they don't want to hear the Infil community whine up a storm if they do make some changes and the changes suck plus it looks bad, (f) they don't want to mess up the main classes or units if they make some changes and they are OP, (g) they also have a ton of low priority Infil bugs (low priority because it only affects a lesser played class) they have been avoiding and it will look bad if they "finish" the update and the class is still full of bugs. I don't say this because it's the Infil, I say this because it's a non-essential, low played Class in an MMO. I used to play a Bard in SOE's EverQuest. Like the Infil, it was a non-essential, low played Class that the designers didn't really know what to do with. These Classes are usually career buggy, and either quietly OP, subpar in their roles to other classes, or unplayable. Power Creep often kills the classes current gameplay, but its bugs and ignorant designer changes often give it access to OP new gameplay.
Everyone put on your tinhats, here comes the Conspiracy Theories! We all know that this could not happen for any other reason than that SOE hates the infiltrator and wants us all to stop playing the game! I mean, just because we have the first priority in the Class Que, after the MAX, doesn't mean anything because SOE hates us! How dare they change anything, ever! They said that they might have to change the roadmap while it was underway, and the fact that we already got swapped with Light assault to get our earlier is irrelevant. There is nothing in this game more important than me and my sniper, and they should know that!
This is annoying, all the Inf class needs are a few simple tweaks. Some XP for hacked assets used by allies. A 5-10% boost to speed. A change to the cloak to make it conserve energy when you're not moving. I will have finished my tour as Inf pretty soon though so these changes will come too late for me, though I have enjoyed playing Inf and I will probably main this class in the long term.
I'm not sure.... What did we actually have so far? Didn't seem like much. XP darts? And probably some cloaks that are just as awful as the Nano cloak? I dunno. If they actually took this time to read our FEEDBACK and suggestions on all the quality of life issues for Infiltrator (instead of just more stupid pay to win guns like SMG) then maybe it would be worth the wait... If we wait 2 more months and just get the same old same old with no real added utility or versatility THEN I'll get pissy. In the mean time, they can roll back that stupid Glowy effect on our Betties, and probably fix claymores too..
My point is that Infiltrator is a pain to design for right now: 1) it's not very played so investing time into re-working it is not much !/$ ("bang for the buck") 2) it doesn't fill any "must have" roles, so modifying it doesn't really make a big positive impact on the rest of the game 3) it's got a lot of backlogged bugs, so it's a major chore to wade through and tackle all those It's an odd duck Class. It doesn't really fit the overall team game. It's not very played. etc. On the contrary. Infiltrator is arguably the least important Class in the game and to SOE. And for good reason. It's hard to justify dev resources on a Class that is not very played, not very needed, has a lot of bugs, isn't very team oriented (the main theme of the game), doesn't really have a clear direction to pursue to "fix it", kills other players in ways that are just unfun for those players ("surprise, invisible death!"), etc.
I could accept the update being pushed back two months IF there were additional information on what they're working on. Spending another two months in the dark isn't fun, and it's hard to get excited over something that keeps getting pushed back. I personally believe this is EXACTLY why there has to be a rework done on the class asap. Why continue to have such a glaringly obvious weak link?
Get used to it, SOE is late and late and late on class updates, they need more personel, and a special bug fix division ...
Do what i do - cert up every class and vehicle. You'll never get bored then. Plus, you'll develop new insights into what each class can do best. As a maxed Inf on a maxed Wraith, I can easily sneak into an enemy base and hack a couple terminals to drawn anything I want or need. Adaptability and flexibility is power!!!
So what am I to do with the 2k certs I saved for this? I'll keep saving and have 8k by the time the update is out.
Im actually glad they delayed it, now they can spent more time for it instead of rushing some poorly and half thinked upgrades just to get it out in time.
I'm of the same mind, but with one stipulation: As long as they actually spend this time working on it.
Really depends on the reason as to whether I will be once more disappointed by SOE. If it is prioritisation then I am calling foul - it has been, other than the very very important battleflow update, the most desired item out of all the March-added updates. You can't compare the Jan-added and Mar-added updates directly either, for various reasons (including novelty response). Therefore, I would say it is potentially one of the most desired updates on the roadmap. If it is because they need to spend more time (two months more time!) on making it fantastic rather than mediocre, then fair enough - although our expectations will obviously be higher. Personally, if they wont be doing it until July I want to see the base redesign around the same time - with more things to hack and sabotage along with better base layout for defending and causing push battles with strategic objectives.
Ok, what have they actually done for the infiltrator class until now? I haven't been paying attention to the forums as of late. I saw the post about the dart XP.
