32 replies to this topic

[Running Scared]

I know this thread is old, but it answered my question as a newbie to the game. I was kinda liking the back story on the Free Rasalhague Republic, but if it's all just window dressing and forum avatar's, what's the point?

And this "coummunity warfare" thiing i see references to, I'm guessing this is supposed to be factional warfare type of stuff, which sounds really cool, but from what i've seen in the 3 weeks i've been playing, given the 3/3/3/3 patch history, this seems like a Pie in the sky to me.

Is there no functional reason to join a faction at all? Rank? Points of some kind? Whats this blank medallion section i see in my profile? Surely there has to be more to this.

Edited by Running Scared, 07 May 2014 - 05:13 AM.

[Sealawyer]

You seemed to have answered your own question sort of. At this point in time, absolutely no reason to join a faction other than personal preferences. They are supposed to implement lots of things, I have stopped trying to keep track of it and have chosen a wait and see attitude. No point in speculating. Whatever they add, they add. The medallions are to give a bonus on acquiring faction loyalty points, which haven't started yet. Most everything to do with factions is down the road or on the back burner from what I have seen.

[FelixBlucher]

As with what the others have said, there is currently no in-game point to factions. I chose mine because my namesake was part of that faction, not because I support the ruler during the civil war. Otherwise I would gladly support Prince Victor, warts and all. I would suggest choosing the faction that appeals to you. You could find some good friends in the faction chat, as others have mentioned.

Eventually, some time in the future (maybe) we will have community warfare. With that, our faction decides which side we fight and conquer for. The better we do for that faction, the more control we will have in the game.

[Pacifist]

PGI has checked their server info and found 85% of players are currently Lone Wolves. Therefore they've decided that obviously people don't actually care about factions. So they're putting the time and resources into things people want like new mechs, skins, and different shades of red.

Edited by DarwinsDisciple, 07 May 2014 - 04:15 PM.

[John Norad]

The point of factions would be to present one of three 'career choices' for a new mechwarrior:
1. House Unit Pilot
2. Mercenary Pilot
(3. Clan Pilot)

Each with it's own set of pros and cons, quirks, freedoms, restrictions, economic implications and career paths/titles etc. House unit pilots for example would be very restricted, but also economically covered and carefree (only house variants, no ammo or repair expenses, etc.), while mercenaries would have a lot more freedom, but also a lot more risk, and no fancy titles or ranks to show off (apart from their internal merc unit ranks, that is).

Pretty much like "choose your pilot's nation" (or simply character's alignment) in other games.

It would also define your role in the whole Inner Sphere territorial warfare thingy that is soon™ to come.

But wait.. I should really stop daydreaming..

Meh

DarwinsDisciple, on 07 May 2014 - 04:13 PM, said:

PGI has checked their server info and found 85% of players are currently Lone Wolves. Therefore they've decided that obviously people don't actually care about factions. So they're putting the time and resources into things people want like new mechs, skins, and different shades of red.

While this sounds like PGI (or any contemporary game developer for that matter) logic and reasoning, I would like to comment that how on earth are players supposed to care for something that is pretty much non-existent??
And for something that isn't fleshed out in the least bit, there is actually A LOT of faction specific organisation and care going on in the Forums and out of game. Those 85% of players would simply be the come-and-go casual players who can't possibly be convinced to engage in faction specific gameplay, when there is none to begin with! In order to get them into factions and stuff there would have to be something you could offer them, in order to get them interested or hooked.
Of course people are likely to choose Lone Wolf, as that probably sounds a lot cooler than belonging to some random Faction you know nothing about.

Edited by John Norad, 07 May 2014 - 04:51 PM.

[ErikModi]

Even in the Lore, the differences between factions are largely cosmetic. BattleTech is a classic 'Grey and Grey' morality universe, no one is a pure-hearted hero and no one is a full-tilt moustache-twirling Drunk On The Dark Side villain (with the possible exception of the Word of Blake.) It's not like Warhammer 40k, where each faction has it's own exclusive army lists and they all play completely differently. It's not even that some factions have units or equipment exclusive to that faction (for the most part.) The Davions invented Triple-Strength Myomer and the Kuritans invented the C3 computer, but there are no rules saying that you have to be Kuritan to use C3 or that you have to be Davion to use TSM. Steiners prefer heavy and assault 'Mechs (to the point of four Atlases being a "Steiner Scout Lance" is an old joke), but they can and do make use of light and medium 'Mechs, and nothing forces a Steiner player to use only heavies and assaults. The differences are really all fluff.

Now, I'd really love to see factions mean something here, but they don't, and shouldn't, affect anything about how someone wants to play the game.

[NocturnalBeast]

To make the game more interesting.

[Saber1]

There was once a time when the factions were supposed to mean something… multiple years of broken promises change that. Welcome to the 85% Lone Wolf presence present day.

It's sad to watch this IP slowly go to waste...

[Wargassm]

Earl White, on 02 September 2013 - 09:45 AM, said:

What I don't get is how come I see hundreds of packs of Lone Wolves, it make no sense to me.

For the Pink Chicken!

it's simple, i've been around since day 1 beta. Untill the inner sphere is actually in place and functional factions don't matter one bit. Back in the old MPBT days it mattered. Units, supply lins, capturing planet's, defeating enemy units. Until any of this is in place it doesn't matter. I really hate the idea they brought out Clan Mechs when we dont even have a functional inner phere. They put the cart efore the horse.

Wargassm.

[Bob Zero]

Sorry to necro,

But do the factions mean anything now that the clan mechs are out? if not is it acctually going to appear soon, cuz i see several 'invasion' videos and lots of hints but nothing certain....

Im new to this game but liking it a lot, would love to get into some clan wars stuff like in WoT if they introduce it, but without it i think i (like a lot of people probably) will drift away