Posted 04 July 2013 - 12:21 PM
Why do people think that competitive players don't know about game balance?
Is Villz competitive?
Yes, I know this, I've ran with him, he is very good, one of the best, but that does not matter, its not him, he said that he wants some of the top teams to talk to PGI.
Are the teams he named competitive?
Of course they are, not only facing and running with some, they also were in the RHOD, and that's as competitive as it gets around here.
Do competitive players know game balance best?
Ideally the devs would, but they use things like K2 with single heatsinks, think singles are good, or before MG buff, MGs were good. Based off the last year, they have no idea almost at all. They miss so much more and by much more than they hit, that I would suspect they are spray and pray with the balance.
So competitive players do know?
Yes, yes they do. All competitive players, no matter how good, have to run at least a great set up or better (unless there was limits of some sort). They know whats what, they know how the best builds work and why they are the best.
Will that make the game perfectly balanced?
No, it would not. Lets say that at the top level, everything was perfectly balanced, but some weapons are just easier to pick up and learn and dominate the game at a lower level.
What to do about that?
There are 3 things.
1 Adjust the problem in a way that does not affect the competitive game, otherwise you risk #2
2 Adjust the problem without caring how it affects competitive play. This is a very bad thing. Its clear that weapons when balanced like these tend to destroy the weapon ecosystem that is created by competitive players. This has a compounding effect that can lead to more things being out of balance.
3 Choose competitive player or casual play. This is similar, but in the end, its unlikely true 100% balance will be achieved for both. If you choose casual, you will have players who over time will learn that what was a problem is not really a problem, and as those new players get older, they learn what is good, making the end game (great players vs great players) very boring, as it is right now. Although this will help players staying at first, people will get bored of it, and will NOT maintain a competitive scene, as PGI themselves said they want. If you cater to the competitive players, there will be new players who concede playing, because something is unbalanced at a basic level of play. Once players overcome that and adapt, there are no more problems.
I'm sorry I just don't see the advantages of catering to the casual balance crowd. PGI said they want an Esports, competitive game, and that's where balance will be most important for it.