Faction Switching

#1 Rekd

Member

Rage
12 posts

Posted 21 January 2015 - 09:47 PM

It was mentioned in the town hall that the desire is for there to be less faction switching, which sounds like a good idea, but what does that do to the player with both IS and Clan mechs that they want to play in CW?

It sounded like the goal of the LP rewards was to encourage units to stay within one faction, but with the exception of a few, most units (especially merc units) are made of players who want to play all their mechs.

I would like to understand how this particular issue will be addressed if it becomes too expensive to switch factions. Is the expectation that players who want to play both need to have two separate accounts and join two different units? I'm sure there are a lot of possible solutions, but before I spend anymore time & money on more Clan mechs, I'd like to be sure I'll be able to play them in CW long term.

Could units take both a clan contract and an IS contract to allow their player base to fight on either side?
Could a player join two units? (This just seems overly complex in limiting to one clan and one IS since contract aren't permanent)

I love the idea of staying in a faction and grinding out the ranks as long as the rewards make it worth it, but not encouraging players to buy both sets of mechs doesn't fit well in PGI's pricing model.

Anyone else have thoughts?

#2 Aresye

Member

Heavy Lifter
3,462 posts

Twitch: Link

Posted 21 January 2015 - 10:49 PM

I think faction switching penalties, contract lengths, etc. should be all tied to unit size.

Solo players and small units are likely to try out multiple factions to find one they enjoy working with, so I don't see why they shouldn't have the option to do so with minimal penalties and/or contract lengths. The problem we've seen, is when large (150+) size groups flip flop between factions every week, as it can really upset the stability of an entire faction and/or multiple factions.

It's a difficult subject. On one hand, the instability created creates unique challenges and is fairly well rooted in lore. On the other hand, the fact it can be done on a weekly basis is kind of ridiculous, and it creates problems when it comes to an end goal.