8 replies to this topic

[THE ERASER]

Again after 2h in PTS and playing "Skill tree and Nodes unlocking mini game", I don't see a point and advantage in spending 5mil or more per Mech chassis to get little gain in anything.

I don't see a Point in this Skill Tree and the form of it.

And then if I try do unlock Nodes to get what I want to improve some Mech Chassis an have even a Chance in quickplay Tier 2, I get a wall of stats (I call it Stats Nightmare) and in some of those stats I don't even see a Point if they can benefit my Mech Chassis in any way.

In the end to find a way to see what it is useful, I need to Unlock every Node once for the Mech to Test the unlocked stats in Testing Ground. That takes away my C-Bills/Time investment in this Free 2 Play game, and then reinvest it in redoing the hole thing because 4% better Yaw isn't that useful in the end for Mech X or Y.

The only good Skill Tree so far is the Auxiliary Tree. There I see what I can get or what I have to trad in for what is more useful for my Battlemech and the Role it should fill in for the benefit of the team. I imagine because Its an 100% power creep/upgrade in comparison to a Mech Chassis that has nothing unlocked at first.

I think I will not even invest XP or C-Bills in anything when this goes live in march, when it even does. I see only the Auxiliary Tree or perhaps Operations and Sensors that is worth the C-Bills (C-Bills = Time Spent in MWO Investment). Firepower I will only invest in if I have a Weapons Boat like the Awesome or Wolfhound as an Example.

New Engines (XL or Standard), Omnipods, Weapons or other Battlemechs is worth far more for me and my Hard Earned C-Bills and Invested Time in this Game, than anything in that skill tree sadly.

[Alistair Winter]

In my opinion, the point is to increase the differences between mechs in MWO. MWO has been described as a game where we're all running the same basic builds with different skins. Mech A essentially does the same thing as Mech B. So the skill tree is here to make a brawler especially agile compared to a sniper, for example. And it's supposed to make scouting a real thing.

However, I would also point out that the skill tree was supposed to introduce role warfare, when PGI talked about it in 2012. Each role would have unique skills. A scout would be able to target two mechs simultaneously, for example. That would allow you to direct LRMs on multiple targets. In other words, the skill tree was there to create completely different styles of playing for different roles.

On top of that, many FPS games and RPGs with skill trees have them because they are a good way to gradually increase the complexity of gameplay for new players. If you've never played an RPG before, it can be pretty challenging to jump right into WoW at level 80 and try to understand how your character works. But if you gradually go from level 1 to level 80, you can learn how to use all your skills. This principle is the same in a game like Star Conflict (space sim), where you're gradually learning to use all the special abilities of your space ship.

Does this mean that the current skill tree accomplishes those three things? I would say no.

[Koniks]

The point of the skill tree is to create a reason for having an XP grind, XP->GXP conversion, and premium time to reduce the grind.

[oldradagast]

Koniks, on 05 March 2017 - 12:49 PM, said:

The point of the skill tree is to create a reason for having an XP grind, XP->GXP conversion, and premium time to reduce the grind.

Exactly.

There are no roles in the skill tree, and very few choices. What there is, however, is lots of GRIND - and also a penalty for respecing, which is particularly insulting given how often PGI likes to make heavy-handed and sweeping changes to things that force respecs.

As far as I can tell, the business plan going forward is to rely less on mech sales (running out of mechs to sell and no more 3 of a kind rule) and to depend more on selling premium time so players can grind their mechs back up to tolerable - only to have to regrind them up different skill trees every time PGI spins the dartboard of balance again. It's an insulting strategy since they aren't providing content and are instead punishing us for respecs and then expecting us to shell out real money to respec faster with no limit on the number of times we'll go through this circle.

[Skribs]

oldradagast, on 05 March 2017 - 02:49 PM, said:

Exactly.

There are no roles in the skill tree, and very few choices. What there is, however, is lots of GRIND - and also a penalty for respecing, which is particularly insulting given how often PGI likes to make heavy-handed and sweeping changes to things that force respecs.

As far as I can tell, the business plan going forward is to rely less on mech sales (running out of mechs to sell and no more 3 of a kind rule) and to depend more on selling premium time so players can grind their mechs back up to tolerable - only to have to regrind them up different skill trees every time PGI spins the dartboard of balance again. It's an insulting strategy since they aren't providing content and are instead punishing us for respecs and then expecting us to shell out real money to respec faster with no limit on the number of times we'll go through this circle.

Which is stupid, because players who need premium time now use it, and those who don't need it have it banked.

So if they increase the grind, the players like me will continue to buy it (no extra revenue) and players who have it banked will use their banked time (no extra revenue).

Edit: to be clear, I agree with your assessment that this is what PGI is trying to do. I think PGI is making a dumb decision by focusing on premium time.

Edited by Skribs, 05 March 2017 - 03:23 PM.

[oldradagast]

Skribs, on 05 March 2017 - 03:22 PM, said:

Which is stupid, because players who need premium time now use it, and those who don't need it have it banked.

So if they increase the grind, the players like me will continue to buy it (no extra revenue) and players who have it banked will use their banked time (no extra revenue).

Edit: to be clear, I agree with your assessment that this is what PGI is trying to do. I think PGI is making a dumb decision by focusing on premium time.

To give an example, I've spent money to buy Mechbays, and I've bought 2 heros (Grid Iron and Sleipner), but I have never, ever bought premium time. Of all the things you can buy, it seems like the biggest waste since it vanishes soon enough (unlike my mechs, mechbays, etc.) - and, if you get crummy matches the days you have it active or lack enough free time to play after you've activated the premium time, it's an even bigger waste.

Horrible business plan if this is the future for the game.

[Skribs]

oldradagast, on 05 March 2017 - 03:35 PM, said:

To give an example, I've spent money to buy Mechbays, and I've bought 2 heros (Grid Iron and Sleipner), but I have never, ever bought premium time. Of all the things you can buy, it seems like the biggest waste since it vanishes soon enough (unlike my mechs, mechbays, etc.) - and, if you get crummy matches the days you have it active or lack enough free time to play after you've activated the premium time, it's an even bigger waste.

Horrible business plan if this is the future for the game.

It's decent if you're going for a big burst of premium time and plan to play a lot during that time. Premium time applies to all Mechs, gives a bigger bonus (50% vs. 30%), and gives a wider scope of bonus (C-Bills and XP). I sound like a bigger whale than you, though. Like, you're a porpoise and I'm a Beluga,

[oldradagast]

Skribs, on 05 March 2017 - 03:47 PM, said:

It's decent if you're going for a big burst of premium time and plan to play a lot during that time. Premium time applies to all Mechs, gives a bigger bonus (50% vs. 30%), and gives a wider scope of bonus (C-Bills and XP). I sound like a bigger whale than you, though. Like, you're a porpoise and I'm a Beluga,

Hehe - love the whale analogy!

Yeah, I try to spend money now and then to support the game, and I'll pony up for a really nice hero that I enjoy. I admit I don't do preorders just because I'm leery of buying anything not well understood or tested yet, but that's just me. There's nothing at all wrong with buying preorders, and I fully understand my viewpoint is in the minority. But the point is when I buy something, I GET something. Premium time... well, it's iffy. I get a bonus to the matches I play... but I still need time to play, and matches to go well, for it to be worth it for me. Again, that's just me.

Still, I think if selling premium time going forward is going to be the new business model, they will be sorely disappointed, particularly if the main reason to buy premium time is not to "level up cool new mechs!" but to grind - and grind some more - mechs you already own. That feels like work, not like a game, and muddling through that skill maze feels like doing my taxes, not playing a game. If a game is not fun, people don't play it, and I see nothing fun in the proposed skill maze system.

Edited by oldradagast, 05 March 2017 - 04:04 PM.

[JC Daxion]

Sorry guys, but i totally disagree with you on it going to cost more.. My IS account is 4 years old and i play about 15 mechs in it.. It cost me 225 dollars total, and i made over a billion C-bills to module up and set up my mechs..

My clan account is about a year old, and right now i have about 6 mechs i play, But i have another 6 bought and paid for, and an extra 70m in the bank waiting for the new system so i can skill up.. which will put me at almost as many mechs i want to play at any given time as my IS account. the Clan account is only 1 year old, and maybe has about 300 hours of play on it. It's cost 130 dollars, and i earned close to 300m


Notice something here? One account i spent 4 years on, (with one year over lapped) and the other i only had one year, and split time on two accounts.. And guess what, they both have pretty close to the same number of mechs i play. The only difference is one account has ONLY mechs i play.. the other account has over 1/2 i never even think about using, and another 1/4 of mechs i rarely use and pretty much only because i had to buy um, so seeing i have um i take um out on occasion.

Which account was the bigger grind? this is NOT a trick question... (second account half of which was done before i knew about the rule of 3 switch)