Hello folks. I figured I'd chime in because my enjoyment for this game has been diminished somewhat and I'm seriously considering not playing anymore. But that's not why I'm here.
It's quite refreshing that you are taking input from players and I thought I'd give you some of my own input as well. I've seen players express similar sentiments to how I feel about this game and as such, I would like to throw in with them. That said, let me begin by describing what I think is the status quo.
- Rewards for certain behavior - Right now, damage is highly rewarded. Almost to the detriment of the rewards garnered from actual teamwork or playing the objective
- Game Modes - Right now, it feels like no matter which mode we pick, it's just skirmish or "skirmish with extra steps." There's barely any point to playing the objectives.
I have other sentiments but that can wait. These are the two items that are top of mind and I would like to expound and perhaps give more suggestions. Both points also are somewhat correlated to each other in that they are based off player behavior more than anything else.
Point number 1.
MWO was touted as the "
Thinking Man's Shooter" back in 2012 and I can't help but feel like it has fallen terribly short of this mark.
So, the question is this: Which behavior do you want to see more of? Do you want to see players working as a team and using different team tactics and strategies? Or, do you want your players chasing high scores and personal bests?
Even if, and perhaps more especially if your answer is both, then I think we need to place better emphasis or weight on rewarding behaviors that benefit the team as a whole more than an individual on that team. A heavy emphasis on damage, as is the current status quo, emphasizes personal metrics more than team-based metrics. This in turn reinforces the behavior to pursue being top damage dealer to the point where nothing else (teammates, victory, objective) matters more than that.
example:
A player can break off from the fight in conquest mode in order to capture points and ensure victory for their team, but this also means they will sacrifice their overall score and likely lose points in their PSR standing.
This makes it less likely for a player to want to do this because it means taking a hit in score.
Often, you will hear or see a player say/type "At least I got top damage." after a loss. This is basically a declaration that says that victory/teamwork is irrelevant as long as I get top damage.
Point number 2.
This ties in heavily with my first point. With a very heavy emphasis on damage dealing, the need to play the objective becomes irrelevant. Compound this with incredibly stale game modes and boring maps, one can see why MWO has become reduced to; as one player succinctly put it: "Skirmish and skirmish with extra steps."
Example:
Incursion and Assault are basically the same game mode. It's like Incursion is "Assault 2.0 now with larger bases!" Both involve capturing/destroying the enemy base but what happens more often is that teams will meet somewhere on the map and destroy each other first. Assault ends when all opposing mechs are destroyed while Incursion has the added requirement of needing to do damage to the opposing base before triggering the mission end. Occasionally one team will rush the objective and force a win, rendering an easy victory but low score for such behavior so there really isn't much of a threat of this happening.
The point is that beyond the destruction of the entire enemy team any added objectives to the current play modes are hollow except in Faction Play, and that just barely.
I suggest the following:
If you want players to behave a certain way, reward it heavily. If you want teams to stick with their lance mates and stay in formation as much as possible, then give 'lance in formation' a higher score. If you want players to work as a team, give 'protected light/medium/heavy/etc.' a higher score. Give assists a higher score. Actually reward players for working as a team higher than working as individuals dealing damage.
Maybe even give a lower/higher overall score based on the number of mechs left on the team when the match ends. (this is extreme but would be interesting to see)
Then maybe we'll see players that are more willing to work with the rest of the team they dropped with in quickplay and even faction play. Maybe we'll see more interesting team tactics, more diverse mech builds, and even wider use of the current maps vs being confined to the usual hot areas and nascar conducive landmarks.
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Timuroslav, on 09 December 2020 - 12:14 PM, said:
