5 replies to this topic

[Chacotay]

Something I've noticed - killing other mechs doesn't seem to generate a great deal of money. Even when I go well and kill 3-4 enemy mechs (and several assists), my wins are still around the 150k mark. Considering I would get 100k of that simply for winning the match, it seems to me there doesn't seem to be a great deal of bonus for actually killing people.

Perhaps double the C-bill per kill/assist?

[Ritter Cuda]

you are making an extra 50% that is a great deal. 300% is greedy

[Voidsinger]

I think your forgetting that the game is designed to be about the team's results first, personal glory second.

Originally, there was only XP and C-bills for the kill. People would stomp all over you if you were in a smaller mech (Yes, I played a commando with collisions on at the time, and the atlas stomping you got after spending some time working a mech's health down as the kill approached is memorable).

So, they invented a thing called a kill assist. Basically, a mech hass 200 XP, 50 for the kill +150XP for the total health of the mech, divided up among those who did damage to the mech proportionally. A kill or a kill assist both brought in 2 000 CB each. Each point of damage done, also nets 10 CB. There are also component destruction bonuses, 15 XP and I forget how many C-bills (usually multiple components are destroyed when killing a mech).

It is very much about balance, and the economy. Reward kills too much, and Pugs turn into race to kill fests that get incredibly nasty. Look at the extent people go to now to protect their K/D ratio stat, and amplify it. The other thing is that reward it too much, and people who initially make kills race massively ahead on decking out their mech They continue killing, usually at an accelerated pace, as they wrack up even more kills on the same people. Which results in the person eventually quitting after always being killed, and never getting a kill. Bad for the gaming experience and sales.

There is a reward, but kept small enough that people profit more by putting the teams needs first. The win is the biggest earner, followed by the cap bonus. That is a good thing.

Edited by Voidsinger, 25 November 2012 - 06:15 PM.

[Foxwalker]

Players already worry too much about "Kills" due to the KD stat. In practice your "kills" are genreally/usually the result of your teammates combined damage to your kill. A nominal award is reasonable for the kill, as usually the kill is a result of that last little ping. If the action generated greater revenue, then you would see a lot of rage about Kill stealing.

Just my 2 cents.

[Draxtier]

I would prefer if mission rewards were adjusted to give more CBills and Xp for personal contribution, rather than overall outcome. Winning or losing should matter, but they shouldn't matter so much more than everything else, as is the case now.

If you're dropping in to a match solo, you have control over 1/16th of the factors involved in the outcome of the match, while 15/16ths of the factors involved in the outcome, and over the reward or penalty you will get from the match, are a total crapshoot. Even if you drop in a four-person premade group, you only have control over one quarter of the factors involved in the outcome, while the other three quarters are pure chance.

Under those circumstances, the sheer randomness of it makes winning and losing a lousy basis to determine rewards.

So, boost the rewards for spotting, damage done and kills and reduce the rewards for victory and defeat. That way there is greater incentive to contribute, greater reward for individual merit and less emphasis placed on simply showing up and keeping your repair bills low.

Personally, I would rather see a greater emphasis on damage done than on kills, but so long as rewards are weighted in such a way that win/loss is less of a determining factor, I'll be happy.

edited to add: I went back and read Voidsinger's post more thoroughly, after having just skimmed it, and he raises some excellent points. I think we agree that what's needed is a balance which creates incentives for the community, at all levels, to play in such a way that everyone involved has the most fun, which means you're trying to win, and kill the other guys, to the bitter end. I don't think that balance is being achieved right now because 1) people get too much from just showing up and 2) too much of your individual benefit or loss from a match is determined by factors over which you have no control.

Edited by Draxtier, 26 November 2012 - 01:03 AM.

[focuspark]

Honestly, the kill stat needs to go. It's pretty much crap when I get the kill. I almost always run a light mech with harassment weapons. I've been in matches where I've been credited with 4 kills. Sure I took the last shot, but at best I assisted.