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Vespasian Andendare
Subsonic Synthesis
Alpha Wolf Pack
24
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Posted - 2013.08.12 14:38:00 -
[1] - Quote
Since I began playing Dust several months ago, I never really "got" it. Meaning, it never really clicked with me. Sure, I'd log in, play a few matches (and normally feel the "grinder" that pub matches are), and log off, happy to know that my skill points would accrue (to give me some resilience against proto gank squads), but normally I'd just log off and be frustrated at the glaring imbalances and general "un-funness" of the game.
This weekend, I had a free 1.3 mil sp that had been accruing that I really couldn't decide where to put (since we can't really try things out, I don't really want to commit to any one weapon or suit, considering that we don't know what's coming and I don't want to have a jack-of-all-trades-but-master-of-none.) Well, I decided to give logi a go. I said "maybe we'll get to respec later, but for now I'm going to commit to Gallente suits and try healing."
My world changed. I had found my Dust. My Dust is the logi player: dropping uplinks, reviving teammates with injectors, repping guys when I see their armor bar being shredded. It was a blast. A BLAST. I'm a pretty good shot--certainly not the best, but I do ok--but now that didn't matter. I could have a real impact on my team by being their medic. I can drop tactical uplinks at capture points, I can stay hidden and still gain WPs in the match. This totally works for me, and for the first time, I found myself logging off (for sleep no less) and saying "Damn, I can't wait until tomorrow to play some more Dust!"
So here's the takeaway CCP: you must provide a proving ground, new player experience, militia pack, starter suits, etc. that let players experience ALL aspects of the game. I got my Dust only after months of general frustration and aimlessness, and that's largely because I stand with CCP. If it simply was a matter of Dust carrying me as a new player, I don't know if I would have stuck with it. New players have to be able to "get" it, and they have to get it early on. If there were a "battle room" or something similar where I could experience being a logi (or heavy (which I never have!)) then maybe I would have got it much sooner, and I'd have been a much happier player as a result. (I did see that you sell starter weapon packs of 200 of each light weapon, say--for 40,000 aurum?! No, that's not going to work.) The other thing that really turned me around to "non-traditional" means of getting WP was using my "free" templar uplink I got from the CE. I had no idea you get WPs for spawns, nanohives, etc. It was truly eye-opening, and it enriched the game for me in a way that I had not experienced before.
The second thing I did was squad up with some random guys I saw. (Since I was logi now, I had a purpose, and that purpose was to keep my "new" squadmates alive.) This again changed the game for me. I noticed that I was getting more WP-per-action, which in turn game me more isk and sp at the end of the matches! It didn't feel like a grind so much anymore, because I had a purpose and I was being better rewarded for it. (Incidentally, those guys I randomly squadded up with were pretty good, and I was able to join their corp.) At that point, I didn't feel so much like a lone wolf facing proto death squads alone. We were a team, a band of brothers, doing it together.
That's how I got my Dust. I hope that other players in a similar situation to where I was before this weekend find that special something so that you "get" it as well. I'd urge you to try drop uplinks--the militia ones suffice--and see how cool it is that you can change the battle by being able to drop a spawn point AND you get WPs for doing so!! Or buy a nano-hive and see how neat it is that not only can you refill your ammo, but you get WPs for when your teammates do, too. The starter suits have a free equipment slot, so I know that you have room.
There's still many things to fix in Dust, to be sure. But "getting" it, at least for me, isn't one of them. |
Vespasian Andendare
Subsonic Synthesis
Alpha Wolf Pack
60
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Posted - 2013.08.12 18:51:00 -
[2] - Quote
Seiox wrote:Positive post is positive. +1 Thank you; it was true. I'll be the first to post the doom and gloom on these forums, but honestly now, well, now that I "get" it, I can see the Dust package for what it is.
It's wholly different than other shooters on the market, and I think the differences could--they have the possibility to--create a stronger, dedicated player base. However, these differences aren't assured to be realized by new players. That's the troubling part, because that's what Dust is. It's different, and its supposed to be.
That's not to say that those differences can't be celebrated. Just reading in local over the weekend, I saw people unclear about the skill training system, confusion about using certain items and general angst about Dust on the whole. Unfortunately, and very true to the community, I saw that player get both help and trolled in local. So I think the solution should be that CCP really makes it a point to spell out the differences and to help new players embrace it.
A good suggestion I saw earlier was to have the War Academy end when a player chooses, say between 2,000 and 10,000 WP, so newbros have a chance to get more comfortable and leave on their terms. Another thing the Acad should do is provide all fits for all roles for free as long as the player stays in the Academy. What I'm thinking here--and certainly what would have helped me--is to get a player to *want* (as in to want for) to play a certain role. For me, for example, now I want to play logi. I think about the fits. I think about how to be a better logi, etc. If I had a taste of it early on in the Academy (I don't know if there was one during Chromosome), then I'd have known out the gate what specialty to explore. I would have been more driven out of the gate to get better logi-themed things, instead of spending sp in Assault suits and AR V (don't get me wrong, AR V makes me a better Logi, if only a support skill for logistics).
Also, perhaps there should be a matchmaking option that places people in squads with pre-determined positions (maybe just for Acad, maybe another game mode, etc.). But what I'm thinking here is a squad that's 1x Heavy, 1x Logi and 4x Assault (1H, 2L, 3A maybe). The matchmaking would automatically create a squad with these roles, squad the members up and let them communicate and play as a team. It may stop everyone from running in all different directions, and hopefully, it'd help newbros learn that Dust IS a game that you play in teams.
I found my band of brothers over the weekend, and I'm better off for it. I don't now have just a passing interest in Dust. I now want it to succeed. I want to share what I "got" with others, because now, I am a Dust promoter.
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Vespasian Andendare
Subsonic Synthesis
Alpha Wolf Pack
104
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Posted - 2013.08.19 13:54:00 -
[3] - Quote
Frodaris Sortana 2100058545 wrote:My Dust is being a LogiBro as well as a teacher of the LogiBro ways... nuff' said. :D Logibros really are where its at. I love seeing more and more people adopting the role, and it's especially gratifying to catch one of my teammates with a sliver of armor and bring him back up to full health.
And I really have to stress--in fact, I can't stress it enough--DUST IS SO MUCH BETTER PLAYING IN TEAMS. When you join a random public match, go to the "TEAM" tab in your chat boxes and SQUAD UP. Even if you're the shy type, you'll be working with a team: you'll be in a better coordinated squad, you'll earn more War Points per time and you'll get more ORBITAL STRIKES, since your squad will be stronger with more people getting WPs. You'll make more isk, and perhaps like I did, you'll find a good corp to join and experience Dust together.
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