DUST Search - So, will new players ever get some love?

Boomer-811 wrote:

Let me start by saying I've had DUST for a total of approx. 2 weeks. I'm not a newcomer to shooters, and my background stems mostly from FPS in several systems. Delta Force: BHD/TS, HALO, Original COD(Not the recent trash), BF2/BF2142, ARMA Series, etc. I consider myself to be a fairly average and on good days above average FPS gamer. When I originally heard of DUST over a year ago I was damn excited because I'd always loved the concept of EVE but couldn't get into it at the time. Now that I've got myself a PS3 I rushed to grab up DUST.

My first reaction was this, okay not much in the way of a tutorial, but just takes some light reading and you've got the jist of it. Unforunately I was an IDIOT and spread my SP all over the place which lead to needing to make a new character. Second reaction was, okay woo I'm in Battle Academy and we're good to go. Get some kills, take some objectives, doing pretty darn well. Then, all of a sudden after 2 matches in Academy, those kills are nonexistent and every time I try to take an objective I'm getting sniped by a rail rifle toting heavy from halfway across the map behind a corner. Rinse, repeat, respawn.

After running into this stonewall that is proto/aurum weapon toting enemies, I'm starting to lose that initial excitement. I originally read that Academy was supposed to last until 10k WP or 1 mil SP, but come to find out it's only 1200 wp now. Anyone that plays half decent will have it in 1-3 matches of IBA. My question is, where is there, if any, incentive for a new player to continue on? Getting steam rolled by people who have been playing, or paying, more than you are really isn't my idea of fun. There's literally a 3/10 shot for me to successfully cap an objective now, and I am emptying almost a full clip into people only to have their shields shrug off the damage and drop me in 3 seconds, if that.

I realize most players who have been here a while will respond with HTFU, but I really don't care about those opinions. Majority of people I have seen yelling HTFU are people who are already 10 mil+ SP & Proto geared, spouting this garble at new players. My question is whether there's going to be any sort of easier transition for the newbie player who might need just a few more inches of help before they step off the MCC into a warzone where you're equipped with the equivalent of a BB gun against a howitzer.


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Vrain Matari ZionTCD Public Disorder. 1420	Posted - 2014.01.02 17:23:00 - [1] - Quote Boomer-811 wrote: Let me start by saying I've had DUST for a total of approx. 2 weeks. I'm not a newcomer to shooters, and my background stems mostly from FPS in several systems. Delta Force: BHD/TS, HALO, Original COD(Not the recent trash), BF2/BF2142, ARMA Series, etc. I consider myself to be a fairly average and on good days above average FPS gamer. When I originally heard of DUST over a year ago I was damn excited because I'd always loved the concept of EVE but couldn't get into it at the time. Now that I've got myself a PS3 I rushed to grab up DUST. My first reaction was this, okay not much in the way of a tutorial, but just takes some light reading and you've got the jist of it. Unforunately I was an IDIOT and spread my SP all over the place which lead to needing to make a new character. Second reaction was, okay woo I'm in Battle Academy and we're good to go. Get some kills, take some objectives, doing pretty darn well. Then, all of a sudden after 2 matches in Academy, those kills are nonexistent and every time I try to take an objective I'm getting sniped by a rail rifle toting heavy from halfway across the map behind a corner. Rinse, repeat, respawn. After running into this stonewall that is proto/aurum weapon toting enemies, I'm starting to lose that initial excitement. I originally read that Academy was supposed to last until 10k WP or 1 mil SP, but come to find out it's only 1200 wp now. Anyone that plays half decent will have it in 1-3 matches of IBA. My question is, where is there, if any, incentive for a new player to continue on? Getting steam rolled by people who have been playing, or paying, more than you are really isn't my idea of fun. There's literally a 3/10 shot for me to successfully cap an objective now, and I am emptying almost a full clip into people only to have their shields shrug off the damage and drop me in 3 seconds, if that. I realize most players who have been here a while will respond with HTFU, but I really don't care about those opinions. Majority of people I have seen yelling HTFU are people who are already 10 mil+ SP & Proto geared, spouting this garble at new players. My question is whether there's going to be any sort of easier transition for the newbie player who might need just a few more inches of help before they step off the MCC into a warzone where you're equipped with the equivalent of a BB gun against a howitzer. From your description i'd say you're probably a better FPSer than i am. I came to DUST essentially new to fpses and totally new to using a controller. I've got lots left to learn the hard way, i'm afraid =p My main is at about 25,000,000 sp. Rolled an Ammarian alt just to check changes to the NPE, graduated from the academy in one match and went on to have a 19 kill 0 death game in pub skirmish(woot SCR!). This is prolly because i knew my suit was made of tissue paper and i needed to play it safe and wait for opportunities before attacking. It's a better score than i typically get on my main because i was not trying to rambo points single-handedly from full squads. Many other vets have reported the same experience. My point is that in spite of the MMO skill structure and the tiered suits, CCP have done a surprisingly good job of balancing it all. I agree the NPE sucks and that it is driving players away from the game in droves, but imo we need to look elsewhere for an explanation. MMO skills and proto gear are not the real problem and if we got rid of them like Carlos and IWS want to it would make no difference to noobs coming out of the academy - they would still get stomped by players who have much more in-game experience. My opinion is that the only answer is a hands-on virtual battlefield tutorial for new players, approved by vets. And the matchmaker! I support SP rollover.
Vrain Matari ZionTCD Public Disorder. 1420	Posted - 2014.01.02 17:58:00 - [2] - Quote Fox Gaden wrote: I would like to see Geto Pub matches added. Have any item above Meta 2 be invalid fit in these matches, but have them award less Skill Points and Less ISK than a standard Pub match. For lore purposes, these matches could be a result of a gentlemanGÇÖs agreement between Corps for settling minor disputes. Then the normal PUB matches would be when the Corps are really pissed at each other and donGÇÖt want to stick to any gentlemanGÇÖs agreement. I'd like to see the sp payout be differential such that 10,000,000+ sp vets received essentially no skillpoints for a match. I'd also like to see KDR not recorded for vets in that class of match. I support SP rollover.
Vrain Matari ZionTCD Public Disorder. 1420	Posted - 2014.01.02 18:19:00 - [3] - Quote Moonracer2000 wrote: Metal level restricted battles could also be system security related. Much like how gameplay is organized in EVE. I feel like the "Welcome to New Eden" line kind of fails since EVE is actually much less harsh for new players than in Dust. A new player in EVE starts in high security space where there is no PvP. It would be interesting if Dust gameplay was organized by system security ratings like EVE, but sadly the player base is too low to make that work right now. Something like this would be interesting: 1.0: PvE only 0.9-0.8: Militia gear only (max 5mil SP) 0.7-0.5: up to Advanced Gear 0.4-0.0: No restrictions And it's worth noting that even EVE does it - no capital ships in hisec. I support SP rollover.