Why should you have better gear than I do just because you've been playing the game longer?

I only play for fun, and there is a concept called need for competence that describes how when your learning curve plateaus, then you seek a new challenge.

My militia gear learning curve has plateaued, and the only thing keeping me from the next level is SP.


It is a shining example of classic conditioning.

You hear a bell, you salivate, but there is no food. You have been tamed by CCP and are not thinking rationally.

If it's not going to happen, then this thread does you no harm and you may go on your way without worries.

This conversation helps to form a concept of what the game means to people and many valuable side notes have already been discussed.

It is a dialog for the community, for us to understand one another better and share our outlook.

The same goes for any other thread.

Just because I don't like what someone has to say, doesn't require them to hush up. Everyone here has a right to discuss what is important to them.

I have certainly learned a lot by reading the ideas of other people. It may not always change my mind, but it teaches me what is going on in other people's heads.

I don't mind playing on and off with proto gear and militia gear.

What really matters to me is getting my skill levels up so that I can make extremely cool, cheap suits.

What I've found so far is that it's best to focus on a few key functions that I want out of each of my suits and then buff relevant attributes with high-level modules, never exceeding two modules where stacking penalties apply.

I can get a decent build out of militia gear and lvl 1 dropsuits, and maybe throw in a high-level module or two.

I might modify the 3x enhanced Armor plates to 2x enhanced Armor plates and an armor repairer, since the third armor plate slot will suffer massive stacking penalties (only 62.76 additional HP even though -3% movement speed).

You should always skill your mods ahead of your suit.

All gear under a skillset could be available upon purchasing skill level 1.

For instance, Assault Rifle - Point and shoot. Do I really need skill level 5 to use Duvolle equipment? The cost is still prohibitive enough to prevent people from rushing out into every battle with proto.

I can't get Biotic upgrades until I reach level 4 of Dropsuit Upgrades (which has no benefit whatsoever).

My merc can use a Militia Active Scanner, but is apparently not skilled enough to use an advanced/proto active scanner? That's like saying I know how to tune into FM radio, but I'm not skilled enough to change the setting to AM radio yet.

The gear doesn't make sense either, like a 45 db built-in dropsuit scanner is light enough to fit on a scout suit, but they can't build a 45 db scanner into a heavy suit? Lame.

The hit detection is pathetic.

...something is incredibly imbalanced with this game and it is directly related to how when a player earns skill buffs, they can also get better gear, which compounds the graduations between player levels. Those two functions need to be decoupled.

Balanced matchmaking would help, but it would also deny new players encounters with advanced behaviors.

That will be $50.

A daily SP bonus for your first match/win. So players who don't play often get a little kick for their one match of the day. This wouldn't bother any players because everyone gets it. People who still play longer will still have more SP gain.. etc. So relatively everyone stays at the same level and those who play less often get a slight boost.