Avallo Kantor
Scions of Athra
306
   |
Posted - 2014.01.21 03:40:00 -
[1] - Quote
I think basing starter fits on blood-line is a mistake. Bloodline is purely for RP purposes, and not part of what should determine your skills.
Furthermore, I believe the goal of starter fits would be missed if there were too many unique starter fits that were only available to race A and Bloodline X. Instead, I think each race should get a racial frontline dropsuit, and the other dropsuits as is.
Then, in the market, allow players to buy, for minimal isk (think ~2-4k ISK each) prefit militia dropsuits that each showcase certain roles, and racial variations on said roles. For example, a Gallente Shotgun scout, a minmatar hack-scout, Caldari knifer, minmatar grenadier (Massdriver equpied), and countless more.
The reasoning behind this is that starter fits should:
1) Encourage Diversity: new players need to be aware of the depth of fittings, and the number of options open to them. Players coming from other games may not understand the fitting system of DUST from the get go, and having "easy-fits" that can give them idea of proper fitting combinations will allow them to better grasp the mechanics.
2) Provide SP-investment free experimentation: New players should not be punished for trying to find their niche (aside from dying, that's fine) in the form of SP sinks to simply experiment. With a list of fittings for each weapon / playstyle / race to choose from the player will have plenty of options.
3) Naturally encourage a player to want to delve deeper: The idea of the starter fits should be such that players can get a feel for the weapon while also naturally bringing up the thought of "this is nice... but I could make it better." Players should feel motivated to specalize into a favored suit, with a core of skills. |
Avallo Kantor
Scions of Athra
306
|
Posted - 2014.01.21 03:47:00 -
[2] - Quote
To my above post, I would go further by saying that to the end of point 3, there should be a "step-up" version of starter fits that are "all basic" versions of a starter fit. This would likely, allow room for an equipment item to be placed (which would be empty, for most starter fits).
If players are made aware of this "starter ++" fit then they will have a natural and straight forward first goal for SP investment into a certain specialization. The skills (for most suits) would be relatively low in SP quantities, and would give a player who chose to follow these fits a easy, and noticeable improvement on the battlefield, helping to show the impact of skills.
Continuing on the ideas of starter fits the equipment slot (in most variants) would be empty, and have enough extra CPU / PG to allow the fitting of an equipment slot. If this fact was pointed out to new players, they would have a straight forward and natural progression to fitting out a suit, as well as being able to see the additional benefit of having equipment to a favored suit.
On the note of guiding players to both of these options:
1) For starter fits add in a "newbie" mission in the beginning that guides a player to this part of the market. (Likely under militia fits) Have this give a reward roughly equal to buying 10 suits.
2) After a new player has gotten 1k WP introduce a new trigger introducing them to the "starter ++" fits. Giving them a reward roughly equal to buying 10 suits.
EDIT: Spacing and Spelling. |