Edgar Reinhart
Resheph Interstellar Strategy
Gallente Federation
0
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Posted - 2014.03.28 16:03:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hi all, first post from a merc still very much finding their feet. I'm a casual player who has been dipping their toes in and out of Dust for about a fortnight now and having just crept into the Million Clone Challenge I'm currently working with about 3mil SP and 4mil ISK..... very much a Dust baby. Hopped in at the end of 1.7 and hoping to enjoy seeing 1.8 develop.
I don't think I'm going to add anything new here but might as well share as it's a slow Friday. I'm not a big FPSer, last one I put any time into was the original Modern Warfare but do dabble and enjoy RPGs and character building.
I generally still run the starter medic fit although I'm starting to try and adapt it but have basically skilled into the things that I can run for free. As I only drop in and out for a few games a few times a week I often have to run solo but try to unofficially squad up and follow someone who looks like they know what they're doing, hack uncontested installations and dive in with my joke of an injector as much as possible.
So I die..... often and easily but I'm not particularly bothered by KD ratios and I'm interested to see at what point I can start improving it.
My experience so far is that I thoroughly enjoyed working my way through the Academy matches and getting to grips with the mechanics. Then the shock of the real world hit and I spent a Sunday going from competing to getting stomped, frustrating but, once understood, part of the game. I accept it just needs grinding out, like when you first stepped out of the cave in Oblivion and nearly died trying to punch a mudcrab.
However I completely understand why a lot of people seem to quit at this point. The player base is too small and too stacked towards really high SP builds for folks to drop in and feel like they can achieve anything but an ignominious death. Some of us are suckers for punishment I guess. I think there might need to be something to mitigate the unrelenting stream of death early on that lessens the frustrations beyond crawling through the skills tree. ISK spent vs ISK destroyed perhaps? I also accept that the curve has to be steep to encourage booster sales etc.
I'm not sure how long I would have been prepared to keep grinding out on 1.7 if I'm honest. Even if I joined a Corporation and fully squadded up, and I enjoy running as a squad when I can give it the time, I'd have dropped in and out but I'm not sure if my attention would've been held. The Million Clone bonus helped this A LOT as it gave me enough of a push to feel that maybe just maybe I could do something with my clone.
The only form of dying that made me quit out of matches was tank spamming especially in Ambush. It's just not fun however you look at it I'm afraid. There's a brief thrill of switching to AV but it doesn't last when tanks repair and recharge faster than swarm launchers reload and theres three of them anyway. This is well discussed and being worked on so I'm not adding anything. Also Militia and starter fit so not sure what I'm expecting really. For now though I'm still going to avoid Ambush which is a shame because, although I was a bit of a liability, a good ambush match was a blast.
The most fun I had in an early match was manning the turret on the back of a LAV with a good driver and running tank harassment for a skirmish match. Didn't kill much, didn't get much SP, doesn't matter had FUN.
Now I played 1.8 for the first time yesterday evening. I put in 4 skirmish matches and 2 of them were the most fun I've had in Dust since the Academy and 2 of them were full of all the old frustrations. A cautious thumbs up so far.
I felt like I could make more of a difference. Even in milita gear. The adjustments mean that unless I'm left soloing a squad or a heavy or point blank with a scout there is often just enough time realise that I've made a bad choice and get out of Dodge.... often it was only a brief stay of execution but enough. Also I stand a chance against most scouts and although still not in a position to kill much can get enough Kill Assists if running with better geared people and manage to take out scouts decloaking nearby. It was hard work but it was FUN. This may just be because at the moment more people are running lightly protected scouts meaning that militia pea shooters can do some meaningful damage.
The other two matches got locked out by well coordinated tanks..... so more to do with tactics etc than OP anything. Hide from tank shotgun to back. Spot cloaked scout Blaster Tank to the face and I think this is the main problem I have with Dust. Too many general matches seem to become too one sided too quickly, sometimes simply due to one player. I understand that they are the mechanics but it does frustrate.... I accept that some of these things are mitigated by squad and team play but they can be a barrier.
At the moment, having not had much experience without cloaks I'd say that there are too many on the field in general but that is subject to change. Also lag seems to be the cloaked scouts friend.... There they are. Where are they? Shotgun to face. It's the same for everyone. Too much cloaked spawn camping going on but it's part of the tactics now. It may be the new thing to make me rage quit though.
Turrets currently seem to be a wasted opportunity. Again I know this has been discussed but they almost may as well not be there at the moment in most matches. Again this has been discussed but as a new player to the game it still amazes and frustrates me that the initial rush from spawning usually seems to be who can remote explosive the nearest turret first.
I have no axe to grind or specialisation to defend and there is a pretty good game somewhere in Dust and I'm going to try and stick with it but it is hard work and can stop being fun really fast. It lacks a little something for new players to get their teeth into and encourage them to try it in the first place.
Essay....! |