Day one: First game was incredibly fun. Player academy put me up against people in the same gear i was wearing and my skill showed. First person shooters give people with some relative skill a good time. 44/9 out the door of the academy and to the bears. Played another six games and went to ask questions on the forums. Was dirrected to find a corp and also to "get gud".

Day two: -----

----skippinga bit----

To everyone else, good game...or not...this game doesnt seem to be anyway.

Regardless of it being what the Community "wants" to read - it is the truth and worth reiterating where I feel it is merited. It is better than silence and failing to acknowledge the issues we see affecting our players would be even worse.

I'm not here trying to provide false hope, only that we're taking steps, even if they are small, in trying to push in the right direction. Things have been changing drastically behind the scenes here and in time I look forward to sharing more.

A lot of people have been trying to make your "N"-PE better. That guy donating a ton of ISK to you is one (though for the life of me I'd like to know how much he gave you heh heh!) If you'd like, message me in game and add me to contacts, I'll be glad to squad up with you on weekends if you happen to catch me on.


To be honest, a lot of things have improved since Day 1 (No crap!) I know you haven't been here since Beta like some of us--and Beta was basically sticks and stones, mind you--so all this SP and that SP and all these skills are a pain in the ass.

I get it, I feel you. I love how so many people tell you "get better get better!"

The damn question is, HOW DO WE GET BETTER.

And how the hell do we run militia fits that STILL allow us to earn money?

1) We gain SP while we sleep, so there, that's some FREE SP for you, without working. Come back in a month, and you'll have around 600,000 SP waiting for you.
--> Withi this newfound SP invest in WEAPON proficiency. Find a gun you like, first by using militia weaponry, then delve fully into that gun. Once you get Prof 5 (2.1 mil SP to cap a light weapon, I believe), thats 15% extra damage.

That means if you have a Basic/STD class weapon you get Prototype damage. That means you save money not having to buy expensive Duvolle's and/or equivalent weaponry. Of course, when you have enough money and choose to go Proto-stomping, then thats your choice to buy Proto weaponry.

2) Core Dropsuit Skills. You see that 5 tiered core skill tree after skilling into dropsuit skills? Max them out as soon as possible. These give you added bonuses to PG/CPU, Armor, and Shielding, as well as Sprint/Stamina.

I'd say focus on getting that Armor/Shielding up, that gives you extra 25% shields and 25% armor. Then, PG/CPU as that means you can fit better modules. Since militia/free fits have so little PG/CPU to start with, this goes a long way.

3) I understand you are a pilot as well--that means you fly, you can tank. Thats cool. Thats good. Basically thats your proto fit--militia tanks cost as much as a proto suit and guarantee you more armor/shielding than a Proto suit.

Arm it with the right modules and even MLT class tanks are wonderful things.

Anyways, talk to me ingame or message me.

This Russian will not disappoint.

-Dmitri Chuikov aka axINVICTUSxa

Having been here since forever, here's my advice: (It's different than most)
First:

Get shield and armor upgrades to 3 each before anything else.

This gives you 15% more shield and armor base and is quick.
Second:

Get operation to 3 in whatever gun you like

Third:

Get lvl 1 in whatever suit you want, I recommend an actual suit such as assault, logi, sentinel, commando as these are cheaper than their base counterparts.

Fourth:

Get basic level of your tanking modules (shield and armor plates/extenders and reppers)

Fifth:

Get shield and armour upgrades to 4 each

Get shield extender/armor plates to 3 for adv level modules

Lastly:

Get electronics and engineering up as needed to allow you to fit basic/militia suits with basic weapons.

If you skill that way and run with a squad of a couple people you enjoy playing with the game will be much more enjoyable. This is also probably the most benefit you can get from early sp. Don't bother with level 5 of most any skill for quite some time, in your first couple months you'll be better served by getting things to lvl 3 as you'll get 60% of the bonus for only a small fraction of the cost.
Run basic suits with basic stuff on them and focus on the passive skills like armor and shield upgrades, weapon operation etc.
Once you have a basic suit with basic mods and adv hp mods for your tanking type, try to get basic level of more of the things you use like equipment or sidearms etc. You'll gain a lot in the way of playstyle choices with little investment and from there you can gradually bulk up where needed. If you really like your weapon you can further invest in passive benefits to it such as prof. ammo or reload. If you feel like you die when you just barely poke out of cover then prioritize hp mods and skills. If you want to be utility and move about the battlefield helping out, go for movement modules in dropsuit upgrades and get hacking mods/skill.

Balance sp investment vs. reward and remind yourself that the benefit of better weapons compared to their cost really isn't worth it until you have the passive skills and fitting to extend your alive time.

Lastly, rule of thumb, use a weapon one tier below your suit type. This helps with going isk positive immensely.

Maybe I'm a masochist, but I enjoyed starting out in this game. Sure, it wasn't fair, I got my ass kicked a lot. But working my way up from opportunist to slayer was a trip.

Unfortunately, the OP's experience isn't good for the future of this game (because newbs spend the cash!). Which sucks, because I love Dust, even when I'm screaming at invisible ass-hats with rail rifles.

Saberwing, if you're looking for constructive criticism, I think it might be a good idea to introduce a game-mode that puts everyone on a level playing field with militia gear and 0 SP.

Once there are militia variants for all the weapons, this could be a great mode for hardcore competitive play, with separate leaderboards. Unique gear and rewards would be fun for vets

If NPE isn't a priority, for the love of Space Odin, start capitalizing on your veteran players. Sell some bling on the marketplace (character personalization!!!). I'd pitch in if you sold corporate headquarters for all you corp mates to hang out in, instead of our merc quarters. Wouldn't that make players feel more connected to the universe?

Just some ideas.

I agree. This is seriously something to consider.

This game mode reminds me of COD: Blackops "Barebones" gamemode.

Despite having better attachments, you are only allowed the basic gun, so you are forced to use iron sights. Your perks are downgraded to standard, not pro, perks, and you have limited customization.

CCP should take a step up--all suits are downgraded to basic/STD suit. Essentially, people would end up making fits with just STD modules and equipment.

I'm all for this.

This way, no one can say it is the equipment, it is only skill from then on--a lot more people trust me, will play this over the current game modes. Its more balanced. Maybe you can reduce the rewards from them, but at least it will be a MUCH more balanced game mode.