I think they called them "disruptive" for the game and community just during EVE Vegas.

I will also agree that "needs respecs to work" ought to be an instant disqualifier when it comes to designing a progression system. Not only do they not fit into New Eden from a conceptual standpoint. The potential for negative impact on balance, retention and the EVE/Legion economy have been discussed ad nauseam in this forum so it troubles me to see it suggested in passing just like that.

It's like a new and improved sports car model that also happens to ship with an unreliable engine. That's why a pair of horses is included in the price in case of the inevitable engine failure: They introduce their own set of requirements and risks, they don't fit in with the product you're shipping and they really should not be necessary in the first place.

Despite the game's lack of modes besides just the basic archetypes, you want to remove the commando? I implore you to not only keep the commando, but to also expand specializations into a wide variety of options with various specialties (like that area-of-effect specialization CCP never added).

Whoa... WHAT?!

Somehow I missed this. For the love of all things awesome do not get rid of the commando. That was one of the best things in any of the updates.

At this point, we need to actually see a diagram or some sort of depiction of this new progression system. It might not be as bad as it sounds however its hard to visualise at this point.

The main thing I keep seeing on the forums is - people DO NOT want to be forced into specific roles and we certainly do not want any dumbing down / being pigeon holed into role X role Y role Z.

Is anyone almost entirely on board with Z's proposed changes? (like >90%)

Negative Respec/Skillback idea

ISIS UI Discussion

Will new players be able to see a noticeable improvement in their abilities as they apply their skill points early in their career?

Will new players that specialize in one role be able to develop enough in a month or two to be able to compete with veteran players? I donGÇÖt mean even playing field, but rather narrowing the gap in the area they specialise in enough to give them a fighting chance.

Are you simply collapsing 5 level skills into single nodes? Are you taking a lot of small rewarding steps and replacing them with a few huge daunting steps? Am I going to have to grind for two weeks to get 25% PG from the Engineering node when I only need 5% more PG to make my fit work?

Monetization Discussion

How is restricting players for newcomers and/or idiots a better idea than keeping everything free and explaining it all?

We are basically creating 5 nodes level 1 instead of 1 node with 5 levels. It helps people understand and allow our trees to be more linear

Negative Respec/Skillback idea

ISIS UI Discussion

Will new players be able to see a noticeable improvement in their abilities as they apply their skill points early in their career?

Will new players that specialize in one role be able to develop enough in a month or two to be able to compete with veteran players? I donGÇÖt mean even playing field, but rather narrowing the gap in the area they specialise in enough to give them a fighting chance.

Are you simply collapsing 5 level skills into single nodes? Are you taking a lot of small rewarding steps and replacing them with a few huge daunting steps? Am I going to have to grind for two weeks to get 25% PG from the Engineering node when I only need 5% more PG to make my fit work?

Monetization Discussion

How is restricting players for newcomers and/or idiots a better idea than keeping everything free and explaining it all?

We are basically creating 5 nodes level 1 instead of 1 node with 5 levels. It helps people understand and allow our trees to be more linear

Item and Variation discussion.

Again, no weapon or module will be available for AURUM or give you any type of leapfrogging through the Progression.

I-¦m assuming dropsuits and vehicle BPOs will be available for purchase with AURUM then?

I-¦m assuming dropsuits and vehicle BPOs will be available for purchase with AURUM then?

To CCP Z:

[Progression]
I would prefer if dropsuit progression wasn't so centered around upgrades but sidegrades, so you would unlock suits that gain a big strength, but at the cost of a weakness.

Examples:
Instead of unlocking even better assault suits in the assault role tree, you can unlock a new skill to use a new specialization with no grenade, less slots, & less speed than an assault in exchange for a bonus to range & zoom, as well as inheriting the assault bonuses (call it the marksmen).

Going deeper in the logistics tree grants you access to a new specialization with less slots but has built-in E-war equipment. Would inherit logistics bonuses in addition to bonuses to the E-war equipment (call it the engineer).

Going deeper in the scout tree unlocks a new specialization with only one equipment slot, less modules, but 2 sidearms (or 3 sidearms & no light weapon); in addition to inheriting the scout bonuses, they could have a bonus to sidearm damage & racial knife fitting (predator or assassin).

Going deeper in the sentinel tree unlocks a new specialization with less slots, penalty (or restriction) to fitting light weapons, but in exchange inherit the sentinel bonuses in addition to racial heavy weapon damage (sentry).


[Roles]
Dust 514 has had a very limited and boring set of roles. It was fairly recently that we got the commando, which added some spice to the formula, and there are promised roles we are still missing: there was a role mentioned by CCP called the commander or crusader mentioned by CCP that was supposed to give area-of effect bonuses to teammates, and penalties to enemies (like rate of fire reduction). There is also the still missing pilot suit that was supposed to give bonuses to vehicles.
Despite the game's lack of modes besides just the basic archetypes, you want to remove the commando? I implore you to not only keep the commando, but to also expand specializations into a wide variety of options with various specialties (like that area-of-effect specialization CCP never added).

Feedback on Progression

I-¦m assuming dropsuits and vehicle BPOs will be available for purchase with AURUM then?

I like a lot the sidegrades idea and that is something that our Design Team is currently looking at (more or less modules, different weapon types, different abilities like being able to hack or not ...)

I like a lot the sidegrades idea and that is something that our Design Team is currently looking at (more or less modules, different weapon types, different abilities like being able to hack or not ...)

Is anyone almost entirely on board with Z's proposed changes? (like >90%) From what I'm reading here the proposed solution needs to be scraped. There's no shame in that, devs. I'd rather get it right than have it wrong when you have the opportunity to basically start from scratch.

That being said, if you really are looking to actually use feedback from the players and this isn't just an "FYI" session, thank you. This is the kind of thing Dust has needed sorely for a long time. I only want to stress (again) that it's okay to scrap this new system altogether and start fresh. I'm a developer by trade and I will trash an idea (no matter how heavily invested I am in a solution) if it isn't the absolute best solution at its core for the product.

Requirements gathering is hard, but thank you guys for putting real effort into it.