Breakin Stuff
Goonfeet
Special Planetary Emergency Response Group
4550
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Posted - 2014.11.06 11:25:00 -
[1] - Quote
It's called "follow the meta."
I know you guys hate evetards, but we all have one thing in common if we play for longer than four hours without ragequitting more than once:
Analysts. Analysts make the meta in EVE and DUST go round. There is a fair number of number nerds annd spooks of various flavors who pay either, or both games.
It takes an analyst or someone with a ridiculous amount of experience with a number set to tell you how the meta will change with each patch.
Example: I can follow the numbers of the forge gun. The militia forge ceases holding any utility for anything but cheap sniper substitute once you hit level 3 forge guns and begin really learning how to employ the assault forge. Even higher level forge guns rapidly become relegated to sniper dub status because the assault has a higher rate of fire and alpha as well as DPS over the standard line. The breach is a joke because you have to bunny hop while enjoying the base 6 second charge timer.
Add to the equation that heavy damage mods add only Cosmetic improvement and you realize that for overall efficiency of operation the assault forge is king. All it takes is learning the timing. Plus you get minor splash bennies.
Why is this relevant?
Because it followed the meta once.
Planetary Conquest, despite being the hotbutton topic that it is, is the pulse of the meta. When a fit style or tactic achieves widespread use there you are on a three-month countdown timer until it becomes mainstream meta in FW and pubs.
So let's take the militia forge and we put it in PC. It becomes a high point sniper par excellence. It is posted on the forums that X corp is a buncha rooftop sniper scrubs, but the tactic is adopted widely and used relentlessly in PC.
At the end of month 1, the doctrine begins seeing widespread use.
At the end of month two the FOTM chasers have emulated the tactic because it works and is low risk.
By month three the meta of pubs has shifted to accommodate a high percentage of rooftop forge snipers to the frustration of people trying to make other roles work. This results in the loss of splash. FOTM kiddies quit but the deadliest forge snipers stay. They were never dependent upon the splash anyway.
PC looks for the next best setup.
At the moment we are seeing the beginning of the third month. Heavies and scouts are rapidly becoming the new groundpounder meta in pubs, easily outnumbering assaults and logis. Commandos are rarely seen anyway.
Right now scouts are the most easy, obvious and obnoxious. When they get toned down, sentinels will be the focus of the angry attention within 14 days of scouts actually being balanced.
Once sentinels eat the hammer it's down to weapon meta. The only question is will scouts and sentinels retain a role in the meta or will they become the sole purview of the die-hards?
But PC even without the passive income consideration has stagnated to heavies and scouts. This is the meta we will inherit and are seeing come to life.
As much as I taunt the tryhards, the rest of you nerds will follow the leader and wonder why your new fits inevitably get nerfed.
It always happens. It's the cyclical pattern derived from asymmetrical warfare setups. Rattati has a knack for calming the trend.
But until you see wide diversity in PC the rest of the game will follow the meta.
EVE Online is what you get when engineers attempt to create "fun" without consulting someone who comprehends the word.
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