CELESTA AUNGM
Kang Lo Directorate
Gallente Federation
390
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Posted - 2015.01.10 00:04:00 -
[1] - Quote
GǪA simple thread-title, for what turns out to be a GREAT thread subject, in my opinion.
I LOVE this game. LOVE IT, right down to the grind (for me 1-3/4 years now). But I have always had two painful dislikes. Bethhy's post does an excellent (kudos, Bethhy!!) of representing one of this dislikes.
Dust is not my standard fps/shooter---I understood that very early, and made me choice to stick with the game or to leave. But unfortunately I got that understanding from OUTSIDE resources. In a game as bizarre as Dust, I needed to get that understanding in BATTLE ACADEMY.
 It's true that "militia" gear is supposed to be for "curious how this gun works" sampling/practice only. Yes, you can use them to supplement your suits when having casual fun with pals, but in the drop suits or vehicles you SP-build as a seasoned player, you 're supposed to have left most militia items behind (even my "economy" suits are 99% militia-free).
 It's unfortunately true that new players who haven't learned this "militia mechanic" are at the mercy of, wellGǪ um,GǪ poor advice and tips from a significant portion of the population. "Get your __-Skill up to Lvl 5 right away", "Always sink max SP into the __-Skill; it will guarantee to help you"; "Core-__ Skills are the first and most important, boost them to Max"GǪ. are always wrong advice in Dust.
They are only good strategies when YOU determine they need the SP, and WHEN you've figured out to boost them as part of YOUR merc character. That is not easy, and CCP intentionally created that challenge as one of the "Risk"-iest aspects of their game.
BATTLE ACADEMY is meant to make you aware of this, so you don't NEED to suffer the accidentally bad advice from well-meaning players---I feel sure that's the way Battle Academy was intended.
But (even though I went through the Academy back when it had the super-high WP requirement to graduate), the Academy falls to really TRAIN and TEACH this.
Kind of embarrassingly for CCP, it wouldn't take much to make the Academy a great orientation/teaching device for new players. It only takes a full-screen pop-up of text that hogs the tv every time the player wants to open militia-market, fitting-screen, or skill-menu in the NeoCom. REAL text, explaining intent/use as well-written and thorough as our patch-notes try to be (not those scant help-notes we see in the NeoCom now,GǪyuck).
The player should need to manually exit these text screens repeatedly while navigating the NeoCom, for as long as she's in Battle Academy phase (once you graduate from the Academy, these annoying screens should no longer pollute your menus). True novices will gladly read the screens if the text is really educational and saves lives/SP, (and players who don't like what's been explained to them can make their minds up earlier that the game is not to their liking).
I'm sorry that your SP was tossed away (BUCKETS of it). "Max to Lvl-5" is not wise advice to throw out there. I completed my pro to/advanced suits WITHOUT having to max more than one "core" skill-tier. This game is very bold, but very weird. It does not want players defining "success" only by earning the 'god-gun' like in other fps games, and it doesn't allow the formula that worked for one player to work anywhere as well for the player next the her.
As Year-3 commences, I hope Battle Academy gets a real reworking. A game that tries to rely on teamwork instead of firepower MUST educate us about its playing mechanic IN-game, not leave us so on our own and vulnerable.
Universe of good wishes for the 49, especially CCP Eterne...
No story can have life without writers and publishers.
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CELESTA AUNGM
Kang Lo Directorate
Gallente Federation
390
|
Posted - 2015.01.10 03:42:00 -
[2] - Quote
GǪNo, Zindorak. There are a dozen ways to push-or-pull the Skill categories in order to make CPU or PG room for a module type you want to fit.
The solution players often jump on is "I will follow the advice of friends who tell me to sink SP into the Core CPU Increase Skill, so I can fit the Ice-creamer modules I want to use".
Much of the time it's as clear cut as "I must invest SP in Ice-cream operation skill" to lower the amount of CPU each ice-creamer module will suck from my suit.
 Sometimes, it's "I can add SP to the Spoon-shine Skill--which reduces how much PG my Spoon-shiner modules eat up---thus allowing me to use 2 complex Spoon-shine modules instead of the 3 advanced Spoon-shine modules--which frees up one of my low-slots so I can fit a CPU module--thus finally increasing the cpu I need to fit the Ice-creamer module"
Dust is such a fantastic oddity, that it isn't wrong to spend ONE day each week (just one afternoon) NOT doing any fitting adjustments or purchases in the market, and just STUDY the Skill Tree in depth. Many of us might agree, it is NOT an easy tree to wrap you head around, so the suggestion of doing extra "homework" studying the Skill Tree isn't as goofy a suggestion as you may think.
To be able to figure out the "Ice-creamer" solution I just made up, you have to spend time making friends with a pencil, paper, and the Skill Tree. Sometimes, sometimes, rethinking math CAN be fun.
Universe of good wishes for the 49, especially CCP Eterne...
No story can have life without writers and publishers.
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