Proto gear is not the problem.....we've been saying this for the longest time. Why can't you guys see this? Sure...proto vs mlt gear, you might get smoked. But the weapons from different tiers are so close to each other, it really doesn't give you that much of an edge.

Running squads is the problem. When one squad is in the game vs randoms, that squad has a big impact. Especially when that squad is filled with great players. Even if there is one squad on each side but one squad is significantly better than the other squad. That weaker squad and team will get floored causing their blues to stop playing or quit.

But if you eliminate squads and everyone solo queues....than there is no squad coordination (giving one side an advantage) and you have a better chance (I'm guessing) of getting good players on both sides.

About your friends comment....one of the things that I loved about Dust back when I first started was the fact that you can talk to anyone whether you guys are in the same game or not. Now, I hate playing games where the squad max is 4 and you have 12 people on because you can't talk to them. We used to be in a chat channel with 20 guys in it all commed up. Although I wasn't in the same squads as them, those were good times because we could still bug out and make jokes.

Even if it's not a garentee that everyone on each team is going to fight hard, nobody has a large advantage just because of squad perks. Squads in pubs is why NPE is so bad ( since most are solo and know nothing about joining corps ).

People that want to be a part of the social side of the game and the most competitive mode's FW/PC should be able to but those teams vs mostly random casual players do not need squad perks.

I also think that the huge amount of isk made in PC for Corp funds has fueled proto stomping for to long. Some large corps make billions every week, making some players uber rich and allowed them to run only the best and buy up every piece of officer gear available. I have not been sucking the Corp tweet and I have over a billion isk... And I'm considered poor.

I bet the isk payouts will be awesome in these welfare matches

It's true skills are less of an advantage, but they're really not insignificant.

Good point

People cry about getting stomped in proto but these players could stomp you in standard gear. If you are having a hard time vs them, either

A. Pull out proto
B. Counter the guy giving you a hard time.
C. Git bud
D. Leave battle

I bet the isk payouts will be awesome in these welfare matches

I'm a solo player 95% of the time.
The best solution is non sharing of scans, only the operator of the scanner sees on his tacnet.

keep your proto squads and social aspect, and use your communication to get enemy position from your gal logi.

I fail to see how less of an advantage is the same as insignificant (I've personally been one to state how most people underestimate the impact skills have). Anyways, here's a simple solution to the lvl 5 problem, make only up to lvl 3 of a skill apply. Of course there's still the advantage, like how I've got prof in some weapons and others don't but then that's part of the point of the game. It's not nearly as bad as a full blown vet going balls to the walls in proto/officer with lvl 5 everything while still maintaining the progression aspect of the game. Otherwise we might as well just make pubs automatically apply lvl5 for everything to everyone; honestly I wouldn't be apposed to that and even as far as having pubs not use up fits. A little care bearish but fck, if that's what it takes for the game to grow then I'm all for it. Hell, now that I think about it, that's kind of what we fcking need, a goddamn high sec, sh!t EVE"s got it and it's a relativity safe area, why the fck doesn't Dust? make pubs high sec and leave FW & PC as null for the HTFU crowd.

Sorry I did kinda put words in your mouth there.[....], my guess is that CCP never intended PRO to be used in pubs at all.

Well to be fair, I'm glad you put words in my mouth, otherwise I wouldn't have thought to further clarify my position. Whether or not CCP intended for proto to be used in pubs they did originally intend for it to be rarely used. I'm sure they knew that some players would be able to afford to use it in pubs but it certainly wasn't meant to be spammed as if it were basic and officer was meant to only be used in battles that actually mattered like PC's instead of being thrown around like candy.

So I'm guessing you've been around a fair bit longer than me, what do you think are the chances that the stat equalization idea could get any traction with the CPM?

Good point

People cry about getting stomped in proto but these players could stomp you in standard gear. If you are having a hard time vs them, either

A. Pull out proto
B. Counter the guy giving you a hard time.
C. Git bud
D. Leave battle

You know what......remove squads from pub matches. That would help even things up.

I actually think this is a legit and viable idea to be honest.

Proto is not a problem. Neither is officer gear to be frank. The problem is imbalance and totally skewed teams.

Why can't this be done? I mean, a lot of people are already complaining about games not being matched up correctly, where maybe in reality it is the power of the items comparative from one team to another.

This supposedly makes the TTK's close for the suits anybody use (me being a huge MLT user), and can actually take down someone when you don't have enough ISK.

And if the Dust Team looks at this and actually considers this, could you restrict every proto/officer item? Even if someone puts a proto weapon on an advanced suit?

Maybe you want to keep the game in a more free kind of environment, which I have nothing against, because you guys created the game. But it is just something that I thought should be out there.

Fair TTK's are great. This is why most PCs are very close and fair, because it makes more people use their strongest gear, not one team having a MLT suit because they can, and the other full proto. This is probably why people hate "unbalanced" teams, just saying.

This goes out to all you cool CPM dudes out there too. Keep up the great work!

Why can't this be done? I mean, a lot of people are already complaining about games not being matched up correctly, where maybe in reality it is the power of the items comparative from one team to another.

This supposedly makes the TTK's close for the suits anybody use (me being a huge MLT user), and can actually take down someone when you don't have enough ISK.

And if the Dust Team looks at this and actually considers this, could you restrict every proto/officer item? Even if someone puts a proto weapon on an advanced suit?

Maybe you want to keep the game in a more free kind of environment, which I have nothing against, because you guys created the game. But it is just something that I thought should be out there.

Fair TTK's are great. This is why most PCs are very close and fair, because it makes more people use their strongest gear, not one team having a MLT suit because they can, and the other full proto. This is probably why people hate "unbalanced" teams, just saying.

This goes out to all you cool CPM dudes out there too. Keep up the great work!

Metalock

I'm against any limitations on gear in any game mode, my reason is easily to understand.

CCP's answer to complaints about protostomping was to introduce officer gear.

Lets be real here.

You're not complaining about Proto Suits.

You're complaining about the people in them.

Nobody has ever whined or complained about that horrible dude in proto who goes 0-11.

You want skill based matchmaking, which will never happen in Dust due to our HORRIFICALLY LOW PLAYERBASE.

If you meta lock tiers, you will still get the ever loving bejesus stomped out of you by Advanced suits.

Lowering the bar isn't the answer. If anything, they just need to nerf the cost of proto suits or increase payouts.

Let everyone run the blingy toys. Proto suits are hella fun with their versatility and fitting power. I would love to see more matches of full proto.

Or you could just delete sub-proto gear.

Why do we even have it? How does crappy POS gear on the cheap enhance the game in a meaningful capacity? Vertical mobility on a power scale? Pfff. Cool. You get the same thing, but better. Whoo. Fun gameplay. Whoo. My new gun does 1.23 more damage per shot, and 20 more DPS. Whoo. That's fun.

Delete everything and focus more on "horizontal" mobility into new gear and stuff.

On, wait. Meaningful development on DUST has ceased. Maybe for the next iteration of an EVE FPS/DUST. Maybe...

Lets be real here.

You're not complaining about Proto Suits.

You're complaining about the people in them.

Nobody has ever whined or complained about that horrible dude in proto who goes 0-11.

You want skill based matchmaking, which will never happen in Dust due to our HORRIFICALLY LOW PLAYERBASE.

If you meta lock tiers, you will still get the ever loving bejesus stomped out of you by Advanced suits.

Lowering the bar isn't the answer. If anything, they just need to nerf the cost of proto suits or increase payouts.

Let everyone run the blingy toys. Proto suits are hella fun with their versatility and fitting power. I would love to see more matches of full proto.

People running ADV aren't as overwhelming as Proto, You can feel the difference in battle.
So please remove Proto(and above)from Pubs.

Or you could just delete sub-proto gear.

Why do we even have it? How does crappy POS gear on the cheap enhance the game in a meaningful capacity? Vertical mobility on a power scale? Pfff. Cool. You get the same thing, but better. Whoo. Fun gameplay. Whoo. My new gun does 1.23 more damage per shot, and 20 more DPS. Whoo. That's fun.

Delete everything and focus more on "horizontal" mobility into new gear and stuff.

On, wait. Meaningful development on DUST has ceased. Maybe for the next iteration of an EVE FPS/DUST. Maybe...