Well said Battle. I'd love to see an Acquisition-like mode, where you have to attack the defending team, and steal and run off with an objective of some kind.

And MAG wasn't the only game that had this factor. The GREATEST objective based game ever, which unfortunately had about 6 billion other problems, was Brink.

It too had a timer and could create intense moments due to you trying to beat the clock as EVERY map was an objective based map, sometimes with two or three objectives. There are a million reasons why it failed, but the objective based maps weren't one of them.

This game fails to create any sense of urgency during game play. And this is by far the biggest problem currently plaguing this game. IMO, unless this is addressed the game will fail at retaining players long term.

At its core, the game fails on a spectacular level to engage players during matches. Anyone who played MAG will know what I'm talking about...

Compare Dust Ambush to MAG Sabotage:

Dust Ambush: A team death match with the only urgency created is a dwindling clone count displayed on screen, and a voice-over providing an a clone count / time progress update if I'm not mistaken...

MAG Sabotage: Initially a team death match yet with success hinged on the defense of two letters, which the enemy has 20 minutes to capture and hold simultaneously for a period of time in order to open access to a third and final objective, again requiring capture. There's a clock counting down, there's sirens whaling as objectives are taken back and forth, there's people yelling in squad and platoon chat. A good match, is both consuming and intense.

I won't even compare Dust Skirmish to MAG Domination... And no, the difference isn't the player count disparity.

Forget all the other stuff like framerate, group sizing, hit detection, imbalance or lack of proxy chat. They're all minor to the long term success of this game. The lack urgency the current game modes create is the games biggest failure.

So to CCP, in your next team meeting, please discuss and plan to address this topic.

TL;DR... Screw you, read it.

Losing has no consequences yet.

Your gonna have to elaborate on what you mean by lack of urgency. You want like action music or somthing? I have a blast playing this game

Allow me to expand on what BAM's trying to say (full disclosure: I'm a former MAG player and a former member of BAM's clan/corp).

MAG created a real sense of urgency in every match. Two reason for this:
1) It had a clock. The most common game mode was 20 mins long.
2) Every game mode had clear cut objectives. Not saying that DUST doesn't. One of the first maps of the closed BETA, a Skirmish map, had kind of a MAG feel to it. You had to blow two towers in order open up the base and THEN you could win the game. (A lot of players don't like these kinds of scenarios because it creates meat grinders...they'd prefer to walk around and get into one on ones...I refer to these folks as p*ssies).

To go a bit farther with the second point of my post:

To win MAG you had to "hold circle". In other words, you had to walk up to an objective, much like here, and hold circle. Allow me to try to explain the urgency in Sabatoge mode without getting all MAG crazy:

As the attacking squad, you had 20 mins to take two objectives at the same time, and then a third objective which only opened up after taking the first two. In other words, your squad took one objective and someone else took the other, you held them for 20 seconds and BOOM, the third and final objective is opened up and now it's a 32 on 32 meatgrinder over one objective. Again the numbers do come into play a bit, but those are coming SOON correct?

The clock kept you honest, you couldn't just mess around and expect to win. You had to go hard most of the time. And here was the best part of it.

Once the final objective was opened...if you planted on it...it stopped the clock. So as the defending team you could lose with 1 second left. I've been the cause and victim of this and I have to tell you, it makes you strike a pose and shout victorious obscenities at the screen.

It's not uncommon for the last 2 to three mins of a Sabotage match to be be an intense drama filled time if the Final Objective has been opened by the attacking team.

Now in DUST we have more of a Battlefield feel to it. There's not much sense of urgency other than dwindling tickets and failing MCC shields and armor. Which is fine, but it could be better.

I would like to see how players will/will not defend their MCC, when that is item that they have bought with ISK.

Especially since we have no idea as to how many MCC types CCP is planning on having and how much each one might cost a corporation. It may be more then one MCC per race with each one having different attributes and bonuses. I do expect them at some point with expansions to keep adding to the amount of gear in game. Since that has what has happened to EVE over the years I expect they'll do the same for DUST.

LOL. You honestly think players are always going to be in well organised Corps? And always be participating in the attack and defense of asset as a Corporation? I think not...

The game needs better modes to attract and retain players, while they are not Corp battling, otherwise it will die. It's as simple as that.

I've said it, and so have some others in my Corp; playing DUST by yourself is straight up boring. The only reason I do it is to grind ISK or SP while others are offline.