J-Lewis
Edimmu Warfighters
Gallente Federation
67
   |
Posted - 2013.05.12 09:53:00 -
[1] - Quote
New players should start with most of their SP allocated, depending on race of choice.
Dropsuit Command -+ 43,540 SP
Gùï Dropsuit Command I -+ 6,220 SP
Gùï Racial Medium Dropsuits I -+ 37,320 SP
Dropsuit Upgrades -+ 198,980 SP
Gùï Dropsuit Upgrades II -+ 18,650 SP
Gùï Dropsuit Core Upgrades II -+ 37,300 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr -+ Drop Uplink Deployment I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Gallente -+ Active Scanner Operation I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Caldari -+ Nanocircuitry I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Minmatar -+ Repair Tool Operation I -+ 18,660 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr/Gallente -+ Dropsuit Armor Upgrades I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Caldari/Minmatar -+ Dropsuit Shield Upgrades I -+ 12,440 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr/Gallente -+ Armor Plating I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Caldari -+ Shield Extension I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Minmatar -+ Shield Recharging I -+ 18,660 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr/Gallente -+ Armor Repair Systems I -+ 18,660 SP
GÇó Caldari/Minmatar -+ Shield Regulation I -+ 18,660 SP
Weaponry -+ 205,220 SP
Gùï Weaponry III -+ 43,530 SP
Gùï Explosives I -+ 12,440 SP
Gùï Grenadier I -+ 24,880 SP
Gùï Handheld Weapon Upgrades I -+ 12,440 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr/Caldari -+ Sidearm Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Gallente/Minmatar -+ Sidearm Operation II -+ 37,300 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr -+ Scrambler Pistol Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Gallente -+ Ion Pistol Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Caldari -+ Rail Pistol Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Minmatar -+ Submachine Gun Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr/Caldari -+ Light Weapon Operation II -+ 37,300 SP
GÇó Gallente/Minmatar -+ Light Weapon Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
Gùÿ Either:
GÇó Amarr -+ Scrambler Rifle Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Gallente -+ Assault Rifle Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Caldari -+ Rail Rifle Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
GÇó Minmatar -+ Combat Rifle Operation I -+ 12,440 SP
TOTAL:
GÖª 447,740 SP allocated, plus 52,260 SP unallocated.
This leaves enough spare SP for the user to tack on one or two desired skills.
250k ISK and 52,260 SP is about enough for the first level in two untrained 3x skills.
The biggest issue for new players is militia gear being completely useless without support skills; this proposed skill set offsets that by allowing new players to instantly jump into a fully standard fit basic suit of their race.
Note: Some of the skills are for gear that doesn't exist yet, so prereqs are unknown. |
J-Lewis
Edimmu Warfighters
Gallente Federation
69
|
Posted - 2013.05.13 08:00:00 -
[2] - Quote
The idea behind allocating most of a new players SP is so they can skip militia.
Like it or not, militia gear in its current implementation is only really useful for higher SP players. 
Around the time Open Beta hit I pulled a friend of mine with me into DUST. He promptly quit, refusing to play without me, as he just wasn't able to play effectively by himself. Fair enough, DUST is about teamwork. But then why am I still playing alone? I shrug, figuring solo DUST just isn't his thing, and forget about it.
Fast forward a few months. Uprising hits, I manage to convince him to play a couple more matches. We play one match, he once again brings up how ineffective he feels -- I had told him to hold off on spending SP so he could try out the various militia gear to find his calling.
He wants to use scoped weapons but the only one he can try is the sniper, but it's just not doing enough damage in addition to being unwieldy. I start thinking about what other scoped weapons are available. Something clicks inside my head.
On a hunch I tell him to use what little SP he had accrued passively on skilling into an advanced suit load out. I set him up with a well fit 'Gallente Medium Frame G/1-series' with a 'GLU-5' TAR. We play one, two, three, five, seven matches. He's laughing on comms as he nails merc after merc with ruthless efficiency (partially down to the TAC being slightly OP ).
I left to make dinner, he kept playing (having had dinner earlier); he gets his turn squad commanding.
It was like day and night:
He cringed as he lost more suits than his paycheck could reimburse.
He cheered when he made a profit (then he bought more suits).
But most of all, he was having fun.
So what did I learn?
In his militia BPO starter suit, my friend wasn't feeling three very important things. He told me very bluntly:
He didn't feel effective. His weapon didn't hurt. His dropsuit felt like it was made of papier mache.
He didn't feel he was risking anything. DUST has been marketed as a harsh game where economic loss is a core factor in what you decide to risk for your reward. He didn't get the same risk induced rush as he did while PvPing in EVE Online.
I couldn't feel his pain because I have core skills that make up for it -- I can run militia as much as I want, but when my suit has 25% more health than his and my modules are more effective, it's just no contest. He didn't have the skill set to make anything out of his suit.
This is why I'm so vehemently for the game to allocate the majority of the starter SP. New players shouldn't have to struggle with the skill interface right off the bat to be effective; what they need more than anything is time and space to lean the game. They should be spending their first few matches worth of ISK on modules and dropsuits to find out what they like using, not wasting it on skill books. |