RydogV
Shadow Company HQ
167
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Posted - 2013.05.15 13:31:00 -
[1] - Quote
I think the concept of Faction Warfare as a team-centric gamemode is fine. If I am logged into the game, I wanna play with my Corp. Chances are we are going to have more than 6 players on so there needs to be a mechanism for us to all play together when P/C is not going on. Faction Warfare fill that role fairly well but could be a smoother process. That being said I think CCP can do it better down the line.
TL;DR = Make it meaningful, provide some exclusivity, speed it up.
Risk & Reward
I think incentive is a big drive for Dust players. The dev team talks a lot about creating a reason for doing things in both games. Personally, just being able to play with more of my friends is enough incentive for me. However, I'm sure I am in the minority. A points system seems like the most standard tracker method. Call it LP or call them Faction Points. There should be a leader board dedicated to them for players and organizations to track. I believe the trophy or medal system would also provide some incentive. Many players like to collect things, it's a fact. Why not provide that in some way?
There should also be nice milestone rewards at certain points along the points scale. Similar to the type of items players get for participating in events. Special dropsuits, gear or modules. When every possible make them race specific to try and tie it in to the FW part of it. And since you are generally going to use better quality gear against more organized teams, the ISK payouts should be higher (we are mercenaries after all) and the loot a little sweeter.
Integration of the Two Games
I am not 100% clear on the impact Dust-side FW has on EVE-side. I do know that having Dust players randomly jumping in any ol' match probably isn't super great for their logistical efforts. However, the more I think about it the less appealing having to choose a Faction on Dust-side becomes. I think it takes away from the mercenary role too much. Someday these two economies are going to finally be connected. I want the option to fight for the highest bidder. Faction Warfare has the potential to be a great source of income for smaller corporations not interested or capable of participating in P/C in a meaningful way.
CCP needs to get this piece on the board soon. Maybe a good way to start the economic intergration.
Keeping it Classy
Faction Warfare needs to be a haven for quality organized team-play. This means no randoms. Now I am not a big fan of exclusion but there are enough mechanics in this game, that squading up is not too difficult. If you are a solo player then it is easy enough to add one of the various LFS Channels and let teams know you are looking to play Faction Warfare. Eventually the restriction could lead to better recruitment for establish Corps and give some incentive to randoms to eventually join an organization. The longevity of the title is fairly dependent on the commitment of the player base. You want to appeal to casual players...and you do that by make the game Free-to-Play and offering drop-in/drop-out type of modes. But you also want to make them MORE than casual players in the long run. Faction Warfare can provide the little push to get them engaged, meet people and embrace the culture.
In the meantime, the FW battles are not getting filled by single players curious about what FW is and organized Squads have a better chance of keeping there players together and facing some quality competition in the process.
Time is Money
Waiting for matches to appear, longer load times and sitting around the War Barge for 5 minutes are all irritating deterrents for many teams. The first one might be remedied by the elimination of random players. The second not so sure. But the final issue should be an easy fix. Without the 3D map in the War Barge being active, there is little need for 5 minutes or prep time. Until the map is operational, lets say we cut the countdown in half. And of course more incentive (see above) means we might not mind waiting a little longer.
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