[F]Vertical Progression: Nope

Bug Report Section Leveling, balance and market
#1

I’m pretty sure many people will disagree with me… but I feel that this game has absolutely no need for pure vertical progression.

What I mean by this… is straight forward leveling and a tier system where you can obtain higher tier ships and they’re simply better.

It’s one thing to have higher tier ships that gain more options (which would make them inherently better) but to make the higher tier ships simply stronge (i.e. more damage, more rockets, more health, ect) is completely unnecessary in a game like this.

I feel like it was a miss calculation on the developer’s part. They’re attempting to build something into the game that REALLY doesn’t belong there… simply for their business model.

They can monetize the game with out implementing vertical progression.

Horizontal progression would be a much better route. Basically meaning that you unlock ships that have DIFFERENT (not better) stats and advantages… as well as more options (which does make them more powerful in a way… but it shouldn’t make as much as a difference as it does now).

One last thing… as you go up in tiers you gain WAY WAY too many rockets. It completely removes any skill in dog fighting when everyone just spams rockets because they have so many.

tl;dr:

-Remove vertical progression: higher tier ships shouldn’t be simply stronger

-Implement horiztonal progression: higher tier ships get more options (but not higher damage versions of lower tier weapons)

-Don’t make higher tier ships gain so many rockets, it reduces the skill of dog fighting to spamming rockets

#2

I agree. What if I really like the way the first ship looks? I can’t use it because it’s so much worse than the ships I get later, if vertical progression is used. As far as monetization goes, I’d say Team Fortress 2 and just maybe Blacklight Retribution have the best example of balance. I go out of my way to not give money to pay 2 win games.

#3

I go out of my way to not give money to pay 2 win games.

Could you enlighten us what exactly one can buy to win this game?

#4

Licenses for one, and the ships you buy with gold standards are better (or they sound better).

#5

Licenses for one, and the ships you buy with gold standards are better (or they sound better).

Licenses only give xp and money boost, but no advantage in the battle. The gold ships arent better. Perhaps you have noticed that you have 2 ships per Tier.

Lets say T1.1 and T1.2 and the gold ships are between so they are T1.15.

#6

Well, I stand corrected then. However, vertical progression is a thing here, and it hurts. Today I played a round against a 3-man squad of T2 ships, and there was absolutely nothing our T1 ship squad could do, and that’s no fun for either side.

#7

Today I played a round against a 3-man squad of T2 ships, and there was absolutely nothing our T1 ship squad could do, and that’s no fun for either side.

That’s what I expected. You have played the game long enough to be an expert in flying T1 ships and therefore can judge the progression in this game. T2 are way better then T1 but then you wont stay in T1 for longer then two days (unless you suck). You further ignore that folk in T2 have at least 4x the XP invested in skills and know how to fit their ships.

But that all doesn’t matter because T1 are not supposed to be in the same games then T2. Thanks to low numbers in beta, the match maker don’t really got a chance to avoid that, though.

#8

Yes it is right it also depends on the number of players. But also a Lvled T1 ships is still able to compete against a Lv1 T2 ship and the weapon stats are also only 5-10% better so there is a chance to win against T2.

#9

My complaint isn’t with the license at all. That concept is fine (although making it so you can’t squad up with out one is kinda lame, affects the gameplay too much imo, but whatever)

The main thing that bothers me… is the way higher tier combat works.

I have two T2 ships and I feel like full battles of T2 are mostly rocket spam (except, of course… for all the disintegrators)

Also, the tier system really really hurts players that like to have multiple copies of one ship class, because it’s incredibly difficult to unlock multiple T2 inteceptors, for example.

It leaves us at a disadvantage for a very long time. Eventually, we’ll unlock a 2nd T2 interceptor, but it’ll have to start leveling from scratch… by the time it hits max level, I’ll probably start unlocking T3 stuff, or be damn close to it.

I just feel like the tier system is outdated and it doesn’t really add any depth to the game.

One more note… you said the weapon stats are only 5-10% better, however… that usually ends up being a pretty massive boost in a game like this, especaily when they don’t JUST get weapon stats, they also unlock very powerful weapons.

Also, if they were only 5-10% better… then why does a T2 interceptors plasma web have the ability to outright kill a T1 interceptor (if they don’t pop shields and hull) but a T1 interceptor can’t do that to another T1 interceptor.

Regardless, vertical progression doesn’t suit skill based combat. It never did, and it really never will. It’s frustrating to know that you lost by 40% because the enemy player’s ship was simply 5-10% better here, and 5-10% (or more) better there. Just enough to give them a significant advantage…

Oh and they have 2-4 more rockets than me (2 of which my T1 ship can’t even equip, and the other rocket are specialized and incredibly powerful), which they’ll continually spam.

Again, I also have two T2 ships, so i’m not just complaining about being beaten by them… I’m also complaining about being able to run through 3 people in a 3v1 with my T2 ship, where the other 3 are T1 ships. I’m not even that good…