If this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it to the right one.
I don’t want to talk about balance issues in this thread, rather ways to improve the player experience without affecting gameplay. There are plenty of things outside of matches that could use improvements. So please take talk of power level elsewhere.
I feel that these solutions would all be great boons to Star Conflict. I love this game and only want to see it improve.
GS
One of the most important needs of a F2P game is that its paid currency must be obtainable for free, even if it is only in small amounts.
- Instead of a 1-day premium license, give players 100 GS on login day 5. It’s only 1/3 of the value of a 1-day premium license, but the ability to spend it elsewhere is worth the reduction.
- Have gold battles EVERY weekend. Not just when there’s a special occasion. Do sales or something else exciting when that happens (you saw how many sales were made on New Year’s). If you can get GS every weekend, players will be on much more. An increase in player counts will flow over into weekly gameplay, I guarantee you. One of the biggest ways to improve a multiplayer game is to simply get more people playing. If you have to give away a tiny amount of premium currency to do it, it will absolutely work in your favor long run.
- Pay out weekly GS leaderboard rewards to below just the top 3 pilots, and to players outside of t4 and above. If I can get as little as 5GS at something like 1000th place, I will work harder and play more to get it. I’m inclined to believe others will as well, as will newer players who you want to enfranchise as quickly as possible.
The idea here is that even if it’s not much, players will play more to get the GS offered. A HUGE part of multiplayer-focused games is the need for people to be online to play with. A lot of players are turned away by queue times, let alone when they go past 5 or even 10 minutes. Incentives are the best solution.
Loot
The rarity at which some items drop, or lack of availability in drops to begin with, makes some of the grinding far too absurd and unenjoyable to be a positive.
- Have monocrystal drop as rare loot in PvP and PvE victory loot. It’s impossible enough to get without spending 2.4million credits every day to switch stations and come back to grind the vouchers you need again, and the quantity gained is tiny regardless. Drop it in amounts ranging from 1 to 3 in the victory loots, with increasing rarities the more you get. Newer players won’t fully understand its value, but they’ll be happy they have it once they’re in t5 and trying to craft the mass of ship parts so they can get their secret projects.
- Make vouchers a more common drop in PvP/PvE victory loot. They don’t have to be extremely common, but they should show up more. It’s hard enough to grind vouchers, getting vouchers from factions you aren’t currently grinding for helps make up for not being signed on with that faction to get them. The vast majority of my ships above t2 are sitting on full-green parts because I have to get 180000+ vouchers to level up each one.
This is less a complaint about the grind wall and more a complaint about how hard it is to scale. I don’t mind having to grind something, but it should be possible to grind it in the first place.
Customization
Texture customization in games is something we are okay paying for. This isn’t anything new. But the system is still extremely flawed.
- Make an option to purchase, for a lump sum, EVERY customization option for permanent use. Make it cost GS, make it a DLC, whatever. But nickel-and-diming for the color customization is infuriating, especially when you want to try something new. I can already name two friends who would pay for this option, and they’re the only ones I’ve asked so far.
- Speaking of trying something new, when you buy a paint scheme, and then switch to a new one, it makes some sense to pay. But why should it cost GS to change back? If nothing else, make switching back to a color scheme (or just a color) already purchased not cost any GS.
