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Originally Posted by Kaffis
Roles mean that everybody will have "low level" access to all that versatility, though.
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I get the feeling that not all roles will be available to everyone out of the gate. Anyone might be able to pull a mossy pilot, but not anyone could pull a bomber pilot, for example. You might need some progression down an "assault" skill tree in order to unlock the different MAX armors.
Originally Posted by Sirisian
I know what you mean. Like I said pages ago I'd like specialization to mean something. 100-200% bonuses is a meaningful upgrade system. If I spend certs into something I want the values to signify something. I don't want to spend a cert to upgrade armor for my liberator and realize "oh cool it can take 2 more bullets!". I want someone to see the upgraded armor plates and go "woah he specialized in the heavy armor. This could take a while!"
There's so many examples I could list where someone's specialization would actually be beneficial instead of this 20% nothingness.
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Nothingness? No. A Big Deal, no, but certainly not nothing.
And a heavy-bomber unlock on the regular bomber might have 80% more health, but be 50% slower, for example. Significant
side-grades, relatively small
up-grades. Or maybe some ship gear would have the same effect. Shifting stats around significantly, but not a flat-out Mega Buff
100/200% bonus There, with no balancing penalty? Hell no. People who want that should head back to WoW.
This here is PLANETSIDE.
Player skill matters the most. Not cert-based stat bonuses. There have been numerous comments from the devs about "speeding up gameplay" and increased lethality and so forth. If someone with remotely appropriate gear gets the drop on you, you're probably going to die. Period.
HOWEVER, if two squads are slugging it out, and their player-skill-levels are about the same,
character-skill-levels will
matter.
"Tactical versatility" can matter A Lot if you can create the right situation, but a couple % one way or the other can make a difference when you're otherwise on an even footing. A 5% smaller cone of fire, 1% more damage, and medics that can heal/revive you a tad faster Can Make A Difference.
The stat/skill mods in Global Agenda bugged the hell out of me (what's the point?!) until that concept seeped into my head.
I get it now. SMALL power progression has some benefits:
1) It lets people feel they're getting something (psychologically addictive games have that sort of thing designed into them). I get the feeling I'm gonna be Hooked Bad on PS2. Needs me another fix.
2) In Competitive Play, a couple % one way or the other can Actually Matter.
3) Yes, it matters a little more against folks who are untrained, but frankly I think the unlocks (air timed grenades vs impact grenades fer instance) will matter more in those cases.
4) Leave the majority of the importance in the player's hands, not the character's.
Addiction & Competitive Play. Probably in that order.
You don't want to make the buffs utterly irrelevant, or they'll be seen as utterly irrelevant. No bueno. But you also don't want to have an RPG-grade power boost based on character training/level. The victory is in the hands of the player, not the character.
It's a tough line to walk. Pretty damn narrow. Kudos to them if they can manage that particular tight-rope. And being that they Do This For A Living, and have a whole shit-ton of data to mine (from the current version), I think they'll be okay.