Spiral Knights - How can we get more players to play/enjoy Lockdown?

How can we get more players to play/enjoy Lockdown?

55 replies [Last post]

Mon, 11/18/2013 - 13:54

Momofuku

A mixture of discussion and suggestions.

List of problems (in my view) with the current state of lockdown. What is best is if we can get people to collectively agree on what the problems are, and not point fingers:

Not enough people queued, especially for T1 and T2. There isn't much attention directed towards lockdown even existing while you're working through missions in clockworks. Basically, not enough interest for the PVE players to bother with lockdown.
Currently, playing lockdown in no way advances your character (either through heat, minuscule crown payout, and no material rewards) other than krogmo coins for collecting select recipes or enamorocks/mod calibrators.
Requiring shouting in haven zones to get guilds to queue up for GVG lockdown because there is a lack of reward/desire/fun as a whole to play GVG for many players.
GVG stacking or point boosting.
Complaints regarding Polaris usage.
Complaints regarding auto-target usage.
Complaints regarding ASI VH usage, or just UVs as a whole (status immunity, etc.) Or feeling "outclassed."
Complaints regarding Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade usage.
Complaints regarding getting killed too quickly.
Complaints about lag.
Complaints about team not capping or too focused on dealing damage.
Limited rewards/payout with playing lockdown.

Possible solutions/suggestions:

Increase crown payout for lockdown, and include material rewards / low chance of rarity rewards (fire crystals, orbs of alchemy, sparks) for winning. This will make it so that playing lockdown is a semi-suitable option for spending time on the game instead of running clockworks. Obviously it won't generate nearly as many materials/crown compared to killing monsters, but some is better than none especially for those who prefer PVP over PVE. Go ahead and make these rewards bound if there is fear of ruining the market with these rewards, but honoring T3 games with 4 and 5 star mats would be a nice plus.
Collect heat from killing players. (Entire team gets the heat, not just the player who killed an opponent.) Adds into the whole "being able to play lockdown as a substitution for clockworks" idea, rewarding you for putting time into PVP and still making progress with your character.
Ability to buy rarities with Krogmo Coins (ie. 3 Elite Orbs of Alchemy for 250 Krogmo Coin). Again, applying Krogmo payout towards character advancement.
Cap the number of points you can get from playing GVG against the same guild per week. Solves boosting, I hope.
Arguable, but curb Polaris line shots to 2 shot clip instead of 3.
Disable auto target completely--not because there is a problem with it, but because of the finger pointing and accusations that happen as a result of it being an option. They could have added a feature called "Cheat mode? Y/N" and everyone who got killed "really easily" would just accuse other people of playing with cheat mode on. It's toxic having it as an option, so it should be grayed out for lockdown, and either always enabled or disabled, not either or. Hopefully other changes will make it unnecessary to have it on.
Remove Sword ASI Med buff on Striker class. Just unnecessary, since it allows ASI VH swords to hit max ASI. It gives no question to whether you should opt for damage bonus gear or ASI gear, especially if money is not an issue. Force players to pick between damage or speed.
Slightly reduce boost speed of Striker dash. Doesn't affect any high end/high connection players, but will definitely help the low latency players since the general rubberbanding while boosting can get pretty crazy to follow, leading to near-unplayable gameplay.
Increase base defense buff of all players to 150 instead of 100. This (and the last 3 suggestions) aims to slightly slow down the action in lockdown and increase the number of hits before death so it feels less unfair. This especially benefits people with lower latency who get rushed and DA/GF double swinged to death, even if they react in time and the game does not acknowledge it.
Remove damage score at the end of the match. If they only show caps and defends, how will you know who did the most damage? Now nobody will care how much damage you did, because nobody knows.

These are only my thoughts regarding lockdown, and I am quite new to lockdown in general. Feel free to discuss, agree or disagree, and so forth. But I find lockdown to be quite fun to play, and is my only motivator to playing the game since the PVE experience feels too familiar unless I force myself to experiment with different weapons.

Mon, 11/18/2013 - 14:06

Bitsbee

By directing them to Blast Network.

But in seriousness:

"Remove damage score at the end of the match. If they only show caps and defends, how will you know who did the most damage? Now nobody will care how much damage you did, because nobody knows."

Gimme.

Also, if I may add, make it so that the more Captures/Defends you have, the more Crowns you'll get. Capture/Defend none of them, & you get squat.

Mon, 11/18/2013 - 14:17

Mushy-Bucket

---

Some more people to get damage off of would be nice but...

-UVs are just something you have to handle. They give the matches diversity; if it's too hard, go to PvE and get some UVs, eh?
-The reductions to striker you listed are pretty significant. If that were to happen, we would need some reductions regarding the other classes.
-The crown payout could be increased (By a little. If people who don't even get on the leaderboards but still played plenty, like myself, we would still be seriously rich), and the range of items that can be obtained via K coins could be widened, but I think materials should remain in the Clockworks.
-Hide the damage counter? That would ruin it! Most of the oldies who play it play it for damage. I'd be one of many who would quit.
-Issues with complaints? Those people obviously don't have the right gear or self-control. Also, you could always ignore them or zone it out and only read what you/your acquaintances are typing.

Mon, 11/18/2013 - 18:05

Deleted-Knight

Agree to half

Encouraging Lockdown play is good. Currently, it's just slightly above crown grinding (in terms of entertainment) for end game players. Adding a chance for a rare random prize every match would be nice incentive to get people playing. Maybe make the krogmo coin payout single coin regardless if win or lose, but winners get chance at a valuable prize (like UV ticket?).

Fixing lockdown (UV/class handicapping) has been suggested countless times and probably would never be resolved. The #1 goal of PvP is to be challenging and not repetitive. Fairness and balance is secondary. Besides all the currently OP people will probably whine if the system changes.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 02:56

The-Vindicar

kthnxbye

The best change of Lockdown would be splitting it into a separate game.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 05:23

Mushy-Bucket

...

Don't change the krogmo payout. That would damage the game. But, a chance for prize that is higher when you win wouldn't hurt.
UV handicapping thing and fairness in Lockdown? Hah. Selective OPness and the lack of fairness is the reason why it's fun.
Frankly, the only thing I'd really add to the game would be to make it give 300 cr to winners (280 doesn't balance out as well) and maybe a very small chance for a prize. Why small? Well, I might play 40-70 matches a week, but some people play like 300.
Speaking of that, I already profit from it anyway.

"Currently, it's just slightly above crown grinding (in terms of entertainment)"
Why would we play if it was boring?

"The best change of Lockdown would be splitting it into a separate game."
SK would be mortally crippled.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 08:26

Misty-Wellington

Remove Damage counter, because that's unnecessary.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 11:05

Raisinfist

You forgot Heart Pendants.

See, if everyone had completely random gear each time they spawned it'd be fun...

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 14:04

Mushy-Bucket

---

It's only fun if it's unfair. As weird as that sounds, would you be having as much fun if EVERYONE had completely identical gear? No.
If you think so, you haven't played enough Lockdown.
Random gear? Leave that for Minecraft's Roll The Dice servers.

Remove the damage counter? Wait, what were we playing Lockdown for again? Totally caps... totally totally.
No track of damage would mean less fun. At some point we could get matches with only Mercurial gear and no weapons trying to get as many caps as possible will being peaceable. That's not Lockdown.

Just accept it. Lockdown is naturally not a friendly place; you have to get used to it. Then, and only then, is it fun.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 14:46

Xtweeterx

1 word

Balance.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 14:51

#10

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

sure, because getting owned by ASI VH CTR VH brandishes is fun, aye? right now LD is fine if you have UVs.
about ideantical gear, idk you, but I see many identical weapons and armors in LD, with only a few exceptions.
and you SHOULD play for caps. if you don't play for caps, you play for damage and you don't win. because really, everybody caps, don't deny it.

EDIT: yes, in fact, it's all about weapons being OP. I am almost certain that if weapons would be balanced, LD would be more livable.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 16:06

#11

Mushy-Bucket

---

I'm not a rich player, but I'm not poor. I have in-the-middle UVs (asi med in general), and I get along fine with the ASI Max people. Frankly, I thank them for helping me learn how to fight well at this game when I started playing Lockdown over 14 months ago.

"about ideantical gear, idk you, but I see many identical weapons and armors in LD, with only a few exceptions."
That's the thing. People use similar gear, but we always have the choice to change it, and in general, nobody has the exact same set, due to UVs.

I'm not going to say you aren't going through the typical stage. For the first 2-3 months of my playing of Lockdown, I definitely fit the "noob" bill. Azure guardian. Levi. Aegis. No other 5*. No UVs. And at that point, I always complained about ASI, AA, OP gear, etc. That was also when I sucked at it (2-4k dmg a match). Throughout the past year, I've lost the notion of complaining. Why? I'd be complaining about my own stuff. Plus, the irritating environment drastically improved my skills at the game. Now, the damage is usually between 9-15k, with my records being at almost 30k.
Lockdown's rough environment is overall beneficial. It also can teach you to just shuddup and enjoy the match.

"and you SHOULD play for caps. if you don't play for caps, you play for damage and you don't win. because really, everybody caps, don't deny it. "
I never said I don't. I just said it's not my focus. If there's an open point worth capping, of course I'd cap it. I only ignore capping if one of those helpful bombers is on my team. And I also never said I completely ignore them. I've managed 14 caps while still focusing on damage.

"EDIT: yes, in fact, it's all about weapons being OP. I am almost certain that if weapons would be balanced, LD would be more livable."
Typical noob complaint. Lockdown would be dead if it was fair. Ever wondered why almost nobody plays BN?

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 16:39

#12

Sirius-Voltbreaker

This would be good, but it means more UVs because of better payout.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 16:46

#13

Rezzler

^Variety definitely adds nice

^Variety definitely adds nice seasoning to LD. But it is a very high barrier to entry to become good enough to enjoy it. First off, you need heart trinkets. Second, you need UVs to be fairly competent. Using natural armor doesnt work very well.

Tbh, LD does need a change. Reducing the effectiveness of UVs mght be the way to go. Or fixing the classes a little. Overall, Its fun for the endgame players, but for anyone else, it sucks. They just get repeatedly beaten. And they only improve if they waste their time on this silly minigame.

Whereas, one can go and find much better pure PvP games where the devs think about balance, and players have fun. PvE is boring, PvP is too selective and tipped in favor or specific gear. Nothing really to do. Nothing coming soon either.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 16:51

#14

Aplauses

my opinion.

Remove damage score at the end of the match
No and why ? Just because everyone more focus on damage, that doesn't mean you should remove the score. It simple, killing is fun, cap is boring.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 16:53

#15

Rezzler

Only narrow minded players

Only narrow minded players care only about damage. They are too hard headed to worry about anything else with their simplistic mindset.

Case and point? Check the post above me.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 17:33

#16

Skold-The-Drac

kd like bn

Drop the damage down to a kill:death stat.

seerusly I don't care if you got 40k on someone that managed to retreat to a pad before you could land the killing blow.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 17:59

#17

Hexzyle

When you're this swag this world just bows at your knees

Drop the damage down to a kill:death stat.

That's even worse.
I mean, the current system doesn't show support kills, like inflicting poison, stun or doom. But changing it to a kill/death ratio would mean that even people who kill assist (gunners and damage status bombers) can't see their contribution

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 18:12

#18

Not-Argljing

I'm always watching...

Disable auto target completely

/laughs

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 18:13

#19

Aplauses

@Rezzler

You can't say they are narrow mind just because they care only about damage. The purpose of damage is to kill or weaken enemy.Thus, your team can capture point easier and gave your team more chance of winning. Basically, they are more offense-oriented player.

ignore the grammar

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 18:38

#20

Hexzyle

When you're this swag this world just bows at your knees

One of my main strategies in lockdown actually plays on the "damage over caps" mentality. I just run around in a loop dropping Stagger Storm and Voltaic Tempest alternatively, and everyone tries to chase me down and kill me but fail miserably, because even when you're a striker, you can't move very fast when you're stunned and spasming from shock.
Even if my team has all points captured, or there's a point in view of the player that doesn't belong to them, they will still prefer to chase me rather than focus on the objective.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 19:36

#21

Klipik-Forum

I has idear

meep
moop
murp
Do all of these things. Plus another idea:

-Fix the ranking system. Make it so you actually lose rank points for losing a match, and gain points based on how much you won by as well as if you won or not. Then make the leaderboards reset every month instead of every week, and offer a reward for the top 10 players and guilds at the end of the month. Maybe let us view more than the top 10. And try to matchmake and balance teams based on ranking.

P.S: @Aplauses: Agreed. It only works if your team knows you're doing it and compensates, though (aka they don't all do the same thing).

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 19:51

#22

Cetren

I think

It would be cool to have a "random" mode, where your armor and gear are randomly chosen each time you spawn. It would comply with each teir. For example: life 1 ashtail helm and volcanic salamander suit. With cold iron carver and blizzbrand. Life 2 volcanic plate helm and mercury suit with electron vortex and pulser. There would be a moderate chance for uvs 2. That way you never know what you have to use and deal with

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 20:12

#23

Mushy-Bucket

---

@Klip & @Aplauses
Finally. People who understand the value of damage in LD. /chuckle

@Klip
I'd love some improvements to the ranking system, though I don't know about rewards (at least for guilds), because a certain guild *cough* would always get that top spot.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 20:39

#24

Klipik-Forum

@Mushy

That's why it's for top 10 and not top 1. Forgot to add before, maybe top 1 would get a temporary piece of guild furniture?

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 20:50

#25

Mushy-Bucket

---

It'd be nice if you got on the top list last time it's harder to get on there repeatedly. Then we'd see some variation.
i.e. reduce the score-per-match your guild gets for that month if you were in the top 10/whatever last month.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 20:55

#26

Midnight-Dj

Well, a good way to start attracting PvEers to play PvP is to remove the sewage rats, pull out the LD community by its root and burn it down. Then, beneath its ashes, a new LD will rise, evolved but untammed. And only then would a PvEer like me will ever step into the colosieum.

ps. oh look, a polaris, I wonder what I can do with it in LD :)

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 21:02

#27

Klipik-Forum

"untammed."
Then it would just revert back to the normal in seconds.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 21:05

#28

Mushy-Bucket

Um.

And then us "sewage rats" would come right back to one of the few things besides chatting that keeps us here.

Tue, 11/19/2013 - 22:11

#29

Midnight-Dj

@ klipik and mushy

*sigh* this, is why I never play LD, even when darkcub, feyi feyi, Contri and all those bad boys are gone, I will still have you guys to deal with... :/

Wed, 11/20/2013 - 07:13

#30

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

you are actually saying that BN is almost empty cause it's more fair? I would like to add something but I don't know what to say.
it's the different mechanics that drive people off BN. people tend to go LD cause they keep the weapons they know. BN is more bomberman than SK, that's why there is almost no one in BN. because you are here to play SK.
also, there are weapons in this game that stright up cannot be used in LD. no, not only autogun and cutter. ever tried an UV-less suda? even with asi med you cannot use it. catalyzer? you are lucky if you can hit someone with that. let's not talk about bombs.

Wed, 11/20/2013 - 07:58

#31

Momofuku

I appreciate the comments received so far. I hope we can come to an agreement on things that could make lockdown enjoyable for newcomers as well as existing players.

I see the points regarding keeping the damage counter and I understand that is a strong motivator for some people to play the game. I think, then, we need a similar motivator for the non-damage oriented players. While it is difficult to account for support players, perhaps if we added more data to the endgame scoring, such as "Points Generated" where the game tracks the points generated by each CP for the match to each player that captured the point. Here we could see a little more detail beyond just "Captures" since we could then see who was keeping/capturing points that generated the most points for the team. A 1 cap player could still do well if that point is never captured by the enemy team (and thus generate a lot of points for the team as well as the player) whereas a 14 cap player who constantly loses his cap would do less well.
Perhaps adding # of deaths score would be an interesting addition too.
Identical gear would be a bad thing--a la Battle Network style. The main emphasis of SK has always been "personalization of your knight and playstyle" which this would go against. There needs to be a motivator of acquiring better gear to perform better as a feedback loop to keep playing. I'm simply in favor of having Lockdown give rewards (even slight, like added Heat or occasional Rarity rewards like Orbs of Alchemy/Fire Crystals/Sparks) that assist the player in character advancement in exchange for time spent playing Lockdown. Perhaps in the form of bound Radiant Fire Crystals maybe? A T2 player could never play T2 Lockdown enough to "advance himself to getting T3 gear" so it's almost like a waste of time for a T2 player to divulge in Lockdown at all when he could be doing Clockwork runs. It would be nice to exchange Krogmo Coins for bound Rarities, too.
Yes, I know disabling/enabling Auto Target is a topic that feels like having rocks and sticks jammed down my throat. I personally don't care--what matters is it shouldn't be a configurable option. It needs to be on for everyone or off for everyone so there's one less thing for people to complain about. While the popular "solution" is to ignore the complaints, that's more like avoiding the problem than creating a real solution (like using duct tape on your car's broken headlights).
Either the striker class needs to be nerfed or Guardian/Recon classes need Damage Bonuses for Bombs/Guns. But perhaps a class rebalance is the lowest priority towards making lockdown more enjoyable.

Wed, 11/20/2013 - 08:29

#32

Thunder-The-Bright

gods ain't gonna help you, son.

as I see that my points can be seen in a wrong way, I'll post.
I am not in favor of a same-weapons LD. there should be diversity of playstyles that goes beyond classes, imo. problem is, variations in playstyle in LD is rare, well accepted, but only in a few cases effective as the main strategies that players have developed a long time ago. that is, when brandish was buffed.

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 04:23

#33

The-Vindicar

@Momofuku

Oh no, don't bring Radiants into this. PvE players (like me) will swarm into Lockdown since it will be (or will be perceived as) new FSC, get owned, and amount of complaints will increase tenfold.

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 10:53

#34

Momofuku

@The-Vindicar

Why would it be a problem if only the winners get Radiants (and other valuable rarities)? Wouldn't that encourage you to try harder to win at lockdown? Isn't that kind of the goal--to encourage the PVE players to enjoy and want to win at lockdown rather than treat lockdown as its own separate game?

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 13:12

#35

Klipik-Forum

He's talking about how players with non-optimal PvP gear would flood LD and just become shark(read:LD pro) food, and then complain about it.

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 14:03

#36

Brother-Zeke

I think adding fire crystals

I think adding fire crystals to the prize if one wins is a great idea, but that should come in with the bribe, not just a general winning prize. So for instance if I were to bribe I could get x1 Krogmo, x2 Krogmos, x3 Krogmos, x3 Radiant Crystals, x1 SoL, etc. It wouldn't be able to be any large number though, or it would replace D28 arcade/King of Ashes for Radiant hunting.

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 16:24

#37

Yvanblo

My personal reasons for not playing lockdown;

I don't play lockdown for the same reasons I don't play counterstike... it's not fun to get owned all the time, and I don't have the time to invest in gaining mad skills. At best I do "ok", and "ok" is not very fun. I like to do a good job when I play, and I like to own whomever I am playing against. Losing does not feel like owning.

Oh, and it costs me in game currency to lose at lockdown... just saying.

On topic: Make LD more fun, and a ton more balanced! Perhaps pre-set loadouts? At least as an option, you know, like LD open class (anything goes, per tier), LD stock modified class (a choice of several loadouts per tier), LD stock class (each class has one loadout per tier)... and stuff.

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 16:35

#38

Dermog

I just had a thought...

Though it's probably the stupidest thing I've ever thought of...

What if they put all armor and weapons at the same value for lockdown? Then no one would have to worry about having an unfair advantage.

(watch this post get hate like mad :P )

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 17:19

#39

Leekcoco

I'm starting to believe the best way to encourage people to enjoy and play Lockdown is to make sure they feel good about themselves. You don't have fun if you keep dying, nor when you feel absolutely useless to your team. People like to play if they're good at something. There isn't a training mode or any way to organise private matches just with a group of friends or your guild, so those beginners never get much of a chance to experience the game until they get over the fact that they'll be destroyed by veterans pretty fast unless they suck it up and learn.

Even if you have prize incentives, it just becomes another FSC. "I absolutely hate doing this but I'll do it because I need XYZ."

Thu, 11/21/2013 - 22:25

#40

Mayaura

1) Make it harder to kill each other, and faster to capture.

2) Allow our shields to be used just like all our other gear

3) a meaningful leaderboard or no leaderboard at all

4) the ability to challenge a specific guild or player 1-on-1

5) Death sends you back to the lockeroom(?) but you are instantly revived there, so no one can buy any reviving advantage.

6) Remove cash reward for winning, up the cost to play and reward individuals for a variety of game achievments.

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 03:48

#41

The-Vindicar

huh

@Mawashimono
6)Remove cash reward for winning, up the cost to play
It would reduce amount of players even further. I don't play any PvP because I'll be wasting crowns for a long while before I learn enough to get a reward, and I don't have spare crowns right now - all goes to getting 5* gear. Pretty sure I'm not alone.
In fact it seems to be one of the reasons T1 and T2 Lockdown are said to be underpopulated - players on those levels always have another goal to apply their crowns - with much more immediate rewards.

2) Allow our shields to be used just like all our other gear
Excuse me, so shields aren't allowed in LD right now? It means skills you develop in PvE (most of which are regarding shield usage) suddenly become absolutely useless, moreover, harmful because of muscle memory.
What. Just... what.

@Momofuku
rather than treat lockdown as its own separate game?
See above. If I remember correct, even the official description says it's like another game entirely.

@Leekcoco
the best way to encourage people to enjoy and play Lockdown is to make sure they feel good about themselves.
Signing under every word of it.

it just becomes another FSC. "I absolutely hate doing this but I'll do it because I need XYZ."
Exactly my point.

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 06:26

#42

Aplauses

@Mawashimono
2) Allow our shields to be used just like all our other gear
Guardian will cease to exist.

@Vindicar
Shield is replace with Lockdown special boost (Strikers, Recon, Guardian). If you don't want to lose skill that you develop in PVE, play Guardian.

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 07:27

#43

Momofuku

I would disagree with the

I would disagree with the belief that a prize incentive would make it like FSC. After all, a big part of what makes the FSC grind feel like a grind is that the level layout never changes and there is only fixed monster AI that you need to learn to counter.

Against actual humans, there's much less predictability (unless you count getting bored of the current rotation of LD maps, which is a fair argument.) You can always switch up the roles you play (sword/gunner/bomber) and each match is only 5-8 minutes long as opposed to the 30-60 min FSC grind it takes to get the whole payout.

It would also be nice if they took into account a player's Leaderboard rank when generating random lockdown teams--you can assume someone who plays a lot is "more experienced" than a lower ranked player. Not the perfect method of balancing teams, but probably the simplest implementation without factoring in gear, connection, or changing how rank points are generated.

@Mawashimono: I agree with this and is one of the points I listed earlier: raising the default defense limit a bit (approximately 1.25 universal pip damage reduction). It's still not enough to make playing without Heart Trinkets viable, but it would be nice if players wouldn't get instant killed in a single full combo brandish or flourish.

@Leekcoco: I think you are onto something. People like to feel useful and it can be difficult for a lower tier player to feel useful when he or she feels outclassed by well-equipped Strikers. I think having another column in the ld scoreboard for "points generated for team" to demonstrate how many points a player generated for the team based on the caps would be a positive motivator to someone who cannot participate effectively in duels but still wants to contribute towards the team win.

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 11:46

#44

The-Vindicar

@Momofuku

You can always switch up the roles you play (sword/gunner/bomber) and each match is only 5-8 minutes long as opposed to the 30-60 min FSC grind it takes to get the whole payout.
Which would be an incentive of it's own. People would just jump from match to match in hope of winning at least one.
Exact degree can not be predicted, of course, but I still think that players lured in by Radiants would not make LD games any better.

Fri, 11/22/2013 - 11:34

#45

Fangel

I agree that the player must feel good playing lockdown

Having a class limit might be nice. I don't necessarily want it to happen, but having a full team of strikers stops being teamwork and just becomes a damagefest. Preventing a team from being all one class might encourage better teamwork, but at the same time one of my favorite matches I've been in is when we were all recons. Maybe payout could be adjusted by caps? Maybe have a "special" score added to the scoreboards that relate to each class(such as health healed by guardian shield) along with a class icon next to the player's name showing their current class? If players are rewarded for helping support their team, then teamwork would become better, and everyone would feel better getting the recognition they deserve.

Sun, 11/24/2013 - 12:26

#46

Leekcoco

It's already a thing for people to drag themselves through several hundred LD matches to get Krogmo recipes, thus why I believe the FSC comparison is valid. The aim is to make it less of a chore for those who hate it and instead give them a reason to keep playing because they actually enjoy it.

A points earned counter sounds like a good idea, if there is a good way to calculate it. There are way too many factors involved though, so not sure it's even possible.

Sun, 11/24/2013 - 19:59

#47

Epicskunk

Best Way To Solve This Problem

Remove LD and BN.

And no,this is not a troll,nor a joke.I am serious.

Sun, 11/24/2013 - 20:46

#48

Mushy-Bucket

---

You sir, either have nothing inside your head or want SK to crash and burn. Most likely both.
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A caps counter but no def or dmg counter? Lockdown isn't a pacifist game, just so you know.
And having a limit on how many of one class your team can have would suck. We'd be back to the old days of PvE consumable where people occasionally lash out because "I died because you hogged all the pills," that stuff. Now we'd get the people with the quickest reaction time and the best connection getting the class they want, and the more average connection maybe getting the class.
Then the team would be mad at itself.

I'm sure there's some pros to that, but dem cons.

Mon, 11/25/2013 - 08:53

#49

Momofuku

@Leekcoco: Points generated

@Leekcoco: Points generated shouldn't be too difficult to calculate. All it requires is for every CP tick interval to add points to an individual's "score" based on who capped that point, which the game already tracks.

I see the chore/grind being a fair comparison, and so the prize generated from winning LD matches would be random, such that "grinding" for radiants is less probable unless you actually played LD to win for fun. As a counter argument, however, I can see people playing purely to win (maximize effectiveness with minimal effort/skill/learning curve)--and thus, that would ramp up Polaris/Supernova usage by a lot. Both weapons are very effective to use with low skill requirement, and increasing LD prize incentives would probably make players want to win at all costs vs playing for fun.

@Epicskunk: Remove LD and I'd probably quit the game, though. There's not much left to do in PVE and no real incentive to push for top tier UVs unless you're a collector since you don't really need most UVs to perform well in PVE.

@Fangel: There's a lot of problems with class limit--how would you determine who gets to play striker? First come first serve? What if a weaker player gets the striker role before a stronger player, and the stronger player is forced to play a class he/she is less experienced in/doesn't enjoy as much? Too detrimental to teams to have fixed role limits and also hampers creativity in picking teams.

@Mushy-Bucket: I am convinced damage counter needs to stay now (although I won't revise my original post, it will be confusing to those who are reading top to bottom). Adding more numerical counters (ie. points generated) seems like it is in universal agreement, although I'd also like to see # deaths too. This way there's some form of numerical motivator for everyone--whether it be # caps, # points generated for the team, or amount of damage. And for damage lovers, everyone can compare their damage to number of deaths (two 20k damage players, one with 13 deaths, the other with 8, the latter can feel a lot better that he got killed less and did comparable damage).

Mon, 11/25/2013 - 10:01

#50

Dermog

More game modes?

Deathmatch?

CTF?

Randomized game modes would be cool, but just a small amount as to keep it from turning into a "done-to-death" PvP styled thing.

KOTH can get really boring :/ because when I don't go after any points, I feels like I don't make any difference for my team. So I go after points...

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How can we get more players to play/enjoy Lockdown?