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Forgive me if I have become the only person on these forums who fails to cheer at every new MW2 multiplayer video released by IW, but somebody has to be that person.
To prevent a full-blown rant, I'll run through my points as briefly and thoroughly as possible. Feel free to agree or disagree, but understand that you won't be able to argue me out of my positions.
Introduction: A brief background of my gaming experience, skip if you want but it may give you some better insight into my post.
I'll admit it, I used to be an avid hardcore player. When I started playing the game I often frequented hardcore servers of 25+ people with my silenced M4 using my trusty double tap and steady aim. I thought I knew the game and I believed with all my heart that hardcore was how it should be played. From there I moved on to play TWL with a hardcore team - still holding the sentiment that hardcore brought out the true skill of a player. It wasn't until a good friend of mine - Assassin (now bquick on Hostile Team 1) - pulled me aside and brought me to regular competition. Granted, I was completely awful and hated it at the start, and like many I felt like players wouldn't die and nearly gave up on the game.
However, being a gamer at heart, I persisted and eventually played alongside him in Team 1 Gaming and then Betrayed for CAL, as well as various other teams. I began to understand the various gameplay mechanics, how to outplay others, and most importantly how to actually think about my actions and coordinate with a team. Since then I've moved through various teams, playing in CAL, CEVO, XPL, TGL and am now finally settled in a sponsored team.
Onto the meat of the post...
Perks: A few months ago I spoke with Whiskey about the whole perk system, and how I felt it was broken from the start. I'm fine with perks being available, but I have two major problems with the system. Firstly, there needs to be a mode with "stock" perks, meaning basic wall penetration and moderate stopping power - this includes no attachments, no excessive grenades. Secondly, the 'easy' perks need to be removed - these include juggernaut, martyrdom, 3x frag/secondary, dead silence, as well as a few others.
These only make the game easier for players and do not encourage them to get better, as the perks make up for their lack of skill and game knowledge.
In fact, it would even be OK to have these perks if the community was mature enough to understand how they inhibit gameplay. I can see new players using martyrdom to try to stay positive or juggernaut to help them with they're initially poor reactions and aim - but once you become comfortable with the game you should recognize that you don't need those crutches.
Kill Streaks: In my opinion, your reward for getting X amount of kills should be, well, getting X kills. Because you are good enough to perform such a feat you should feel proud of that achievement - but the game itself should not directly reward you for being good, rather force you to be good.
Weapons: Those familiar with quality Call of Duty 4 gameplay (glares at those who play 32 man killhouse or hardcore) know that while the weapons don't have as high of a skill ceiling as other games (CS, Quake, etc.) there is still a clear skill gap among players. The major [accepted] weapons (i.e. AK47, AK74u, M40/R700, etc.) do have recoil, but is controllable and it takes at least some practice to become proficient with them.
My fear, which has been reaffirmed by various videos, is that the majority of weapons will lack recoil and remind players of weapons like the RPD and the M4 (also known as the laser). Also, special grenades like the stun grenade should be removed, or at the very least toned down considerably. The ability for an opposing player to stun you (which, remember, stuns are thrown much faster than flashes and explode on impact) and then either easily kill you or throw a cooked grenade at your feet is utterly ridiculous. Again, special grenades such as this - as well as weapons with very low recoil - do not encourage players to improve but rather make do with what they have, and this concept proves that we are heading in the wrong direction.
Gameplay Mechanics: I'll begin with a quick example - perks such as dead silence remove a crucial gameplay element, and that is sound and how it relates to movement. For example, in competition if you wish to make it silently to the bomb site you are forced to crouch or at the very least use smokes/flashes and sound for cover. Dead silence removes that mechanic, as you can achieve [near] silence while still running, where in a more balanced game you would have to sacrifice your speed to achieve that stealth.
Conclusion: I'm trying to clarify the fact that I, as well as many others, are sick of players being rewarded for meaningless things - and this whole new death streak system (as well as the continuation of death-related or easy-kill perks) only hurts the game more. I used to be a player who wanted silencers on all guns and sweet perks, but once I understood how much fun the game can be when played properly I realized how detrimental these new gimmicks are to gameplay. I understand that many players do not have the time to play the game enough to get very skilled - but the game should not cater to those players and it is.
Finally, for those who don't understand what I'm talking about - please, try to play a 5v5 SD match or at least play in a server with 20 people or less on a good map (Crash, Strike, Crossfire) and you'll come to realize how fun the game can really be when you're not being constantly killed by grenades, stuns, kill streaks, and no recoil weapons.
I have to head out to class, I will finish this post up later, but this should be enough to start a reasonable discussion.
To prevent a full-blown rant, I'll run through my points as briefly and thoroughly as possible. Feel free to agree or disagree, but understand that you won't be able to argue me out of my positions.
Introduction: A brief background of my gaming experience, skip if you want but it may give you some better insight into my post.
I'll admit it, I used to be an avid hardcore player. When I started playing the game I often frequented hardcore servers of 25+ people with my silenced M4 using my trusty double tap and steady aim. I thought I knew the game and I believed with all my heart that hardcore was how it should be played. From there I moved on to play TWL with a hardcore team - still holding the sentiment that hardcore brought out the true skill of a player. It wasn't until a good friend of mine - Assassin (now bquick on Hostile Team 1) - pulled me aside and brought me to regular competition. Granted, I was completely awful and hated it at the start, and like many I felt like players wouldn't die and nearly gave up on the game.
However, being a gamer at heart, I persisted and eventually played alongside him in Team 1 Gaming and then Betrayed for CAL, as well as various other teams. I began to understand the various gameplay mechanics, how to outplay others, and most importantly how to actually think about my actions and coordinate with a team. Since then I've moved through various teams, playing in CAL, CEVO, XPL, TGL and am now finally settled in a sponsored team.
Onto the meat of the post...
Perks: A few months ago I spoke with Whiskey about the whole perk system, and how I felt it was broken from the start. I'm fine with perks being available, but I have two major problems with the system. Firstly, there needs to be a mode with "stock" perks, meaning basic wall penetration and moderate stopping power - this includes no attachments, no excessive grenades. Secondly, the 'easy' perks need to be removed - these include juggernaut, martyrdom, 3x frag/secondary, dead silence, as well as a few others.
These only make the game easier for players and do not encourage them to get better, as the perks make up for their lack of skill and game knowledge.
In fact, it would even be OK to have these perks if the community was mature enough to understand how they inhibit gameplay. I can see new players using martyrdom to try to stay positive or juggernaut to help them with they're initially poor reactions and aim - but once you become comfortable with the game you should recognize that you don't need those crutches.
Kill Streaks: In my opinion, your reward for getting X amount of kills should be, well, getting X kills. Because you are good enough to perform such a feat you should feel proud of that achievement - but the game itself should not directly reward you for being good, rather force you to be good.
Weapons: Those familiar with quality Call of Duty 4 gameplay (glares at those who play 32 man killhouse or hardcore) know that while the weapons don't have as high of a skill ceiling as other games (CS, Quake, etc.) there is still a clear skill gap among players. The major [accepted] weapons (i.e. AK47, AK74u, M40/R700, etc.) do have recoil, but is controllable and it takes at least some practice to become proficient with them.
My fear, which has been reaffirmed by various videos, is that the majority of weapons will lack recoil and remind players of weapons like the RPD and the M4 (also known as the laser). Also, special grenades like the stun grenade should be removed, or at the very least toned down considerably. The ability for an opposing player to stun you (which, remember, stuns are thrown much faster than flashes and explode on impact) and then either easily kill you or throw a cooked grenade at your feet is utterly ridiculous. Again, special grenades such as this - as well as weapons with very low recoil - do not encourage players to improve but rather make do with what they have, and this concept proves that we are heading in the wrong direction.
Gameplay Mechanics: I'll begin with a quick example - perks such as dead silence remove a crucial gameplay element, and that is sound and how it relates to movement. For example, in competition if you wish to make it silently to the bomb site you are forced to crouch or at the very least use smokes/flashes and sound for cover. Dead silence removes that mechanic, as you can achieve [near] silence while still running, where in a more balanced game you would have to sacrifice your speed to achieve that stealth.
Conclusion: I'm trying to clarify the fact that I, as well as many others, are sick of players being rewarded for meaningless things - and this whole new death streak system (as well as the continuation of death-related or easy-kill perks) only hurts the game more. I used to be a player who wanted silencers on all guns and sweet perks, but once I understood how much fun the game can be when played properly I realized how detrimental these new gimmicks are to gameplay. I understand that many players do not have the time to play the game enough to get very skilled - but the game should not cater to those players and it is.
Finally, for those who don't understand what I'm talking about - please, try to play a 5v5 SD match or at least play in a server with 20 people or less on a good map (Crash, Strike, Crossfire) and you'll come to realize how fun the game can really be when you're not being constantly killed by grenades, stuns, kill streaks, and no recoil weapons.
I have to head out to class, I will finish this post up later, but this should be enough to start a reasonable discussion.
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