This game has so many hidden things you aren’t told about that players will most certainly look over or be confused on. It’s quite ridiculous. You’re never told how toughness works, more specifically how it works with negating health damage. Auric is simply described as a “harder gamemode” for people who want a challenge. There is no good(if any) descriptor for how this is accomplished gameplay-wise. “Toughness grace period removed”? I didn’t know there was one, or what it meant, or what it was.
Everything I know has been through thinking something was a bug, or just confusing, then having to go online and search multiple different forum sites for a concrete answer. This is my main gripe with the game. I love the game, but I have no idea how the game works, which isn’t inherently bad. It’s when you have a rapidly upscaling difficulty with new mechanics thrown in every so often, and you’re left scratching your head and asking “why did that happen?” Because, unless someone told you, or you looked for all the info beforehand, you don’t know!
My solution? Turn those little book shrines near player start into some sort of station where you can read up on “the imperium’s many wisdoms” or something, a way to give people at least basic info on mechanics, enemies, objective minigames… Give us proper info outside of the already heavily restrictive training grounds, I can’t fight what I don’t know about. Give us proper enemy info. What category do these enemies fall under (unyielding, unarmoured, flak armoured etc.), minor strategy guides, maybe even some minor lore tidbits or something? God forbid we are spoon-fed any amount of lore that isn’t in-mission being buried by the sound of carnage, guns, and zeal.
The only thing I ask is that SOMETHING reduces the number of times I have to stop enjoying the game and consult “THE ANCIENTS”. While I don’t enjoy where the game is at currently, I’d hate to see it get more confusing to new players more than it already is.
Could be like Deep Rock Galactic. I find that I’m unsure about the mechanics of the bosses for instance, as a new player. I know that each boss has their own weak spots, like the beast of nurgle has it on its back, but apparently they have a weakspot on their tongue? They have a tongue?
Of course I can look it up and find hundreds of guides on it, but wheres the point where you’re just outsourcing tutorials to the community? Especially how hectic boss battles can get, or even how fast they go depending on who you’re playing with. I don’t expect to be spoonfed the perfect strat for each boss/enemy, but even just having the infomation that the rejects scream out accessible on a console or something.
People have been begging for a glossary since before launch.
FS kinda has a reluctance to them about such QoL stuff. Probably because they don’t have anyone willing to do the grunt work. I don’t imagine game devs are anymore keen on documentation than their non-game counterparts.
It took VT2 what, six years to add the handbook? And it’s VERY barebones, without any details of the more interesting mechanics.
You would think the tutorial would teach you the basics, and the optional handbook would give more detailed breakdowns for players seeking more advanced information, but that’s not really a thing at all. It’s just Tutorial 2, Wordy Version.
To add to this, it gets so close to mentioning some of the other stuff, but just DOESN’T. The tutorials mentions sprint sliding, but only says its good for crossfire and does NOT mention it stops ranged units from tracking. It covers toughness being damaged over health, but only for range, and makes NO attempt at covering the toughness to health damage reduction. Just because its a bar over a segmented bar doesn’t mean people will understand that melee reduction is PERCENTAGE BASED.
I cannot stress enough that adding this will help new players dip their toes into playing the game more seriously, or for those who DO want to, a clear way/area to find all this info to further their game, even if it’s on a very basic level. I’m not saying we need a 3 page essay on how to deal with mauler hordes with any given weapon, but just SOMETHING useful. Tips! Something! Newer players seem to struggle with rager combos due to them having an increased stagger reduction during it, MENTION IT.
I know you can’t explain everything, but while some people might immediately get that overheads from Crushers or Maulers will in fact insta-down you, they might not know that dodge-sliding/sprint-sliding will stop ranged units from tracking and accurately shooting you during it, thus making it superior for trying to close distances/escape sightlines. Shotgunners are squishier than heavy gunners, so they’re easier to take down with a quick slash or two compared to Heavies. The list goes on.
The community can only do so much teaching and it shouldn’t be on the basics, it should be on advanced techniques that require the basics AND mechanical know-how/experience. The Rank 40 Havoc Veteran on his 1,500th run with 5000 hours on the clock TOTALLY wants to explain to the newbie that his health and toughness are being reduced, or that the enemies are getting tankier, or that the overheads from maulers and crushers can start out-right KILLING you at mission 23+.
At the very, very bare minimum, pull a VALVe and get rid of those “Serve Emperor, Good Life” quotes during load screens, and replace them with tips.
It’s such a weird situation where you see players not dodging at all, topping up from an ammo crate when they’re at 80% TWICE, rushing towards DH summoning as soon as the health bar shows up, etc.
And I can’t even blame them, because the game explains nothing.
Not only does it fail to explain mechanics, it hides them from the player. Why do I need a mod to display ammo percentages from other players and another to show how many pickups are still in the ammo crate?
