Similar to VT2, this game demands an obscene amount of time to get through its progression system for a set of mechanics and build customization options that is way too shallow to justify it.
VT2 had a huge problem in that it demanded dozens of hours to get to the point where you could be playing the game at the difficulties it was actually designed for, when you saw all that the game mechanics actually had to offer in about a third of that time.
This game seems to be suffering from much the same problem. Why do we have to waste so much time grinding to get to the “real game” in the first place? Pretty much everyone seems to agree that the part of the Tide games that is actually appealing is the satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay, so why is there such a huge barrier to getting to the point where you can just jump in and enjoy it in it’s entirety? Especially when common consensus is that grinding up to that point is miserable and leads to people bouncing off of the game before they can even get to the good part.
L4D, the game the Tide series is fundementally based off of, didn’t demand any up front time investment at all. If, as so many people say, the Tide games are just about enjoying the polished moment-to-moment gameplay, why not just drop the pointless time gate and let people dig into it right away?
6 Likes
It was something that was brought up in the betas as well, but again, never addressed.
My suggestion for it was, For each level 30 you have, you get a Bonus to your XP like a 25% xp bonus per level 30. so when you are leveling up your 3rd character you will be at +50% xp. and your 4th would be +75% XP.
That’s the way Vermintide 1 was if you had friends to boost you.
Just run a mission, get a weapon and boom you can enjoy the game with your friends.
Why they did away with it in Vermintide 2 I don’t know for sure, but I do know that I hated the grind then and I hate it now. I imagine it had something to do with a group of men in suits sitting around a table discussing investments and how to “promote player engagement” so they can sell more microtransactions.
1 Like
I was honestly hoping that they would have taken the opportunity to take the design lessons they learned from VT2 and expand the build-making significantly to make it actually worth the time investment, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what happened, so at the very least you should be able to blow through to max power quickly and easily.
If things are going to remain this shallow, then the progression system should at most be serving as a few hour long tutorial before you get to just use whatever you want, not an interminable grind you would expect from a full-on rpg with enough mechanics and build options to fill several manuals.
1 Like
The scariest part that I’m most worried about for the future is the possibility that new classes that are added will require you to create new characters and grind all over again.
4 Likes
While character slots would still be limited to 5, just so you’d have to reroll and level them up from scratch constantly. While also grinding for gear and currencies of course.