Leveling is actually too fast. You level up pretty much once per match or every 2 matches to level 20, and the lower difficulties are so easy that players don’t understand how weapon stats work, haven’t tried many weapons and builds, and are completely ignorant of weapon crafting. Blessings make all the difference at higher difficulties, but the lower difficulties don’t really force the issue.
Difficulty 1 and 2 are very similar, 3 is a little harder, 4 and 5 are psychotic by comparison. The most obvious differences are horde density and the conspicuous lack of the more dangerous enemies on lower difficulties. It’s possible to succeed on lower difficulties without dodging, but a well timed dodge against a sniper, dog, or crusher can make or break a run higher up. People regularly try to res someone with a snipers laser on them or gunners chugging away on a lower difficulty, but these are outright suicide on higher difficulties. You also have to be ahead of the game and predict what is about to happen rather than simply reacting to a threat after it hits you in the back. I bet the success rate in difficulty 3 is over 90% for the entire playerbase. They are walking simulator difficulties compared to 4 and 5.
When you hit higher difficulties you have to figure out half of the mechanics that are previously safe to ignore, so most people end up over their head. There are also no solo practice modes without mods. Unless you have an experienced friend to talk you through all of it and carry on difficulty 4 until you figure it out, you are stuck being the weak link with randoms. Going back in difficulties doesn’t push things quite hard enough to really test a build. The nonexistent tutorials and fast leveling are the root cause reasons behind the endless threads asking for more level or gear gating on higher difficulties.
Weapon crafting is unpleasant and unexplained. Which weapons are actually viable on higher difficulties for the average new player anyway? What blessings are available on an eviscerator? I can’t look at the potential blessings in game even with an eviscerator with blessings? Why not? So mysterious! It’s like Dark Souls!
This game still has so much at its fingertips. People have been dying for a successor to L4D for so long, and this game has the atmosphere and humor down, but they just can’t quite get the rest of it together. I understand the game is far more complicated than L4D was, but all of the pieces are there.
I would love to share curios across characters, especially since they’re arguably the bits of kit that take the most RNG (talkin’ about 21/17s especially…). However, I don’t think shared weapons or 3 curio slots from the start is a good idea. Let there be a shared gear curve.
I am not saying 3 slots from start, I am saying after your first level 30 have those slots be unlocked. There is no real reason for them to be locked other than to slow progression for new players in order to attempt to organically force them to learn at lower difficulty until they fill those slots.
Like I said, Ideally having shared weapons would just be a stop-gap as opposed to making a new crafting system since it is far easier to just allow shared weapons than it is to make an entirely new system or rework an existing one. The very easily gave us shared resources, after all.
Yeah, no to this. IMO game knowledge and experience is a far more significant advantage than any gear while you’re leveling anyway – this should really be enough. Gating new players and/or treating the leveling experience as second-rate waters down the game experience as a whole.
That said, I’m a strong proponent of shared curios – maybe unlocking them at level 30, or restricting them in other ways (lvl 30 for high power level equip for instance) is a good idea…
Yes. No clue why you think people should be forced through the tedious process of making a new character from 1 with no curio slots. No clue why you think this asinine approach somehow increases your game knowledge (you had the ability to craft max power weapons at level one in VT2 and your jewelry items were shared, this in no way cheapened the leveling process of subsequent characters) by not having curios after having ALREADY GOTTEN THEM. You already have made the 1-30 climb, why make the second one just as tedious? Or the third, the fourth, the fifth? It is just tedious BS.I didn’t learn anything more the second time I had to go from 1-30 and having curios would not have changed anything but my QoL while doing so.
Ah, fresh starts… One’s tedious is another’s cool breeze. I do think that the solution here comes from how you engage with the game, rather than how the game engages you.
It’s “asinine”
Also, see above.
If you’re a veteran player in a low-level match, you can either bring people up or leave them in the dust. I’m guessing you’re a latter.
Regardless, my view is that giving players who have a level 30 character such advantage is more detrimental to the low-level game balance than it is beneficial for the veterans. Imagine (having empathy) being a newbie and examining your peers, only to find they have unlocked gear slots and you don’t know why.
Those curios are gonna suck anyway without having access to high level crafting, so really it’s a kick in the teeth to starters without any significant advantage. Even worse would be giving low-level vets (smurfs, perhaps??) high-level gear so that they can trivialise every match – especially for people still learning the ropes. Remember how people felt about Assail?
Despite your feelings in particular, and I know they’re shared, I’m more concerned about the <30 new player pool. IMO they’re more important for the health of the game – if you can justify your assertions don’t come at the cost of the new player experience I’d like to hear it.
