Since the end of the merge, the majority of squads for Western Allies, USSR and Germany have become unavailable. With the addition of new weapons, vehicles and customisation; these squads will only have an ever increasing benefit for the majority of players that can allow for a more full and in-depth utilisation of the present and future in-game features. In this suggestion, I will be covering the positives and negatives that come with returning legacy squads, both socially and gameplay wise. By weighing up a range of aspects, I will give my reasons for why they should return.
Considering that there is an element of controversy surrounding this topic, I believe a more comprehensive consideration is necessary in order to find the optimal solution for the significant number of players.
Ergonomics
One issue with the fewer squads in-game involves equipping them. With a smaller amount of squads, you have to reuse the same squad repeatedly; meaning you are required to change their weapons constantly. Depending on which BR you want to play or even if you would like to use a different set of weaponry within the same BR.
This applies to soldiers ,also, especially as sperate squads can have a range of squad composition. With smaller set of squads, you will have to stick with your current setup or constantly change it in the squad upgrades menu. Some campaigns, like Stalingrad and Pacific, also brought the medic into the squad upgrade tree. This is something that the majority of squads do not have access to in the tech tree (some Stalingrad and Pacific squads are in the tech tree though).
Returning legacy squads will make this whole process faster and easier. If you would like a different set of weapons or squad composition; you can simply swap to a new squad. Combining this with presets, players will be able to have a huge variety of options for each BR for every squad combination. Which can all be easily navigated and manipulated.
Some players who do not want too many squads should be able to sell them, and should have a way of obtaining them again if they wish.
Iconic squads
There are plenty of popular squads that have been removed. They can be renowned divisions from the war that help present the essence of the entire World War 2 genre. People want and have (in most cases) iconic vehicles and weapons, so why have iconic squads not returned?
For example:
The Volkssturm militia was famous during the late war period. So why is there only one of these squads currently obtainable? (outside of premiums).
and:
This is one of the two American paratrooper divisions that dropped behind enemy lines at Normandy. So why is it unavailable? ( The 101st division is also currently unavailable.)
Two dimensional/ alternative progression
Currently, the main aim of current game progression is the tech tree. As there are a fewer squads, the idea of essentially building your own army wears down fairly quickly. Leading to a mostly one dimensional continuation through the game.
Bringing back legacy squads will forward the concept of building your own army can be created; you can obtain new weapons and vehicles alongside squads and build up your force, which overall adds to the World War two theme. This can either be done alongside the current tech tree or after it (depends how legacy squads are implemented). Where players will gradually level up each squad as they wish.
It can also be optional. So players can simply choose one squad and leave the rest behind, so their rate of progression will be the same as it is now.
This can also act as an extension of the current tech tree which can keep longer term players interested in the game. This benefits the developers as they will retain their player base for longer as well as providing further gameplay for players to enjoy, and of course, if you don’t like this sort of system; it should always optional.
Subfactions
Now that I have seen a taster of the new soldier nationality, It made me realise the lackluster number of British and particularly Italian squads. Mainly as there are only two Italian squads available for free, it seems like a waste of such a good mechanic.
Bringing back the Italian and British legacy squads will allow players to fully utilise this mechanic as well as turning Italy and Britain into more fleshed-out subfactions. Depending on how these legacy squads are implemented; this could even provide a foundation for future subfactions such as Hungary, Thailand, Australia, etc. As they can potentially follow the same implementation as the current subfactions.
Vehicles
Although this can be considered an advantage as players will now be able to take multiple vehicle squads into battle with a larger variety; there are some drawbacks with their implementation if the squads were added right now as the game stands.
One problem is that some legacy squads have a very limited selection of vehicles, some even only have one option. Which can prevent players from moving these vehicles between different squads. Which may slow down overall progression of multiple squads. Say, one squad could be stuck with a very poor vehicle, while another may have a very good one that now cannot be moved between squads.
One thing to note, is that some vehicles were in multiple campaigns. So there is some overlap which can lead to duplicate vehicles. So ,either, players will simply not be able to use the same vehicle in multiple squads or there will need to be the possibility to acquire duplicates. Another possibility is that the player may obtain a squad that needs a vehicle they do not have unlocked, potentially causing issues.
One potential solution is to remove squad and vehicle ties so any squad can use any vehicle. Although I will not be going into any more depth about this as it is not the main focus of this suggestion.
Exclusivity
Exclusivity can play a major role in the appeal of a squad; while it is mostly relevant to premium and event squads, that doesn’t necessarily mean it hasn’t been applied here as well. While the the soldiers themselves have no defining features (albeit, some have different default uniforms although you can buy these same uniforms for your squads now). The emblem is the only defining feature, however you are the only one who can see it, so no one (who isn’t you) can even tell what squad it is.
There is also the argument that the legacy squads act as a sort of loyalty reward for playing pre-merge, especially for longer term players. Whereby your dedication to the game has been rewarded this way. While this somewhat makes sense, it is flawed, considering that simply downloading the game pre-merge would get you a fair amount of legacy squads.
If you were to look at this game in ,for example, two years time. There will be post-merge veterans. So I do not think it is right ,for someone who put in just as much time and money into this game, to be blocked out of content for simply downloading the game at a later date ,with no way of getting back this content. Specially as my friend ,who has less than one day of playtime pre-merge and in total, will be able to enjoy this feature without effort and ,if things remain unchanged, will have more legacy squads than anyone who will ever play post-merge.
For me, this is what I consider the biggest barrier to bringing back legacy squads. Whilst there is an ever shrinking group who own legacy squads and (from my experience on the forum) an even smaller group who don’t want them to return; this can still dissuade the developers (yet, it could be something else). Considering that this is more of a social idea, there will inevitably be argument surrounding whether this is right or wrong on a personal level that cannot be easily changed.
Squad cycling
Although this is still fully possible in the current game, either using legacy squads or tech tree ones, one can assume it may get worse. As there are fewer than three squad types in the tech tree (like mortars), returning legacy squads will make this possible on a wider scale. This may put aside some squad types and potentially degrade the overall gameplay. If this is a major issue, restricting squad types (like with vehicles) may be an option.
Japan
Japan did exist in this game pre-merge. But, they were only in one campaign; so this faction has no legacy squads. Returning Allied squads may result in a potential imbalance, this strongly links with squad cycling, as Japan will have fewer squads of every type than the Allies. This may affect gameplay balance. This could be solved by adding more Japanese squads to the game; that can be obtained either through purchase or through progression.
However, this issue has existed since the start of the merge and I personally haven’t been impacted by it while playing Japan. But that isn’t to say it could get worse.
I would personally like to see legacy squads return. The squad system is what forms the very core and concept surrounding Enlisted and I hate to see it underutilised in this aspect. Especially when the squads are simply lying there with potential all over them. All that is needed is a way to obtain them and with new changes to soldier nationality, it would be the perfect time to bring back the Italian and British squads, at least. Even though there are some drawbacks, there will inevitably be both creative and simple solutions that can theoretically be implemented by the developers.
While I haven’t offered any ideas to how these legacy squads will actually be bought back, there are definite options e.g. a squad shop, unlocking all the squads in the tech tree etcetera. I hope that this post will smooth the path for an integration of legacy squads into the game by laying down their good and bad aspects. But if we want these squads to return, compromise in the community and motivation by the developers will be needed.
Much of what I have written reflects my experience of playing and what I would like to see in the game. I know this isn’t the same for everyone so constructive feedback is welcome.
It would also be especially useful to see what you guys think:
@MajorMcDonalds @Euthymia07-live
