Escalation is my take on a more dynamic game mode for Enlisted.
Escalation is built on the invasion game mode, and plays similarly but with one major change. In Escalation, a battle is segmented into 3 phases. Both teams will start in phase 1, but will progress through the other phases over the course of the battle. Each phase is assigned a BR level, for this example I have used BR1-2-3, but this game mode would also be possible with BR2-3-4 and BR 3-4-5.
Crude visual of what phase indicator could look like:
The idea is simple, battles start out at a lower BR, but slowly escalate over the course of the battle into higher BR weaponry. In this example, both teams start with BR 1 equipment.
This mode would require players to create a selection of squads for each phase before the battle.
Advantages of Mode:
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Offers players a mix of lower BR and higher BR in the same match, keeping the gameplay fresh as the match continues to escalate.
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There can finally be a way to keep more one-sided games even by simply increasing the “phase progression” of teams that are losing significantly. Potentially keeping them in the game a little more or giving them more of a fighting chance at least.
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No uptiers or downtiers, everyone starts at the same BR level at the start of the match. New players would never be in a situation where their BR1 equipment would be going up against BR3 equipment from the start of the match. For that situation to occur in Escalation, the BR1 player would need to be winning the game by a wide margin.
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Equipment from BR1 and BR4 finally has a chance to be used, as they are both overshadowed by BR 2 and BR 5 in current matchmaking.
Example: The defending team is losing in this above image, thus they have an increase in the progression of their phase progression. This will get them higher BR equipment before the attacking team, potentially giving them a chance to get back in the game in the time window that they have an advantage.
Major Issues:
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It would be difficult to fit this game mode into matchmaking as it exists currently. How I think it would have to work is, players would be eligible to play Escalation based on the BR of their current squad loadout, BR1 players would be eligible for Escalation BR1-2-3, BR5 players would be eligible for BR3-4-5.
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Requires a lot of work to make functional:
- New players don’t have a wealth of legacy squads to choose from when building a squad preset for each BR, so they will need to be able to reuse squads for the presets. This means that they will need to be able to outfit the same squad with two different equipment presets, which is currently impossible.
- Players would have to have their available squads change throughout the match, with the list of squads they can choose from changing 3 times.
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What if I don’t have BRX stuff?
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This is by far the biggest obstacle I can see with this mode, what can players do if they don’t have the equipment to play the mode? A player with only BR1 and BR2 in theory would not be able to build a BR3 preset to play the mode.
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Solution 1: Give all players certain “default” squads for the mode that cannot be changed. Similar to how all players are given squads at the beginning of a campaign in the old progression system. For this example, all players are given a preset with some squads they cannot alter with some BR3 equipment. The idea is that as they progress, they will gradually replace these default squads with their own customized and potentially upgraded squads.
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Solution 2: This mode would be an event-only mode that gives all players squads to use instead of their own. Similar to the “even fight” events.
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Disclosure
Do I think this mode is realistic to implement? No not really. But in my opinion is a fun game mode that would address one of my major issues with this game, which is that a large number of games are completely one-sided. I wanted to come up with a way to give losing teams some sort of edge or advantage.
This mode also builds on what I consider to be one of Enlisted’s greatest strengths, and that is weapon variety. Over the course of a game of escalation, players would get to use equipment from 3 different BRs, keeping the games at least a little more interesting.