Hello all,
I would like for us to begin an open discussion to which I also invite the developers, to share and engage in ideas on how we can improve and make Enlisted a healthier game, that will be more fun and attract more players. At the moment, Enlisted is in a bad state, health wise, the players base is shrinking and since Enlisted is an MMO, this means it is dying. Steam release is just around the corner, and we need to make a good impression in order to grow our player base and most importantly retain it. These are all in the interest of the community and the developers, both parties love this game hence
why we should work together on this. I invite you all to keep this thread serious and moderate between us this discussion.
About me: I played Enlisted since launch, took a
break, returned for Tunisia campaign, took a break, and returned two weeks ago for the merge. I like the changes yet more needs to be done.
As a returning player, I started playing as Japan since I have played too much of Allies and Axis(Germany) in other games such as Hell Let Loose, Heroes and Generals, Battlefield, Post Scriptum and others. The experience, as a ânewâ player, starting a Nation from 0 is troubling, an actual new player, I would say 8 out of 10, will not play more than 10 games before giving up and uninstalling the game, the other 2 are not a 100%, the experience is discouraging to say the least and here is why (with added suggestions):
I will start from the least complex to the more complex issues and separate them into categories:
- Individual player related issues:
1.1 I believe every weapon and equipment should have its own short tutorial or
at least a small text giving tips on what this weapon or explosive is best for and how it is best used. This will ensure new players invest their silver (which is another issue we must address) more wisely in accordance with their playstyle.
1.2 Soldier stats and bonus stats, this is not explained, a tutorial that compares two soldiers, showing you clearly a 1 start with 5/5/5 and another with 6/6/6 and explains the random generated bonus. Make it part of a small tutorial where the new player must buy a soldier for free and will have a stat of letâs say 4/4/4, explain what they are and that you can sell it and buy a new one to try and get better stats, let him sell it and buy a new one for zero cost as part of the tutorial and reward him with a 5/5/5 rifleman lets say.
1.3 Perks: what does 50%+ more throwing distance mean in terms of actual numbers, what is my current throwing distance, same with speed and medpack.These must be more transparent. New players will be âbaitedâ into investing points into perks that will put them at a disadvantage, not many will know to save their perk points to invest into Vitality. A tutorial where a new player will be given as part of the above mentioned tutorial a 5 star soldier that has 16/16/16 perk points. This tutorial will explain how certain soldiers benefit from certain perks more than others, no point giving a Rifleman a Recoil perk and Holding Breath and such perks even if they sound good for a new player that does not really know much about how the game plays.
1.4 Squad related tutorials: When the first squad of a type has been purchased (such as Radio, Engineer) give them the option to play a short scripted game against the AI where the player is walked through the strengths of the squad, such as having Engineers build a rally point, fortifications around a capture point, dropping ammo boxes. I know this is part of the âVanillaâ tutorial, but it is very forgettable, and most people will skip it. This way, it is more fun and at the end give them a small reward showing how the Engineer contribution affected his score. Same with Radio operator, advise on best ways to use it and when, why canât 2 be called at the same time, why not to call bombers (sigh), how to check if you can call artillery, etc.
1.5 Ability to trial weapons and vehicles: This should be a standard and not just for weapons with a squad, we should be able to trial any weapon from the Tech Tree. I pick my weapon based on Sights, Sound and Sexiness and only after do I look at Hit Power (damage), RoF (rate of fire), etc.
1.6 Hidden stats and stats explanation: Add a tutorial on upgrading 1 stock rifle (for free) and explain how Hit Power works, how Recoil works, what to look for in a weapon depending on what playstyle you enjoy. Have a pop-up text when you hover over a statistic such as Recoil and say Big=Bad Small=Good (thatâs what sheâŚshe didnât) because it can be confusing, BA Rifles have high recoil but you canât feel it since they cycle after each shot, when I started I though high is good, low is bad. When I say hidden stats, I am referring to things such as the Health of an object (friend only destroyed enemy rally points with TnTâŚuntil I told him to just shoot 1 tiny bullet and it is gone) or Soldiers, how many of you knew that a Solider has 10 Health Points (without perk)? After finding that out how many of you upgraded your Hit Power on your SMG to above
3.3 or went for another SMG? Mmmhmmm!
1.7 Comparing Feature: Comparing things at the moment is a real chore, a window comparing 2 weapons would be amazing and motivate players to more confidently invest in other equipment. I am sure there are more issues related to individual experience so I invite all of you to contribute and refine together all of these into a better experience for new players rather than punish them and make them feel at a disadvantage against veterans that had months and years to discover the hidden features and mechanic of Enlisted.
- Game Core Mechanics and Features:
2.1 No clear core Identity: Enlisted is stuck between Historical Accuracy and Fun and because of this, the Fun element of Enlisted is quite restricted or limited because of the limitation mechanics you must submit to in order to be Historical. Enlisted is a video game, a form of entertainment and should be treated as such, people want to have fun and being restricted more and more on how you are allowed to play and enjoy a game makes it less fun, let me explain:
2.1.1 The merge was a good step, having your progress stuck in 1 campaign was a bit punishing to say the least, but more can be done. While the research is Nation(faction) wide you are still dropped in the same battles against the same Nations, nothing bad with this however it is still limiting in terms of the Fun element. Some people enjoy 100% Historical accuracy (remember at the Battle of Berlin when the Germans kept popping rally points and IS-1s were shooting from the grey zone while ATGs appeared out of a magical german hammer? How about those super soldiers running around with 2 LMGs, Grenades, Explosive Packs, TNT, Medkits, I 'member) maybe I am being a bit too hard on the Historical Accurate player base but in any case something needs to be done.
The truth is that some people want accuracy but more fun while others want to experience a battle as close as possible to the real life event, I enjoy both but you canât have both in the same game without splitting them, many tried but they are only experiencing very limited success if at all, only attracting veterans of these series of games or historical re-enactment fans because it demands
a different type of dedication and interest.
As such, to assure the growth of Enlisted in terms of players, we must separate the two, Enlisted will need to have a âStandardâ mode and a Historical Mode. At the top of the Screen you will have a toggle, between Standard and Historical.
2.2 Standard Game Mode:
*Players that choose Standard Game Mode will be split into 2 player pools based on the nation they choose. Russia and USA players go in the Allies player pool while Germany and Japan go in Axis player pool on queue.
*Standard Game Mode in comparison with the current game mode will allow German players to end up in the Pacific Maps, Japanese to face Russians and fight in DDay. As much as I love history, I would love to play a soviet soldier holding
back waves of katana welding banzai angry mobs. Give every nation proper uniforms for every campaign so it does not look too bad, no shorts in Moscow.
*Because Every Nation has access to all of the other campaigns, that means you can queue with your friends now that want to play a different nation than you, of course, you need to be part of the same Alliance (Allies-Axis)
*We can take this further, where you can have Allies vs Allies/ Axis vs Axis for example in so called âExercise Battles, Simulation Battlesâ call it whatever, I would love to dogfight other Spitfires and feel like I am the best or learn a few tricks for players that play the same thing as you.
*When the player pool is badly balanced, as an example, Germany has 10 people in queue, USA 5, Soviets 3 and Japan 2, put Germany vs a team of USA+Soviets+Japan, I wouldnât mind showing these Allies how things are done as a Japanese soldier
*unsheathes his knife âcause he forgot to equip the Katanaâ This will help attract people who might not care that much about âWell, pardon me but why is there a Brit in my Pacific Campaign, I beg to differ on the significance of their presence and involvement in the Pacific Campaign, hear hear, away with them, this game is unplayable, a total disgrace, High Inquisitor, there, that is the heretic, blood for the blood god, skulls for the skull throneâ âŚsorry I really want Enlisted but in the Warhammer 40k settingâŚimagine those pods dropping, spitting out Marines, decimating you, ahhhh.
Anyway, that is the reason why there will also be a
Historical Game Mode:
2.3 Historical Game Mode:
*You will select as you do at the moment, 1 Nation and be dropped into the relevant Campaigns however, you will also gain the ability to select which Maps or Campaign you strictly want to play, let me play Normandy! I do not want Bulge, shtupid game!
*There will be equipment limitations depending on the campaign you choose, no more King Tigers in Moscow. There will be a list with all the weapons and vehicles you may bring.
*In regard to Brits in the Pacific, I am not sure, you would need to make the British vehicles unavailable in the Pacific campaign and maybe add a Game Setting toggle where enemy soldiers have historical accurate uniforms, so the British Squad will have USA skins on your screen and speak Americanish Inglish, not innit slang.
*Another thing, no more air spawns in Historical Game Mode or air refills, I find it a bit silly when I want to RP and be historical accurate. âBut this would take too long, I canât mass 10,000 points in 1 game that wayâ well, Historical and Realism comes hand in hand if you want to be accurate.
2.4 Bonus Mode, a weekly mode called 20 vs 20 Operations:
*These take place during the weekend. These are Hardcore
Battles where you join an actual historical Battle and get to choose a side, all the equipment and squads are predetermined, no rally points, no building structures. The available squads will be actual squads that took part in that Historical Battle.
*HMGs, ATGs and such will already be placed on the map, so you use what you have. OR you give the defending team or both teams, depending on the nature of the Historical battle, a 1 minute grace where they can build and prepare. In one battle they might all fight for the same point, in another they might be defending or rushing to destroy an important objective.
*Every player will have roles to select from, you will have a specialised squad and a generic riflemen squad, depending on the Historical Battle, you might be able to field 5 tanks if it was a Tank focused Battle or 5 planes if it was dominated by Close Air Support/Fighters, these slots will be mandatory to be filled before the battle begins. These will not be balanced, 1 side might have more planes the other more tanks, not all Historical Battles, well, no battle was balanced but you had to do with what you had and apply tactics and use efficiently what you had.
*There will be a further 2 squads that need to be field as standard, 2 x Engi and 2 Radio. Engi to repair fortifications and equipment. Radio to make the battlefield more chaotic.
*For the other available squads, they will be dependent again on the Historical factors first of all, if there were no flamethrowers, they will not be in the battle. Secondly, there will be a balance between the available squads, for example, there may only be 4 players that can field the Assault Squads at a time, only 2 Snipers, only 1 Mortar, only 3 LMG, and so on. These will not be balanced with the enemy team; they might have more available slots for Snipers while less for LMG and so on.
*Beside the specialised squad all players will get a squad of generic riflemen. Every specialised squad can only be used every 2nd time the Riflemen squad dies, you can start with the specialised squad and after death you need to play rifles twice in order to deploy the specialised again. Players will receive a bonus on XP and Silver of 50% for playing this temporary mode because it will only be available 1 day a week on Sundays letâs say from 9:00 to 23:00 and battles take place every hour as such there will be a total of 14 Battles you can take part in and you need to sign up for them 10 minutes before the start of the battle as such 8:50, 9:50, etc.
It is important for this to be a weekly thing rather than a normal mode. Every week a new section of the Theatre opens, like Normandy you start on the beach and you slowly move into land, 1 week you are on the beach next week you are deeper, hehe.
You can also offer other rewards such as medals for participating in that battle and being the best Radio Operator, get a profile picture, something. I believe that separating Historical Gameplay and âFunâ Gameplay is a must. This game is no Band of Brothers, you will not stand there 15 minutes looking at the end credits feeling like you parted ways with your own actual Band of Brothers, no, you will queue for another game, gotta grind that new weapon, grindy grind. Letâs be fair, Historical would mean in the Battle of Berlin, Russia wins, no matter what you do because that is the historical accurate way, no? Historical means you will always start from the same positions because you need
to follow the Historical facts, every battle will have to have the same outcome. That is not fun and Historical Fans know it that is why they accept diversions from Historical Accuracy like rally points, magical created ATGs, Engineers carrying 200 sandbags around, superhuman digging powers, etc.
- Matchmaking â Battle Ratings and Skillz
3.1 The current BR system is bad, very bad for new players. Here is a sneak peek into my games as Japan, I have finished 82 battles, still in BR1 (I have BR2 things but still need to upgrade and equip squads with cheap stuffâŚ7500 Silver for 1 Assaulter, Jesus). I start my first battle, I only have my Sniper, Riflemen, Ta-Se and Medics. I spawn as the medics because SMG, we are attacking so I am charging for the Capture Point. I make it around 50 meters from the Point when a laser beam of LMG and HMG open fire on us, no issue, I switch to my rifleman and try to snipe the machinegunners, almost shit my pants as P38 just unloads his rockets on me. That is ok, jump in my Ta-Se, I am a WT expert so I can shoot down a plane easy, make my way into a nice position, almost shit my pants again as my screen is engulfed in fire as a Sherman just decimates me.
Alright, letâs get the sniper out, pick out them LMG and HMG out, spawn, dead, anti-personnel on rally point, sweet. Spawn with my Rifleman, play smart, run cover to cover, getting spotted by SMG squad, take out 4 of them, Bolt Action go brrrrrâŚohhh got Rifle Grenaded, proceed to disrespect my enemyâs mothers. Respawn, still trying to get the first capture point, notice a sea of my team getting mowed down by the Sherman shooting from the grey zone, flip him off, is not very effective. Now, does that sound fun? If it does, you are lying, and your mother is a raspberry.
This is not fair on a new player to be faced against BR3 or even 2 they have so much more things they can throw at you that you cannot deal with in the beginning. Remember new players do not have Upgraded weapons, they do not have fully fitted Soldiers, fully levelled, fully perked, full squads, unlocked squad upgrades. New players might try all of the nations to see which one they like and if all of the matches are like that, where the player feels like cannon fodder against players that are fully upgraded, how is that fun, nothing fun in trying your best, capping a point and having one guy with a fully upgraded BR3 LMG kill all your squad within 3 seconds?
My suggestion, new BR brackets:
BRI vs BRI â This is where new players can test things out, learn the squads, make mistakes, decide on playstyle, understand basics, get some equipment, upgrade.
BR 2 vs BR 2 and 3
BR 3 vs BR 2, 3 and 4
BR 4 vs BR 3, 4 and 5
BR 5 vs BR 4 and 5
Now, I hear you, what stops the General of the Army guys not to join BR 1. Well, we canât force them not to, but we can take away the incentive such as, in order to research BR 3 and above you need to play the previous BR to the BR you are researching or reduce the rewards for XP and Silver by 40%, my ideas but we can come up with something else. If higher BR players want to play a lower BR with fully upgraded squads, fine but it should not be rewarding as to not turn lower BRs into farming grounds for higher BRs at least for BR1 players. BR2 gives you already some good equipment to deal with higher BRs, when I unlocked the Explosive pack my Tank Kills went through the roof, now I search for Tanks like a hungry person searches the fridge at 3am but this is because I knew to rush and save to and get explosive packs, new players will feel useless and powerless.
Further, we can matchmake based on Skill Rating, the playerâs personal statistics such as accuracy, kills, efficiency, performance in battle and place similar players against each other. Is it nice to stomp on noobs from time to time, yes, but I am not learning anything or feeling challenged. I never knew until a few games ago that there are people that farm lower BRs, if you are on the attacking side, they would push half the points and stop there, fortify and just let the defenders continuously throw their endless tickets at them, there are people who play in groups of 3-4 and do this, park two tanks in the grey zone, build HMGs and LMGs with their Level 2 Engi and LMG Squads and just wait. That is not fun because there is little a newbie defending team can do against that is why I see countless people abandoning the match, I see countless games with 5-6 players disconnecting.
I will stop here and invite you all, players and devs to contribute. Please justify your answers and present an alternative/solution and be respectful of other peopleâs ideas.
Thank you!
you have a choice as I was saying, players like you will go full Historical , others Standard while players like me will play both and enjoy it the same way.