1.506: The Return of the Bulletsponge!

[Festival]

"Difficult" in this context (that of a skill-based game) centers on requiring more skill in order to succeed. Simply having to pump a ludicrous amount of ammunition into an enemy doesn't require more skill, just more patience. We're not doing much of anything differently than before DLC5, we're just doing it longer. It may, as you say, be slightly more "difficult" in terms of having to dodge a bit more, and a handful of enemy types have one or two more tricks, but that's it.

Time spent is irrelevant. I could walk to every encounter instead of drive. That'd take longer, too. But the only thing more "difficult" about it would be trying to stay awake. Kinda like this bullet sponge rubbish makes the game. I have literally nodded off mid-fight. I am not kidding or speaking metaphorically,

If you actually enjoy blowing through multiple magazines to kill a minion, then for all I fond that utterly bizarre, that's your prerogative. But I suggest getting used to it on largely empty servers...because I have no doubt in my mind the large majority of players think it blows.

[Midori Oku]

No. Just because your weapons do at least 50% more damage than the players only 500-700 EGO rating points below you and your health and shields give you similar advantage so that it's markedly easier for you to kill the mobs faster doesn't entitle you to better rewards, and that's essentially all the game has done. The scaling of the weapons and gear that drops for you is reward enough.

I never said that the low EGO players could not play on that server. If they are willing to put up with what they do now, they would also get better rewards. Keep in mind when I say better rewards I don't mean constantly getting legendary weapons. I'm talking about giving players slightly more keycodes, scrip, EXP, arkforge and salvage, and only allowing the purples from enemies to drop on the expert server. Basically enough to make up for the extra time spent on events. All of this is hypothetical anyway.

If you actually enjoy blowing through multiple magazines to kill a minion, then for all I fond that utterly bizarre, that's your prerogative. But I suggest getting used to it on largely empty servers...because I have no doubt in my mind the large majority of players think it blows.

I do, but you also have to understand that I'm a glutton for punishment in video games. If I can choose to play on the hardest difficulty of a game, I always do. Also, playing solo is fine with me, but I do have a clan where everyone within it also loves the way the game is at the moment. Even the people who are below EGO 1000 love it. I guess we are an odd group of people then?

[Bonehead]

Next boss for Defiance?

[Festival]

I do, but you also have to understand that I'm a glutton for punishment in video games. If I can choose to play on the hardest difficulty of a game, I always do.

*shrug* I always crank stuff to the top, too. Maybe not at the very first, as depending on the game, I sometimes ramp up to it as I start learning the ropes and not sucking (as much). But I do seek out challenges in video games.

But I have to reiterate: Bullet Sponge Defiance isn't hard, it's just time-consuming (to the point of sheer tedium for me, but I realize that's utterly subjective). If they wanted to make it genuinely hard (and far more immersive), they'd have just made enemy weapons as dangerous as ours were, pre-DLC5. Presto: instant challenge (as well as something at least vaguely realistic...).

[3rdpig]

You can argue that mindless tedium and bullet sponge difficulty is what you love and all you're doing is missing the real point. And that point is that slaughtering the F2P nubs and making them rage quit before they can spend money it is not a wise decision.

Good God, they've already made the game far more complex than it was by adding several new forms of currency, grenade pickups, stims, spikes, a dozen or more different enemy levels and names, armor plates, armor boxes and requiring a mix of nano weapons and fast load out switching to be effective.

The open world needs to go back to the easy, casual, fun style of play it was before The Great Bullet Sponge Patch or the likelihood that we'll be playing Defiance after the show season ends diminishes significantly.

[Bonehead]

Keep in mind too, if you are around 5400 ego or greater the game only changed from stupid easy to regular easy.

[Odessa]

Keep in mind too, if you are around 5400 ego or greater the game only changed from stupid easy to regular easy.

I dunno, bones. I was getting downed by Warriors tonight like there was no tomorrow. THe Motherload expert map? OMG. The pure.grind. Guh! It was just getting better too. I almost feel as if I'm in some abusive relationship where the 'I'm sorry' part is still a ways off.

[Riz]

The Motherlode and 101 Explosions are now the easiest of the expert maps. Really! Cloak and run m8's! You really think i can be bothered killing all those bulletsponges? Nah... Me and a good team of clanmates do 101 within 25 minutes and we're out, successful. And no i won't post tactics and weapons used here, i don't want it screwed up.

As for the open world.. Mt Tam is the only reasonable place to play together with lower EGO friends and clanmates. The whole world should be like that. And of course i understand that a Dark Matter should require a little more bullets then a mutant, but still.. You catch my drift. That other 'expert' server that Midori Oku is on about could be easily implanted on the current servers! You already have 3 choices at which coop you want. They should just do the same if you want to re-do the Nim-fight or Jackleg Joe. Expert instances to choose from.

And HALO is not a right example to get a point across on difficulty. Yes, hard mode was kinda bulletsponging but not UNfair! HALO did not scale enemies to your level and then gave you weapons 75% of your power and pointed you towards paid upgrades. HALO doesnt make less experienced players useless. Defiance does do this. They scale enemies to you (or even worse if youre with more ppl around) and then handicaps you on purpose leaving you with 2 real choices. Die a lot or pay up. Also Defiance does make less experienced players useless... In fact as it is now, low EGO's ARE useless. They know it, we know it, Trion knows it. Great promise for the F2P experience right? You come in to play and are useless for the next couple of months. With this system the F2P will fail epicly. Many noobs wont last longer then a week... Lets say until they reach Marin.

[Manstan]

Keep in mind too, if you are around 5400 ego or greater the game only be changed from stupid easy to regular easy.

LOL love it

[BJWyler]

"Difficult" in this context (that of a skill-based game) centers on requiring more skill in order to succeed. Simply having to pump a ludicrous amount of ammunition into an enemy doesn't require more skill, just more patience. We're not doing much of anything differently than before DLC5, we're just doing it longer. It may, as you say, be slightly more "difficult" in terms of having to dodge a bit more, and a handful of enemy types have one or two more tricks, but that's it.

Time spent is irrelevant. I could walk to every encounter instead of drive. That'd take longer, too. But the only thing more "difficult" about it would be trying to stay awake. Kinda like this bullet sponge rubbish makes the game. I have literally nodded off mid-fight. I am not kidding or speaking metaphorically,

If you actually enjoy blowing through multiple magazines to kill a minion, then for all I fond that utterly bizarre, that's your prerogative. But I suggest getting used to it on largely empty servers...because I have no doubt in my mind the large majority of players think it blows.

You can argue that mindless tedium and bullet sponge difficulty is what you love and all you're doing is missing the real point. And that point is that slaughtering the F2P nubs and making them rage quit before they can spend money it is not a wise decision.

Good God, they've already made the game far more complex than it was by adding several new forms of currency, grenade pickups, stims, spikes, a dozen or more different enemy levels and names, armor plates, armor boxes and requiring a mix of nano weapons and fast load out switching to be effective.

The open world needs to go back to the easy, casual, fun style of play it was before The Great Bullet Sponge Patch or the likelihood that we'll be playing Defiance after the show season ends diminishes significantly.

True. Sad, but true.

Dangit, now I'll have that Metallica song stuck in my head all day