Ideas on Fixing/Improving Frontline - Balance, Map Design, UI/UX, Objectives

[Mistress_Irika]

Frontlines is not competitive? No wonder the afk farmers are the true winners. As long is this is the view you'll never be rid of them. I know I harp about everyone only focusing objectives and all. However, if you have a few close games where every team is trying to grab their last 300 points farming objectives isn't that competitive? Like...somewhere within rereading this thread I got lost, and now I'm trying to find my way back to the pack.

One can claim, as SeaJae does, that any PvP mode is definitionally competitive. True, but only semantically. I agree with Valence that any practical definition requires all players to actually compete (typically over something meaningful like a ladder ranking).

If I was to take this definition at face value then most of the games that are played are not competitive the moment someone says "go next game" simply because they're not having fun with their current placement at that time. You honestly don't need a ladder in order for things to turn sweaty at the flip of a dime. Things can simply heat up over some small thing that no one should be caring about to begin with. If folks want to compete over the monthly ladder, let them. They're getting their bliss for that moment....honestly, I have no clue why people use the ladder to begin with. It only shows wins but no win rates. You don't get any rewards for being at the top of the ladder. No gil, no temporary titles, nothing. I have to be missing something there. Just saying.

[Mawlzy]

Frontlines is not competitive? No wonder the afk farmers are the true winners. As long is this is the view you'll never be rid of them.

My point is that NA FL is not competitive because of the presence of AFK farmers. To be rid of them, it is not enough to change one's view. Something practical has to be done to be rid of them.

[Mistress_Irika]

Can you not see the difference between a ladder with an elo system and a quick match casual game and the opponents you're paired against? As long as you'll not be able to accept that players in casual games all have different goals and skill levels and that this creates a very specific environment, then yes, you'll be trying to find your way back to the pack. Trying to make casual modes more sweaty or "competitive" is never going to happen unless you get rid of all the casual population, aka, turning it into a ranked ladder.

Unfortunately, I don't. I see the devs pushing hard for the casuals while leaving little for those who takes the game serious. This game isn't exclusive to this. I know the difference between and elo match based game and random based game. This game does a poor job of showing it. In your rank games there's hardly a difference between casual gameplay and rank until you reach platinum, and even then you may need to hit diamond or be matched with diamond in order to see any sort of difference. I can accept that everyone has different goals. Some play to have fun. Some play to win. I play to improve. That point is valid. I cannot accept being told this is the only way to play frontlines from solely one view point. Premades are guilty of this. How are casuals any different though? All I'm being told from that group after a few rule changes is screw the win. Play to have fun. My fun is in the moment, not sitting 60% of my games out of fights just to farm, finishing 2nd with only 500/1600 points and saying GG because they didn't place last. How is that type of gameplay fun?

My point is that NA FL is not competitive because of the presence of AFK farmers. To be rid of them, it is not enough to change one's view. Something practical has to be done to be rid of them.

That's up to the community. If folks are not able to kick out the afk farmers every game that should be an answer of how folks view frontlines and how they want it to be. It took a few rule changes to get to that point. I suspect it'll take a few rule changes and/or adding incentives in order for that to change.