Seeking developer clarification on what Frontlines is

[Zofian]

I have played an absolute ton of Frontlines over time. Got a GC horse on two characters and other assorted mounts and such. Just a lot of experience and vision on things about frontlines and pvp shifted around over time. But after the recent changes to battle high, and the significant change made to the Worqor Chirteh map just 1 week after it was added, I would like to ask what exactly is the official objective and design intent for Frontlines to be?

Personally I enter Frontlines to compete and win a contest of a sporting nature. I think a lot of people participate in Frontlines for that. But the 2 aforementioned changes and their impact suggests that that is not the true design intent, so we have a clashing issue. The original week-1 Worqor Chirteh map was among the best frontlines experiences I've had in XIV. It took a couple of days for people to feel things out- but after you got to grips with it, I daresay if you played your best game, made the best positioning and actioning decisions and your team was also doing that- you would win like 9 times out of 10. The team that earned a win would get it, which is how I feel it should be- and it wasn't from people dominating with exploits like some prior seasonal times and years. In my opinion, what was arguably the best raw frontlines battle was overhauled after just a week.

The recent battle high change has muddied the waters in general and increased RNG. The 'RNG' unofficially added to Worqor Chirteh (on two occasions) after week 1 and this battle high change has me requesting this clarification so that no one is playing Frontlines without understanding what they are signing up for. I had a 38-39% win rate on one character (500 or so matches) and had to abandon playing frontlines on it because I found myself in matches I could not change the outcome of. I would say with certainty that good solo players can change outcomes in team based pvp battle games.

I ask if Frontlines is intended to be indirect forced losses sometimes? Pairing previous-match high performing/winning players with low performing players? (the algorithm that seems to exist, hoping that good players will raise low players? but the result is usually bad players drag good players down- and seems to be how CC is matchmade also). Is the intention for an RNG fest where winning is only something you should look at after the game is over? The fact we have 1st/2nd/3rd stats in our profile, and can even see a scoreboard, supports and encourages the players' belief that this is a sporting contest- yet the changes to maps and structure from time to time seem to suggest the intent is RNG and something akin to Pachinko except the players are the balls.

If the design intent for Frontlines is to be RNG and Pachinko-like, this is fine- I just feel that it should be officially communicated. If there is an algorithm putting high winrate holders with low winrate players on purpose for future matches (including CC), this is not a scandal if you communicate this and let everyone know outright. But the 1st/2nd/3rd stats counts and percentages in our profiles should be deleted, along with the scoreboard removed during the match. In such a scenario, the score and winner should only be revealed after the match is over and a team has reached the hidden figure (and make sure tos breakers cannot use a thing to see the hidden score). Then change achievement mount unlocks for frontline map wins so it runs off total matches with x amount of damage dealt and/or healing combined or something.

[Aidorouge]

I don't really now myself. I thought it was supposed to be a competition of sorts too, but once I realized every win and loss in my records was predetermined and I had no influence over the outcome, it just became a source of extra cosmetics as I slowly watched the Series XP fill up.

I remember early on when I was playing 5+ matches a day and putting my all into it, but sometime before the Dawntrail launch, I was having to force myself to do it even just once a day, and most of that time is spent just following behind some deathball randomly shooting into the enemy crowd, and these days I don't even need to try and avoid dying because it has zero consequences now. The more I've played the mode, the less effort I care to put into it, because there's no longer any illusion of betterment or contribution. I'm just a warm body meant to make the queue pop.

[Atreus]

I don't think we need development confirmation when the story tells itself. I'll say it a hundred thousand times if I have to, but Frontline wasn't always like this. At Frontline's original release, the only "RNG" was the timing of middle drones, which was usually only differing within the minute. You could squad up with 8 back then. Also, objectives were scored in such a way that it was beneficial to have 8v8 skirmishes across the map.

Since then, every change and every map has added a layer of RNG with its mechanics. They then removed Grand Company allegiances, reduced party limits, and added forced freelancer. All of it catered to the players who cared the least about PvP and making connections with others.

So yes, that design is intentional.

[MayuAmakura]

Endwalker had best pvp and DT ruined this to be a bigger mess than what it already was. Really it's no strange to see that a failed expansion would deliver misery to pvp as well.

[UseYour]

can honestly say when i read forums about how pvp used to be, and then i play it now.. i just wonder how square is so detached from their audience. i just changed my retainers from ul'dah my chosen GC, to limsa, because its the city everyone uses to world hop market board check because you dont need to use a bunch of aetheryte trips to do it, saving the taxes and getting more sales in undercut wars. there is literally not a single thing outside of the 20 or so side quests that mention my alleigance to the flames, where it actually has an impact in game. its like choosing horde on a WoW RP server with pvp not allowed. ive been spoiled a bit on the future expansions having some type of new world order we must all become one with no borders scenario but that just means the biggest choices at the start of the game has no tie in to the end of the game. nothing really matters. for a famous RPG studio they really removed a lot of the good RPG elements and left us with ERP casinos instead..

[CCheshire]

There's 2 reasons I do FL for the new PVP pass, and it's funny sometimes to see the entire game be flipped in the final few mins even if it's rare, except for Secure that I've always skipped since it's too tedious.