[UI] Ranks

with the server merge coming ranking is also changing.

First let the players that reached the top 3 ranks in each server have a title that says the rank and server (General USA East 3) or similar. This title would be just like all the other titles and can be selected by the player or deselected like all the titles in achievement.

Second lets make the ranking milestone based on ep only. One you reach a certain level you become that rank.

Third the top 3 ranks should be the only ranks that players have to battle for. So once you reach a predefined level you are a Col. but the ranks above that are based off of the user standings again and the player will have to perform to stay General, Basic General or Chief Col.

 

The rank system has proven to be completely bogus and is why a lot of the OLD SCHOOL Top Players left the game. It used to be seeing the TOP players in the maps had everyone running for the portals as you knew you were about to be destroyed, now they are just the people who have bashed the most gates, whether from money spent or bots used does not seem to matter. Solo play was never what this game was about and Gate Bashing is just that SOLO PLAY.

 

You are right but I was just suggesting a why to update the ranks making them more accessible to the casual player. The game its self will likely never be what it was, because BP does on understand that all the upgrades and and equipment made a fun easy game into a job. Making a UFE ship is not why the game was popular, it was social aspect was why it was so popular. Joining a clan and protecting your company from other companies. My old clan use to have quest night every friday and we would post 4 FE ships at each port then let 3 outfits control the map to finish quest. That was a clan created event ran through teamspeak so everyone could communicate. After the event the FE ships usually 30 to 50 strong would raid the other companies which usually turned into to huge battle in bmaps.

 

I do remember those days and really enjoyed knowing the portals were guarded and people would come to your aid if needed. Now with the AJP and everything else no one does this anymore. I am in agreement that something needs to be done but the Galaxy Gates need to be removed from the rank system as this is why a good portion of the big name players (of yester year) are gone. I remember the cries when "ChurchofBob" "MatchBox" "GeneralCave" would appear in the Chat and everyone wanted to know what map so they could avoid being attacked by a guaranteed killer. YES they did get killed but they usually took out a dozen or so before taking enough damage to go pop.

There really needs to be a system that looks at the entire picture and does not allow a bought account (new account buying everything to bash Gates) bashing gates and being Number 1 player without a single PvP kill. The old ranking was nice as the top players were just that, they put in the time, defended themselves and their company, and made the game fun for all. This is not the case anymore.

 

There is supposed to be a new ranking system in the works that you would have to be an active player for. At the start of each period everyone would start out the same and as you play (progress), you would achieve higher rank. Depending on what you did during that time would say where you were in the rankings. Of course a lot of things will stay the same, such as Bots and Gate Bashers moving up quicker then other players each period.

 

that is why a milestone system based from ep is better. let the gate bashers fight for general,. The rest can get thier col and not wo

 

What is the point of the Colonel/X rank if everyone can get or is it? At that point it has no value in having or obtaining it. Well mean, unless you just want a fancy looking badge/"rank" and don't care if everyone else also has it...

It kinda just sounds like you want the lower rank badges to look better/fancier, so everyone can have a fancy badge. Because at least how I see it, the Colonel/X rank has value due to not everyone can have or get it(aka need to compete for it). If it isn't just about having a fancy badge/"rank" aka could just make lower ranks "better" instead, feel free to explain the reasoning more.


Although I kinda feel making lower ranks "better" isn't what you want... since still competing for those different lower "better ranks". Also I kinda think people would want to all have Chief Colonel next, if everyone could get Colonel. This all just ruins the value/point of ranks in my opinion, would be similar to just player level at that point(except have a badge). >.>

 

The ranks are already worthless due to gate bashers and bots. The point is to make the ranks worthwhile again.

Make the rank using milestone means you have a reason to due the quest and gain levels, right on I have 6mill user rank on east 3. lowest Col. is 7.7 mil and rising. I refuse to pay 99 bucks every weekend and waste all day Sunday bashing hades just to findout I have no chance of even getting the rank much less closing the gap. In the past ep and honor was harder to get making the ranks valuable. Now you can reach lvl 19 in a little over a week. The ranks are already not worth anything.

If you reach level 23 you should be a col. 20mil ep is an achievement still and not everyone makes it to that level.

 

I also agree you need to draw a line and make the top 3 ranks as they are. If you want tp be general then it should be a battle to get it. Again those 3 ranks are impossible for a new play to get at this point. Thus making them useless and worthless.

 

What benefit is the rank?
Does it make you more likely to get the new or good stuff first?
Does it make your shields and lasers work better?
Can your ship take more damage because of it or is it just a virtual feather in a hat?

 

The ranks should be based on your legitimate ship kills, not the new player kills, but the UPPER Map ship kills. IF in a MCC your kills do not count at all. Killing Company Enemy Ships are the only kills that count and WARS do nothing except prevent you from losing honor points from killing same company ships. The Non-Com ranks are for the New players who are just learning the game, Basic Lieutenant would be the first level for PvP ranking opened once you qualify for level below that in PvE ranking. Gates and rewards from them have nothing to do with the Ranking as these are Bought Rewards especially when they double the rewards almost every weekend.

Currently they are just that. a feather in your cap. They used to mean something before the 2012 RELOAD of D O which then diminished the HONOR of the Top 10 Listing and the fear seeing you in the map generated.

 

You realize that even after the rank changes new players will still have no possible way to be on the board. It will take them years if they dont spend and if they do spend it will still take them maybe 6 months to a year to have all equipment to stand a chance. Even with the right equipment they still need skill.

And sorry to say but who do you think pays at least 90% of DO income ? People who do gates. Once the rank system is changed and they stop buying URI then DO income will drop a huge amount. They will have to do gates from time to time for the ammo unless that gets changed as well.

Also merging a dead server with another dead server is not going to help a whole lot, so yes you might have 40 people online playing instead of 15- 20. I dont know about every server but mine, Sunday's are the only day there are 70+ people online and most all of them are doing gates.

On another note; if we really want to get new players to stay/help them it would be a good idea for a in clan trading system to pass the equipment to members to get them rolling faster. You would need to put a fail safe in the code that if they left the clan then the equipment would go back to the members that stocked them up.

You cant count on everyone spending and for those who dont the same thing will happen, they will quit cause they cant hang in the maps with out getting killed over and over.

 

BP put themselves in this situation in 2012 when they started adding all the crap. This was a great game that made company loyalty valuable. Even if a clan became MMC back then they would be warred from all companies until they disbanned and played right. Now server are ran by 1 or 2 large MCC's and everyone either quits or gates. There is no easy fix and the game will take a hit in some form, but some big changes need to happen with ships balance, ability to build and compete quickly, and MCC.

I think personally that if the made some smart changes that the pvpers that left would come back and while losing some of the rank chasers, that could be made up down the road. Just depends on how long BP can bleed gaters while waiting for pvp to come back.

 

10k players spending 20 to 100 buck a week is better then a few spending 200 or 300 to do gates. In 2011 before the Pet East 1 would have 900 on at 3 AM and 4000 plus during peak hours. That fact should tell the devs that BP messed up and they need to take the hit and start working back to some of the things that made DO fun and popular. I personally believe that building a competitive ship reasonably fast that can fight and win against the existing UFE ships should be the first issue to fix.

When I started in 2009 I joined a clan and became FE in 1 month. From that point I was spending 20 to 50 bucks a week on just ammo and booster so I could hunt with my clan. I was also buying prem, rebate, and box doubler. 1 moth of building I could fight the strongest ship and win because we had the same ship. Now I had to play for 3 more months just to learn how to beat them but skill was the factor not equipment.