Heh dont worry, if the game is to succeed they will need to be balanced (expect us Plague Marines, you will need lascannons to take care of us!).
Don't make it pokemon. SWTOR had a vision of a game which based around stories, character specific or faction wide. Instead they made it almost exclusive Cartel Market cash shop updates with random lotto boxes which people purchase in order to collect them all. please don't.
not a huge issue but seldom brought up: dont have vast open plains. 40k is about close quarters brutal combat. not sniping an enemy from so far away they cant even see you. We'll all be using our bolters primarily but there should still be that fear that someone can get close enough to you and hack you down with a chainsword before you know it.
Avoid E-sports for this game and make another game from the ground up to be e-sports if they want one.
You guys say you don't want to collect things... I can agree somewhat... but what about collecting things that have no effect on combat? Some people like to collect things and there should be a place for it as long as it's not combat balance related or real money related. If you don't want to collect that's fine... but the game needs to cater to more than one specific group of people. I would actually like a title or accolade system for accomplishing things. I'd like there to be a pilgrimage where you have to visit hard to reach places on the planet/warzone. Every little thing we can add to engage a complete audience of players. Retaining player base is accomplished by making the game overall engaging for different people and their different moods... the more players engaged the more opportunity for social immersion which increases the chance of retaining players and interest. People play MMO's to spend time with friends more than anything else... they log to play with the people they like playing with.. and the more material you have to occupy different types of people the more opportunity the create unique social interactions that will increase the likelihood of bonds between players developing for having to accomplish things together.
I'd like to collect things as well. Although i love constant fighting, i also like a story related battle every now and then, you know, like a quest or dungeon. Currently im 59 hrs into Planetside 2 and its entirely fighting. As much as i love this, i just wish there were some missions where i can get some insight on characters from the world. I feel like I'd have to have this in EC. Fighting is great and all but i want immersion into EC where NPCs are fostering my hatred for the other races. Where i can feel like the hero in a story versus a grunt amongst thousands of others. I'd absolutely love some story driven dungeons that make me feel like it all depends on me and my squad to complete it or all hope is lost, no other squads are available to deal with the current npc threat. Rewards for dungeons could be XP and exclusive weapons and armor. The loot would have the same exact attributes as other weapons obtainable though PvP combat but would just look different and have a cooler name such as "The Thrice Cursed Blade of Malice" versus "Power Sword". Such items shouldn't be eaiser to acquire than their PvP equivalents. Easy way to decide this is have the beta testers play with the main goal to unlock weapons as fast as possible. However long it takes them on average, add 20% of that time to how long it should take for unlocking in dungeons. Dungeons could start off very few with even less unlockable items and can be added to with patch unpades.
Hmm.. in one corner we have the collectors, and on the other hand we have the competitors. I see an interesting dynamic forming here. Something I feel that this thread has brought up that is vital to the game: 40k is successful because it is diverse. Many simply paint the models, while others play with hardly even a thought past putting a basecoat on their models. Some people don't even collect the models and are attracted to the lore alone. How to translate such an interesting problem into a solution within the game: Competition: Inherent in the battles - some battles will be fought over very important territory rich with ancient history. Relics aid significantly to the war effort. Collection: Relic Quests - Searching for fabled pieces of extremely valuable relics that your faction's auxiliaries are literally dying to get their hands on and would reward you handsomely to discover. Any scrap of knowledge would be paid handsomely by those who are searching. Lore-keeping: Ahkorma is not well known to any of the races. Much of the history of this world was ancient when the Imperium was young. Scraps of knowledge exist for those who wish to research it, uncovering clues to the locations of Relics. Furthermore, without knowledge of the lore surrounding the Relics it would almost impossible to get access to them - such as a doorway only opening at the light of Akhorma's full moon, or a cavernous pit tearing asunder when drenched with the blood of Orks - therefore, Lore-keepers may wish to report to a War Council member to complete the circle of players in an attempt to draw a big battle right on top of this site - and secure it when it opens!
Might I suggest something? How about, beyond the regular gameplay which will be very Planetside-esque eternal warfare; what if there were specialty missions that can be completed both cooperatively and competitively? Such as recon missions, wherein a small group of cooperatively operating players must gather intel, or lay the grounds for sabotage. Or siege craft missions where two teams of opposing engineering squads attempt to undermine each other's earthworks? My point is that the reason Planetside 2 has such a high burnout rate is because the gameplay NEVER changes. Ever. It's the same thing every time a player logs in. Variety in gameplay will let this game excel.
