Vets should be stronger than new players, what troubles me is that having better guns would give them a double bonus which would be unfair. However Kor 'El Es'Tau Ar'Kais has pointed out that there will be 'side grades' instead of upgrades, which i'm rather satisfied with.

(Also, i've been watching a lot of house of cards recently so i'm sorry if I sound a bit formal.)

Those veterans that have played the game for a large amount of time should have access to Sidegrades which they have accumulated/unlocked that allow them to specialize in certain combat scenarios but be weaker in others.

While brand new players gear should be just as strong a Loadout in Points Cost wise as any veteran of the game Loadouts. It's just that the Newbies gear will be the standard "Jack-of-all-trades" gear, allowing them to be average in most combat scenarios for each particular class.

This will have to be the case or else those that play as any of the new Factions that are later added to the game will be seriously gimped compared to the players of the current Factions. And also many players would permanently rage quit from getting insta-gibbed by the elitist veterans with uber gear.


EDIT: Here's what Michael Chan had to say about this topic in the latest SOTC:

"The XP will be spent in the progression tree and, alongside post-battle rewards, give you greater access to a range of loadout options. You will be able to perform feats you weren’t previously capable of; and choose between being a general- or specialist on the field of battle."

ZOG ALL DIS LEVELING KRAP TA 'ELL!

I 'atez it! If I wanna level up I'll go play a RPG or sumfing!

I miss da dayz o' old where dis nonsense wuz nuffin' but a foolz dreem! All yuz needed wuz a sharp eye an' a itchy trigga finga!

Didn't even hav to tink bout stuff lik "OH WUT LEVEL WUZ E? DUZ E GOT DAT SHOOTAH I KANT UUZ TIL I KILL ENUFF GITZ?"

Juz gimmeh all da shootahz an' lez get ta fightin!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!

the whole concept is based upon "horizontal progression"

so a day1 newb has as much chance to kill/win/enjoy the game as the day200 vet .... otherwise newbs get stomped, many stop playing and the game stagnates and dies

this isnt like other MMO's were high level players are kept in seperate arenas/areas from low level players ... everyone has to share the same battlefields

Well, in Battlefield and Call of Duty you also unlock "not-better" equipment the more exp you get.
I have NEVER lost a one on one fight with tanks in BF4, where I got the drop on a high level player...

Anyhow, like some of those before me said, it will hopefully be balanced with quick access to items/talents in the first levels, skill actually mattering and Loadout Points.

Accessories will have much greater impact then weapons for the balance.

Game isn't taking The Division route, where better level=better weapon, you might have cheaper/different mods, higher RoF, but lower dmg, bigger clip but lower acc-this is kind of weapon balance EC aims at.

There probably will be something like meta weapons, but it won't mean that you're going to be sore loser if you use basic bolter.

In fact, basic bolter will be most flexible, most customization weapon in the whole game making it perfect choice fr most situations.

Situation is problematic newbs dont want to be stomped, veteran wants some rewards and feel like a veterans - and for some people cosmetical visuals matters not. How to please everyone? You just cant. Im sure there will be penalty for newbs in the beginning, you cant avoid that. But you can do it less painful, like first unlocks after several battles and such. To help the newbs feel stronger with every day - if they fight wih determination.

I think the biggest concern there could be this - how big the gap will be between newb and veteran, and how long it will take for new guy to reach a competitive level. I hope they make first achievments most important and quick earned and later status of veterancy long-term and not so fundamental (like giving 4 grenades for veterans, or ability to ress faster, see further and such).

all loadout have points caps.

moddedweapons cost more loadout points.

think of mods like traits/ accessory for weapons.

if a player pimp a bolter the result is less points for other loadout item/accessory.


a new player start with few option with little knowledge of the game, so they will start with a basic "generalistic" loadout, an expert player will unlock more stuff and start to create more specialized loadout based on taste and meta of the game.

the players don't progress in power but in versatility and capacity of specialize.

now in alpha all weapons are the equivalent of FULL pimped weapons equipped by characters with almost no accessory/traits.

there is some exception:

the apothecary have a "not fully upgraded weapon" for simulate the less points invested on weapon: but on the final game apoth bolter will be equal but the apot will not have points for equip an upgraded bolter like a tactical (or the tactical get a point discount on bolters or similar).

all the melee specialist have equipped and heal on hit trait/accessory, but in the game you will be supposed to not have it unless you equit it.

mon is a class: but in future is only an accessory to apply to a build.


the dev are implementing right now the sistem with all the toll for the in game itemization/loadout.
they will start with the old item, and soon all the stats of the weapons will be modified changed.

before that they don't even have the tools for balance the weapons correctly, now they can even create multiple version of the same weapons (we will have many bolters not ONE bolter).



this is the explanation of why all post about balance and TTK are pure garbage.

the game soon will start to change radically, because the rebalance/rework/tuning of weapons will start.

new accessory and new alternate version of weapons will appear.

new weapons will come but later: is important that the new itemization sistem work correctly, all the formulae and the damage calculation (for example how much damage toughness mitigate, how much penetration counter toughness etc etc) and is easier with only one version of a weapon.