The healbreaker missile is a fun idea. I wonder if hitting the tac with weapon breaker nerfs its healing output?

The changes are so much I need to play it. Mostly looking forward to the progression update.

To the devs, please upgrade the autoguns. They could be something great. Or just make them attack autobeams. I think the damage numbers might be fine, but it isn't hitting the target unless the target sits still. Right now the projectiles are too slow, the visual is weak, the model on the ship doesn't make sense.

Spicy cheese is the answer to all questions.

Chipotle gouda in the fridge right now.

The market is not clear. Your point is valid.

I got caught in the same thing buying some cosmetics thinking I could use them everywhere but I could not. It leaves a sour taste.

Or like all the hero ships have 4 pieces of unique geometry, but the hanuman has 2. I bought it expecting it was like every other hero ship, and it wasn't. My fault? Yea, but it's just not good business to have people feeling weird about their purchases.

How many people buy hero ships thinking that they would be customizable? I'm sure someone has. Because why wouldn't they be customizable?

I think the pricing on that new shark hero dreadnought was perfect. Bought that in 2 seconds and was 100% happy with the cosmetics and coating. The price is good even without a playable ship in the package. Just the cosmetics were worth it.

In the market, they should make things very clear and standardized. Right now it's inconsistent with other games and with itself.

This was perfect. Great art, great price. Bought it already.

The progression system is dumb. No way around it.

But when you crack into T4 and get a couple modules the game is great.

If you're trying to manage through T3, I recommend playing vettes. Their basic modules are good and you can speed around and keep warping to make the weaker hp not matter as much.

"What you're doing so far hasn't worked, and it will never work till the day this game dies."

Harsh but true. I love this game, and the hero ships are garbage.

Progression is good. The current tier system is not good.

The game should be all about cosmetics. The art team is strong. Right now the market ui is so bad. There are few explanations of what you're buying and for which tiers. Even things like some stuff is one-click buy in tech tree but how many clicks in the market? Uncertainty. It would be nice to have a working market where you can combine hull pieces, paint, pattern, emblem, look at it as a whole, see a final price, and then buy that.

You can't just buy ships directly, you must play the 10 or 20 hours to unlock the ship that interests you. Then play another 10 or 20 hours to unlock the modules that interest you.

The game is so fun and held back by its business side. The game does a lot right, and it's not that far from being great. I want to see the team say "oops" and have the courage to change it.

This will be an improvement unless they totally bork it.

The dry spell from when you're saving xp/creds for the next tier is not fun. The counter-synergy is bad with customization vs upgrading tiers. Until T4, I pretty much avoid unlocking anything that isn't necessary to upgrade. It makes the game less fun.

I think part of the frustration here is that the counter-modules are deep into T4. But you start playing against rams as soon as you enter vet queue.

One of the guys above says use purge beam to end it and l2p. There's a disconnect between people who play just entering the game and solo vs high level and with friends. I play solo and highlight enemies, purge them, and no one attacks them. Purge runs out and the destroyer/vette goes ahead and kills whoever. The fact that people need to play another 20 hours to get the module that might help them is rough. Not disputing that ramming takes skill to do well, but it's true that without the proper x,y,z to counter it sucks.

Feedback on Progression:

1. I don't think the current system is optimal.

2. T1-T3 feel like a chore. T4 is where the real game is.

3. The game at T4 is great.

4. My friends never make it to T4 because of T1-T3.

5. I need fun stuff to spend money on. Hero ships suck. I don't have the time to make use of Elite. I don't like paying for free xp on principal. The market doesnt make clear if cosmetics are for one tier, one ship line, or all ships. I want to buy ships and ship geometry and cosmetics.

6. I'm like 20 hours behind having certain modules that I see other T4 players using. That's a lot of investment for me. I'd like the game to have a way so I can compete with the time I have. Not so much of a grind-wall for competing. But still respect the guys who play a lot and do invest time.

Proposed Solution:

Keep tiers for modules. There is only one tier of a ship.

This keeps the progression element and removes the base hp/damage unfairness of tiers. It allows new players quicker access to the modules they want and need. For example, anti-vette modules. All players will have equal hp and primary/secondary damage, but higher tier modules will have shorter cd, higher damage, like they do now. I think basically give each ship the T5 tech tree with the same unlock chains, but each module can be upgraded to a mk2, mk3, etc. With the entry level mk1 unlock being very affordable for starting players. Ships can be bought with credits or real money.

Benefits:

1. Opens up necessary modules to new players.

2. Makes each ship really "mine." Not just a stepping stone.

3. Sell the ship geometry as cosmetics.

4. Sell ships in the store.

5. Gets players to their preferred playstyle faster. Straight to koschei, straight to jutland, straight to heavy sniper, etc.

6. Get players straight to preferred modules faster that would otherwise be tier-locked, and keeps progression so players get stronger with investment.

7. My friends can experience the fun of the game without a 20 hour grind wall.

8. You're not asking players to buy cosmetics for a single tier. I wouldn't want to buy cosmetics at T2. And a lot of players never get past that in the current system.

Not benefits:

There's a lot to figure out with matchmaking. For example, how much more powerful is an mk7 module vs a mk1. Should ships and fleets carry a battle value based on module tier. How to weigh that with player skill. Some module stat rebalancing, but maybe not so much.

It needs some market math on how much credits should a new ship cost. I'm okay buying hangar slots like in warframe or mechwarrior online. Or have a free ship rotation but the ship can only get modules up to lvl 1 that way. Gives players a chance to try it, but to grow and advance they need to buy it with creds/money.

I love this game. I'm happy for it have grind to please the grind guys. I think this proposed system solves more problems than it introduces. There are issues with it that I see too, but the current tier system sucks. I don't think the game can grow with the current grind when everyone dislikes it. It's not so much the time in absolute terms but the nature of it. There are people who accept it, but no one is really enthusiastic. When 60% of the forums are about how corvettes are OP, I think this solves a lot of that. Give players the modules to defend themselves as quickly as possible. Also, I want to see you guys make money. I can't be excited about buying geometry and cosmetics for a Jutland when I'm still 20 hours away from unlocking it. And the 20 hours sucks because I'm in an Otranto.

There's a comment above about if we let people bypass grind and buy into T4 that it would lower the quality of veteran matches.

I hear what you're saying, but I think it's a net good for a few reasons.

1. 
   

   Grind holds zero interest for a lot of people. I play games for the fun, the competition, the art. Lots of reasons, and grind isn't one of them. Almost all f2p games allow the bypass of grind. It lets players get straight to their interest in the game. For example, straight to heavy tac or heavy dreadnought without the hours of grind in unrelated ships.

   
   


2. 
   

   Ultimately the game needs more people and a matchmaker. It's true that people would jump into a vet match and be inexperienced, and it's okay. With enough people playing, they can naturally filter to their level within vet queue. I feel kind of bad going to into recruit queue and abusing people who don't know how to play. What we have in either queue doesn't work very well. The future is in bringing in more players and retaining them, and I think allowing for acceleration to T4 helps that. And it makes them money.

   
   


3. 
   

   Let people who are interested get straight to the real game. None of my friends have made it past recruit. They never see the game shine at T4. I wish they could.

   
   

After a bit of T2, you kind of understand the game. You don't need to grind another 20 hours in T3 ships to 'get it.' I have a ton of grind left to get the ships I want to T4 and to unlock the builds I want to play. Dreadnought should take my money. I have a job and things to do, but I'm happy to toss $20 to maximize the free time I do have. Premium time isn't that appealing to me because I need more time to make the most of it. And it's still grind. What appeals to me, and someone like me, is a game like counter-strike. The draw there is fun, competition, skill. It's all available the moment you jump in. And no one loses a match because they haven't played the 20 extra hours to unlock a useful module. There needs to be a way to skip the grind for people like me who have some money to spend, love the game, and want to have concentrated fun.