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Destiny 2

Discuss all things Destiny 2.
8/24/2018 2:20:21 AM
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Streaks are Anti-Competitive and Anti-Fun

What it is that makes Competitive PvP modes fun? The answer is in the question: it is "competitive." Quickplay modes are fun enough for some low-stress matches or maybe to warm up, but at the end of the day, many of us want a PvP challenge. We want close, neck-and-neck matches that go to tied match point and are won (or lost) by a clutch overtime play. And when we pull out that well-earned victory, we want the game's competitive point system to reward us for it. But that just isn't what happens. Because, for some mysterious reason, Bungie (and many other game developers) are obsessed with having these Competitive points be doled out via Streaks, both Win and Loss Streaks. Instead of simply rewarding each victory (or penalizing each defeat) with a set point reward/penalty, they think it more fun to require players to win multiple matches in a row before making any significant progress. They cite it as making the experience more rewarding to succeed in, but that simply couldn't be farther from the truth. Because Streaks, and yes, Win Streaks as much as Loss Streaks, are Anti-Competitive and Anti-Fun. Streaks do not reward the close, neck-and-neck matches that make Competitive modes compelling; in fact, it discourages them. When players get into these types of close, competitive matches, they'll probably get some wins, but nobody can be perfect, so inevitably they'll get some losses, too. These losses always wreak havoc on any hopes of rising in the ranks, since unless you can get consecutive wins, the losses always counteract any progress made. Because of this, instead of enjoying getting paired with challenging opponents that make for interesting matches, players are forced to hope that they will get a bunch of easy "free wins" so that they can finally get that streak to get their rank moving in the right direction. This is the opposite of what you want. Obviously, getting free wins will always make the grind for Comp points easier, but it shouldn't be your ONLY viable way to grind. Instead, the game needs to reward each and every victory in a way that respects the time, energy, and effort put into it. Losses should still hurt, setting you back some points, but should never be so punishing that single losses can cancel out the progress of single wins. This would promote a fun, rewarding, but challenging Competitive experience that rewards those who persevere through tough matches to get the W's. What would this look like? Simple. Remove Streaks from the game (they already are removing Loss Streaks in Update 2.0.0., but Win Streaks need to go too) and increase the point rewards for wins and losses to compensate. For example, a win could be worth +40 points, while a loss could be around a -20 point penalty. Maybe having wins be worth double losses would be a little too easy - these numbers are just off the top of my head - but the two key things are that 1) Wins be worth more than losses in order to reward perseverance even when you aren't winning every match, and 2) Progress over time needs to feel significant enough so that players feel like their time is respected - seeing a bar move 20 points after 6 hours of grinding is not rewarding With all this being said, I am super excited for Update 2.0.0. and the changes it will bring to the Crucible as well as the Glory system, and I hope that it makes good on the promise of a fun, rewarding competitive experience!

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