First of all, I want to say that I think that this was a great idea for a game, and that it came out at a very opportune time. I love the art style, the not-too serious, not-too goofy type of atmosphere. I really want to see this game pick up speed and be one of the most competitive/fun pvp games on the market. I consider myself a very seasoned gamer (specializing in pvp) and I know that this game has a real shot of drawing in the masses. I want to help out by giving you all some tips that I think have to happen in order for battleborn to be successful.
First things first, there HAS to be a real ranked, thought out, pvp mode. This should be unique to each game type that is offered, seeing as the game types are so diverse. The reason people have played LOL, Dota, WOW, or Halo is to keep improving their skill and rank. Creating character specific levels can only go so far, but by adding a RANK to the game, this is a permanent solution to keeping people drawn in. To touch even further on the ranked mode, there should be seasons associated with it, and a draft pick wouldn’t be a bad idea either. These seasons could offer cosmetic rewards to players based on rank at the end of the season. The rewards show players that there is an end goal for improving rank.
The second thing that I would like to see improved isn’t even that big of a change, but it would offer a huge impact on gameplay and replayability. Allowing players to view our characters and loadouts while searching for a game! This is such an easy fix, and the community would absolutely love it. I’m a huge LOL player so I know what I’m talking about when I’m saying this, it is CRUCIAL for us to see our characters and plan ahead.
The next change is also a very small change that I believe would draw more people in; punishing people for leaving games or AFK’ing. I know that this seems unnecessary, but it matters to anyone who will be playing this game more than a couple of times. Nothing is more frustrating than to have to die for 30 minutes straight because someone had to step away. The punishment should escalate according to the severity, or number of times that it has/had happened.
The next change may be large depending on how much work and time that you at gearbox plan on putting into the game now that it has released. By keeping a steady stream of characters/skins entering the game, players will love you. I know that there are 5 more characters planned right now, but let’s be honest, 1 character every month or so is the ideal timeframe for new releases. Gamers love microtransactions. I know you’re thinking, this guy is crazy, but go and look at LOL and how much cash that it brings in. People will pay to get what you’re offering if they like the game. You could even take an approach of offering every character free as long as they play 20 or so matches and save their points. The majority of people would be willing to pay just to speed things up.
Like I said, I’m only a lowly gamer who has spent a lot of time playing PVP games. I have no idea how businesses work, but I do know what gamers want. Take just one or two of these steps and people will start talking and the players will roll in. If you build it, they will come.
EDIT: Ok ok, so gamers don’t love microtransactions, but they are not a bother to most of us if done correctly.
Sincerely,
A Very Hopeful Gamer.