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Welcome Prospector, take a rest here for a while before your next drop, shake off the foam, and grab some fresh gear. The Cycle: Frontier What is this game? The Cycle: Frontier is a free to play extraction looter first person shooter. Think Escape from Tarkov but a bit less opaque and focused on sci fi prospecting as opposed to mil-sim. Ultimately it shares many of the same gameplay loops. You will be dropping onto a planet to complete a variety of quests and gather resources to be able to make better gear and earn currency. Don't let "free to play" scare you off, this game is very polished and plays better than some paid games in the same genre. Some benefits/differences of this extraction shooter over others: - A focus on sci fi elements including alien beasts and futuristic weapons (though still mostly "guns"). - Random spawns into the map with randomized, unshared extractions. Extraction camping is no longer possible. (though an observant player in the right place could still jump you as you call in your extraction) - Its free. - Persistent character progression, no seasonal/yearly wipes anymore. - Balanced matchmaking that supports healthy solo v solo/duo v duo/trio v trio play. - Binaural audio engine that really lets you hear enemies and your environment.  Fortuna III Fortuna III was a paradise until global warming or something. Now the planet is angry and it doesn't like you being on it, which is why you hang out in Prospect Station in your downtime. There are three maps you can drop into, each sharing some loot and creatures, but some being more dangerous places than others. The main three maps are:  Bright Sands - The most new player friendly map. Bright sands is a big map with only 12 prospectors on it at any given time. The monsters are hard but its the easiest of the three as some of the harder variants don't even spawn here. Most of this map is considered "medium" danger. Crescent Falls - A more difficult map, both in the monsters that spawn and in the amount of other players present. Be on your toes and your head on a swivel. Tharis Island (locked until April 29th) - A mysterious and dangerous island that potentially holds the secrets to how players can take control of the storm.  Wait the storm? What is that? Like I said, the planet is angry. You drop into Fortuna III via a drop pod, but you can only get out by calling in an extraction ship, which will fly in, land, pick you up, and fly out. This process isn't without risk so the pilots only do so when the weather permits. And the weather doesn't often permit. Every now and then on the server a dangerous storm will develop overhead. It will rain in sheets, thunder and lightning will rock the players, and all evac ships will be unable to land for the duration of the storm. Find cover, or risk being zapped to death. The storm is no joke, not just with lighting strikes and no escape, but also because the loud sounds of it can muffle the footsteps of that nearby player.  Creatures Fortuna III is home to some big nasties, but also some cute boys. Without getting too in the weeds, here are some monsters you can expect:  Striders - These are the simplest monsters on Fortuna III. They run up and bite you but can be felled pretty easily.  Ticks - Come in explosive or acid variants. They are just little suicide bombers. More a nuisance than anything else.  Rattlers - These creeps bite and spit acid at you. But they are quick work once you learn how to fight them.  Marauders - They're real name is Jeff. They don't mess around. They will spit pools of sticky acid at you or perform kung fu in your face. These guys are tough.  Crusher - These guys are tanks. They take a lot of damage and deal more. Only the most prepared and geared prospector should even consider fighting them.  - Howlers - Not a lot is known about these massive flying juggernauts, but they are scary and dangerous.  Prospectors - Arguably the most dangerous monster on the planet are other players. Be careful, trust no one.  Weapons I may make an effort post going into more detail with the weapons but just know this: There are the standard array of weapons: Pistols, SMGs, Shotguns, Assault Rifles, and Snipers. Weapons come in different rarities that effectively make higher tier weapons better. Weapons can be rarely found on the surface, but can also be purchased from the station from one of the three factions (or the universal market for the lowest tier weapons).  Factions Factions are the driving force behind Prospect Station, and keep it running. More importantly they sell you guns and give you quests. The factions specialize in one area but there is definitely overlap in their requests. There are three main factions:  Osiris - Focusing on science and research these guys will have you hunting creatures and other players, as well as learning and delivering secrets about new technologies. Their weapons focus on firerate and handling over damage.  Korolev - Focusing on industry and mining, these guys will have you mining minerals (yes there is a pickaxe in this game and you are literally a prospector). They will also request industrial components and occasionally will want help covering up their shady practices. They sell weapons that focus on damage, slow fire rates, significant oomph.  ICA - The ICA focusses on keeping the station running. They will ask you to check up on other prospectors, and deliver materials that keep the station and people going. Their weapons fall somewhere between Osiris and Korolev, being a balance of firerate and damage. What happens if I die? No one dies on Fortuna III, you just get encased in safety foam if your suit detects fatal damage. However you will lose (mostly) everything. Anything in your backpack or on your person is lost. You can insure your weapons but its rarely worth it. However you do have safe pockets. Anything you put in your safe pockets you get back to the station whether you live or die. These pockets are limited to only a few things though so choose wisely. You will die. Its ok, namaste. What does an average round look like? You will equip your loadout in the station and select the map you want to drop in. You will then spawn at a random location in the map. You will likely have some items you want to find or missions you need to do that will take you all over the map, fighting/avoiding monsters and prospectors along the way. Sound travels far so if you hear a gunshot in the distance do you go on the hunt or decide to give them a wide berth? Maybe you notice a meteor shower overhead and decide to see where it falls for any unique loot. Maybe a storm rolls in on the planet and you have to take shelter in a compound that has something resembling a puzzle to open a loot root. Maybe you get the drop on another prospecftor and find he is flush. Once your backpack is heavy or your wounds too deep, you'll check your map to see where your extract is, make your way over to it, call it in, and then wait the ~1 minute for it to arrive, so you can aboard (hopefully alone) and depart back to the station with your loot. Or maybe you spawn in, and someone immediately shoots you in the face. The duality of man. F.A.Q. Will high tier players/gear just ruin my day? They will have an advantage certainly but even a low tier player can crush a high tier play if they play intelligently. The way weapon rarities work is they make it possible for higher tier weapons to deal lots of damage to creatures, but the damage to prospectors is not that much better than low tier weapons. So while a common assault rifle might take 100 shots to kill a mature rattler, and 10 shots to kill a player; an epic assault rifle will kill that same rattler in 20 shots but kill a player in only 8. Basically it scales aggressively for pve and lightly for pvp. What if I lose all my gear and money? Every 15 minutes the game allows you to take a free loadout offered by one of the factions. They are limited in scope but will definitely let you get back on your feet if you play smart. On top of that there are generators that can both give you a daily crate of gear, as well as a straight injection of cash. The future really does have UBI! You can upgrade these generators to provide better gear or more money. My inventory is too small, my stash is always full! Check your quarters for upgrades. This is where you can get the generators mentioned above but its also where you can upgrade your stash size (and your safe pocket size). It'll cost some hard to earn in game items but I would prioritize this one. Is this game pay to win? Not really. There is only one in game mechanic that premium currency provides and that is salvage. You can pay prior to a drop to have your weapons/gear salvageable using premium currency. This means if you die and no one extracts with your item/weapon then it will be returned to you. If someone does extract with it, then you will only be reimbursed its cost (similar to normal insurance). Other than this single mechanic everything else in the game requires you to simply play. When you construct upgrades to your quarters you can speed up the upgrade with premium currency (only the time it takes to construct, you cannot bypass the requirement needed to upgrade which is usually in game items/loot). Other than that, premium currency is only used for cosmetics. Without wipes what treadmill will keep me going? I'm sorry your brain is broken like this. Mine is too. However the current game takes a long time to "complete" if you can even call it that. Besides that there are seasons that introduce new events, quest lines, items, monsters, upgrades and battle passes. There is actually already a lot of content, and the dynamic nature of the game means every round feels pretty fresh and tense. Besides its free, so no cost to give it a try. More coming soon will make this as I think of what people want to know. Kwolok fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 21:33
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[reserved for beginners guide/new changes] New Players Guide Will write a bunch here for new players over time. The basics are: - Always wear headphones, sound is a huge part of this game and you will be at a disadvantage if you aren't listening. The game has binaural audio meaning you can easily figure out where people are. - Always drop with a shield, a helmet, a backpack, a weapon, ammo and heals. Everything else is your choice but you would be at a serious disadvantage if you don't do at least this. Naked melee runs are not that viable in this game (though you can try!) - Repair your armor between runs. If you took damage during a run, your armor lost some durability. Armor provides the same amount of protection with 1 durability as it does with full durability, but once it hits 0 durability it provides no protection at all. New Content Season 3 is here and its a big update. Big highlights: - Matchmaking changes. Gear score, kdr, and squad size are now all considered when matchmaking. Solo's will only face solos, duos will only face duos and trios only trios from here on out. Rejoice solo droppers! - No more wipes. This season introduced the last wipe ever. The game will never wipe quarter progress or stashes. Hooray! - The Howler has joined the battle. This mysterious giant bug flies across the island. - Free loadout runs! Now if you are down on your luck one of the factions will provide you with a base kit every 15 mintues. Season 3 is here and lasts for 5 months. Kwolok fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 21:34
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[reserved for community resources] The Cycle Frontier Wiki The Cycle Frontier Interactive Map Kwolok fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 21:34
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I have been interested in this game since I saw it but havent tried it yet. Think this thread will make me do so. Is the game viable solo or does it only really shine with teammates?
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Apr 6, 2023 01:31
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ZeusCannon posted:I have been interested in this game since I saw it but havent tried it yet. Think this thread will make me do so. Is the game viable solo or does it only really shine with teammates? I play predominately solos, and I like it more than I thought I would. Unfortunately there is no reviving in squads so if someone dies they're just out which can be a bit annoying. That being said playing with friends is still really fun but I mostly enjoy solo now especially since you will never go up against other parties.
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Apr 6, 2023 01:39
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Played this a bit, got roughed up by some aliens, ended up meeting a player with like 1HP left, they said hi, I said hi back, we parted ways and I made it to the extract
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Apr 6, 2023 02:25
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Traveller posted:Played this a bit, got roughed up by some aliens, ended up meeting a player with like 1HP left, they said hi, I said hi back, we parted ways and I made it to the extract There are a surprising number of chill players in this game. I got cornered by a dude with cosmetics that made him look like a ravager. He had crazy gear and I was sure I was gonna die. He didn't have a mic but he took out his knife, hopped around, showed me how to fight Jeff, then dumped me some loot and ran off into the forest. I will never forget him.
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Apr 6, 2023 02:27
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So where does the lack of wipes come in? Are they out of paper towels at societal scale? Can I claim and use leaves from my environment?
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Apr 6, 2023 07:46
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Downloaded this last night. Gonna give it a go after work today. Seems right up my alley as a slightly more chill Tarkov. Glad to hear about chill interactions.
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Apr 6, 2023 13:16
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Is the gear scaling still insane? When I played this last you basically didn't want to bother fighting anyone past the early season unless you were fully specced and even then some of the end game weapons were so good you'd get people bushcamping and instamurdering anyone who walked by.
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Apr 6, 2023 14:24
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dogstile posted:Is the gear scaling still insane? I just don't know. I have about 70 hours in. The highest grade gear I've used is blue. Like I said in my post above the difference between really really good gear and basic gear isn't the craziest in theory by the numbers. I've easily killed blue weapon havers with a white weapon. But at the very very high levels I'm not sure. Looking at the damage calculator tool online though for something like the KOR (highest grade assault rifle) vs the manticore (lowest grade assault rifle from a faction), assuming the KOR user has high armor and the manticore user has low armor, the difference is this: The manticore user needs ~13 body shots to kill someone in the highest tier armor. The KOR user needs ~7 shots to kill someone in the lowest tier armor. So first off, due to matchmaking, I'm not sure those two extremes can ever be in the same match because gear score is considered, but assuming they can, the difference, to me, feels appropriate. A manticore user playing smart and getting the drop on him still has a chance though it will be a tough fight. This game has explicit scaling, weapons aren't different, they are in many cases just strictly better, (and their cost STRONGLY reflects that). I can see that design being gross to some people.
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Apr 6, 2023 15:28
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Yeah, i've got an old clip of us beating someone with better gear so it can work, it just always seemed very much "ambush or die". Although I suppose that's the genre. Fake edit: Found it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75pJn-Y7UiQ
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Apr 6, 2023 15:44
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dogstile posted:Yeah, i've got an old clip of us beating someone with better gear so it can work, it just always seemed very much "ambush or die". Although I suppose that's the genre. Yeah not that I think your argument is wrong, but it definitely is just kind of a side effect of the genre. Ambushing is really strong. The one good thing is the audio in this game is nice. So unless you run by someone who happened to be bush camping you can hear people even crouch walking up to your position and the TTK is long enough that even being ambushed you might be able to sprint to cover and heal to reset. That being said, I don't know what changes were made between now and the video you posted. But for context, now, your manticore will kill that purple guy in 11 shots vs 8 shots for his white shielded buddy. I do think they've tuned it down if in the past you thought that was a big difference. Of course it still matters but it feels like a much smaller divide. edit: Of course the big thing is the combo of ttk across weapon AND shield difference, so its more like, your TTK against him is 1.2 seconds. His TTK against you with his ICA Guarantee and your white shields would be 0.72 seconds. So again definitely an advantage on his part. A bit more than half your ttk which ain't nothing. Kwolok fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Apr 6, 2023 |
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Apr 6, 2023 16:06
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Yeah, it was an absolute age ago, game wasn't actually out then. I'll have to pick it up when my internet situation stabilizes
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Apr 6, 2023 16:19
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So not for nothing I just did a bunch of runs on the hard map (spawns are kinda broken unfortunately right now). I had a lot of wilds fights of varying weapon rarities and ended the run by killing a dude in purple armor with blue weaposn with nothing but white weapons myself, so its definitely doable. He even had the drop on me.
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Apr 6, 2023 21:14
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Just downloaded and did the tutorial + 2 deploys for the evening. Haven't PVP'd yet but managed to get my missions complete each time. Cautiously optimistic for a free game. Are there any goons playing this regularly on a discord or anything? I always enjoyed squads more in Tarkov. Judging by the size of this thread maybe the answer is no though. Where's the best place to go to answer all the basic noob questions I'll inevitably have? Stuff like - what kind of loot should I be prioritizing, which factions should I be selling to, etc.
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Apr 7, 2023 04:57
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And now it refuses to boot up for some reason, that's weird.
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Apr 7, 2023 06:01
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ThePineapple posted:Just downloaded and did the tutorial + 2 deploys for the evening. Haven't PVP'd yet but managed to get my missions complete each time. Cautiously optimistic for a free game. I hang around the Tarkov discord but never read or type unless someone @s me. I have precisely as much experience as you and would be happy to play a few some time.
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Apr 7, 2023 12:18
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So they need to address two things badly on crescent falls, the spawns and the number of players, especially as a solo. It's kinda unplayable
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Apr 8, 2023 22:41
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In which direction? Too many players too close together? Too few and far between? Also I've only had positive interactions over voip so far. Loving that.
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Apr 9, 2023 20:38
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Duderclese posted:In which direction? Too many players too close together? Too few and far between? Yeah voip can be great! The problem with crescent falls is 1) The spawns. I have on numerous occasions both killed players with 10 seconds of them leaving their pod, and been killed within 10 seconds of leaving my pod. 2) For solo's 21 players is simply too many. Any sound at all gets people descending on you in mass. 21 players is fine for trios since its only 6 "other teams", its pushing it for duos, but for solos it means there are 20 people waiting to third party, evenly spread across the map means there is never a moment of peace and its too risky to really engage in any activity.
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Apr 9, 2023 21:30
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Ah yeah. I can see how that could be obnoxious. I don't have enough experience to offer an opinion on that, yet. Plan on playing quite a bit more tonight/after work this week. I really enjoy the gameplay loop in this. Quests don't feel super grindy(yet), combat is short and punchy. Healing doesn't take forever, but the moments it does take feel tense. Just solid fun so far. For the price of free I'm loving it.
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Apr 9, 2023 21:54
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I've been playing a bunch of this since the start of S3 and having a really good time. With wipes gone, I can use a more casual approach to playing. I like that I can slowly work through upgrades now and ease into the more difficult content without having to worry about where the gear economy is or losing progress if I need to set it aside for awhile. So the updates this season have been exactly what I was hoping for. I know that not everybody is into pressure cooker PvPvE stuff, so I think the game will always be niche to some degree. I hope it can find an audience though. I got a couple of referral codes from their newsletter thing that someone can use, if anyone is playing. It's a handful of cosmetics and items. All of my friends game on consoles, so shoot me a PM if you want one and I'll be happy to oblige. They have to be redeemed by the 30th.
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Apr 27, 2023 05:20
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Honestly I've kind of hit a wall. AI aggro is way too stupid in this current patch. You can be crouched and moving silently yet Jeff will just hone in on you. Not to mention they made blue+ weapons just too stupidly expensive when they are lost so easily to white gear. I like that low tier gear is competitive but the fact that a kor costs almost 30x as much as a white AR but provides almost no benefit outside PVE is a wild choice. It really feels like they catered the game only to grind players and its causing me to lose interest fast.
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Apr 27, 2023 18:27
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Had the game crash twice and send me back to the station without gear, not cool! Also I can't find fusion batteries for the life of me.
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Apr 28, 2023 01:34
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Yeah actualy despite my op effort post, I had not really gotten to the mid/late game and let me tell you, this game is rear end lmao
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May 16, 2023 18:03
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Kwolok posted:Yeah actualy despite my op effort post, I had not really gotten to the mid/late game and let me tell you, this game is rear end lmao I put a couple hours into it and can't see myself continuing because the gameplay loop (or uh, cycle) feels very pointless. Extraction shooters need a good gimmick (e.g. Hunt's bosses) to incentivize player interaction. This game...there is no reason to do anything but hide and do your objectives and intentionally trying to hunt other players just feels boring. PvE gets incredibly boring incredibly fast. Shame because the shooting is fun and I like any generic sci fi world well enough.
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May 16, 2023 19:57
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As a counterpoint I'm having a lot of fun with it. Coming from Marauders I find The Cycle way more chill in general, but still plenty exciting when trying to safely escape the map with good loot. The safe pocket size is decent enough that you can always get your main objective done, and the game is pretty as hell. Well worth the asking price. The main selling point for me is that the high end sweatlord guns are way more effective for pve, while only being slightly better for pvp. You can run a budget loadout and be competitive, plus free loadouts and the supply generator means gear fear really isn't an issue. The Huge Manatee fucked around with this message at 20:33 on May 16, 2023 |
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May 16, 2023 20:12
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The Huge Manatee posted:As a counterpoint I'm having a lot of fun with it. Coming from Marauders I find The Cycle way more chill in general, but still plenty exciting when trying to safely escape the map with good loot. Wait until you get to the point where you have to hunt curshers or howlers. Or do anything on Tharis, one of the most poorly designed maps to ever exist. I mean if you like it, hell yeah. But the fact that the high tier weaposn that make pve possible cost 20-30x as much as green makes it almost never worth it to take since that is such a steep cost when you can still get one clipped by a white rat.
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May 16, 2023 22:49
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Only a few hours into it, but been enjoying it so far as a distraction from Hunt. I'm only on map 1 but would love to get with other goons if y'all are playing actively. I'm on 100 different goon gaming discords so any of those work.
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May 21, 2023 20:03
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I didn't even like this stupid fuckin game back in season 1 and now I have almost 200 hours in season 3 it's a good game if you like extraction shooters no leans, no adjustable crouch, no skills to grind for carryweight/accuracy, HP is just HP with no effects you need special meds for still need to learn maps and hit your shots like any other hardcore shooter, but there is a map in-game that shows your position, and teammates show up on the map + if you have LOS teammates are outlined to identify friendlies, beyond that it comes down to your squad's overall cohesion imo the fact they're still holding 3-4k peak daily population, they're doing alright assuming they keep up content and balance tweaks game definitely has some rough/stupid edges but this season is way better than I expected for a free game, especially after bouncing off of season 1 so hard e: also because of how they do map instances, there's never a queue so you can just do a couple short runs in a row if you want to, instead of staying in raid for 30+ minutes
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May 21, 2023 22:18
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I'm a tad confused about how often I should expect to be running into other players. There have been hours where I barely saw anybody, only to be oneshot out of nowhere in a second.
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May 21, 2023 23:41
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Kwolok posted:Wait until you get to the point where you have to hunt curshers or howlers. Or do anything on Tharis, one of the most poorly designed maps to ever exist. I did a whole bunch of howler kills and loots for the quests in a duo with green weapons, no real issues. I can see crushers being more of a pain though with how aggro CF is. And you're right, I've not run anything higher than blue gear, but that's kept me entertained for a few weeks which is fine for the money I paid. I always come out of Tharsis runs miles ahead on cash, even if I die more the loot there is worth a ton and it's always been profitable so far. I'm pretty sure I could sustain blue gear/weapons at this point but I'm not super fussed, greens work fine.
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May 22, 2023 00:51
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The Huge Manatee posted:I did a whole bunch of howler kills and loots for the quests in a duo with green weapons, no real issues. I can see crushers being more of a pain though with how aggro CF is. And you're right, I've not run anything higher than blue gear, but that's kept me entertained for a few weeks which is fine for the money I paid. I only play solo but in solo green would take almost ten minutes to do the howler, which is a long long time to be ringing the dinner bell for other prospectors. Don't get me wrong, I've also gotten a lot of entertainment for the low low cost of zero dollars but the mid/end game feels like a slog where anything blue+ is prohibitively expensive while at the same time the devs decided more health=more difficulty for the more interesting mobs.
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May 22, 2023 00:59
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Yeah until they scale mob health down in solos I wouldn't bother. Duos and I assume trios are way more fun in general, and pve is much less of an obstacle. With fixed player counts, solo lobbies are a lot more aggro too. 11 other prospectors in solo is pretty nasty, while in duos it's just 5 other teams. The Huge Manatee fucked around with this message at 13:56 on May 22, 2023 |
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May 22, 2023 13:43
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The Huge Manatee posted:Yeah until they scale mob health down in solos I wouldn't bother. Duos and I assume trios are way more fun in general, and pve is much less of an obstacle. Oh don't worry its actually 17 other players on crescent falls!
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May 22, 2023 17:48
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