Having just finished up my last interview and set it up to
be published in the morning I drained the last of the Scotch in my glass and
got up to head back to my barracks to hit the rack. The intercom on my desk
buzzed. It was the night watchman letting me know I had one more pilot looking
for an interview. I told him to send the pilot up and walked over to the wet
bar to start a pot of coffee and changed my mind and filled my glass up with
more Scotch. Time to get back to work!
GG: For the record what is your name, player ID, clan you
fought with this last CW and what medal did you win?
Joshua: My name is Joshua Bourne, I.D. 702128, the clan I'm
in is Northwind Dragons and we won Gold this war in Division 3.
GG: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today Joshua.
It is a pleasure to have your here again. Congratulations on your team's Gold
win this war.
GG: Did your team perform like you expected?
Joshua: I can assure you, the pleasure is mine. This War,
our team had a fairly easy time as our main competition, Collectors, went up to
Division 2.
GG: Yeah the fortunes of war and all that *Smile*
GG: Was there anything you found to be a surprise this war?
Joshua: I think the thing that surprised me the most this
war was the fact that next to no opposing Pilots put up a stiff competition
against us. They tended to just either leave their mechas out in the field with
no one gunning them, or taking a couple pot shots before leaving the field of
battle for the remainder of the round.
GG: Yes when faced with a stiff enemy pilots react in different
ways. Some do not want to eat a lot of XP for a round they feel will be a loss.
We all have to make our choice.
GG: This war every clan needed a 20T specialist to get in
the game. Were pilots quick to volunteer for this in your clan or did you guys
have to draw straws?
Joshua: I happily took on the 20T as it was a necessity and
I felt like I was the weakest in the unit.
GG: Ok so because you felt like you had one of the weaker
unlimited formations on the team it would make a logical choice to take the 20T
role.
GG: What are your thoughts on the secret bonus prizes given
out to the 20T guys this war?
Joshua: I like the fact I got another prize from the war, in
the form of a level 10 Commissar, but it won't really benefit me much other
than a small handful of niodes. At my level it would take too long to get it
into a fighting state.
GG: You never turn down a chance at some Niodes for sure
*Smile*
GG: Should Nick always give out bonus prizes when we have to
have a specialist just to get in the war?
Joshua: I think it will give people a good reason to use a
spec they might not like or prefer to use, as then they get something out of it
like either a weapon, some resources or even a new mecha for them to use in
their lineup.
GG: Yeah it would have been nice if these bonus prizes were
around when I was the 10T specialist when it was a required spec 4 or so wars
ago *Smile*
GG: How hard was the Raid for your team?
Joshua: The raid wasn't an issue for us, as we were able to
coordinate effectively to take it down efficiently and quickly.
GG: Teamwork for the win!
GG: Are the Raid Prizes useful for your team or do you just
sell most of it for needed Niodes?
Joshau: For us in Division 3, it is filled with the highest
tonnage and latest Mechas we could ask for. Pikes, Fexts, Balrogs. The list
goes on. What we lack however is the very high level weapons to pull from the
raids. They are quite "lackluster" for the Division they are giving
them to us, and also the prize payouts themselves seem to be very minimal as
well, with people noticing Niode weapons seem to be "capped" at a
maximum of 3, and the number of mechas pulled in total is barely noticeable.
GG: Yeah over the last year there has been lots of
speculation about behind the scenes adjustment to the raid loot algorithms and
"Caps" on payouts etc. I doubt there will ever be an official
announcement or acknowledgment of these kind of changes if they are real.
GG: In your opinion, what does Nick and his team do very
well in this game?
Joshua: What they do in this game is allowing a group of
players from around the world to band together and fight as a coordinated unit
to try and achieve victory. That's probably the best thing any designer and
team could do.
GG: Yeah the main reason I stick around in this game is
playing with my mates *Smile*
GG: In your opinion, what could Nick and his team do better
in this game?
Joshua: I think there is a couple things they could to. Add
some more things for people to do whilst there isn't a war on for one. Yes,
there are the "Get X wins in X area" missions, but they only offer a
small handful of niodes and bring a fair bit of salt and would also be a quick
thing to finish and be bored once more. Secondly, make the raids more
profitable for each player. Personally, I had to pretty much solo a raid single
handedly on a lower level account, level 4 times, get 13 shares total and only
getting a measly amount of rewards and a total of 3 mechas. That shouldn't be a
thing for how much effort you put in to begin with. And finally, make some more
mechas that benefit the lower level players. Yes, you have added in the Daemon
and Onyx as of late, but being completely honest they suck until level 100+.
The lower levels need something good for them rather than seeing constantly new
100T+ mechas, or mechas that don't benefit them till they level up another 50+
times.
GG: Those are some very valid points for Nick to consider. I
hope he reads this interview so he and his team can talk about it.
GG: Before we wrap this up is there anything you would like
to add?
Joshua: I'd just like to thank all the players out there who
makes this community possible.
GG: I will also add in my thanks to the Devs and the
players. Without all of us this game would not work and I would have to find
something else to do *Grin*
GG: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview Joshua.
It is always a great pleasure to have you in the studio and I hope you stop by
again next war. My best to you and your crew.