Before we begin I’d like to state that most of what I would like to see written below is fluff and not a huge part of the core game. Obviously development efforts should go primarily to core features getting into the game first. However, it would go a long way towards removing a few issues and misunderstandings while making DB a better product in the long run.
As the game has progressed over the last few months so has a lot of our levels. Account levels both high and low can be a source of ridicule. Also, in public and ranked, people incorrectly assume that balance is done by account level when it is not. This produces quite a bit of animosity for the less informed players of DB and is a constant topic on other boards. So I would like to give a little feedback as to what I would like to see and why.
**Remove public visibility to your overall account level
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I think this would remove a lot of animosity as people won’t automatically think teams are balanced or unbalanced based on level. It’s an extremely common viewpoint, if incorrect, that all matches are balanced by account level.
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It will also remove a lot of the ridicule higher level players get. It might not sound like much but even at level 44 I tend to have multiple people on every server point out my level (and it mostly tends to be negative). People can also point out a player lower level and use it as a point of ridicule as well but that’s not as often.
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It’s fine to keep the account level in…just don’t leave it public. Or at least give an option to show or hide it
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Account level could still be used to limit when a person could play ranked MM but nobody would know your level. Only your rank or merc level (if the below suggestion was used) would be shown.
**Add in Merc levels (or add them back I guess)
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If Merc levels were added in you’d still get a form of progression that is wanted/expected by a lot of players these days.
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Merc levels could be limited to something like 10. It wouldn’t be trivial but it wouldn’t be amazingly hard to get. It would show that you’ve got at least a certain amount of experience per Merc but since there is a ceiling it will be less likely to be a source of ridicule or animosity. Also, this could be used as a progression system from time to time. Every once in a while raise the level from like 10 to 12 (or something like that) similar to MMO expansions allowing players to artificially progress. Some people enjoy that. And a level increase could be tied to “events” in-game (similar to operations in CSGO or any MMO expansion) where you get a lot of new content like maps and new rewards for reaching max level.
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Merc levels could be used to give cases and small credit bonuses. Hit level 10 and get a free Elite case or some other reward like a selectable skin (spitballing here).
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Merc levels would tie in nice to Steam achievements assuming they will eventually make it into the game. I personally don’t care or go for them but I know many who do love them. And maxing out merc levels would work nicely for those.
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Other perks could be added to maxing out mercs. Maybe a new skin you can choose if you hit level 10 with a merc or some kind of title if titles were added to the game. Obviously you wouldn’t want to give power. I believe in the past you unlocked taunts with merc levels.
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This could be used for ranked MM. Basically, you limit a person from using a merc they aren’t at least level X with to prevent somebody from buying brand new merc X and then doing horribly with them in a ranked match. Now, I don’t fully agree with this as it’s hard to justify somebody making a purchase and not allowing them to use it immediately how they want but there is already a level restriction in place for your account…might as well think about using it per merc so people get some experience first.
Thanks.
