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Post by Redfiend on Sept 17, 2020 21:15:34 GMT -5
One of the biggest "cons" I see thrown around about MA is that "it's not very complex".
Curious as to what that means to people that have actually played it for more than a blind week.
Outside of limited(but balanced) item selection, and the lack of every other bot having an "invincibility" ability or paid/module add-on, there's not much here that isn't in War Robots.
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Post by hicycles on Sept 17, 2020 22:14:34 GMT -5
This is a good question, as I would be one to say MA is not as complex as War Robots. I think, though, that I conflate grindiness with complexity. For example, to get a bot to a decent level, along with its weapons, in War Robots, it could take you well over a month to acquire said bot and weapons, and then another month or so to level them up. It makes decision making a little more difficult because you have to dedicate time and resources for the effort. Add to that the constant rebalancing, and it makes thing seem complex.
With MA, you're limited to what you can acquire, in that you can acquire no more than 2 of anything. On top of that, for items you unlock, you acquire them at a higher level. That means less time grinding and more time playing with what you acquired. Does that mean MA isn't a grind? No, but it's far less of a grind than War Robots.
The one thing unknown to me, though, is rebalancing. Ive only been playing MA for a little over month, so we'll see how that pans out.
For context, I've only been playing War Robots for about 10 months, and in that time, I've seen a ton of rebalancing happen, most of which affected my hangar. Not only that, but I've seen titans, pilots, and drones added during that time.
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Post by Redfiend on Sept 17, 2020 22:52:34 GMT -5
hicyclesSo, outside of resource distribution being stingy, and needing to buy 4-10 of the next pay to win content Pixo cooks up while nerfing the old gear, not a whole lot. I for one don't really consider complexity a good thing if it's solely how stingy the game is/ pay to win features/add ons to actually playing the game. There's still a lot of hangar planning to be had in MA. To my knowledge, none of the content creators actually try ~everything~. They leave items behind because of how much stronger pre-leveled mid-late game gear feels compared to the items that actually take time to upgrade to competent levels. Outside of Panther, Killshot, and items that already started at rank 4-5, our friend scape doesn't have much upgraded past rank 3. KSO's Juggernaut is still rank 1. Just feels like with the lack of pay to win, and many coming from pay to win with the mindsets of "Expensive=Better", not many are really looking in to the game further than "buy end-rank gear. Kill roomfuls of AI bots, feel OP"
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Post by S1E1 on Sept 18, 2020 0:35:51 GMT -5
I think people get a little too much in a meta-oriented mindset in a game that doesn't actually require it. We're just trained at this point to think that way and at certain points the economy reinforces that a bit ( I am now in the "saving for Missile Racks and Carbines" phase) but really you can get a lot of initial gear cheap early on to keep switching around. Including mixed weapon frankenbuilds and one weapon builds, there are a lot of combinations to try and some of the less popular ones are pretty fun (Plasma Cannon Panther, woot!). If you choose to pursue variety, then this game looks like it has a lot of potential complexity. ESPECIALLY because of the challenge tasks. I understand why people avoid getting some weapons and bots because they don't want to start getting tasks for them (and I don't always want to chase those either). But challenges spice up the game a bunch, getting you to change up your hangar and your tactics. A good example is this fun scape211 vid:
And I think challenges are one of the clearer illustrations of the difference between Mech Arena and War Robots. I got into War Robots because I wanted to play all the different bots and they just keep upping the "complexity" of the economy that I can barely level any of them. But the challenges in Mech Arena are this totally free mechanism that forces you to keep switching your hangar up and relax a bit on just pursuing pure dominance. Tellingly I have yet to even play a single match in War Robots since drones were introduced but I am playing MA every day.
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Post by Danny Linguini on Sept 18, 2020 0:54:30 GMT -5
I don’t know about anybody else, but I have no problem with ‘not very complex’ when it comes to leisurely gaming. War Robots has gotten way too complex, so I’m guessing that people making that statement about MA are doing so in comparison to War Robots. Every other mech shooter I’ve played is not as complex as War Robots, and I fail to see how that’s a bad thing. There’s still plenty of planning required in MA, not to mention a basic focus on skill over spending.
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Post by ᥣᵃᵛᵃʲᵃᵛᵃ on Sept 18, 2020 1:01:58 GMT -5
I echo the above. At face value, MA may appear 'simple' (i.e. not complex) - 12 bots, a limited number of weapons and a mechanic that enforces diversity. There is less grind, as noted above. However, for me it is exactly this simplicity that is appealing. There is a subtle nuance of the rock, paper, scissors trying to find a better counter to a set loadout, anticipating what the AI is likely to bring to the table. And then it is pure shooting and hiding and how to get to that next bit of cover - i.e. pilot skill. There are no OP princess-bots or weapons - yes, some are more powerful, but not to the degree as in War Robots. Add to that a great UI and buttery-smooth gameplay (no lag encountered so far - compare *that* to War Robots!) - it is hands-down a more engaging product.
That's my 2c, anyhoo.
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Post by mechtout on Sept 18, 2020 6:20:01 GMT -5
Mech Arena is basically the good old days of Walking War Robots, no titans, no pilots, no drones, no modules, no boosters, just bots and weapons
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Post by Koalabear on Sept 18, 2020 7:47:19 GMT -5
I like Mech Arena for the "simplicity". That very simplicity makes for some very complex games. Everything is achievable eventually so that takes a lot of the pressure away from paying a ton of money to gain an advantage. If I play smart, I can out play folks with much better gear than me, and if I'm careless, I can get taken out by a Lancer with AC2. The action is fast and you can die pretty damned fast, almost like getting headshotted in "people" shooters.
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Racerx7394
GI. Patton
Posts: 141
Karma: 121
Platform: iOS
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Server Region: North America
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Post by Racerx7394 on Sept 18, 2020 8:30:37 GMT -5
The graphics are basic, colors are too soft, and the in game information is light. WOW uses basic figures, but good colors to provide attractive scenes. MA graphics need to show more detail and colors improved because it gives a quick impression that it's a simple game. Most of the other mech/robot games have better detail. War Robots has good graphics, but it also drains your battery much faster. I am surprised how little this pulls on the iPad battery.
I expect it will get more complicated as the game evolves. Since I am just starting, it feels about right to me. The companies love to add things to get you to pay for and that's fine, but it also raises the bar for new players. I started in War Robots around 4 years ago and it was a blast. I really enjoyed playing and was spending good money on the game. Over time Pix's practices and growing complexity wore on me. Now it's an abomination (power cells, droids, pilots with 7 skills, titan modules, different ammos, Gandalf's staff for $5K, bring the Death Star for $10K, etc.) War Robots is more complicated than a mature MMORPG and it's a mobile game. War Robots encourages people to pay to get battlefield advantages. An average skilled clown can do a lot of damage with everything maxed out. MA puts the focus on bot/weapon selection and player skill.
I like that almost all the bots can be very effective. The game feels fairly well balanced and I really like the no upgrade times. The currencies seem complicated, but that's because in game information is light.
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Post by Deadeye on Sept 21, 2020 9:58:17 GMT -5
I completely understand (and like) the simplicity of MA, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have complexity to be found. There are subtle but significant details in this game that add complexity and keep it really interesting to me. The robots each have 1 ability, but those abilities can be used to great effect in multiple ways and the interaction between those abilities creates some interesting (and complex) interactions. The Panther (for instance) has a highly effective and useful ability. The shield is impenetrable, causes the stasis effect and lasts for 10 seconds. It also can be used to block RMs and Javs if played well. However, it can be completely cancelled by the Guardian ability. The KS can "dash" through it for a kill. Also, it's a mostly linear shield, so placement is key. I've used my shield multiple times only to have someone sneak around it and kill me. There's even more that could be said about the various abilities and their interplay and the complexity created by them, but I'll jump to another aspect of the game.
I have recently started trying to maximize my use of attacking players from the side or from behind. with the multipliers involved, it makes certain weapons extremely effective when they might not otherwise be later into the game. Consider the lowly Jav6. The magazine damage at R4/L1 is less than 7k. However, this is consistently a massive damage dealer and one of the staples in my hanger. The combination of %chance of critical hit (20% at R4) and the ability to bend your firing arc towards an unsuspecting enemy means I'm consistently getting massive multipliers on my volleys. It's little things like this that I feel add complexity to a (on the surface) relatively simple game.
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