Jwimmer's Opinion On: XP/BP Battles

[Jwimmer 2,835]

Jwimmer's Opinion on XP/BP Battles

 

 

            After looking through the Amateur Writing section of the forum for a solid two minutes, I realized that it is lacking in 1 type of writing- opinion pieces. I will attempt to fix this, by adding some opinions of my own to the section. My plan is to make this a series, but we will see how this one goes. In these columns, I will look at different aspects of the game itself, and will analyze smaller factors of those aspects. For my first one, I will focus on xp/bp format battles. The aspects of these battles I will look at is the battles themselves, their differences from normal battles, gold hunting, and the community. Because there are only 4 criteria, just one of them being good or bad can make or break it.

 

            To start is the battles. Most of the time, they are (as you know) Sandbox CTF or Polygon CP. Strangely enough, while seeing a battle other than these on RU1 is a rarity, there are a lot of differences between the two. Sandbox battles are almost always slower and more tactical. In these types of battles, a missed shot can make a massive difference. However, Polygon CP battles are a whole lot different. It is constant shooting and dying, and a D/L above 1.5 is rare. Staying alive in the center for more than 5 seconds is an impressive feat, because people from both teams are constantly shooting, almost blindly, into the mosh pit. Suffice to say, there is not much strategy in these games. And now, my opinion. I love both Sandbox and Polygon (mostly). Sandboxes offer a change in pace from a normal battle, along with being a place to showcase any skill using Railgun (haha Jwimmer has skill with Railgun? yeah right...). Polygon battles are just crazy, and the lack of druggers makes it pretty darn even. However, I would like to see more maps used. There is the occasional Desert DM, and sometimes a long, 20 flag game on Courage. Both of these are quite fun to play in, but there is a disappointing lack of battles available. Now on to the differences between xp/bp battles and regular battles.

 

            The main difference between the two is supplies. They oftentimes make games lopsided, and also make it fairly easy to have a D/L above 3. Another key difference is that regular Sandbox CTF games are not too common, and xp/bp Noise battles are almost nonexistent. To extend this contrast, there are generally more maps played with normal equipment than xp/bp. This means that there is a good variety of battles, which makes the game overall more interesting. However, making things different is not the purpose of xp/bp battles. In my humble opinion, the difference between xp/bp and regular battles is night and day. I more often prefer normal battles, and a main reason behind is that I really like the Viking + Thunder combo. I also like having the option to make myself deal 2x more damage available, even though I do not use it too much.  While you will occasionally find me in a xp/bp battle, I prefer to have more variety and drugging available.

 

            I have decided to set aside the differences in gold hunting from general differences because we all love gold boxes, and they deserve their own paragraph. So basically, the method behind getting a gold in xp/bp battles and getting a gold in regular battles varies a lot. In normal battles, people most often hit a double armor, then find the drop zone. Some people even switch to dictator or titan during the first 10 seconds. After people find the drop zone, they nervously huddle around it, hoping that nobody will fire. However, if someone does, people can always just heal themselves. Once the gold start falling, the best thing to do is to get on top of the pile. Of course, there is always a hint of luck involved. On flipside is gold hunting in xp/bp battles. Here, it is best to self-destruct to clear any damage. Then, once a tanker finds the drop zone, it is best to hide. In xp/bp battles, a person shooting is out of the question, because it ALWAYS happens. Getting on top of the pile here is only possible if you die, so the best method is to wait until the gold is almost on the ground, then drive in full speed while shooting any enemies. Here, getting a gold is pretty much completely driven out of luck. I prefer to gold hunt in regular battles. While I don't often switch to Dictator, I have the option available. It is more about skill than luck, and my luck is iffy. Along with this, most of my golds have come in regular battles. I simply do not get lucky enough to get golds in xp/bp matches.

           

             And finally, the community. As I hinted at in the introduction, one bad thing about xp/bp battles can complete ruin it, and the community is what does this. Here is why- people play games when they are 4v2s, people are generally horrible to talk to, XT users oftentimes think they are better than the layman, among other factors. I, honestly, despise playing in xp/bp battles because of this one reason. Multiple times, I have missed a shot across the map, and have been told to leave the game by my own teammates. It is an unforgiving bunch of Neanderthals, which is really unneeded in a free, online game. This is the reason why you will almost never find me playing in good ol' RU1. However, there are some ways to bypass this. The first is to play with friends. This is a simple solution to make sure that, if you are called a noob, it is only in a joking manner. The other solution is to turn off chat. However, this means that you can miss the "ro" command, along with not being able to see a valuable "f1". Turning off chat really hurts your team, and is not a very effective way of dealing with the awful community.

 

            Please keep in mind that I am not making a shot at anyone when I talk about the community here. Hopefully I did not offend anyone, but I am sorry in advance if I did.

 

            To recap, xp/bp has most things going for it. It provides a continuity among players, making everyone equally important on a team. It provides a change in pace from normal battles, along with eliminating a need for supplies. While gold hunting is all about luck in these battles, it is really only a small part of the battle style. However, unfortunately, the one bad thing about these battles is unchangeable. The horrible community surrounding these battles makes them unbearable, and messes up anything good that would come out of xp/bp battles.

 

 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to suggest aspects of the game for me to share my opinion about in the future. This ended up being much longer than I had planned, but I did not want to cut anything out.

 

- @Jwimmer

Edited May 16, 2016 by GoldRock

[Quarks 2,255]

Well, I write opinion pieces: see? However, it is a very different style. Besides that, very well done Jwimmer.

[Jwimmer 2,835]

Yeah my "two minute overview" was really me just looking for the word "opinion" in any of the AWG topics lol

[Hex 11,520]

Well, I wrote a XP/BP guide for Desert. http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=318652

[TheRollingSlab 803]

You do have a point about the community of XP/BP, yesterday I joined a Poly CP XP/BP on RU1 as I wanted to try out my new "Legend kit". When joined I missed my first shot because of lag. For the duration of the next 20 minutes I was told "leave mult noob xaxaxaxaxa" even though I ended up finishing second on the team.

[Typo 1,299]

Well its true that some people have a attitude but most players but most teams stop when its 4v3 or something. On the contrary people in normal battles tend to get a edge by any means necessary.

Apart from that nicely written. Looking forward for more from you.

[Jwimmer 2,835]

Well its true that some people have a attitude but most players but most teams stop when its 4v3 or something. On the contrary people in normal battles tend to get a edge by any means necessary.

Apart from that nicely written. Looking forward for more from you.

yep that is completely true. However, I find that, more often, people in xp/bp battles take advantage of uneven battles rather than waiting to make the entirety of the battle even.

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

I have an idea for an Article, it's rather close to this idea, though. Would you mind if I did an Article on XP/BP vs Non Format battles?

[Apokalesp 5]

By the way, what is "F1"? I sometimes see this in chat. Sorry if this is a noob question though!

[Jwimmer 2,835]

By the way, what is "F1"? I sometimes see this in chat. Sorry if this is a noob question though!

It means that the flag carrier is 1 shot from dying. I sometimes use it in normal battles If I have heavily damaged the flag carrier but I died.

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

It means that the flag carrier is 1 shot from dying. I sometimes use it in normal battles If I have heavily damaged the flag carrier but I died.

Hey just want to say congrats on the rankup.  :D

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

By the way, what is "F1"? I sometimes see this in chat. Sorry if this is a noob question though!

"f1" means the person with our flag is 1 shot (out of two) and "f2" means that they're 2 shots (because they haven't been hit yet). Also -1 signals a flip/mult/afk.