Let noobs be noobs - lvl cap

[Hoja Lateralus]

Hi guys
Currently novice lvl cap is 1-7 which I think is incredibly low. Current 7 is tiny bit above old 2. I strongly believe that novices should be around old boundries (so say lvl12) or even higher. I remember when I was a novice I wanted to stay in novice matches longer to be sure not to screw things up for more experienced players in regular games. Since novice players can join regular lobbies anyway* I believe this will not hurt anyone and it will give players opportunity to grow. Firstly it gives high-tier noobs opportunity to polish up their skills even more and experiment a bit. Also, more experienced players may have more to teach the low-tier novice players. I think that lvl 1 - 12-15 would be a good new novice lvl cap.

*I think they have an option Novice/Not Novice lobby in matchmaker

What do you think guys? Does anybody know why novice cap is so low?

[Schwalbe]

Absolutely agree.

[Replaceable]

I think perhaps level is a poor indicator of skill level.
Time in game =/= good at game necessarily.

Maybe trackable achievements?

• Can hit with a hades
• Can prevent fires with chem spray
• Will accept recommended loadouts
• Understands damage system etc.

Cos that's what un novice means to me

[Sprayer]

I disbelieve raising the level cap for novices would help making better matches.
Also, being in novice matches restricts loadout choices and since most people are stupid, they won't find a way to leave the novice matches in order to unrestrict themselves, which in turn would repel new players from the game.
On the low level cap thing: I'd say it's that low because it takes longer to reach lvl12 now than it did doing the 14 easy achievements that were necessary to reach lvl5.

[GeoRmr]

Hides levels because lvl =|= skill

Judges new players on their lvl with novice cap.

Muse 2014

[Hoja Lateralus]

I think level is indicator of experience which has huge impact on player performance. For now player level is the best indicator of his/her skills (we all see matchmaker nonesense "working").

Maybe trackable achievements?

• Can hit with a hades
• Can prevent fires with chem spray
• Will accept recommended loadouts
• Understands damage system etc.

Well it's....questionable at least. I, as engineer, started using chem when I was basically forced to do so by achievements, so around old lvl7 I think. Also many players are good enough without knowing damage system. I know many guys who just listen to their captains and just remember one stuff at the time, so firstly gatling = hull weapon, then good ammo for gatling = greased, etc. etc. Should they be novices although when told stuff they work pretty well? Debatable.

I disbelieve raising the level cap for novices would help making better matches.
Also, being in novice matches restricts loadout choices and since most people are stupid, they won't find a way to leave the novice matches in order to unrestrict themselves, which in turn would repel new players from the game.
On the low level cap thing: I'd say it's that low because it takes longer to reach lvl12 now than it did doing the 14 easy achievements that were necessary to reach lvl5.

I don't have good enough arguments to counter what you said at the moment.
I noticed leveling takes more time than before, I wonder if it was planned or accidentary.

Geo, do you want to get salutes?
Because that's how you get salutes

[Caprontos]

Hides levels because lvl =|= skill

Judges new players on their lvl with novice cap.

Muse 2014

But level dose give an idea of time played, And new players are clearly worse or at lest needing to learn then people who play longer.. but that line gets blurred after a bit.. a level 45 isn't necessarily better then a level 30 for example..

At some point level stops being useful to determine actual skill of a person.. Different roles require different actual skills to be "good" at it, and not just ok at it. If you have a level 45 gunner who misses most of his hades shots.. and a level 20 gunner who hits them all every time - who is the more skilled gunner in your opinion?

The goal with novice cap is to try to figure out what is the average level at which a new person has learned the basics of the game and dose not need to be told very basic info in order to be a productive part of the crew. If it isn't then that should be the goal imo.

[ShadedExalt]

Speaking as a noob that is actually decent at what I do, (at least in my humble opinion) I completely agree with Caprontos.  I can take orders, I know how to repair, I know which guns do which (carronade is for balloons, gat is for armor, flak and mortar are for permahull, etc.) I know about what ammo does, I know how badly chem pisses off Cake and Squids, I can shoot and hit stuff, and you will rarely if ever hear me complain.  Unless people are jumping ship.  Or not letting me get mallet hits in.  But I can deal with that.  I would think all of this is pretty good, but I regularly see people who are much higher in level than me and know less than I do!  I think the level cap should be increased.  Maybe level 10?

[Mean Machine]

I think perhaps level is a poor indicator of skill level.
Time in game =/= good at game necessarily.

Maybe trackable achievements?

• Can hit with a hades
• Can prevent fires with chem spray
• Will accept recommended loadouts
• Understands damage system etc.

Cos that's what un novice means to me

Oh not this argument again please. Of course level matters. There might not be much of a difference between lvl 30 and 45, but there is difference between 5 and 20. Of course there are always few exceptions, but that's rare.
I don't know about everyone else, but when i get lvl 5 on my ship, I expect he doesn't know how to repair properly or what ammo to use for each gun for example-. If I get lvl 20, I expect them to know all that. And there is pretty good chance they know. Plus they are more likely to listen to orders.

Plus skill =/= experience and when people are "complaining" about noobs, they mean unexperienced players, not unskilled.
I don't need super awesome hades gunner, i only need a player that knows generally how to shoot and repair and to listen to captain/crew, because that's what I would expect in non-novice match.

[sparklerfish]

I 100% agree with increasing the novice level cap.  You can achieve level 7 with like 10 matches.  I watched a person complain in global chat the other day that with the new patch they were back to being a novice.  S/he was level 7.  Had played 14 matches.  14 matches is really, really, not a lot.

Is leveling really slower with the new system?  I've found it to be the opposite.  There's no way I would have been level 15 gunner or engineer by now, but I'm 45 both because I didn't have to do any achievements, just play the game.

As you progress and already know the basic game mechanics, sure, I'll grant you that level doesn't necessarily mean skill.  But there is a big, big difference between someone who has played 10 matches and someone who has played 30 matches.  Knowing when to use a mallet and when to use a spanner is basic game mechanics.  Being able to hit with lumberjack from 1500m is acquired skill.  If you can't do the first, you're a novice and it's something you can generally assess by levels.  The second is something acquired by skill and training and levels aren't going to be as much of an indicator.

[Imagine]

Hides levels because lvl =|= skill

Judges new players on their lvl with novice cap.

Muse 2014

Community complains about novices being thrown into vet matches.

Muse does something about it.

Community complains about Muse doing something about it.

Community 2014

[Indreams]

You can achieve level 7 with like 10 matches. [...] Is leveling really slower with the new system?  I've found it to be the opposite.

I've been playing predominantly pilot since I joined GOIO May 16 of this year.
I've got few hundred matches, and I've been playing consistently (about two-three matches a day) since the lvl fix.

I don't know about the speed you get to level 7, but level 14 - 15 -16 has been taking me too long.

So, as a low level player, I'm against raising the novice cap.

My alternative would be graduating novices based on tutorials and matches completed.

Thank you for reading. 

[KitKatKitty]

Hi guys
Currently novice lvl cap is 1-7 which I think is incredibly low. Current 7 is tiny bit above old 2. I strongly believe that novices should be around old boundries (so say lvl12) or even higher. I remember when I was a novice I wanted to stay in novice matches longer to be sure not to screw things up for more experienced players in regular games. Since novice players can join regular lobbies anyway* I believe this will not hurt anyone and it will give players opportunity to grow. Firstly it gives high-tier noobs opportunity to polish up their skills even more and experiment a bit. Also, more experienced players may have more to teach the low-tier novice players. I think that lvl 1 - 12-15 would be a good new novice lvl cap.

*I think they have an option Novice/Not Novice lobby in matchmaker

What do you think guys? Does anybody know why novice cap is so low?

+1 maybe level 1-14.

Hides levels because lvl =|= skill

Judges new players on their lvl with novice cap.

Muse 2014

Community complains about novices being thrown into vet matches.

Muse does something about it.

Community complains about Muse doing something about it.

Community 2014

He's not complaining about what they did, he is simply suggesting an improvement on what they did. I completely agree with him but also am completely happy that Muse did something based off of what the community had suggested.

[Spud Nick]

Matches played is a better indicator of skill than levels. Can we start baseing levels on matches played?

[KitKatKitty]

Matches played is a better indicator of skill than levels. Can we start baseing levels on matches played?

I'm not opposed to this idea either.

Spud would be level 45 and the rest of the levels are scaled down from that :p