Why MWII's Progression System Kills Engagement...
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- Now that we know the exact details on how MWII is handling player progression on a season to season basis, I wanted to share my critical feedback and break down some of the most obvious flaws with this system as well as why I feel the traditional prestige system was far superior for long-term player engagement. What are your thoughts on how they're handling progression in MWII?
Twitch: / thexclusiveace
Twitter: / thexclusiveace
0:00 Intro & Progression Explained
1:52 The Main Flaws with this System
7:33 What I Miss From Traditional Prestige
10:53 What I'd Like to See in the Future
12:00 Wrap Up 
Игры
It's weird how, in a game where the people in charge are so concerned with player retention/engagement, every decision they make actively hurts player engagement and retention.
Was just about to say something similar, it's truly baffling!
Games aren't made by gamers anymore. It's diversity hires and out of touch corporate drones that don't play video games they just know they pay well.
They don’t know what they are doing and more importantly I believe they misinterpret data.
@@bushmonster1702 literally. They think they can get away with drip-feeding content but clearly that isn't the case just by looking at the amount of players this game has lost.
They are doubling down on player retention for their actual target demographic.
Like think about it.
They completely nerfed the "advanced" movement (slide cancelling, rabbit hopping)
The footsteps are extremely loud (probably for the ones who play on the couch no headset and probably a couple meters away from their giant ass TV)
The levels are easily reached by the grinders but for the ones who only play a few games a week after work, they may just barely hit the season cap
Strict SBMM (no explanation needed)
Horrid spawn system (Since the target demographic only plays a few games per week they really don't have time to learn the maps so might as well spawn them right near an enemy to maximize action)
only 4 challenges to get a weapon gold (again only a few games a week, so even they can get a couple of gold guns)
And the massive drop in player count on Steam (most of the target demographic play on console so of course the very passionate PC players get burnt out from the lack of content)
From what I can tell, they've basically diverted all resources for improving the traditional 6v6 experience towards F2P experiences like WZ or DMZ. Between the progression system, the XP cap, the intensely strict SBMM algorithm, disbanding lobbies, and extreme lack of 6v6 content, it's as if they're actively trying to eliminate the draw for 6v6 and its player base.
I hope I'm wrong but I have this sneaking suspicion they are trying to slowly eliminate 6v6 players base so eventually can go back to shareholders to say "look, it's just not worth the effort." Or maybe, that's what the shareholders are indirectly demanding they do.
They saw the success of WZ and they're trying to chase that high again. They don't seem to understand that Battle Royale is a dying genre and that people still want a traditional 6v6 experience from a cod game.
@@0xycon Yeah, like I am hundred percent sure their only doing so poorly on supporting multiplayer because of supposedly how popular warzone 2 is. Which sucks because I am not even interested in warzone whatsoever. I actually prefer Fortnite over warzone. But when I’m not playing Fortnite I’m always playing cod multiplayer.
@@MOON-wi2cj Apex also. The game is still fun to play.
Don’t forget all the resources being poured into designing anime skins and bullet tracers lol
Ace! Hate that you feel like you need to apologize for having negative content. It's not your fault things have been taking a turn for the worse, at least for 6v6. It is difficult to stay positive and put out only positive content for a game that keeps letting you down, by a company that seems completely out of touch with the fanbase.
I think that Season 2 roadmap truly killed any lasting interest I had in CoD so I don't think I'll be around this channel too much anymore, but I appreciate you and what you do and I'll definitely return if CoD gets its redemption arc.
You should still come by to drop a like and comment on his vids! Thats what i do. I only play a couple hours a week after playing religiously for the last decade.
I haven’t played COD for the last 2 years but I do keep up with the game via Xclusive Ace’s channel. Lol. I’m not here for the new guns and best attachments, I’m here for these kind of vids. I’m here because I like Xclusive Ace’s takes on the way this franchise is going. I like hearing the good and the bad. Honestly if they were to ever get it back to how it used to be, I’d most likely start playing again.
Everything the new prestige system does kills enjoyment. Having a cap during seasons instead of just letting us prestige like the old times is so damn stupid. You didn't even have to prestige in the old days if you didn't want to.
“we listened… *(under their breath)* to nothing”
@@Efnol hahahahaha so damn true
I don't see why they tie our level with the season, the season can exist with the battle pass to grind out and we could have a prestige system to grind out.
And if you got max prestige, you could always do a hard rank reset too!
Because it don’t matter either way
i definitely miss the emblem challenges in older cods like mw3… there was a “get 50 double kills with claymores” challenge emblem. so ppl KNEW you were an insane grinder with those kinds of challenges. and you got something to show for it.
They wouldn't need to trick and manipulate players into playing their game if they just made a better game in the first place.
Cut 'em some slack, they only had 3000 developers and 3 years to come up with one good idea. That's basically nothing when your studio's collective capacity for good work is that of a 6 year old.
@@theradiobox5965 That is an INSULT to 6 Year Olds, their Creativity is 100 times that of Infinity Ward. Can't wait for 2024, that's all I can say.
@@DeadSpacedOut To hell with this franchise tbh. Haven't played since WWII (the last good one) and a few months of MW19 and have been watching from afar as it gets even worse and worse.
@@theradiobox5965 2999 janitors and one dev is what they meant
This is one of the MANY reasons, why my motivation to play this game is utterly destroyed
I said it a lot but Im actually happy I quit COD. It feels like I left a sinking ship😢
@@tubularcandy812 On god lmao
But you save just enough motivation to comment on the game
Yup I started playing overwatch I can't anymore it makes no fun anymore
@@dylonvr9595 ppl can watch Ace's videos and comment without having motivation to play the game bro
i was never a camo or prestige grinder but i use too always grind calling cards... what u said is 1000% true. calling cards matters less when u can just buy most of them or challenges aren't hard or important
The og mw2 calling cards were the best
Mw3 you mean
@@erick333x mw3 copied mw2 calling cards
the crazy thing is when mw2(2022) came out there was a glitch to get all calling cards and emblems in the game. since this has been patched only some calling cards are available to unlock, but none of the emblems, for instance i have a shark emblem that’s not in the game. the files are in the game they just hold them from us for no reason
@@rajs4719 hell yes bro, mw2 calling cards were super good. They had 2500 kill, 1000 headshot calling card challenges for every gun in the game. Now it's all just a bunch of artwork you can purchase.
I wish they'd bring back the BO2 prestige system. That was my favorite. You keep your camos, and with every prestige, you get to permanently unlock one weapon of your choice. But you have to upgrade the weapons again, and unlock them again. That was my favorite system of them all
I agree, but I feel a lot less interested in Prestiging when I have to go thru ALL the Weapon Levels again. Even just taking MWII into account, you'd need to level up all Weapons again, meaning, if you wanted access to every Attachment, you'd need to relevel 20 or so levels for 51 or so Weapons, EVERY SINGLE PRESTIGE and that Weapon Count is only gonna rise every Season. I think that would be way too ridiculous, it'd feel like going to Master Prestige, every single Prestige. All Attachments should just stay Unlocked, and all previously unlocked Weapons should have to be re-unlocked. This could also pose a problem though, as DLC Weapons might have to be re-unlocked thru their respective stupid unlock requirements. Imo, to avoid this issue, if you've already unlocked them, they could either make them immediately available, after Prestiging, or Alternatively, they could make it so DLC Weapons are unlocked at certain ranks (between 1 and 55) alongside other Weapon Unlocks, but that would ONLY include the DLC Weapons you actually have already unlocked. So if you unlocked the Crossbow and Victus XMR, but not the M13B, then you'd unlock the VIctus XMR at Rank 34 and the Crossbow at Rank 55, but the M13B would still be locked behind the Challenge, and any progress towards it would be saved, every Prestige.
Bo4 also had a good version. It was very similar but instead of weapon attachment progression being tied to the normal prestige, you could instead individually prestige each weapon. It would be cool if they did that again but had a camo or multiple camos you could get for hitting different prestiges
@@WellCookedPotatoes beeg yoshi
@@DeadSpacedOut That's why BO2 had separate weapon prestiges. You'd have to unlock the weapons, but they didn't reset to zero like MW3 upon rank prestige.
@@scottjs5207 I thought the original commenter said that you had to "upgrade the weapons again" but I don't wanna re-unlock all the attachments and camos again, just the weapons themselves.
With an arbitrary XP cap and SBMM/EOMM + content drip feed there is almost 0 incentive to play. Its almost like they want 6v6 to die. I completely agree with your point on how it makes going for challenges (and playing the objective for that matter) useless
ive been playing since og mw2 and used to spend hours playing every day. this remade mw2 has so shitty sbmm i get burned out and quit after 2-3 matches. who the hell thinks this kind of system is good for player retention?
Boom
If you have no incentive to play then why are you here over 3 years after MW19?
@Dr. Spatula cause I like fps games, why the fuck else?
Agreed. There is zero incentive to try and win games. The only thing to do is to earn camos on weapons.
I love how thorough Ace is in every one of his videos. This video explained every singular flaw with the seasonal progression and the "Prestige" system. Sometimes I wish COD was run and developed by actual members of the community like Ace!
Blizzard does this for Diablo 3 and its been gangbusters.
Its crazy how easy it is to agree with Ace, he really understands what made call of duty great. Just like he said in the video we only complain cause we care about the game being good.
I would like to see a system similar to that of black ops 2 where you can prestige your level and your weapon. Maybe the benefits for level prestiging can be extra create a class slots for the first five prestiges and reward you with operator skins or blueprints for the last however many prestiges there are. For weapon prestige have maybe five prestiges and lock gold behind prestige 2, platinum behind 3, polyatomic (or equivalent) behind 4, and have orion (or equivalent) behind 5, each of which still have challenges but no long shots!!
That system worked for titanfall 2!
@@bemusedmusician807 Damn sounds like I missed out on that!
One of the best calling cards I ever got was in BO2 with the multi kill one. I had 12 kills in a matter of seconds and it was so cool to show that I was a great player. Now there’s nothing that shows off your skill.
I also loved how BO2 had that system when you prestiged that you could perma unlock items for future prestiges. Having a VSAT from level 1 was just godly.
There is a calling card display like bo2
@@theiceman979 no he means that back in the older cods, there were calling cards/emblems that only unlocked under certain situations. I.e. killing an enemy with a care package, 8-man kill, nuclear. It used to be a lot more engaging to get those calling cards you wanted. Sometimes they were rare so when you got them, you could flex. Those days are over. Just fork over 30 bucks and you get some cool looking stuff.
@@FaytSypher still semi there tho wish they brought back the dark ops challenges like in bo3 those were pretty cool to see in peoples displays
@@theiceman979 that’s my point exactly bro. We’re making the same point. It’s barely there meaning it’s not like it used to be haha I also agree that I miss those Dark Challenges! Those were fun to figure out in bo3
I remember permanently unlocking the FG-42 for WaW for some code that Blockbuster gave me. In BO2 I'd also perma unlock the AN-94 and M8A1
The purpose of the current progression system which was introduced with MW2019 is to serve as yet another type of Safe Space for New/"Lower Skilled Players". Joe Cecot wanted to prevent that they would feel intimidated and inferior by seeing other players with a much higher rank. Likewise, the previous progression system would also have made it much easier spot Joe Cecot's manipulative SBMM/EOMM, simply by comparing the Rank of the players in different lobbies!
I hate Joe Cecot
Hear hear!
I also recall getting a bonus prestige token for MW3 for prestiging in MW2
My fav prestige system ever was in MW3. Like you mentioned you could unlock any 1 item every time you prestiged to keep permanently. That kept me playing until Prestige 20 and after. Absolutely loved it
Once you hit max rank, any xp you earn after that should be banked like currency and you should be allowed to spend it in a "Prestige Shop" which offers a variety of items like calling cards, weapon skins, and weapon challenge bypass tokens. This will obviously never happen because Activision would rather have you spend real money, but I think it would be a fun system.
Black Ops Cold War.
They had it in Cold War where every prestige you would earn a prestige token that you could spend on calling cards and emblems. Would be awesome if they brought that back
I miss the barracks and unlocks in the og mw2. It took me forever to get the emblem for getting kills with thrown back frags, and it felt like such an accomplishment when I finally could display it.
The way you are able to describe exactly how I feel is always insane. You explain the issues so well.
I miss old cod more than ever after watching this
3:14 basically how 90% of us been feeling for the past month or so
Idk personally I never cared about my levels in cod, I hated prestiging and just wanted to grind out weapons, I do hate this particular leveling system tho, I miss vanguards system.
Cod was never about levels for me, it was always about the weapons (hot take maybe)
Not a hot take at all.
I never gave a damn about prestige either.
I just wanted to be the best player I could be to get wins.
I would intentionally never prestige because losing my maxed out weapons meant losing more matches.
And eff losing!!
I 100% agree
He's completely correct I would do this too
@@MOBROOKS well it feels like no one tries to win anyways since they changed the prestige system. Every game is just people trying to complete camo challenges.
@B Ray would you support annual releases and a new camo grind every year? That's what ace has stated he wants, a new game every year for progression and content
Great points made here. And I appreciate the response from your last video. Keep up the good work man.
If activision wasn’t making make such bad games, they’d have the money to hire you. Seriously, I can’t believe they haven’t contracted you out yet for the information you provide. Top tier man.
You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the rewarding feeling of re-unlocking things each prestige. I loved rediscovering new guns and new play styles in one prestige that I ignored during a prior one. Thinking, "oh this gun didn't click for me last prestige, but I'm tearing up lobbies right now with it" made it feel like you really were progressing as a player.
The biggest issue I find, and I repeat this everytime, are the timed perks and not having 10v10 available as a MP mode. 10v10 is all I played from 2019 MW as it was always action packed. Timed perks can be a good idea, but they're a problem as you have to wait mid-game to get the Ghost perk which is stupid. By the time that happens and, if the opposing team gets lucky with constant UAVs, then it's over.
I'm a latecomer to modern CoD. I started playing MW 2019 in 2021. The last CoD game I had played was MW2, splitscreen with my buddies, in 2012.
When I was struggling to figure out MW 2019 I was totally overwhelmed by the multiple leveling systems. Player level/prestige was especially baffling and I felt like I must be missing something, because it seemed to be a bizzarely capped playtime counter.
Your explanation of the old prestige system really helps me understand why it exists and why the current system is so vague and flaccid.
I had high hopes for MW2, but I'm quite convinced I'll spend my money elsewhere in the future. You're probably right: metrics over engagement.
It’s because they want you to come back every season to buy bundles and the like. They may not keep you hooked in between paid bundle content drops at the start of seasons, but they get you back into the game when said bundles drop…
Keep the critical videos coming!! People as big as you (may put he devs on notice) are our only hope
Hey Ace... I'd like to know your real opinion... Do you believe we'll ever get a classic cod experience again?
I always share my real opinions. I have no idea what the future holds but I do hope we'll eventually start moving back in the direction of the classic experience at least in some areas
@@TheXclusiveAce Real opinions?
Boobs or butt?
Thanks for answering! The state of cod during the last couple of years has been heartbreaking for the players that care about the franchise...
I enjoyed the old prestige system. When I hit max lvl the first time in original MW2, wich was my first CoD, I was kinda anxious about prestiging. I had my weapons unlocked, loved the MP7 and the ACR and did not want to lose them. Eventually I did hit the scary prestige button and had a lot of fun. I used my first unlock token to unlock the MP7. I would love to have that back.
MP7 wasnt in MW2 but true
@@Ben36HipHop Bro, I thought it was until I saw your reply. it was in MW3, I'm assuming he's talking about MW3, that one was my favorite COD MP. Well, that or Bo1.
I really like Titanfall 2’s “Pilot Regeneration” system, their version of prestige. First, they have 100 levels of Regeneration for the player, so if you see someone who’s level is G100.49, you know this person’s hit max level a ton, and you don’t need to memorize what the small icon next to all the other level 50s means in CoD. You also have separate Regenerations for your Pilot, Weapons, and Titans, each one rewarding you with exclusive Camos to go with each new generation. I remember WWII did something close with Gold Leopard, Gold Cheetah, and Chrome Tiger. I know it won’t happen, but if BO6 introduced that, along with bringing back Prestige Keys, people would probably be grinding that game until Warzone 3 comes out…
Man, I didn't even notice the lack of calling card visibility mid-match until you mentioned it. I was actually proud of my calling card but knowing nobody is ever likely to see it kinda kills that
I had completely forgot about all this. As a player who quit cod for years. A lot of small things like this add up to kill the whole experience. If they hired you and put you in charge of things, CoD would be the best it’s ever been and sell in new record numbers
I can't figure out their thought procress. Do they think a high ranking will intimidate new people? If so that's a terrible reason. I stopped playing awhile ago when I hit 250 and it would have literally kept me interested in playing if I could actually have something to do. XP is useless and has been for over a month now, tokens are worthless, and it takes away any reason for me to play anymore. I can't find any logic in the decision
even if that was the case, hell 250 is not even the slightest way to create an "intimidating" player level for newcomers or anyone in general
GTA has 8000 levels, and everyone starts from 1, max level players are probably modders, so seeing that probably is not a huge deal, but seeing someone that has legitimately made it up there above the 3k's means it's someone with a lot of playtime, a lot of stuff and probably a lot of experience in the game, they're someone that you might lose against if you dont know what you're doing
Its a feature for casuals so they wont get scared off. Its the same reason why BF2042 took months to put in a scoreboard.
But with how EOMM works, even bad players will see high levels so it's pointless.
@@tburns957 Because being Lv1 and seeing someone at level 250 won't scare them off? If that was true then the current system would break. In prestige you'd only see 1-55 generally, they'd always loop back to 1 and go to 55. The only way to be afraid was to understand the system... in which case you're not afraid.
Idea for a new levelling system.
Idea:
Levels 1-55 - base level
Then you are given the option to prestige.
You are reset to level 1 but earn prestige 1 (everything reset, gun levels etc)
Prestige 1 - level up to 1000.
Then given the option to prestige to 2nd prestige.
Rinse and repeat until prestige 10 level 1000 which is max level cap.
(This levelling system is like the overall rank, so this continues in the background through the life cycle of the game)
Season updates - introduce season ranking (this is a sub ranking system, leveling coincides with the other levelling system) - seasons are 3 months long:
250 season ranks.
5 tiers of ranking/rewards:
Levels 1-50 = unlocks contracts/challenges for stickers/gun charms
Levels 51-100 = unlocks contracts/challenges for emblems/calling cards
Level 101-150 = unlocks contracts/challenges for unique gun camos
Level 151-200 = unlocks contracts/challenges for unique operator skins
Level 201-250 (max rank for season) - unlocks contracts/challenges for super rare gun blueprints and or/operator.
Cross progression between Multiplayer - DMZ - Warzone 2.
This is why I always say. Just delete the level cap and make the levels 1K, 2K, 3K, etc.
The old prestige system was so much better, all they have to do is make Prestige 10 the cap prestige (Cold War's prestige icon picker system once you hit up to level 1000 after Prestige 10) and just add 1,000 levels per season.
Great job, Ace! The frustration I hear in yours and Espresso’s voice while talking about this game mimicks mine. I was a die hard 5 days a weeks 10-5pm. Now, I can hardly stand to get on the game.
keep going at it ace. we need people like you to fix this franchise and all the mindbogglingly horrible decisions they make
Hang in there Ace
What is the green gun & what optic has it got?
so theres no prestige mode in mw2? ive been thinking of buying the game since its on sale but should I jus stick with mw2019?
Unfortunately the new season continues to neglect MP and I have no intention on purchasing the battlepass or ranking up to 450… 500 whatever it is. Progression system is horrible. Now the rumor of a new MW in 8 months. I’m over COD!!
This game's going to need an overhaul like WW2 to stand any chance of staying alive. And Infinity Ward will undoubtedly never deliver that.
First modern COD in history to have 0 new 6v6 maps after almost 4 months of the game being out, truly amazing. COD 2.0: a new era of mediocrity
Battlefield 2042 went 9 months before season 1 even started and got 1 new map……
@@BanKai-_- And?
That feeling of logging on to seeing a double XP event but it's only account XP and you maxed your level months ago.
I would love to see the traditional prestige system make a return! It's so good you can go back a decade later an still have the same goals as when the game launched.
Do you think Activision is again pandering to newer players and assuming they would be *intimidated* by playing against people with super high leveled accounts?
Yes.
They’re definitely catering to the casual. It makes good sense business wise, but ultimately is a detriment to the quality of the game
They made so many changes to Call Of Duty in general that's just awful. They changed things that NOBODY asked for them to change and yet won't fix the things we want them to fix. What is going on at management?
Could it be a fun way of prestiging if you reset your weapon level too and unlock all the attachements again? But doing that will grant another set of iron sights for that gun. And you could choose to use them. So they are just maybe upgradet a little or Made just a bit clearer. I think that would make it feel like there is so much more variety and stuff to gring for
Also could you do a video on best suppressors for damage range and bullet velocity
This is 100% I remember in black ops 1 I would use the enfield at the start of every prestige! It was my early AR before unlocking the FAMAS. I miss the old days so much. I’ve basically lost hope for multiplayer now. Haven’t played since Cold War and just hope treyarch can give me one more good game before I finally give up for good
I will never understand the reasoning behind the change, no matter how much they try to explain it, it will never make sense! Once you hit level 55 player XP means nothing, personally after I hit 55 & have unlocked everything it actually makes me want to play LESS not more & resetting my rank at the start of each season also doesn't incentive me to want to rank up again it actually has the complete opposite effect! COD lost its way when MW2019 came out & its been going backwards ever since!
100% agree. I have the most time played in MW3 and I went as far as getting to 20th prestige and then resetting and doing it all over again.
was it bo2 or bo3 that introduced master prestige levels? i miss that so much, that extra bit of grind for players like me on top of getting max prestige was perfect
I definitely don’t miss losing attachments on a prestige reset. Liked how Cold War did it.
At least it puts some variety in the gameplay. Everyone has the meta guns with the meta attatchments in the first week and never use anything else all year long...its fu*kin boring
@@d8l835 meta guns? What are those? I've never used one and haven't heard people give a shit outside of steamers playing Warzone
@@d8l835 It's always been that way. It's just intensified more with this dog water SBMM. Can't go a match without a Vaznev or 74u riot shield pre flash spam corner jumping sweat.
@@Dr.Spatula is this an attempt at a facetious comment or you just trying to be an ass?
@@will_9910 its amplified with sbmm sure, because people feel they cant compete if they arent using the best setups and with the horrible algorithm making every match brutal you are more concerned about not getting obliterated for using a sub par class
Great video, the entire video game industry is heading down the path of programming “fairness” into the game for the most casual of players, at the expense of the actual fans of the franchise.
I miss the multiplayer grind of reunlocking weapons across prestiges for multiplayer, but unfortunately that system just wouldn’t work for Warzone, a mode where I like having access to all my weapons all the time. It’s a tough spot to manage both communities around one progression system.
In older cods I only prestige because I get to unlock an extra loadout every time (from 5 to 10), but now we have 10 by default. Imagine if only we can get to 15 loadouts with a similar prestige system for future cod that would amazing.
I honestly prefer this system over the prestige system I don’t like being forced too reset my gun progress too continue leveling up
For real, it took forever to get your stuff back sometimes
That’s exactly why you just don’t prestige and just stay the same level when you hit max….
Its because you like easy life buddy 👍. Real Chads start it over to enjoy it like it’s the first time . That’s how it works.
how hard is it for them to just make it infinite levels or something big like 10,000 considering they had plans for 2 yrs at start
Ace. You make a lot of good points. I honestly would prefer if they went back to the old traditional prestige system, sure, it wasn’t perfect but at least it gave us something to work towards for the entirety of the year. The good thing is, even though I completely stop going for daily challenges once I reach the max level early every season. I actually don’t have that issue where I don’t want to play anymore. Because I generally only play a couple days a week. And I am always constantly working towards the camo grind for the whole year. But if we’re to ever unlock the Orion camo, then I would definitely run into the same issue of not wanting to play anymore each and play other games.
Man I really miss the old prestige system where after you hit the max level and all of your weapon progress resets along with everything else resets but you get a sweet little token to unlock anything you want. Nothing like the good ole days.
the vanguard and cold war system was good to me didn't really grind vanguard like that but cold war was fun going thru the levels and "prestiges"
They need to hire you as a consultant Ace! You have great ideas!
7:17 - "The other poor decisions that I feel they have been making over the years" - To be more precise, all of these problems can be traced back to a single moment in time - The release of MW2019... One year we had a COD which followed the Tried & Tested formula that had worked so extremely well for the past 10+ years, and the next year we got Joe "Safe Spaces" Cecot's MW2019!!!
Restarting your progress after you prestiged made a lot of sense because they still gave you a prestige token you can use if you wanted to not wait to get to level 50 for a gun or a perk. However, the point was that you had to make a choice as to what was more important for you and you had to make the decision. Now it is just pointless as, as soon as you unlock everything you have noting else to play for.
I downloaded the game today to jump back on and unlocking my SMGs to Gold...finished 2 and working on another and completing challengers through playing the game. Got quite a bit of XP today, but has I am lvl 250 where is that XP going? Part of the reason I stopped playing around a month ago
I reached lvl250 and dark matter camo back in november and have not touched the game since
Counter Point: As a casual, I appreciate that the levels are reachable. I would actually consider grinding. Previous titles were too far out of reach for me.
Agree. And this is one of the reasons Black Ops 1 had such a long life. Prestige levels, cod points (earned in game) to unlock guns and camos etc, wager match to earn extra cod points, daily challenges for more cod points. And gold camo cost like 50000 cod points and you could only unlock it after 14 prestige. So you still had incentive to do wager matches and challenges AFTER max prestige (well until you unlocked all gold camos).
But these days, a simple play to earn thing like cod points from BO1 (not the modern paid for cod points) that could be used to buy/unlock camos that are otherwise paywalled would definitely keep player counts. So if the game was actually fun like in BO1/BO2/MW3 and had less SBMM which drives away good players and makes people play less each day because they get frustrated, this system would work. (obviously the prestige system/cod points/unlocks don't work if the game isn't fun and you quit after 2 weeks like me in Cold War)
Also notice they barely give us double WEAPON XP anymore - once I fully max out all weapons (which will be soon) not sure what the reason to play will be after hitting the level cap.
I really miss the old prestige system. And I liked what sledgehammer did with it in AW, at that half way mark through the year when people usually finish it and have nothing to do they randomly went and added another 15 gold prestiges with an update and every time you prestiged through those you got one of the best blueprints from the supply crates. That was a crazy fun year when it comes to the levelling and actually getting rewarded for it. I’d love to see a grind like that again, 20 to 30 prestiges (I think it was 30 in aw) where the first half are normal and the second half are gold and give rewards that would be good to see happen, just give us a reason to fully grind, not just 250 levels and a battlepass with 100 levels both of which can be finished within the first couple weeks of the 60 day season
Trying to bump the monthly player count metric with this system makes sense, but realistically with the old system even the hardcore players would take a few months to get to max prestige (especially the games with 20 prestiges or 1000 master prestige levels), and those people that dedicated to playing the game aren’t just gonna stop playing when they reach the cap. The other 95% of players will never reach the cap so they’ll always be back every month. The game just being tragic in general is driving down monthly player count a lot more than the old prestige system was.
I can only play a few hours (maximum) on the weekends, and it doesn’t take long at all to currently max out level
It's like how Netflix drip feeds shows like stranger things now days. It's to keep engagement for longer not because people don't want to watch it all at once but for shareholder metrics. Characters skins don't have challenges to unlock variants too so a whole type of grinding there is gone too.
Did they get rid of the Border Crossing map? I havent gotten it once since Season 2 started 🤔
There needs to be a huge movement in this community and come to together and let them know what we want and don't want very clearly.
Which community? The primarily casual community that doesn't care about prestige? The multiplayer community that's never happy and can't agree on anything? The warzone community that doesn't even know what 6v6 or prestige are?
@dr.spatula1064 warzone is the only casual community honestly only people really who spend money on this crap are people that actually wanna play cod not burn some time. But idk something needs to change tho..
@nickflamingdude2 sorry, but you're wrong. Multiplayer is mostly casuals who just play a few hours a week. It's always been that way, especially before this battle royal bullshit
My guy Ace! I enjoy watching your vids, been following you for a few COD's now. Have you ever tried to reach out to these developers with your concerns and ideas. I've been playing COD since the original Modern Warfare 2 2009! The gameplay of Black Ops 1/2, MW 2/3 were the best in the series imo. Since then I've seen the play style change so much that its really not fun anymore. With all this capping of XP, the constant changing of lobbies, not enough 6v6 MP content, maps are too small and the no new map creativity, every new game they find a way to recycle old maps just to keep us entertained. I remember when it was all about the 6v6 MP experience/ content, you couldn't wait to jump in to MP, now with WZ / DMZ craze it seems they want to focus more on those larger scale experiences and treat the 6v6 MP like the story line...find a way to eliminate it. I'm at a point where I won't buy these games at launch anymore, I'll start buying them after the holidays used at Gamestop when the price drops to $15.99. I hope these clowns at Treyarch, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer read these comments and figure it out! Peace!
Omg thank you! I thought I was the only one that liked starting over and re-unlocking guns and attachments, I understand why people didn't like that but what's the difference to not prestiging and capping out at 55 or what we have now where we are capped at 200 then "prestige" with the next season? The only difference is people like me that like working for something can have something to do... I haven't played cod for months now because I have nothing to grind for, I'm working on cammos but like you said why waste the XP on a capped level when I can wait till session 2
Not just leveling. The resrt also was great because you would look forward playing your gun the way ur used to play it (MP7 with Supressor and Rapid Fire) for example. So you get that dopamine hit once you play a gun you're familiar with with the vest attatchments ur used to.
Well Said! My feelings exactly and matches my sentiment. I enjoy the long grind and completing challenges.As soon as I hit the cap (lvl 250) I played less and less. Some weapons I have not maxed, I stopped using, because I didnt want that Exp points wasted. Over all, I am very happy with the game (MW2), but wish they would improve these areas you mention in the vid. Thanks for all you do Ace, hope they get the message!
Are they gonna give us back to The opticall challenges
I think one of the most rarely realized benefits of the prestige system was that it helped prevent stale metas and reduce potential toxic loadouts. Since players were eventually having their weapon unlocks reset, most players in a lobby would not have access to everything. Sure at 55, you had everything but one you prestiged and were stuck in the 20s again, you wouldn't have access to all the best guns. If something like claymores was stuck at level 52, most players would not have it thus reducing their usage. We kind of still see this with certain gun attachments such as akimbo pistols where you have to grind the pistol to a high level but more the most part, everyone has a full toolkit for the rest of the game once you reach level 55
Part of the problem with MWII, that links back to its progression system, is that right now there is barely anything to unlock. The only reward for daily challenges is XP, but this far into the season, almost everyone is already max rank, so there is no reason to try for challenges. WWII had a good side to the otherwise questionable supply drop system by adding mega grind challenges to get a ton of supply drops (something like "Play 100 games in a Week" to get 50 Rare supply drops), which incentivized people playing the game as much as possible. Even MW had things you could earn in the daily challenges, like emblems and stickers, which gave you a reason to come back every day. MWII doesn't, and there is so little to unlock it really makes you feel like they don't care. Given that this is already rumors of another COD this year, it feels like Activision has just given up. So much for the "Unprecedented Level of Support" we were promised.
Great point on the metrics that devs seem to care about. I feel that (and you've eluded to this too) they often times are also trying to be "innovative" instead of just doing what works, and what people enjoy. At the end of the day, if they keep making money and hitting their metrics, they have no incentive to change things
3:25 I feel myself here a lot with the camo challenges. I've been banging them out, mostly at max level, so there's a huge amount of XP waste going on that ACTIVELY hurts when I see it disappear on the Match Recap screen. I feel like the only possible remedy to this, without changing the leveling system itself, would be to store that XP for the next season. However, even that would be a terrible choice, because it would just extend the problem out to a later date. Eventually that xp will come in and take away a bunch of levels from the finite pool, and then the next season would be effectively shorter.
This system is just unfixable without addressing the fundamental problem of LIMITING PROGRESS through a time gate.
6:20 Not to mention, earlier in Season 1 I was trying to check out what I had earned from becoming Max level. If you went into the progression tab, though, you were only functionally able to look through the options already displayed on screen, because trying to move left or right would kick you out of the screen back to the main menu. So, for a while until they fixed that, I didn't even KNOW what I was being rewarded for leveling up, save for the last few items. It can't feel rewarding if I never even knew I unlocked it, and can't go back to look at it without the game bugging out.
I liked the way it worked in WW2... guns were separate, and you had tokens to unlock those specific guns and killstreaks you preferred ahead of time.
Love your content Ace, you are spot on in this video
i thought it was 500 capped. yeah i agree i miss the old prestige system. MW3 i enjoyed the grind so much
Thanks Ace for making the critical videos, someone need to talk. And your voice reaches out!
I'm the exact same way, I miss leveling up through the prestiges as well
Every time someone talks about the current progression system I remember how much I loved BO2’s prestige and weapon prestige systems. I probably reset my FAL four or five times because it was fun to start from scratch again. Wish they would bring that back.
i miss the old prestige system so much, ever since they changed it i haven't played cod nowhere near as much. i used to love getting to max rank and then hitting that prestige button while in the lobby and hearing the random people comment also use to love picking on mates that didn't want to prestige and making them prestige "went both ways" those were the best days of cod. what they call prestige now definitely is not prestige its just another level
This is why Its been since Christmas holiday that I last played MW2 when we had double XP week. I unlocked every attachment & maxed out every weapon. Nothing left to do 🤷🏽♂️
They need to come out with the prestige system that when you hit the prestige button, you have the option to prestige everything or just your person and not your weapon skins/levels. But if you do prestige everything you got like a little extra reward for doing so. I think that alone would make more engagement for the levels. They already have in place now.
I miss the prestige system. I really loved how they did it in BO3. The prestige badges had such sick designs that it sometimes made me not want to prestige just to keep it.
You know what I really loved from MW 2019? Objective based skins, I felt sooooo fulfilled to have the ice blue skin you had to grind for, it felt niche, didn’t see many ppl with it. I know why they forwent that model, cause of purchasable skins. But like come on, they can both co-exist and we know it
I 100% agree I have Orion and Max rank over a month ago and I don't even feel like a hardcore grinder although I do play often but over the last month I have barely played at all because there's nothing to go for and the new season seems like even less than the first.
I often say that Season 2 of COD is always my make or break time. I either get reengaged and play until the next one comes out or I stop playing until right before the next one comes out and sadly this is feeling like the latter.
See i’m in the same boat as you except my dumbass decided to do it in the first 2 1/2 weeks of this game launching lol like I thought, after I got Orion that there would be another camo grind for like an obsidian but I guess they’re not implementing that in this game they could’ve at least given us a blueprint challenges like MW 19
They even made a point to highlight how Daily Challenges would be granting XP and that doing them unlocks another set for even more XP. Then they made to where the menu takes up and entire corner of your screen. Finally someone brought up metrics!!. It's literally why they made DMZ, farm the inept people, similar to Outbreak (CW). In the end everything in this game feels meaningless, theres not even a sense that these next CoDs mould together, I feel more solitude then ever before.
I remember seeing Master Prestige in BO2 and always thought you were the better player, so I grinded a total 30 days of in-game time. Afterwards, I reset everything to get to Eraser calling card because I wanted to get the calling cards (imo I think BO2 Prestige system was the best). That meant something to me and I wanted to grind the game again. Unfortunately, BO2 is now riddled with hackers and it's generally unsafe to play on the older games so I didn't get to Master Prestige again
BO2 Plutonium is great, safe and runs pretty nicely. Also, you can unlock everything at the start, if you want.
@@lionheart4109 I've played Plutonium after I'd purchased BO2 (still a $60 game on Steam for some reason) but I need a new computer to play on it. My current one can't play it without essentially dying on me after a couple of matches
I prefer the old system as well. What was also cool in one of the older games is it would you your max prestige icons from previous CODs in your calling card emblem. What a way to show you multi year progression.
Ace playing like a beast with the FTAC!