Strider Hiryu

Hmmmm, I guess I'm really glad I didn't buy it. While I thought it was fun in the beta it sounds like they nerfed and changed things around (then again I played like 3 matches and didn't pick it back up). I'm also guessing this is why most of the Hardcore Veteran COD gamers are switching to games like CS:GO and Siege since the TTK is so bad now.

The DIvision for the most part is a solo based game. Hell you can even go into Dark Zones by yourself if you're feeling brave. They've said more then a few times that the whole story/campaign can be played by yourself and was designed to be that way. Multiplayer is pretty much for Dark Zones only as when you're playing the story you are in your own instance (similar to the system used for Class Story missions in The Old Republic, no one else can enter it unless you are partied with them). Dark Zones however put you into a public server where anyone who is in that DZ can see you and attack you or help you depending on how they want to play it. They've never really said how long the "story" of the game is but since it's being made in the vein of an MMO you're probably looking at 10-15 hours of story with more to come in future expansions/dlc. I'm sure they're discounting it to generate more interest in it or to help those, like you, who are skeptical of the game. If you spend $40 on it you won't be so pissed if it sucks unlike those like me who dropped $90 on the Gold Edition of the game or those who dropped $180+ on the Collector's Edition. Ubisoft is generally really good about releasing quality games and you usually get what you see in trailers and gameplay videos (hell look at Siege, that game is exactly how it was marketed and I have yet to hear any negative things about it besides the usual balance tweaks being needed and what not). Watch Dogs is probably the only real title I've seen them release that wasn't exactly what we were promised. I'm still skeptical about FFXV. While it looks pretty that combat system still bugs me and I honestly don't have the time to invest 60+ hours into another game (I'll probably still be play DA: Inquisition and MGSV when it releases). Based on reviews from reputable sources I may buy it but I will not pre-order it. Since AC7 is taking place in the Strangereal universe I'll definitely be buying it now.

I don't think we'll have to worry about getting any FPS style RPGs on handhelds anytime soon. Why? Well Nintendo knows that they're making the bulk of their money off their handheld systems and while yes there are still adults that buy and play handheld games the market has always been marketed and targeted toward young children. Most children are going to want easy to understand mechanics when they play a game hence the reason why Pokemon is still such a simple game mechanically to this day. Even though the game has changed in many ways and added so much more to do the game at it's core it's still just catching pokemon and battling other trainers. Nintendo will never compromise this and that's why turn-based RPGs will still remain the way they are on the DS at least. Plus when you get down to it the 3DS is no where near as powerful as a Vita or a console and probably never will be (believe me when I tell you the graphics are pretty bad on it and cartoony as hell. The best graphics I've seen on the 3DS are N64 era games). Plus you also have to remember the DS systems are still cartridge based, they have yet to make the jump to optical yet so you're extremely limited to what you can do. Vita is another thing entirely. That handheld is actually made for and marketed at the current generation and our generation. This will be the handheld that will probably see the death of turn-based RPGs because atm the graphics are on par with PS2 generation games and since the younger generation this is marketed at was the start of the ADHD generation you'll see more RPGs like FFXIII on it. Sony, while making good decisions with the PS4, has made nothing but terrible decisions when it comes to the handheld market. Look at the PSP. Not only did that handheld not sell well it wasn't even on the market that long before they pulled it to release the Vita (fuck, every generation of the Gameboy was on the market for at least 3-4 years before the next incarnation came out). While the Vita is doing well (and I would like to get one) Sony is going to need gimmicky games like fps style RPGs to even keep the system viable. On the graphical thing look how long it's taken handhelds to get to where they are now. We saw massive jumps in what consoles could do in times frames of 5-6 years and we still do (though the current generation and past generation of consoles saw minor leaps due to the lack of time in between releases). Gameboy didn't even get to SNES generation graphics until the Advance which was the third generation for the handheld and 12 years after the original Gameboy released (1989 was the release of the original Gameboy, 2001 was the release of advance). The 3DS is the fifth generation for Nintedo's handheld line and we're still stuck at SNES/N64 style graphics with the ability to utilize 3D tech (which is honestly not all that great, I have the 3D aspect turned off on my 3DS because it hurts my eyes). By the time the DS sees Vita style graphics we'll either all be done gaming or we'll be playing VR games since that seems to be the direction Sony and Microsoft are going. So long story short I don't see FFXIII style RPGs ever becoming a thing for the DS line of handhelds for probably another 5-10 years at the earliest (and even then I'm going to say 15 years because I don't think Nintendo will make the push until it's absolutely necessary) unless Nintendo rolls out another, more powerful handheld in the next few years. Vita on the other hand will if it already hasn't (I don't pay attention to Vita games since I don't own one and most of the games just don't interest me when I actually do). Turn-based RPGs will remain around for awhile yet and when they do die out we can still go on Steam and buy them all up as Steam gets ahold of them.

This is where my problem lies. Paywalls should never be a thing for console games and if this happens the future of gaming is bleak indeed. Just because it works well for MMO's doesn't mean it will work well for games like Destiny that are at their core just shooters. Plus Destiny will never be F2P, Activision will never allow a AAA title to come out for free. There will always be a $60+ price tag on a core Destiny game. That's the problem with pre-ordering, you're taking a shot in the dark hoping the game you're getting is what was promised to you. Honestly Destiny is only the second game I've ever wanted my money back for after pre-ordering it (the first was Halo 2). Don't get me wrong I've been plenty disgusted at some of the games I've pre-ordered in the past (Dante's Inferno, Armored Core 5, etc) but I've never felt like I've wasted my money. I got enjoyment out of all those games and while some were aggravating as all hell I still enjoyed them. Battlefront is actually a great game and had a great launch it just suffers from balance tweaks (which some have been implemented, hello Barrage nerf), lack of squads, and some side favoring on a few maps. Honestly my only gripes about the game are the same ones I had for COD games and Battlefield games (like certain weapons being OP and what not). I'll always pre-order games and that's mostly because I feel I need to buy every Collector's Edition for every game I want (an expensive compulsion). However, I only pre-order games from developers I trust and those are becoming few and far between now. Currently the only game I have on pre-order is The Division and unless Ubisoft really drops the ball on it I don't see this game being a disappointment at all (though I do need to pre-order Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Ace Combat 7 (after some serious research, I've heard the last couple have been flops (and I know Assault Horizon was because I bought it)).

I actually own both a DSi XL and a 3DS XL and I bought them for Pokemon (yes I'm not ashamed to admit that I still play the franchise, it's still fun and a lot of the changes they've made over the years has made the game so much better). I grew up playing handhelds unlike a lot of our generation that had access to the original NES or the SNES growing up so I'm always going to support them because it's nostalgia for me (my first console was the PS1) and honestly some days I'd rather grab my handheld and play then turn on my PS4 or computer. The problem with taking games like Pokemon, Bravely Default, etc. and bringing them to the console is there is no call to do so. They sell extremely well on handhelds and gamers now-a-days are looking for flashy graphics and, as I mentioned above, more action based combat. Sprites and bad 3D modeling isn't going to cut it for a console game (and yes I realize Indie games do this all the time but Indie games aren't asking for $60 to purchase there game either). Most of the Turn-Based RPG generation moved to handhelds when it was apparent that they were going to get all the good RPG's. Honestly I can't even say that anymore because Steam is getting FFVI next week so you could even say the PC Master Race (yea I had to say it) are also getting all the good RPGs. Console based turn-based RPGs are a thing of the past sadly. We'll continue to see games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, the Elder Scrolls series, and FFXIII/XV from now on when it comes to console based RPGs. It pains me to see it and pains me even more to know I contributed to the stagnation of one of my beloved genres of gaming. Thankfully RTS's evolved with the times and actually got better. Mr. Happy brings up quite a few good points in that video about this multi-part decision for the game. Was going to post it earlier but never did get a chance to.

Bungie will never get another dime from me unless they actually scrap this shit hole of a game, bring back the original story writer, and bring his vision to life. Plus you know Destiny 2 is just going to be a massive DLC priced as a regular game that continues wherever TTK and any future, free DLC's leave off. I highly doubt they'll do a massive time skip for a game they're finally starting to write a good story for (all the time they spent on making the story for TTK would be a waste if they did this). The switch to micro-transactions is a bad omen imo. I wasn't hip on it for F2P games (and I'm still not even though I toss a lot of money at STO, those purchasable ships are just to damn sexy x.x ) and if console games are going to start doing this I might just quit gaming altogether. It's pretty much saying "Here's a game we want you to pay $60 and play. By the way all future DLC will be free but we want you to spend $20 on in game currency every change you get so you can buy these awesome little emotes we made for your characters to express you're emotions since we're too dumb to put a VOIP system into our game." While I know the business model works it's just a bad move for the gaming industry especially considering our generation are the ones having kids now and if we're not willing to pay the money for ourselves we're not going to spend it for our children to have. The industry has been slowly tanking the last couple of years (no matter what people are saying you can tell, massive studio closures and layoffs are a dead give away) and making this move might just put the nail in the coffin. I do, however, see this as the perfect time for Indie developers to shine and give us games that we want because they're made by our generation and they know what we want.

Disc space is no longer an issue considering we're now playing games on Blu-Ray Disc and if you honestly think about it if they kept the game the same way it is now and only did a graphical update the game would probably only take up roughly half a BD (character models and assets do not take up a lot of space especially considering almost all developers use the lowest possible poly-counts for their models, all you're seeing is great texture work (yes it pays to have a degree in Game Design sometimes)). The issue Square is having is they don't want to invest the manpower or time into recreating all the art assets, redoing the soundtrack, and sprucing up the old code to make it work on new hardware. Plus, and I do agree with this, it's not worth it if only a handful of 25-40 year olds are going to buy the game for nostalgia. They're redoing the whole game because they want to bring in the current generation of gamers, the ones with the short attention spans who want action based combat and no thinking. The ones who button mash and don't learn how to take an enemy down the right way, using game and boss mechanics to their advantage. Basically they're kicking our generation in the nuts to cater to the younger generation. While I understand where they're coming from I don't agree with it. This is why they feel they need to split the game into parts to make it easier on them to rewrite code for Unreal 4 (which yes they are using that engine for this) and to slowly redo art assets to make them all pretty and shiny for the ADHD generation. You already know they'll cut the Ruby and Emerald fights since they are optional, Ultima will probably be cut down to one fight and you'll just have to craft or find Cloud's ultimate weapon, only a handful of Limit Breaks will be brought over into the game (probably the big ones), summons will be minimal (probably only one Bahamut summon and most likely not the awesome one), Chocobo breeding/racing will probably be taken completely out (bye bye Knights of the Round unless they just give it to you), they materia system will probably be gutted to make it simpler and easier to understand for the current generation of gamers, and say goodbye to your airship freedom from the original. They'll also, even though they pretty much said they wouldn't since they're cutting the game into pieces, summarize a lot of the non-important story events you go through. While yes I'm pessimistic and I've already said I didn't like the original I'm just appalled that this is what developers feel they need to do to old games when they remake them. I can guarantee you if they ever decided to remake FFIX or if Sony decided to remake Legend of Dragoon and they did shit like this to it I would be up in arms about it. Yes, I understand I'm one old gamer who is trying to relive his glory days of RPG gaming but you can't go and gut a classic game like this and give us a shell of what it once was. Hell I could be wrong and you'll get an awesome game remake that tops the charts and brings back massive interest in the genre but, as much as I love them, Mass Effect/Elder Scrolls/Dragon Age/etc. has ruined the RPG genre as a whole and has turned them into nothing more the Action games with RPG elements.

http://www.vg247.com/2015/12/07/final-fantasy-7-remake-is-episodic-otherwise-wed-have-to-cut-some-parts-says-director/ So they're going to make it episodic and split it up into multiple games. I really don't know about that (especially considering the amount of money needing to be invested to play a whole game). It's sent a lot of fans into an uproar already.

Heh, tanking in FFXIV is about manning up and taking the hits. There are very few attacks that you actually have to dodge (the one hit kill ones) and all three tank jobs have a 15 second duration "Hit me all you want I won't take any damage" ability to nullify those oh shit moments where you can't dodge a huge hitting attack. If tanks actually had to dodge every attack or most attacks the game would break (tanks if FFXIV are kinda lazy). As a Ninja I've tanked my fair share of fights and believe me you have to dodge when you're class isn't build for tanking (Ninja is very squishy, most bosses can 2 shot me (even though I have 14k health)). Even though I haven't played FFXIII yet (its on the back burner, I just need to get up the urge to turn on my 360 and play through it) I was extremely disappointed to see they left a Gambit type system out while my roommate played it. He was also extremely disappointed since, as you said, you had to rely on the AI making the right choices based on what they were set as. The other thing I wonder is if it'll be a three party set-up like the original or if you'll be stuck using only two characters like FFXIII. That would make fights even harder if you were one person short (fuck I'd hate to fight Ultima Weapon with only two people, he was a bitch with three and you had to fight him 4 times if you wanted Cloud's ultimate weapon). Fuck people would probably break their systems if they had to fight Ruby and Emerald with two people (Knights would probably only make the fight slightly easier).

Knights will probably have a similar look to the changed forms of the 12 Ishgardian Knights in the video (beginning, the rest is just the fight from FFXIV). That's the newest incarnation of Knights of the Round (and it's a raid fight as well). You should go watch the primal video's for what they look like in FFXIV (primals are the summons from the previous games as boss fights in FFXIV). They may look similar or slightly different from that (every game does change what they look like). Meh, I'm not into this real time shit anymore. They've ruined plenty of great franchises with it in the past and I really hate to see it with a classic like this (even if it's not a classic I like). I probably won't get it but if the materia system isn't changed and the AI control on teammates mirrors the Gambit System from FFXII I might change my mind. Honestly they take all the strategy out of the game doing this but if its what will sell the game I guess it's the choice they make. The only other thing is with this not being turn-based anymore there might not be a limit break system anymore (or it'll only be for the character you're controlling). Just some other thoughts that just popped into my head after reading your post and watching the vids.

Bah, considering I never did like the original FF7 I guess I'll be passing on this. Sigh, the good old days of Turn-Based combat are slowly becoming a memory. My only other concern is if they're going down this route for combat (which is a major core gameplay change) how is the materia system going to be handled? That freaking system got pretty complex when you got down to the nitty gritty of things and I'm afraid it's not going to transfer over well with this new combat system. I also really don't remember all of what happened in that trailer happening in the game. Might be because it's been 6 or so years since I last played the original but that really didn't look right from my perspective.

Pfft, I still haven't signed up for Facebook yet and I get pressured by both my family and friends to do it almost every day. Never saw a good enough reason to make me sign up for it and still don't. The only social media I use is Instagram and Twitter and I honestly don't post photos (use it to follow people and models) and I rarely if ever tweet (he twitter is the best way for me to keep up with my favorite bands, actors, and artists). Then again I am the guy who signed up for the anime equivalent (MAL, Eppy and goku are to blame for this) and the gaming equivalent (Player.me). I also have a LinkedIn profile but that's for a completely different purpose then Facebook will ever be used for (and it's a good way for me to tell potential employers to go look at it, much easier then updating a freaking resume everytime you apply for a new job). God I remember back in the day waiting for my copy of Nintendo Power to come so I could devour all the information in it (which is sad because I've never owned a Nintendo console outside of the various Gameboys and now the DS line) and then go to school the next day to discuss it with my friends. Man those were the days and boy do I miss unpaid for and unbiased reviews and previews of games. What I wouldn't give to go back to those days (then again I do like the fact that I don't have to worry about finding a storage place for every magazine because I never threw them away).

We're old, grouchy, and have lives now hence the death of the internet we knew and loved. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Twitch, etc. have become the dominate reason to be online now-a-days. The internet went from being small groups of nerds/geeks gathering to talk about their favorite video games/anime/etc. on little know forums/sites to being a full blown social experience now with everyone tweeting about what they do during the day, posting new selfies/pictures on Instagram, stalking that crush from high school or connecting with an old friend on Facebook, theorycrafting and running numbers on Game Sub-reddits, etc. The old school communities are dying out pretty much for all the reasons you mentioned. I'd love to see those days come back but considering I'm now 30 and have a full-time job that leaves me exhausted at the end of the day I just don't have the time like I did 16 years ago when I was a Freshmen in High School that just got his first computer. Hell I barely have time to play video games, watch anime, or go out drinking anymore. The internet we helped to bring into the mainstream has evolved into what the new generations want and need. Sadly it's either get with the times or reminisce about the old days on forums like AC that refuse to give up what the internet used to be (and sadly there are only a few of us that still do that. DX, Sledge, myself, and Myk are pretty much the only active members on AC anymore).

DICE actually take the time to make sure they're balancing actually works with the current model of their game which is why they do it right. They actually test it in house and then when they're happy with it they launch it in CTE to allow us to test it. If we're not happy with it then they take it back and re-work it until both of us are happy. A lot of companies aren't going to take this approach because not only is it a money sink it's a waste of time to appeal to the community as a whole when they can just cater to the vocal majority. This is why DICE has such a huge and loyal fan base, they're willing to spend that extra time and money to make sure their games meet their community's standards (as well as their own). Hell they created an entire map based off of our input and feedback, I know of very few companies that are even willing to do that. Sadly I wish they'd listen to their Battlefront community and fix the current issues the game is facing (the most prominent one being lack of squads). I'm not even going to touch the Destiny gun nerfs because I'm still royally pissed about them. I honestly don't know what Bungie was thinking. Take the guns that reign supreme in Crucible and nerf the hell out of them, buff guns that suck to make them better, rinse and repeat. They're just shooting themselves in the foot every time they rebalance the game its not even funny. The extremely sad thing about it is their are still people out there who think everything Bungie does with Destiny is the right thing to do (ProfessorBroman being one of their biggest supporters, they guy pretty much has his nose lodged so far up their asses that it's not even funny (I still watch and support him though because he's a pretty funny guys and I get hours of laughter out of watching his stream, even if I don't play Destiny anymore)). Balancing is a problem that's going to plague us until games die out or evolve from what they currently are. I'm still pissed to this day by what Blizzard did to the Paladin Class in vanilla WoW. They took one of the most balanced and awesome classes the game had in beta and shoved the nerf bat up their asses so far the class was unplayable when vanilla WoW released. Hell, as far as I understand it, the class is still pretty much fucked. This was all due to the fact that a bunch of 12 year old whiners (yea stereotyping here) complained to Blizzard that the Paladin was OP and could steamroll any class yet if they'd of just taken the time and rolled a low level Paladin they'd of learned just how easy it was to actually kill one. Yea, I'm still a little but hurt about that one and I quit playing WoW years ago. The community will never be right about nerfs mostly because it takes one person to bring up a semi-valid point for everyone who has a stick up their ass about something to jump on the nerf-train. Those of us who actually crunch the numbers and look at the game from an intelligent viewpoint will never be heard because our nerfs will help fix the game, not make it easier for them to play the game they want to. On a side note I love how we derail topics around here. I can't remember the last time we actually kept a topic on track

Heh, almost every pick-up I've been getting lately is the Smart Rocket. I do wish it was a Star Card because it's probably one of the most useful weapons in the game. Hell I'd take a seriously long cool down on it if they made it a Star Card (and I'd definitely get rid of the Detonator for it). The Blaster Cannon is useless imo, why they have it as a pick up still baffles me. Yes it's a hard hitting weapons but you're such and easy target to kill that it isn't worth using (plus it overheats so fast and fires so slowly).

My only problem is if one person uses Barrage so does the next. The damage is negligible if you're only glanced by one grenade but when you have two-three people launching Barrage in the same location you're fucked. I love the Thermal Detonator, I run with it in both my card layouts. I've gotten so many double and triple kills it's not funny. People always seem to bunch up in bottlenecks which is the best time to use it. I really only keep it because people get scared and back off when you throw one so it's a perfect distraction to either push enemies in another direction or to give you a chance to get a better position to kill them. I've never used the Impact Grenade but I'm killed by it a lot. It's like the RGO from BF4, if you land the grenade just right it's a guaranteed kill (and boy do people seem to be very good with it). I love the jump pack, it's the only black card I have. It's extremely useful on ever map as a quick get away, I've been saved by so many last minute jump pack uses it's not even funny. Plus it's one of the best ways to get into a higher vantage point if you're using one of the scoped blasters. Personally I hate the pulse cannon and have yet to unlock it on my character. The charge time is ridiculous and I'm always killed by it (yet I can't seem to get a kill when I use it because if I stop long enough to line up a shot I'm guaranteed someone else has already lined a shot up on me). I prefer to be in constant motion which is why I run Jump Pack/Thermal Detonator as Imps and pending on the map and game mode Ion Torpedo/Thermal Detonator as Republic (my AT-ST kill layout).

And sadly that story is so full of plot holes and conundrums it isn't even funny. Sadly some of the stories aren't considered canon for the universe (yes, huge Halo nerd here). Origins is up in the air as no one knows if it was true or not (which most of it was proven wrong due to the Halo 4 storyline) due to Cortana's rampancy. Odd One Out is complete fiction (though sadly my favorite episode since it's over the top and completely ridiculous). The others are canon for the most part. I'm starting to think Bungie has given up at even trying to make another good game. Destiny had potential and then they went and canned their head story writer, butchered his pretty awesome story premise, and gave us a hodgepodge piece of shit that was far from complete. Sure they've fixed a lot of the issues Year 1 Destiny had (I've actually considered going back because from what I've seen in streams has me extremely interested in the game again but I have to many other games to play atm so it's not going to happen anytime soon) but the game is still suffering from a poorly written story and shitty game mechanics that only get worse everytime they try to rebalance the game. Bungie was once a force to be reckoned with but I think loosing the Halo franchise took whatever drive they had away from them. Well that and Activision being Activision.

Considering how the mode is set-up you really can't ignore the objectives as the Republic. The Imperials seem to have more leeway as they aren't constrained by the time limit as much as the Republic. The only ones who will play this mode will be objective players because farming kills isn't really an option so the xp gains, as DX pointed out, won't be there for the kill farmers. Walker Assault and Supremacy will remain top dog for all those kill farmers. If the game mode is any good I might have renewed hope in this game because it's honestly gotten to the point where I can't even do anything anymore with everyone using Barrage and Explosive Shot now. Probably two of the most overpowered Star Cards in the game and now everyone and their mom uses them. It's really become a pain in the ass now for me to play Supremacy and Walker Assault. You really can't play Droid Run or Cargo without playing them the way they're supposed to be played and yes they are a blast if you actually get into a game that isn't one sided. Droid run would be perfect with 20 players and 4-5 droids, would actually make the game mode that much harder to win. Heroes vs. Villains is also pretty fun imo (unless you get stuck playing as Leia, probably the most worthless hero in the game) and is a good change from grinding out Supremacy/Walker Assault. I had a blast the first time I played it, might start playing it more.

Honor Guard is a blast. I was wrecking face as one last night. They are severely OP but they should be considering their job is to protect Leia when she's in play. Shock Troopers would be better if they weren't stuck using the unscoped T-21. I think they should be carrying the RT-97C or the EE-3. The T-21 is a good weapon but I just don't think it fits with them, especially since they are supposed to be protecting Palps. At least they didn't put the Imperial Guard in here because you know they would of been severely OP since they were all force-sensitive. Walker Assault has it's ups and downs for me. I got screwed tonight while I was playing but I did have a blast (more or less because I was wrecking noobs as Boba). Supremacy on the other hand has become more of a nightmare for me. I seem to always get spawned killed by some asshat who just happens to know the spawn points. Really getting on my nerves. Hell I wish I could stay in the air longer then a few seconds lately. Shit I'm pretty awesome with the Tie Interceptor but lately it seems people are doing exactly what you said and camping the spawn location for the Ties because I barely get control of the aircraft and I'm already shot down (same for when I'm playing as the Rebels, seems everyone is basically putting a stop to fair gameplay now). DICE needs to fix this because it's kind of hard to provide air support for your team when the other team is basically denying you the chance to. Hell I couldn't even use an AT-ST tonight because I had an asshat in an A-Wing spawn camping where the AT-ST spawns at. It's pretty much taking the fun out of the game for me now. At least in Battlefield you were pretty safe when it came to using a vehicle because you really couldn't camp all the spawn locations. It's these minor things that are really starting to ruin my enjoyment of this game. Not only can I not play with my friends in a squad but now I can't even use vehicles without fear of being killed when I spawn is as one. Sigh, really starting to wish I would of waited on getting this. It's Destiny all over again.

Yes and no. Honestly it'll stick around a lot like the Battlefield games mostly because it's a Star Wars game, that name carries a lot of weight among all of us nerds/geeks (it's the main reason TOR hasn't completely capsized). Sadly, if they don't fix some of the glaring issues this game has in future DLC the game will probably tank with a lot of people like me that have other games to fall back on leaving (and with The Division right around the corner I'll gladly give this game up for that). We'll see just how many people stick around come the 1st when Siege hits the market. A lot of people are looking forward to that game and considering how well it played in Beta (matchmaking issues aside) I can see a lot of the hardcore crowd going over to it. Hell the way I've been feeling lately I might just pick Siege up (at least it allows me to play with my friends in a group). After playing some Supremacy last night the SE-14C has renewed some of my faith in this game. Yea I was stuck on the loosing team the entire time I played but I was wrecking some faces with this awesome little blaster (top fo the leader boards everytime). 5 round burst that completely destroys people at close range (sucks at long ranges though).

Good lord the Falcon is a beast. I felt extremely OP in it up until someone suicided me (which is a good way to kill the Falcon). I'd like to get my hands on Slave 1 but I just don't know where the pickups are for the hero ships in Fighter Squadron (I kind of stumbled upon it when I got to play as the Falcon). I have a feeling they'll both be seeing a slight nerf in the near future (most likely to drop their armor down a bit, that's really the only thing that I see that needs a slight nerf). I'd love to get my hands on the EE-3 since it's pretty much the same weapon Boba uses and I wreck face with it. Sadly I don't see myself getting to it anytime soon unless I stick with Fighter Squadron for leveling purposes as, like I mentioned above, I get my ass handed to me by people using it and those other weapons you mentioned above. Sadly the DL-44 is the go to weapon for everyone in the game because it seems just about everyone out their got the Deluxe or Collector's editions of the game. While I do admit it's a great blaster I prefer the DH-17 over it due to the automatic fire. I just feel the DH-17 is a much better choice for people like me who aren't used to this no ADS style of game play (you're at a severe disadvantage if you ADS in this game and since I'm always in 3rd person for better situational awareness I can't even take advantage of ADS for certain guns and the DH-17 is superior for hip firing). I've also been seeing a lot of people using the SE-14C lately, I wonder how good that 5 round burst is on the gun (must be pretty good since I see a lot of people using it and I've had my face wrecked by it more than once). I'm quite happy with my performance in the game but I'm just sick of getting into matches where no one wants to play the actual objective. I'll continue to play here and there but I'm not going to go out of my way to play like I have the last couple of days. I just get frustrated by being killed when I spawn in, having to play with idiots who don't want to play the game mode the way it's supposed to be played, and just dealing with the poor choices DICE made when designing this game. If I wanted to deal with all of that I'd of bought COD instead. I'm probably just going to stick with Fighter Squadron since there is really no other point to the mode other then kill AI/Players and shoot down/protect transports. Plus I'm extremely good at it (probably to the point where there's people out there bitching about people like me who rule the skies with an iron fist and kill you shortly after spawning) and it's no where near as frustrating as Walker Assault/Supremacy.

As far as I can tell its a random spawn between set locations. I've found hero pickups in the same spots quite a few times and actually have them memorized on certain maps (like Hoth and Sullust). They always spawn in pairs as well so you're guaranteed to always have an opposing faction hero up at the same time yours is up (well if anyone finds it anyways). Sadly the other pickups ups are always in the same spot (and I'm bad for camping the A-Wing and Tie Interceptor spawns because I'm hating infantry based combat since everyone who doesn't have a life is so far up the rank system that they're owning me with unlocks I don't even have, at least air combat you're all equal except when it comes to skill). Actually Sledge DICE fixed that problem in BF now. You're now placed on teams based on skill and it seems to work a lot better then it used to (though I'm sure it works differently if you join a game in a pre-made squad). It has it's own set of problems but at least this way the teams change up every round (though you might end up on the same side as you were last match if the team doesn't have enough skilled members on it). It pretty much guarantees that if you join the game with high skill you'll be put on the team that's lacking skilled players. My problem lately is spawn locations because it seems everyone and they're mom is memorizing where the opposing faction's spawn points are. 60% of the time I'm killed shortly after I spawn and it's getting extremely annoying (especially in supremacy where I see it happen almost all the time). They need to either fix where you spawn or they need to randomize it more. I'm also having the same problems DX is having with being placed on bad teams (bad as in not working together, I seem to get placed on the winning side more often then not in Walker Assault though my luck in Supremacy seems to suck when it comes to this). People would rather play almost every game mode like its TDM then actually play the objective (the only exception here would be Fighter Squadron as it's TDM with objectives and of course Blast since it is TDM). At least in BF if at least 40% of the people playing played the objective you still stood a relatively good chance of winning a round. Sadly that doesn't work here due to smaller team sizes and lack of squads (something that really annoys me). Sigh, as fun as the game is I think I'll be placing it on the back burner for awhile until they fix some of these major problems. As much as I love Fighter Squadron one game mode does not do enough to keep my interest in this game (though Heroes vs. Villains is a blast if you get into a good match) and I'm most likely going to break down and buy an XBone on Black Friday (that or I'm going to get COD:BOIII or pre-order Rainbow Six: Siege).

Han is a beast I'll give you that. I got the chance to use him last night in Supremacy. Even though his blaster is slow firing it packs a punch and with his Rapid Fire ability you can wreck a group of people like they're nothing. I still prefer Boba but as a Republic hero he'll be my go to from now on (until he sees a nerf much like Boba). Yea, after playing Supremacy last night I definitely have to say Endor is Republic favored no matter what game mode you play on. It just seems to be made for the Republic to wreck the Imperial's faces. Quite honestly I hate Endor as a whole and cringe everytime it comes up for play. Fighter Squadron is a blast. I know you hate flying in this game but you should give it a shot because it's a really good way to learn the flight mechanics. I will say this though the Falcon and Slave 1 are extremely OP and extremely hard to shoot down. It's like you're shooting BB guns at them when you try to damage them because they take literally no damage. My first match I was the Falcon's bitch because the player kept picking on my for some reason. The other good thing is that you're not just fighting players but AI as well so you can go almost an entire match without even running into another player (and still wrack up points for killing AI). This is the reason I say it's the best way to learn the flight mechanics as the AI is pretty easy to kill but they will still try and shoot you down and will try an dodge your missiles/torpedoes and blaster shots.