"The upgrade change comes from what Axle has done to the game, and that is increase it's overall speed by way too much."
I'm hearing a disconnect between the desire to fine tune her a little bit on the one hand, while on the other using the phrase "way too much" to describe her overall effect on the speed/pace of game play. Am I misinterpreting something?
"The breach charge needs to have limited uses. I would argue two per gun."
100% agreed.
"I follow ALGS closely, and I like my matches to feel that way"
On the subject of zip rails and tridents: Using their deletion as a way of slowing down match pacing seems backward to me. If I'm reading you right, this wasn't done to please pros, but to make non-pros behave more like pros. And here's my thought on that: put the zips and tridents back on the maps and if normal players want a slower beginning and a more hectic endgame then all they have to do is learn pacing and self-control. They won't, of course. They can't. They're incapable. But that isn't my problem, and frankly it shouldn't be Respawn's either. Every time they make some change as a way to engineer specific player behavior the game becomes less characterful, more sterile, more boring. To me that's what these changes amount to.
The deathbox respawn is another crutch for bad and/or aggressive players. It tells people that they can do whatever they want because everyday that goes by brings fewer consequences for mistakes or stupidity. That's the wrong message to be sending to players, imo. Honestly, it's just one more step on the way to installing the "three strikes" mechanic into the main game. You and I both know there are devs who think the game would be better with free and unlimited respawns until the whole squad is wiped. It's a mechanic for impetuous children, and deathbox respawns are getting us halfway there. Again, imo.