Long hours in, Devs should read...

I waited a while to give feedback. I recently read that the player count is in sharp decline, and I know why. At least, I know some reasons why. 

I've had the chance to participate in the labs, I've played 2042 more than I wish to admit. I've played enough of BF6 to give an unbiased perspective on what works, and what doesn't. I don't write this for the 20 yr olds who are going to rage, but for the Devs to understand the decline in player count. 

First, the good... The game is awesome, graphics are amazing, it feels extremely engaging, I mean, everything is there in my humble opinion. Customization, variety of guns, vehicles, etc... It's just a great game in general from a player's perspective. 

Now, the less good, and the joy kill for me... I'm a guy who played Diablo 1, so it should give an idea about my age. I'm what a lot would consider an "old" gamer in my late 40s. Why it matters? Because I have a family and can't spend 30 hours a week grinding. Period. I'm not willing to do it. 

Where it turns REALLY bad... The grinding is excruciating. You want a 10x scope on a sniper rifle? Level it to mastery 30 (simple right? 40 hours should do it). There are typically more than 15 optics for any given gun. I mean, seriously. No one wants to grind for years to have access to attachments. It is quite literally killing it for me. 

This is an AAA title with an AAA price tag, with AAA price tags for season passes. I'm more and more reluctant to pay for games where I can't even have access to the content without spending an indecent amount of my life grinding. This is NOT fun. This is NOT normal. This is frustrating. 

What it means is I'm going to be on a map with guys who have much better attachments just because (sorry) they have nothing else to do. How does that make sense, whatsoever... Do I spend less time in BF6 because of it? Man, yes. I get tired of it and go play something else. I get my dose, a few maps at a time then just log off because that guy with his 10x scope sniped me from 1000m away, when I can't possibly see him properly with a 6x scope. It IS that bad. 

If the goal of the Dev team is to cater to elitist crowds who spend the best part of their free time grinding for gear, then fine, I'll give up on the Battlefield series, let's just be clear about it, because no amount of fine graphics and immersive action will overcome my discouragement when I look at attachments and realize just how much time it would actually take me to unlock them. It's not worth it. 

There is a great sense of achievement from getting that attachment you wanted for a while, but not at the cost of slavery. This is ridiculous. 

Another item is the point system and point cost for attachments. It's too restrictive, attachments cost too much and prevent you from having a truly great build. I get the point of having to compromise on stuff to get other stuff, but I'm not sure it makes that much sense in the end. Great optics at the cost of a better mag or bullet type, or muzzle replacement? I don't know, just don't like it. 

Also, sniping is bad. Can't fully explain, but it sucks. 2042 was so much fun sniping, and BF6 is so terrible at sniping. It's extremely painful and random. I always go to snipers first, in any game. BF6 is the first game where I just don't want to, it's terrible. It's off, bullet drop is weird, again not sure exactly how to describe it but no joy for me. 

To sum it up... Biggest gripe is unlocks. You're deliberately killing your game forcing us into slave grinding. Forcing players to do 300 headshots from 100m to unlock an attachment (ok, maybe exaggerated but you get the point) is not playing, it's focusing on a repetitive task to try and achieve something, INSTEAD of playing, having fun with the weapon of your choice. 

I have no hope whatsoever that you will turn this around and actually make the attachments, that you created, available to your players who paid for the game. I still wanted to voice my frustration towards game mechanics that are killing the experience. I don't see myself pouring money in this game if this stays like this. 

Hope this helps.