I've read that this is heavily debated, but in an IGN poll I saw that the vast majority of the voters wanted a closed weapon system. According to the IGN poll, which at the time of this post has 2406 voters, 24.8% preferred open, 60.2% preferrred closed, and 15% had no preference. I think it could improve the game for numberous reasons. Stick with what made BF great.
It establishes clear roles. Players immediately know what their class does, which makes teamwork and objective play more effective. It balances gameplay. Limiting weapons per class makes it easier for devs to tune guns and gadgets without breaking the game. It encourages team work. If classes specialize, you rely on your squad for different abilities, which makes matches more strategic and fun. It makes progression more fun. Unlocking and mastering class-specific weapons feels more rewarding when you can’t just pick the best gun for everything. Newer players will be more comfy. Closed classes make it easier to learn one class at a time instead of being overwhelmed by every weapon in the game.
I also think it would be awesome if DICE ran an in-game poll at release to see what the community prefers. Something like:
1) Closed classes (each class has its own weapons/gadgets)
2) Hybrid (core weapons are locked, but limited cross-class options exist)
3) Open classes (all weapons available for all classes)
4) No preference
I know you're trying to listen to the fans, so make their voices heard. I think basing the decisions on gameplay strictly on the Beta is misguided.
The type of person who would vote on an IGN poll is the type that I wouldn't trust lol. What respectable gamer follows them anymore?
So 2,400 people voted, which isn't a very good sample size for a game that reportedly sold 1.7 million in preorders on Steam, and is projected to sell 5 million copies during the first week after it's launched.
The beta had both playlist visible, so it's clear what was more popular. This is just a matter of people not being happy with the result and trying to find a way to discredit it.
Open had a few different game modes, was always on the main page.
Closed got fobbed off to the side, and during the second beta the only way to play conquest by itself was to play open or you had to play breakthrough too as they got squished together in the ONLY closed playlist.
