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Re: Would a Friendly Radar Be a Good Idea?

@ToastedSarnie The highlight and the radar ideas differ from one another.

The highlight idea is basically you going to the scoreboard and picking the allies you want to keep track of. Those allies could be healers, Citrons, or Acorns/Space Cadets. Or perhaps you want to highlight the top players to stick around them or heal them. Highlighted players will have a special color and maybe it would be a good idea if you could see their HPs on the left side of the screen as if they were in your party. The highlighted member doesn't have to know you highlighted them. If I picked you and I was disappointed in your healing, then that's on me. Not all players behave the way I expect them to be, and that's why choosing your allies freely could be a good idea. 

I say all that because I experimented healing the top players and reviving them all the time. And it worked great. Our team pushed hard since those players had good aim and smart decisions. Not that I wouldn't heal other players. But it just reduces the amount of frustration you get when you heal someone who doesn't aim well or keeps dying again and again. 

The radar idea would show all allies on a small map/radar regardless of you highlighting them or not. This is to help you think strategically and understand who's around you and which sides are protected or left open. Sometimes backing off and retreating is better than just pushing alone (I see many people do that, going alone and everything). Have you ever wondered "Where are my teammates at?" It happens to me sometimes when I attack/defend objectives and see no one caring about it.

This game is more "strategy" than shooting. At least, I see it that way. I can read a game's flow based on my teammates’ positions/vanquishes/classes. If my allies don't care about protecting or even attacking the sides in certain maps, then we can get overwhelmed and lose the objective for example. That's why I started playing Nightcap more recently when attacking, to overwhelm the enemies. And try shooting them from the back or sides (distract them and scatter their attention to front). A radar would be a great aid to grasp the bigger pictures of things.

The maps in BFN had changed significantly compared to GW1/GW2. There are more flank routes, higher grounds, and advantageous spots where you can be more effective. Not all GW1/GW2 were designed that way. And I think that's why some players struggle with this game. It requires more map awareness. In GW1/GW2, there was a teleporter for attacking and defenders usually spawned close to the objective. So you could go back to action faster than BFN. That eliminated the need to go through all the map with its various routes and go straight to the objective. If you died in BFN, you are severely punished as you have to sprint all the way back to the objective (in some maps).

Sorry for the long post lol

I just wanted to share my experiences.

7 Replies

  • @GammaX6 Haha! Don't worry, mine are nearly always long as well!!
    I completely understand what you mean and do actually agree with you that it would be incredibly useful - there's really just one tiny element that stops me agreeing 100% with you.
    That element is the very, very small amount of players who are . . . let's call them aggressive. The ones who expect all players to behave in a way that benefits & suits THEM. The ones that will go in chat or message abusively if they feel things aren't going their way, without stopping to think (or care) about how old or experienced the player is. My own personal experiences with a few of these, where I've been given grief (understated!) for everything from killing people too much, not killing enough people, not being able to revive 6 people at once, or "costing" someone their 50 streak because I should've been pocket-healing THEM rather than looking after the rest of the team actually at one point was so bad, I started a different profile & maxed GW2 all over again. And I'm an adult better able to cope with that kind of thing, not a nice, naive 7-year-old. You & I (& most players) would think it was on us for trusting them (in the same way we'd probably blame ourselves for get it wrong if someone got away from us on low health!) but a few wouldn't.
    But me not being 100% sure of radar, is down to me & my experiences, rather than me thinking it's a bad idea. I think you always have great ideas, I wish I had your analytical knowledge & think you sound like exactly the kind of player I'd highlight - if we were only on the same platform!! 😪👍
  • No way man.  If I have a radar then I can’t blame my team for everything.  And the one day I’ll realize the truth.  I don’t know if I can handle that.  Honestly though it’s a really good idea.  

  • Iron_Guard8's avatar
    Iron_Guard8
    Legend
    7 years ago

    I like the idea to know where friendlies are. I have played a bit of Overwatch and Paladins and indeed having a teammate's character shout 'need healing!' gets annoying in a hurry (I play tanks and healers a lot in those 2 games). As BfN is more team focused than either GW game, having tools that make it easier to coordinate is a good thing.

  • GammaX6's avatar
    GammaX6
    7 years ago

    @Iron_Guard8 I play Paladins and Overwatch too. And I wish that friendly radar idea was there. It is too difficult playing Reinhardt (a tank hero) without knowing where the healers are behind you. You can't realistically look back since you're holding a shield using that hero. Healers are often distracted healing others, doing their job and everything you know, and I understand that very well. If Tank heroes knew the healers were being harassed at the back, they would probably pull back to cover and try to assist them instead. But many tank players would push assuming the healers would follow them which grows into a frustration and hatred toward healers. Just like @ToastedSarnie said.

    Also in Overwatch, when a Genji player (a flanker/assault hero) is at the end of the map requesting healing. As a healer you can't realistically break formation to cross the hoards of enemies and heal him. If he knew where you were on the map exactly he'd go to you instead and know he's the one who's wandering too far.

    Hence why people don't prefer playing tanks in those games. Because they rely heavily on other teammates to make great use of their kit. That applies a lot to Citron since he's holding a shield and the Zombies have too many heroes that can pass that quickly harassing him. It can be very frustrating playing that hero and I totally understand that. 

    There is another thing to add... You can't realistically expect all players to communicate with you. Especially in servers where people don't speak the same language.

    @ToastedSarnie This frustration happens in most games that have a healer class. People thinking healers are miracle workers when they have a lot on their plates. The world you see differs from theirs. What I mean is, you can see all other players' HPs from behind walls, but they can't, they don't see it. So they don't know who needs help and who doesn't.*1 You can't heal them only and leave others, I get that very well. Those abusive players probably never played a healer class for a long time to understand what's going on. Also, in Overwatch, whenever I play healer, there are those snipers/long range hero players at the back who keep spamming "I need healing", making me seem like a bad healer, when I'm in the middle healing tanks and don't have an eye at the back seeing that they're injured or not. The radar could assist you in knowing that. (for example, the arrows could turn red and if you saw that, you can turn back and heal them without having to get yelled at for not seeing them.)


    *1 This is a post I was thinking of late, I want to see all allied health statuses as an option. As a Scientist, I feel super powerful holding all that knowledge, warping to my teammates, healing/reviving them while finishing the enemies they were fighting. This way more players can get the "Saved an Ally" XP bonus.

  • Iron_Guard8's avatar
    Iron_Guard8
    Legend
    7 years ago

    Ah yeah, the joys of playing a healer and having a Flank on the other side of the map spam 'need healing!'. Sorry I'm trying to keep the front line and the other 2 players on my team alive that are actually staying in line of sight and in range so I can actually heal them! 

    (I play Ying, Seris, and Furia a lot in Paladins so this is something I'm well acquainted with.)

    Or the joy of being a front line character and moving to push the capture point and the rest of my team is nowhere to be seen. Not even when on Inara (my favorite front line in Paladins) can I handle that situation!

    More games need this kind of tool. World of Tanks has it and it's definitely handy there.

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