So I got my first mk6 ship...

It was the speeder. I upgraded to a Mk6 speeder and slapped a rudder in that 3rd blue slot and let me tell you guys something: I haven't had this much fun on Battle Bay since my first day. It got me thinking, why did it have to take 7ish months, 7000+ battles, and however much money I spent to speed up the process (VIP + small random purchases) just to fully enjoy the game? I can't imagine how many more people would continue playing instead of quitting early on if they got to play with Mk6 ships much earlier.

This game is awesome, and it just keeps getting more and more awesome the stronger you get, but to someone who doesn't play as much as the more active players, this game must be really boring for the first few months (much slower paced gameplay in general). I happen to have a bit of patience and grinding is something I like to do, but this is not true for many, many other players.

I'm not trying to insult the game or the dev crew, I just think too large a portion of players quit playing the game far before they really unlock the game's full potential. This is definitely something we should all be thinking about.

I've added a poll to see what players at Mk5 and below think of the game. Please refrain from voting if you have already reached Mk6.

 

I was borderline quitting all the way up to 1500 infamy. Then it was like the clouds parting and suddenly everything became so much better. Like you, I was willing to grind my way through it and Miika's chart gave me reason to believe things would get better at 1500 infamy. I don't think the problem is "unlocking full potential" so much as matches painted by Salvador Dali.

 

I love this game... really! On my main account, I was a MK5 at 2978 infamy, and my second account is a MK2 at 300 infamy

Ok guys... I know this is completely off topic, but has anyone got a clue about how much data per battle Battle Bay uses up? Would really appreciate it!

 

Well, the slow start is literally the reason 0 of my friends want to give Battle Bay a chance.

I don't have exact numbers but it's not very much. I wouldn't worry about it eating up your data as much as YouTube and listening to music.

 

OK, maybe it's because I'm an old geezer and so have slower reflexes, et.al., but I thought the game introduced me to new situations and capabilities at a fairly smooth rate. Progression was hardly "slow". My problem was more that it was utterly chaotic. One minute things are all fine and the next minute you're fighting guys with racks of epic weapons and you're in a M2. And if you're good at that your "reward" is for gold, sugar, and pearls to slow to a trickle just when you need them most. I had expected to see a more smooth progression... more like I'm seeing now in the 2k range. And I had expected success against high level enemies to be rewarding.

 

Definitely. The slow start is fine how it is, I just feel personally that I was merely waiting to get my mk6 rather than working towards it.

On a second thought, I agree, but it is impossible for me to change it, I can only add more poll options. @TheAntiSnipe help me out?

 

Perfect

 

I'm MK6 but I felt in love for this game from day 1 Can I vote? LOL

 

I've loved this game from day 1 as well, but the poll is to figure out if people are fully enjoying the game before Mk6. Please understand

 

Not much at all- I use data for battle bay almost all the time and in three months only 1.5 GB.

 

May I have directions to said chart? I want to look forward to something. :>

Anyway, I'll drop my ¢2 no one asked for.

It's true in that as a new (might as well be) player, this game is a gigantic drag so far. Endless grind, wait to level up your Blast Cannon... Want to try and make missiles work like you've always wanted FINALLY? Wait 5 years for Blastian to be trained to 5 projectiles AND get to tier 4 missiles (at least rare). Want to upgrade your ship? HA! Wait longer. Want to get materials so you can level up aforementioned equipment? Play 200 battles to get the gold to spend in the shop or scrap the other weapons the RNG Gods may never bless you with again etc.

To get to the fun, fast paced battles that are advertised in this game, you have to wait a long time first. Even if you *really* work at the game and spend money, you won't really dent the progression system. This is the reason I usually don't pay towards this payment model TBH. It's not because I don't like the game - I love the concept and gameplay - it's just that whenever I think about spending money on a game like this, the little voice inside me says "I PITY THE FOO' LIKE YOU WHO SPENDS $20 TO BYPASS 0.005% OF THE PROGRESSION SYSTEM!!!" ... Maybe it was actually Mr. T saying that.

I have played almost 3k battles total... Most of those were bACk iN tHe daY, and I literally only have a handful of equipment evolved, and only one rare Blast Cannon to tier 3... Still stuck at 900 Elo. If new players can at least get to the MK 5 mark faster, I think it will not only increase player retention, but also increase spending since people will notice a $20 purchase in this game isn't just a drop in the pot for an endless treadmill that leaves you wishing for the sweet release of death.

[REDACTED] (for good reason; redundant... and where it wasn't; irrelevant)

Oh.

My.

GOD I need to be done typing.

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TL;DR: What @PastelPiku said.

Completely off-topic reply to @CoolDownHSNA:
I tested this heavily when I first started playing a long time ago (like August 2017) since I only play it on my phone like, everywhere. It seemed negligible. I always timed for 30 minutes and it only took like 30mb of data. Really not bad, it may have even been better optimized since then because I can still even play it on 2G. Really impressive net code IMO.

 

Oi sorry to bug but could you maybe also change the question in the poll to "How fun was the game to you before Mk6?"

 

The infamous chart... now several months out of date but still...



Notice how the spread starts to collapse. Most of those same high marks are still there but the lower end is closing on the upper end. It was vague hope but there it was all the same. In point of fact that's how it turned out. Honestly the difference in enemies between 1200 and 2200 is negligible... just as the chart shows. But my own gear got better. Instead of being a M2 fighting M5's I was instead a M4 fighting M5/6 battles. Then I was a M5.

The other thing that happened that I'd gotten a whiff of at 1200 infamy but really manifested solidly above 1500 was that my team mates generally became more competent. Things are far from perfect but I see a lot more team-like behavior than I used to.