I apologize for the length of this, but I did make it relevent.
Im going to be speaking as a casual player - yes, I am in a clan, yes, I feel that I'm pretty good in the game, but I might average 5 hours or so a week on the game, sometimes more, sometimes less. Let me put it this way - I have had the game since the day it came out (June? July?), and I have played a total of 71+ hours (including a period of about a month where I couldnt load patch 1.02).
My point is that I dont play the game nearly as much as some players, and I dont invest so much time in improving my own skill other than occasional clan practice and hopping onto a ranked server for a little bit. A casual player's take on this patch is something that I don't see much of right now.
Now, with that said, my take on a few things about the new patch:
1. Ranks
Personally, my feeling on ranks is that frankly, I dont give a sh*t. I never judge players until I see them actually play, which means I dont assume that just because someone has 3 bars next to their name that they can fly a helo. Granted, there are some people with those bars that have earned them and shown some skill, but there are others that just spend extraordinary amounts of time playing or point farm, using anything from the medic kit to the f*cking grenade launcher. Being a player that barely ever commands, the only reason I ever really cared about my own rank was for the unlocks. I know how bad that sounds, but personally, a title does nothing for you. The unlocks are what can actually help you get better (at least stat wise).
2. The reduced rank/badge requirements.
This is a blessing to me, for a few reasons. First of all, when I first started this game and earned my first badge (basic armor), I found this site and looked at the requirements. From then on, I didnt even care about anything other than basic badges, because to me (remember, the casual player), the requirements for these were so incredibly outrageous that I couldnt have achieved them even if I played for hours on end. For crying out loud, it took me almost a day's worth of trying before I finally got my explosives badge, and even then it required a small bit of less-than-sportsmanlike Kamikazi-ing. I couldn't imagine how anyone could ever get the expert on that damn thing (if you can, all the more to ya).
Now as for the global points, another blessing. As I said earlier, the only real perks that increased rank offered me at least was the prospect of new unlocks. I was so excited when I got my first unlock. Then, I realized that I needed not just two, not even 5, but 9 times what I had to get only a SECOND unlock - than after that, I would need even more time. To me, I lost some serious interest because again, as a casual player, I like just trying out the new weapons and getting some selection. I only finally got to becoming even close to my second unlock (7000 GP's - close for me) before the patch came out, and when it did, I found myself able to not only get the weapon I wanted (DAO-12, in the interest of completeness, I already had the L85), but a few others that I thought were cool and that I wanted to try (G3 and M95). I suddenly had (and still have) a renewed interest in the game - I have new toys to mess around with, and I could really care less if everyone else has them too. No matter whether I am the only person or if every other player on Earth has these weapons, I still have something new to mess with. Now, even though everyone has weapons, I have enough to keep me sustained while achieving my next rank and unlock (it will be the G36c). It is enough to keep me interested, and I know that I will be able to get more weapons without having to spend ages playing the game at my rate. It just keeps it fun in my opinion.
As for all of you that complain because you invested time into the game, dont despair. In the grand scheme of things, you are still better players than most because of your inherent skill and experience gained. Just because ten other people now have the same weapon you spent hours getting your corporal rank for doesn't mean they are any better at it than you are. As cheesy as this sounds, you are the ones that are going to be above the calamity - the chaos that is going to ensue from a bunch of n00bs messing around with the M95 they just got. You are still the one they are going to admire when they have their 4 unlocks and 5 kills, and you have your hard earned unlock and are picking someone off every few seconds with it.
Remember - it doesn't matter what gun you have in your hands - in the end, you still need to learn how to use it. Those of you that invested more time into the game, you are ahead of everyone else. Your skill with your G36 exceeds that of the n00b's that got the game yesterday. So, go out there, kick that n00b's arse, and show him who can REALLY do some damage with that unlock.
*82nd* DrDestruction.
