Uzique wrote:
i miss the days of early bf2 where seeing an officer (anything above butter bar) or a colonel would mean "oh, damn, playing with a real hardcore no-lifer here" or "imma squad up with this person because they clearly know their shit". in bf3 you're given ranks on a plate. it's all part of this console-style game design where everything you do needs 3 ribbons, a medal, a choir singing your praise, and 5 fatherly pats on the back. it's bullshit. and in the end it only kills the lifespan of their own game.
Those days weren't very long lived. I've had years to think about this and have probably put too much thought into it. Still, if I could go back in time and have a say in things at Dice, I'd have made a number of tl;dr changes to ranking:
Enlisted -
1) First few games (say, six) locked at E-1. Performance in this period, after which, can accelerate a player anywhere from E-2 to E-5. Otherwise, they'll have to fight their way out of it, which still shouldn't take long. Onto:
2) Standard progression at the first few ranks.
3) Time-investment criteria for E-6 and E-7.
4) Performance criteria for upper enlisted (team score and kills, whichever is the best). Demotions possible at E-8 and above for under-performance.
5) Top ten performing E-8's hold rank of "First Sergeant" (teamwork-biased).
6) Top ten performing E-9's hold rank of "Sergeant Major" (teamwork-biased).
7) Best E-9 player given rank of "Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps."
Going from sergeant major to mere lieutenant in BF2 was like a slap in the face. But for those who want to:
Officer -
1) Option for officer ranks unlocked at squad leader plus commander time investment. Must manually select to be promoted out of enlisted status.
2) Performance criteria for flag officers and colonels (team score). Demotions possible at these levels for under-performance.
3) Players compete to hold O-8 and above (maybe out of all the generals in the game, 2% given a third star, 1% given a fourth and the top performing player given a fifth, even though the rank doesn't exist for the USMC structure the game's based on).
Unlocks -
Based on weapons/vehicle/other stats and activities rather than rank.
Prestiging -
Possible once a competition rank is achieved. Replaces the silly 1:4 K:D ratio requirement for a Purple Heart, booting stat-obsessed players out of upper ranks long enough to give other players a chance. Twice if they want a second one. Thrice if they're John Kerry.
Bottom line, I think throwing in active competition to acquire and maintain the best possible ranks would have kept more players on their toes. The presence and/or death of a general or some other competitive ranking player might've been more unique in the game after a few years, since there simply wouldn't be so many players with these ranks.
Would be nice to see BF3 linked somehow to BF2 accounts with a campaign ribbons thrown in on BF3 for BF2's vanilla ribbon, Special Forces and the boosters. Not necessary, just a bit of continuity.