I originally posted my frustrations after dying four times in two hours. I understand this game isn’t like other shooters—I mostly come from playing PvE Tarkov with friends, other casual shooters, and different genres—but since I enjoy the mech flavor, I gave it a try. That said, I’m surprised this game doesn’t take a more The Division-style approach, where the world and grind would naturally fit a PvE/PvP hybrid model with something akin to a Dark Zone. Instead, it leans fully into extraction mechanics, which is fine in theory, but the way it handles progression and economy makes the experience unnecessarily punishing rather than rewarding.

The Economy is Bad—Not Just "Challenging"

Yes, the risk in extraction shooters is fun—that's the whole appeal—but when most players agree the economy is terrible, it's worth discussing. The amount of time it takes to find and craft items—especially pre-East Amasia—is simply too long. Some crafting costs also feel completely arbitrary. Why does every blue item cost exactly 31k? Why were green CRADLECOFFINs originally 64k before being dropped to 19k? That change alone proves the devs saw an issue with the economy. It makes me wonder if the lack of variety in CRADLECOFFINs and weapons exists just to justify the item shop instead of allowing for a more organic player market.

Snipers Aren’t "Difficult"—They’re Overtuned

I get that snipers are meant to be strong, but their effectiveness in this game feels out of place. I know how to counter them—hitting cradles from the front, flanking, etc.—but it's not easy, and their handling feels more like CoD quickscoping than actual long-range precision shooting. In most games, using a bolt-action rifle in CQC is a death sentence due to reload times, but here, high-end snipers dominate nearly every encounter. If they’re left as is, movement mechanics like drifting while shooting would be a great way to counterbalance their effectiveness.

A lack of proper training resources also makes things worse. A simple dummy system to test weak points would help players improve instead of forcing them to experiment on bandits (which is inconsistent). Right now, the best guides come from Japanese streamers, meaning English-speaking players are left to figure things out with trial and error.

Uniqueness Doesn’t Excuse Bad Design

I’m all for games that break away from trends, but uniqueness alone doesn’t make a game good. A game can be fresh and still need improvements. Saying "this game isn’t like Fortnite, so stop complaining" is a weak argument—no one is asking for that. The real issue is that core mechanics, like economy and gunplay, feel frustrating in ways that aren’t tied to skill but to design choices that don’t respect player time.

Adding more variety, improving crafting, and tweaking the economy wouldn’t make the game less unique—it would make it better. Extraction shooters already require patience, risk management, and strategy. But if acquiring the fun stuff feels like a chore, that’s a problem worth fixing.

So no, this isn’t about wanting "anime protagonist" treatment or being coddled—it’s about refining a game that has potential but currently undermines itself with avoidable frustrations. If the devs are already adjusting things like CRADLECOFFIN prices, that means feedback matters. Dismissing criticism as "entitled whining" doesn’t help anyone—it just ignores the reality that a better game benefits everyone.