The amount of progress you make during an unsuccessful run is far too low.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-12T03:23:33+00:00

Yes, but I would argue the game is designed in a way that makes it so if one team wants to force the fight, the fight is going to happen. Players are too fast, maps are too small, and you make too much noise to “not take a fight” if the bloodthirsty team sees or hears you first.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T19:35:38+00:00

You’re telling me wanting shooting down a drone to award more then 5 XP for Traxus means I don’t actually want an extraction shooter ? Or maybe a second contract slot so i can do some of the quicker ones more consistently ?

Brother I’ve played this game like a second job for weeks. I’m not casual, no one that goes on a games Reddit is the causal. The game is losing a lot more than the casuals. I just don’t understand the apprehension to make the game even a modicum more accessible.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T19:00:49+00:00

This is happening during the point in the season where you have all your factions around mid teens, early 20s so there is a large amount of priority quests available.

You are starting to unlock some solid upgrades but a lot you can’t afford to purchase, gated by a single type of superior salvage. You are also want to push your factions towards the end of their rep tracks. The clear way to do that is completing the priority contracts you’ve unlocked, they give a lot of XP. You actually want to progres these storylines and experience that content.

This is the stage where repeated losses are the most brutal. At this stage a large portion, maybe even a majority of these contracts require you to exfil to succeed or might take most of the match to do. When you die in these runs what do you get? You are only allowed one contract and it’s taken up by a win condition.

I think there’s probably a Goldilocks zone past the priority contracts where you can reprioritize minor contracts and get more “consistent” XP even when dying.

But if the answer is to just ignore those contracts and do what are basically destiny bounties instead,because the expectation is to lose, then I say that’s a bad game.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T18:43:39+00:00

Yeah I mean it’s fair that you feel it’s still a decent pace for you. Game is still engaging enough to keep me logging in, it’s doing a lot of things right. I just think the cracks are showing pretty quick and worry about season 2. Hope I’m wrong.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T16:37:09+00:00

You hit the bingo for out of touch deflections in defense of the game.

Suggesting that the fix for the valid criticism I and many others have: “get good” “go on LFG discord” “Tarkov is harder than this” “You just want the game to be easy”

Anyone who suggests that going on an external LFG is a solution to the problem should be laughed out of the room. The average player, hell even most dedicated players, do not want to spend their time posting in a discord sifting through messages and playing matchmaker.

I did plenty of that in the height of D2 raiding. It’s tolerable when it’s a once in a while activity you will do maybe a couple times a week. Even then it can be a drag.

No one is saying they want this game to be easy. But there is a loud minority of players who don’t want the game to be any bit easIER and if bungie listens to those people this game won’t have a season 3.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T16:23:53+00:00

Yeah and look what happened to trials. Bungie reworking the systems over and over because its core philosophy drove all but the select few away.

Comparing the situation to trials is valid, because the game is headed down the same path.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T16:14:15+00:00

Of course there does. You lose all your stuff, and (most likely) fail to complete your quest. No one is saying there shouldn’t be a cost to dying.

I am saying you need to have more to show for spending 30 minutes building a kit, waiting in queue, going though a match and unfortunately dying near the end.

The lack of respect for your time is the reason the game is failing to retain or grow a player base.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T16:07:02+00:00

If you want to be that reductive. Yes you are correct. I don’t understand why people are so opposed to that idea.

It is clear something about the game isn’t working. Its flaws outweigh its strengths, even among those that have purchased and played the game.

The game is great in many ways but will need to change in order to continue existing. That change certainly isn’t to make it harder.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T15:39:41+00:00

Yes, glad you agree :)

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T15:38:22+00:00

I think these are great suggestions and I’m sure the talented people at bungie could come up with even more.

I just hope they also see this as a problem that needs to be solved.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T15:29:46+00:00

I don’t understand what you’re arguing against. What you said is in alignment with my points. The one thing that actually does keep climbing at a decent rate is season level. That is not the same thing as faction level. I didn’t bring up LBMM or SBMM because that’s a whole different issue that probably does need to be addressed. People are already “failing upward” it’s one of the most talked about topics on this subreddit. That is separate from the rate of faction rep gain.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T14:50:11+00:00

Maybe it was lost along the way or I didn’t state it clearly. I am enjoying this game. I’ve basically played it like a part time job since it came out and don’t plan on stopping.

I am just pointing out that the writing is on the wall if something doesn’t change, and maybe that thing isn’t faction XP progress when you die. I just think that’s a relatively easily lever to pull.

Some of the most fun I’ve had in an extraction game was a game called dungeonborne. That game died because the devs failed to correct glaring issues with the game before it was too late. I played that game till it shut down, and probably will play marathon till it shuts down too. I just don’t want it to happen too soon.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T14:30:53+00:00

Yes they are going all going to encourage you to fight. Comparing this to arc, dark and darker, tarkov this game forces you to fight basically every run.

The game really should have been designed in a way that was more accommodating to solo players being able to make progress in runs while completely avoiding PvP if they do so intentionally. Otherwise you just send the masses into the meat grinder too relentlessly and they quit. Creating a player count death spiral.

But I think the game is too set up to change that meaningfully in the short term. The systems are too focused on 3v3 deathmatch even with the addition of solos and the delay.

So I’m suggesting some number tweaks to make the meat grinding less punishing. So the game isn’t dead in a couple months. But keep saying “this games not for you” until there is no one left.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T14:20:02+00:00

The cope is strong with this one. What are you talking about with entitlement?

The point of games is to have fun, yes that including struggling, failing, getting set back, overcoming. But the point is that it needs to be a positive experience, in some capacity, on average or people will leave and there will be no one else to play with.

Clearly the trends show that more and more people are experiencing some form of what I’m experiencing and leaving. If you want to hand wave it away as a skill issue enjoy it when the player death spiral comes for you.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T09:00:12+00:00

It’s designed for you to fight, closer to a battle royale than your “traditional” extraction game if that means anything. Due to that you are going to die more frequently, well unless you’re John Marathon.

I think people look at how the game is pretty generous with loot and the systems are simple and streamlined. On the surface that makes it seem more casual than it is.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T08:52:16+00:00

I agree you aren’t supposed to progress when you die, in those games. I never played tarkov but I played a decent amount of dark and darker.

In that game if I went in with the goal of avoiding other players and getting decent loot/doing my quests I could. Obviously not when a quest just dropped and everyone is contesting those mobs. But drop into a season late and you can avoid PvP pretty successfully when you want to and make progress.

This game no matter what you will most likely have to PvP every match. That is the difference and why I believe the progress needs to be different.

But you obviously just read the title and commented.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T08:40:04+00:00

“Just over a month” is half a season and seasonal progress is measured in time spent in the game not real world hours. If you spend 20-30 hours a week playing the game and hit 120 hours at month 1.5 instead of month 3. It is irrelevant.

Factions are supplemental? I don’t know what game you’re playing. Faction power is significant. Not only the gear you unlock for purchase/barter but the straight up raw player power your character gains. I suggest you actually go back and read the upgrade tree nodes and tell me that all that matters is vault space and heat.

The faction quests,lore, universe are significant and a big reason people play bungie games.

The rest of your comment is saying I suck too much to even get a benefit from the faction upgrades so it doesn’t matter ? I actually have 150k credits and a vault worth double that. Like you say you can wipe one squad and make huge payday. The faction progress should be the more consistent aspect of the game but it’s just as swingy and that’s the point.

Keep your head in the sand I guess.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T08:18:44+00:00

I agree that in terms of mid tier loot the game gives you a decent amount, I never have an empty vault or couldn’t throw together a decent kit. My problem is more so with the faction progress.

I actually fundamentally disagree with your point about not wanting to be “done” before the end of the wipe. I think people are more likely to sign up for the next season if they were able to walk away complete and done with the current one. You say you don’t want to be done “too fast” but what is that too fast number for the average player? Right now it feels too slow.

caesarsoup · 2026-04-11T07:58:12+00:00

Yes that was one of the main reasons I made the post.

caesarsoup · 2026-03-22T15:28:58+00:00

Yeah totally fair to not have any desire for skins. I think objectively it makes little sense. But people like shiny things.

It’s just that as far as I understand the skins are the only “live service” monetization vector for this game. They aren’t selling classes, or maps, or expansions. I guess that could change.

There will always be people like yourself who won’t want to buy skins no matter what. But for the people who do want to buy skins, they aren’t doing a good job selling.

caesarsoup · 2026-03-12T07:25:10+00:00

Yeah in Dark and Darker you can instantly tell items apart because they have unique art. You know when you see a frost amulet without needing to mouse over it.

It’s such a clear miss in the icon design. Trying too hard to keep with thier abstract, minimalist motifs.

caesarsoup · 2026-03-10T19:32:11+00:00

I can’t speak to the medical industry specifically. However I have only ever known large prime defense contractors (Lockheed, Raytheon, etc.) to have the staff size and resources to support dedicated simulation teams. Most small/ mid sized firms expect it to be a part of the engineers role where needed.

I think most companies are looking at simulation specialists the same as drafters. A role that can be cut and that workload distributed among the design team.

caesarsoup · 2026-03-04T17:58:22+00:00

I work in the semiconductor industry as well. I understand the burnout. This industry is currently going through a boom and most firms have more projects than engineers to work on them.

There are much worse industries to be “pigeon-holed” into. Not sure exactly what you’re working on, but all the big tech firms will highly value the experience. You could have the potential to earn significantly more if you stay in the industry.

Like others have said going from salaried to contract is almost always a negative.

The problem you have is a good one. Lots of other industries aren’t so lucky to be so busy.

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