[TerranUp16]

Article w/Images

Rather interesting/entertaining for the most part but there is also some really interesting data in here. Perhaps the most interesting is the "Most Popular Multiplayer Modes" chart. Relic has asserted that their main focus in DoW 2 MP is 3v3 and one of the major reasons they cited for that is most players do not like the direct, 1v1 confrontation that most strategy games put forth because it puts victory/defeat squarely on the player's shoulders. Frankly, I sympathize.

But anyway, the "Most Popular MP Modes" graph then is huge for Relic in terms of whether it proves or disproves Relic's assertion. Looking at the graph, 1v1 Custom was only 1% below 3v3 Custom. However, 1v1 Ranked pulled in a mere 9% compared to the 24% of 3v3 Ranked. So why the huge delta between 1v1R and 1v1C? It seems to prove Relic's point that players do feel threatened by 1v1. Perhaps not so much when nothing is on the line, but when rank is...

[sgage]

Interesting... though I must admit, "ranked" and "unranked' don't really mean much to me since I generally just used the auto-match feature. I found that easier than any other option available since it gives me an opportunity to be randomly paired and cut down on the search time and "kick" time. My experience with the custom matches is not a pleasant one... more often than not I got kicked for being "new", which is hardly an argument considering everyone's new. I did find the auto-match feature to be a bit underutilized since every time I tried to use it I waited around 5-10 minutes for a match (which is still better than my track record with Company of Heroes where I'm still yet to be auto-matched).

[TerranUp16]

Quick Match = Ranked

[Whiplash]

When you get better and feel that your teamates are dragging you back or holding you back you'll want to go to 1v1

[TerranUp16]

Whiplash said:

When you get better and feel that your teamates are dragging you back or holding you back you'll want to go to 1v1

Eh, that may be true for StarCraft, but DoW 2 brings synergistic heroes/forces to the table. With the pop cap so low and with heroes playing such different roles, your ally is rather valuable. For example, if you're a Force Commander plowing ahead with Assault Marines and Assault Terminators, the aid of an ally Apothecary with Devastator (Bolter and Plasma) teams can make a HUGE difference that you alone could not. Much like a Heavy in TF2 without a Medic.

Also of note though is Relic's current level design for 3v3. Most of the maps, much like CoH's maps (and this worked fine for CoH), create "lanes". By "lanes", I mean paths of resource/power/victory nodes that rest between the two team's bases. These lanes generally require each player to focus specifically on one lane in order to keep control of them- much like DotA level design. The thing is though, that DoW 2 is really set-up for 3v3 matches to rely more heavily on synergistic use of heroes and forces. To accomplish this with lanes, one player will generally need to lock-down their lane before such synergism can occur.

So, I would very much like to see some more single-lane map design for DoW 2 3v3.