Ahhh well obviously the CM either don't have the answers . Or feel as if it's not a huge issue . Sigh ..... Thanks CM's
The new" Elite " rankings
- Thread starter angusmadmac1
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I really don't understand the fuss. Although it does seem to center around a confused understanding of what "elite" means.
1) It isn't a concrete term. You could say it's the top 1%, or the top 12%.
2) It's not a synonym for "ultimate". "Elite" is a collective term. Any time you have a collective you have the ability to rank the members of that collective. Yes, you can be the elite of the elite.
I just got my first elite rank a week or so ago. I'm barely across the threshold. I'm not nearly at the same level as someone who's been playing for five years and has three years FCs full of void opals. So what's wrong with recognizing that difference?
1) It isn't a concrete term. You could say it's the top 1%, or the top 12%.
2) It's not a synonym for "ultimate". "Elite" is a collective term. Any time you have a collective you have the ability to rank the members of that collective. Yes, you can be the elite of the elite.
I just got my first elite rank a week or so ago. I'm barely across the threshold. I'm not nearly at the same level as someone who's been playing for five years and has three years FCs full of void opals. So what's wrong with recognizing that difference?
What was this old man saying? Elite? An élite combateer?
Alex's head span. He knew all about the space pilots who'd earned that title, of course. Few of them did. To be élite in combat was to be . . . well, as near invincible as made no odds.
A great many pilots were 'dangerous'; you didn't last long as a trader if you weren't. Many more had earned the classification 'deadly'. So had a lot of mercenaries. So had a lot of pirates.
But élites. Few and far between.
Alex's head span. He knew all about the space pilots who'd earned that title, of course. Few of them did. To be élite in combat was to be . . . well, as near invincible as made no odds.
A great many pilots were 'dangerous'; you didn't last long as a trader if you weren't. Many more had earned the classification 'deadly'. So had a lot of mercenaries. So had a lot of pirates.
But élites. Few and far between.
I refer the right honorable person to the post I made a while ago where words like "The", "Most" etc are not shades or graduations of the same thing. most="greatest in amount, quantity, or degree."
There is no difference. Elite is Elite. Nothing more.. nothing less
From Silver Coment by Darren Grey
"Her insignia was right here, two shining wings outstretched with the word “ELITE” imprinted at the centre; majestic, pure, inviolate, the highest rank and greatest dream. Everything else was dark or blurred away, but this was clearer than anything she had seen before. It filled her vision and stirred her soul. Johanna reached out her hands and the wings swept round her, embracing her, making her part of it. The light from them grew, blinding her vision and burning her skin. She felt herself carried upwards, lifted high to join the ranks of the greatest pilots of all time. As everything else faded away only one truth remained. She was Elite."
It's not just a pointless extension of the grind(cus it is) . These ranks are the most egregious retcon since Midichlorians or the events of Terminator Dark fate or all sequels of the highlander francise (there can be only one.... what?)
It feels like a very hollow, zero sum, easy to implement and apparently misguided way to entice the players to grind...sorry play more ED.
Unless there is a reason to achieve those additional and rather arbitrary ranks, I won't bother. I'm done with that, I got triple elite, end of.
Just moving the goalposts and adding extra ranks without additional gameplay or attached benefits really betrays the thought process (or lack thereof) behind FDs design philosophy.
Unless there is a reason to achieve those additional and rather arbitrary ranks, I won't bother. I'm done with that, I got triple elite, end of.
Just moving the goalposts and adding extra ranks without additional gameplay or attached benefits really betrays the thought process (or lack thereof) behind FDs design philosophy.
Elite was, is, will forever be the top rank in the whole Lore of the game "Elite" . My triple was made with no pax , exploration ( I visited Beagle in a 44lyr dolphin in 2017) trade was done with no mining in 2018 and in Combat no thargoids were harmed .
From the spectrum Days 1984 ?? ELITE was the top rank .
So for me it is the top and I was and am disappointed by the 5 levels of Elite ? Let alone the merc and xeno makey up ranks .
So it may be me being" butthurt " about it but it shows the complete lack of understanding about the game and it's longstanding lore to the point of ignorance .
I can take the long standing bugs and the broken gameplay it's what I expect from the game " it's normal" now , but for me this was the worst decision ever . And what really hurts is the lack of any conversation or response from Fdev or even the CM's .
I have watched the streams and asked the question and everytime it's ignored .
My suit colour isn't the right colour " we will look at it straight away " can someone explain the thoughts behind the elite 1-5 ranks silence, a ghost town of responses .
So yes I'm upset ( I thought I would stop playing but that's taking it too far as it's my comfort game ) and more upset that noone has bothered to answer the why and the who thought it was necessary or even relevant to the lore .
Sorry I got carried away .
@Zac Cocken @sallymorganmoore @Arthur Tolmie @David Braben who shall be tagged for evermore
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Then tell people to quit complaining that there's nothing to do. Because that's why Fdev did it. They know from their telemetry that people don't play as much once they get pas a certain point. They see the comments on the threads about nothing mattering once you hit Elite or get a billion credits or whatever. So, yeah, they have to give people a reason to stick around.
As for "grind", that's your choice. Nobody says you have to make Elite in a week. It's supposed to take time. But people get impatient and grind to get it all ASAP. Then they complain about grinding. Grinding is unpleasant because you're not supposed to do it.
Two new Paths to get to Elite were just created with all sorts of new equipment engineering for the Grind Hamsters... I dont buy that argument.
It smells of someone with no passion for the game being put in charge of it and looking to add "content" with no understanding of what the ranking means in the first place.
And no, I do not consider the rank grind to be content (hence the quotes).
More grind for the grindlords. It's pretty much the only gameloop FD can think of.
Just increasing the rank of Elite by 5 levels doesn't add anything to do. You're still doing the same things.
Nothing is unlocked by achieving those ranks, there is no benefit to doing so. It also goes against the well established lore thats over 30yrs old.
It took me a long time (years) to get triple Elite without cheesing the system. Now that achievement has been rendered almost meaningless.
I have no major issue with adding ranks if FD have a valid reason to do it. If they'd added some tangible reward for achieving those ranks or explained the lore behind them or attached some sort of exclusive gameplay / content / missions for those who'd achieved Elite to aid with their climb to Elite rank 5....ok, I can get on board with that.
The way this has been implemented suggests it's not been thought through, has probably been rushed and shows zero design effort or understanding of basic gaming concepts (reward for effort).
If done properly this could have been a reason for lapsed players to return. In its current form it just highlights how out of touch FD really are.
As for the grind...to reach Elite in combat I needed to destroy over 10,000 ships. That was quite a long process, bounty hunting, missions, RES hunting. When I eventually achieved that I got access to Jameson Memorial with it's 10% discount on all ships and modules. To get to Elite rank 5 i'll have to destroy probably another 10,000 ships if not more, no reason given, no incentive, no reward, no additional gameplay...just somes stars above my Elite insignia.
Just adding ranks to Elite because FD 'want people to play more' isn't interesting & engaging gameplay. It is however indicative of how FD are developing ED.
That's not the point. The point is that there is a carrot dangling to convey the illusion of a goal to achieve.
That's exactly my point. They didn't incentivize it. There is no purpose, nothing locked behind it, you aren't required to do it. Staying at Elite1 won't in any way negatively impact your game. If you just log on and do what you want to do when you feel like playing you will eventually get Elite5. You're mad about the grind "required" to get the new ranks, but that's all in your head, not the mechanics of the game.
Is this a well thought out and engaging addition to the game? You don't need to do it, it offers no new gameplay or rewards, so why bother?
Slapping 5 extra ranks onto Elite without any particular reason other than 'they want people to play more'. I wonder if it's having the desired effect and luring lapsed players back to the game?
I'm not mad about anything, certainly not mad about the 'grind', but I fail to see the benefit of adding extra ranks for the sake of it. I'm not interested in the new ranks and definitely won't be actively working towards them. Why should I, how does that in any way benefit the game experience?
Also you completely ignore the part of my post where I said I'd be on board with new ranks if there was a reason for them, be it lore, gameplay, content, reward or a combination of these, but there isn't is there, it's just an arbitrary increase which I'd be happy to ignore.
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Again, that's what I'm saying. You aren't supposed to bother with it. It's just a thing that's there to recognize those who've been around. It isn't a thing you do, it's a thing that happens. So I don't understand why anybody is bothered by it. Those who don't care about the ranks definitely shouldn't care that there are new ones. And those who think "Elite should mean something" should actually like that there is a way to be "elite" again. I mean, I've been playing for just a couple months and I've already got an Elite rank. Am I really on the same level as those who've had Elite for years? Look at the Inara boards and there are more than 100,000 "Elite" players. That doesn't seem very "elite" to me. If people really want the rank to mean something then it has to be somewhat exclusive. That means either adding new ranks or diminishing existing ranks. I can't even imagine the outcry if they had taken away Elite ranks.
And this was no answer to any of my questions, either. Still the questions show that even the idea behind the Elite++ rankings was obviously not thought out too well. Probably to a point where previous game-play is already broken functionally (combat ranking), not only meaningless (there is no more elite than elite).
They kinda did take it away(hence some of the outcry) . People took pride in triple or even quad elite as it was the highest you can get. it gave a "yay done with this" feeling.. Now all of a sudden you need to hit triple elite FIVE times more, and then.. what they add another 5 on...
I liken it to this years champions league football, which Chelsea won.. Chelsea fans are all celebrating being the "best team in Europe", Then UEFA go. "Well done Chelsea, you are now a Grade D European Champion, to be a Grade A you need to win it as many times as Real Madrid..."
If you consider the population of the galaxy is in the trillions, then the number of elite players is exclusive, combat elite more so. Outside of the game there is a way of distinguishing what you have done and what you do. Your reputation among the playerbase.
And this doesn't even touch on how high it craps on 37 years of lore, novels, stories and player achievements.
New station where only Five Star Elite can go. 12% discount, cake and new Elite coffee mug that holds more coffee than the Hutton Orbital Mug.
Now get grinding!
Now get grinding!
I don't understand why people aren't bothered about it . The ranking system was in the Lore , the history of the game . The name says it all "Elite " . It was bragging rights really in Inara I'm top 4.5% of the pilots possibly more due to my CQC ranking . Yes trade and exploration Elites are too easy but thats a new development .
It all depends on how you see Elite , some are meh others aren't . I am in the latter ( if you hadn't guessed)
Again the silence from Frontier is deafening . @sallymorganmoore @Arthur Tolmie @David Braben @Zac Cocken @Bruce G
It all depends on how you see Elite , some are meh others aren't . I am in the latter ( if you hadn't guessed)
Again the silence from Frontier is deafening . @sallymorganmoore @Arthur Tolmie @David Braben @Zac Cocken @Bruce G