But once that influx drops off, would that not mean that matchmaking of new starters will return to a similar situation to what I experienced yesterday? If seems like an artificial barrier to access decent weapons and equipment when it's based on "progression" - effectively just a grind or time sink as you will get there through simply just playing and sucking; no skill required. I feel that this will not draw gamers away from other competitive shooters like CSGO, OW, TF2, etc. If you find yourself on a desolate server with very few newstarters, you'll either give up or hop onto a server with higher ranked players with loadouts that simply trump yours. If this is my first few hours of play, and this is my experience, I'll switch back to my previous FPS of choice and give Argo a miss.
I'd personally rather see rank as more of a cosmetic - a badge of honour itself (see OW, TF2, etc), a way of instilling intimidation in lower ranked players and giving me a great sense of achievement when I smoke a player of far higher rank. Matchmaking should mostly ignore rank and look more towards a statistical analysis of the player themselves - their K/D, accuracy, etc, and build a matchmaking rank that is independent of level. Level should unlock cool cosmetics so you look more badass than other players but the core weaponry (what makes the game compelling to play in the first place; the Arma engine has long hosted the best firefights of any FPS) shouldn't be locked away behind a rank. If I've not experienced an ACOG and hate the ironsights, and I've no idea when I'll get a scope, or a decent rifle, or anything, what is compelling me to strive to unlock them? 10s or 100s more hours of stressful and boring gameplay before I get a feature that is standard in most other FPS shooters the moment you click start and a feature that many other players have "earned" by having more free time or a head start over me? And this is a tactical, skill-based shooter. How much time someone has played shouldn't give them an advantage over a new player who is a better shot or tactically better. Through a lens of fairness, it's not fun.
Ranked unlocks of gear is a poor mechanic - you're locking away the experience of the game and making it exclusive. Why? The purpose of a game is to provide the player with an experience and, in the realm of FPSs, there are plenty of great experiences to choose from. Locking away gear is locking away that experience with the hope that people will find the slimmed experience you leave behind compelling enough to unlock the rest of it. It's so crucial that new players get a full experience of the game; the fun on sniping someone 300+ meters away shouldn't be kept from them - many players will want to experience that first to make their decision on the game.
To stop experienced players from getting bored of the game and compelling them to keep playing, look for other ways to keep the game compelling. Rather than just have XP-based levelling, have a competitive/ranked match mode where people can be ranked globally - both individually but also as a team. Add amazing cosmetics you can only unlock if you achieve difficult things like 3 sniper kills in 6 seconds etc to further allow players to demonstrate their true achievements and skills. Allow characters above a certain rank to add a clan tag to their name... Allow players to earn medals for their "service" and pick their favourite one to show off next to their username on the scoreboard. Etc. Please don't tack on a feature to give higher ranked players a delayed gratification that impacts the initial experience of a new user.
I really do appreciate the AMAZING work you've put into this game. I wouldn't be here if I just wanted to rant and hate on your game. It's the opposite, I'm desperate to LOVE this game as it seems so close to being a perfect shooter. I _need_ a game like Argo. I fully respect if you guys continue with the plan of weapon upgrades and more powerful weapons behind a levelling system, and I also respect if you resort to allowing people to pay to unlock these upgrades (you're fully entitled to monetise your product the way you see fit so you guys can pay your mortgages!). I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you are able to excite the multiplayer FPS genre with your hard work. It's a beautiful game and the game modes and environments are exciting and a much welcome change from the plethora of CQC shooters out there at the moment. With my gripes aside, it does seem you've condensed what makes Arma a lot of fun and packaged it into a quick and accessible game whilst still innovating.
