What do you think about Battlemode?

Ok so it's been a few weeks since the the game launched and hopefully most of the folks here have had a taste of Battlemode. What do you think? What do you like? What do you dislike? Here are my thoughts so far:

 

Likes:

 

- It's fun and different. Not many games have been able to do assymetrical pvp correctly but DE pulls it off and it works. It marries the addictive combat loop of the slayer with the unique and varied playstyles of the demons. Lots of fun.

 

- It's incredibly strategic. Unlike CoD where look first/shoot first, and corner camping= win. Slayer vs Demons is balanced for the most part though a few things could be optimized here and there. The game is actually really well balanced and some of the folks complaining are either not playing smart or haven't understood the rules of the game. There's a lot of ebb and flow in the match, and a lot of room for tactical variety as well.

 

- Matches can go down to the wire. And then that tense music kicks in when you know one good move can win you the round. It becomes a really intense game of cat and mouse which is the mark of a well designed game.

 

Gripes:

 

- My biggest gripe right now is the server quality. There is just an unacceptable level of lag in many of the games I play. This might be an ANZ issue though but I'd love to hear if you guys in the US/EU are also experiencing the same problem.

 

- I don't know how the matchmaking works or if there even is a proper matchmaking system in place. I'm not sure if there are proper regional controls in place. I don't want to be matched into a lag fest with someone half way across the world with an unequal skill level.

 

- More maps required but I'm sure they are on the way.

I was surprised that the mode was quite balanced. Very well for being the first time this mode is out.

The leves are really fun, not that many, but very well made. Playing as the demons is a blast too.

 

Still, the servers are shit. Laggy as hell, if you dont have lag, your enemy or teammate probably does. Also, theres no keyboard chat during game, sometimes those quick calls on chat can help you out.

 

Also, matches dont feel that rewarding. Event XP is very low and theres no more rewards of that kind. If CoD does something well, is rewarding you quit the medals and Xp, it is stupide I know, but it just feels good.

 

And also, I really think that the pvp arena mode should be back. It was fun back in Doom 2016, not perfect, but they prob can make it a lot better in Eternal.

Haven’t played it. Have no desire to, either.

i might play it to try 100% achievement the game but it won’t be because I want to play the mode.

i could end up liking it and I’ll keep an open mind if I get around to it, but right now it’s not something I’m rushing to play 

I'm about 20 matches away from the Triumphant Podium, so here are my criticisms/suggestions (otherwise I enjoy the mode, the concept is very fun):

 

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GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

 

There's too much downtime in between rounds. There's the pre-match lobby, the map loading, the introductions, the upgrade select screen, the victory/defeat screen, the rewards screen, the post-match screen, then another pre-match lobby if you want to shuffle/rematch. First, allow players to skip on introductions if all players hold down a button (like in fighting games where I don't need to see character introductions every time I play an online match). Second, the rewards screen should be skippable. The only way to exit from the rewards screen it is to exit the match altogether, which sucks when someone else wants to do a shuffle/rematch since the server's going to spit everyone else out once post-match is over. The post-match screen shouldn't exist: finishing a match should go straight to another pre-match screen with an automatic shuffle already performed. Add an optional "Rematch" option in the victory/defeat screen that lets players keep their current matchup and essentially restarts the match without any waiting, if everyone agrees on it. You can probably cut the Rewards screen altogether or at least put it as a menu in the pre-match screen. There's just too much waiting as it currently is.

 

No matchmaking means games can become very lopsided. Maybe the matchmaker prefers players with a similar Doom Level, then expanding the choices if there aren't enough in a particular bracket. It's better than nothing at least.

 

The tutorials are very barebones. The lack of bot support for practice is a shame but I suppose the game mode might be too difficult for bots to play competently in. Maybe special challenges for Slayers to use fodder demons to restore resources, or inflict a minimum amount of damage within a time limit, or avoid death from a barrage of attacks, etc. Not every player is going to master the campaign before coming to Battlemode, and their first time experience can lead them feeling very overwhelmed and unlikely to come back. Special challenges and properly packed tutorials can help mitigate this.

 

I still can't tell if my demons are active or not. Sometimes I think the demons are inactive but then I see a Hell Knight on the field (is that mine or my teammate's? No clue). The UI needs to be more clear about when/if my demons are active and whose demons are on the battlefield.

 

I don't like the "select 1 to pick an ability then press CTRL to activate that ability" command system. Pressing 1 should just activate that ability wherever my cursor is.

 

The chat menu needs to be usable in match, or really at all times. It's annoying to type up a reply to a message pre-match, then get cut-off as soon as the match begins.

 

Individual Loot Blocks and Demon Power Upgrades should have cooldowns displayed for all users to see on the player frames at the top of the screen, including the "countdown until first available" timers for Power Upgrades.

 

The death screen should include more information so that players can learn what combination of things killed them. I remember this was added in 2016's 6.66 multiplayer update too.

 

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BUGS

 

Skin colors still don't appear in lobbies, only unique models and special effects do. It's almost a month at this point too, figured this would've been fixed early.

 

The "Minions Damage" stat seems to be bugged as the numbers sometimes go ridiculously high, like in the hundred thousands.

 

The server quality seems very poor. It's quite annoying to have the server drop randomly in lobbies. If there are only two out of three players in a lobby once the countdown is over, it seems to just kick those two remaining players out. It'd be much better if the game let me sit in the lobby and wait for a third player to join.

 

Sometimes you see blue shields in the world left behind by Zombie Security. Can be deceptive from a quick glance around the arena when you're looking for resources.

 

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MAPS

 

Celestial: the two-sided teleporter should be a one-sided teleporter. It's really easy for the Slayer to loop around the map. The AoE beam hazard that moves around seems to have a larger range than it appears to have.

 

Armageddon: I find the ground hazards to be annoying. Though I imagine this is more by design.

 

Penance: The jump pads almost looping into each other seem very strong if you have a Slayer who uses the two almost constantly. Speaking of which, bodyblocking isn't a very viable strategy to preventing Slayers from using jump pads or teleporters, but I feel like it should be.

 

Forsaken: I enjoy this map, no complaints.

 

Extraction: Probably my least favorite map, it feels very "restrictive" with its corridor-like design and periodically closed-off center, though like with Armageddon, it's likely by design.

 

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DEMONS

 

Archvile: Incredibly fun, especially when you place a well-timed Flame Wall and Lake of Fire. The Teleport is quite useful too once you realize its range or ability to sneak past a Slayer. Though I wish they could also be masters of summoning too: maybe that could be for a unique playable Summoner demon?

 

Mancubus: Can be countered quite easily (its movement is quite slow and predictable) but still fun to play at times. Very strong at close range, but I feel like Flamethrower base fuel capacity should be higher. It's a bit weird to punish a Slayer with bad spacing using a full charge of Flamethrower, and not being able to kill him. Smoke Bomb is great though I didn't realize at first that it was sent to a targeted area and wasn't just a self-AoE (like the Heat Blast for Mancubus in 2016).

 

Marauder: Really fun to play too. A solid, all-rounder with offense and defense capabilities. The Flame Wolf's range is a bit ambiguous, I can't tell if dropping him early is a good idea or not.

 

Pain Elemental: Enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. I like the offense-defense flexibility of its Soul Shield.

 

Revenant: Feels very limited/weak compared to the others, despite its decent burst potential. It's a skill-intensive glass cannon and its vulnerable to skilled Slayers who mastered the "Doom dance". The fuel system being shared across jetpack and afterburners feels very restrictive. A successful rocket barrage is a lot harder to pull of compared to other demon special abilities.

 

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SLAYER

 

The Slayer's Power Upgrades are really just BFG-9000 or Sentinel Infused. The other three seem far too situational.

 

The Dashing normal upgrade should be baseline, it's too useful. I like all the other upgrades as they are though.

 

I wish the Crucible and Unmaykr were incorporated somehow into Battlemode. Maybe they could be other Power Upgrades, on par with BFG-9000 and Sentinel Infused? Likely too late to include these anyways.

 

Blood Punch should be charged up at the start of rounds, it's too awkward to setup and too risky to pull off in most matches.

 

Ballista and Heavy Cannon Scope should do considerably less damage (on PC anyways).

 

It seems fodder demons sometimes spawn on only one side of a map, which can be annoying when you made distance and can't find any resources.

 

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OTHER

 

A free-for-all "Demons Infighting" mode would be neat. Just pick a demon and fight other Demon Players in the arenas, first to 30 kills win.

 

A Summoner demon would be neat! A counterpart to the Archvile that focuses on summoning and swarming the Slayer.

 

I don't think Dread Knights, Pinkies, or Whiplashes are used anywhere in Battlemode, so they could be candidates for future playable demons. Doom Hunters and Tyrants too, but I'm not sure their size will make them conducive to some areas (like the demon starting zone in Penance).

Not enough content is probably the biggest problem.  And when I say content I mean new maps, ladder system, game modes, demons and skins.  Right now we do not have a whole lot of customization and most of the time the skins do not even show up in the intro and post game.  That might seem like a nit pick but it really does add a lot to the games experience.

 

They also need to be a bot mode so players can practice.  We have no clear idea what kind of build (runes, weapon masteries, suit) the slayer has and how exactly the level lay outs work.  Having a Slayer versus Bots would be crucial to retain players and build their ladder confidence.

 

They also need game lobbies where players can chat and form custom games from there.  Right now the game feels very disconnected to the world and that is a bad thing.  D16 also suffered from this. 

 

Custom game modes would also be nice.  Such as having a slayer face up against more than 2 demons.  Not sure if the game is built with more demons in mind but it would be nice to pit some of the best slayer in the world against waves of demon player scrubs such as myself.

 

Then there is balance.  Right now the slayer feels OP, but then other times the demons seem OP.  One thing is certain; get rid of the damn Demon skill wheel.  It is cumbersome and frustrating to use in these fast fights.  We really needed a beta.

 

Unfortunately with the pandemic all content will likely be put on hold or slowed down which is very needed during battlemodes honeymoon period.  It could very well be too little too late I fear.

I haven't tried Battlemode, mainly because I'm fairly certain that I'd get my ass hand-delivered to me most of the time.

On 4/11/2020 at 3:57 AM, AtimZarr1 said:

The Slayer's Power Upgrades are really just BFG-9000 or Sentinel Infused. The other three seem far too situational.

 

I disagree - I LOVE big boom in conjunction with double frag grenades far more than the BFG.

Drop a dual grenade when the demons are next to fodder right after a flamebelch, jump around the other side with a remote detonating rocket as you drop the other dual grenade in opposite direction and run... good luck computing just how much aoe you pummel them with lol

On 4/11/2020 at 2:29 AM, thewormofautumn said:

Haven’t played it. Have no desire to, either.

i might play it to try 100% achievement the game but it won’t be because I want to play the mode.

i could end up liking it and I’ll keep an open mind if I get around to it, but right now it’s not something I’m rushing to play 

Same situation here.  I don't feel even the slightest bit compelled to play it.

Never played it and probably never will, I would however play online all the time if there was Coop. Good I really hope that's the DLC or some sort of update, that'd be amazing

I played it the first time the other night. I only played one match, but that match was highly skewed in my favour. I was a much better Slayer than I thought I’d be, but I think my opponents were a lot greener than I was.

 

After going through the initial tutorial, I lost any kind of desire to play as the demons though.

 

Playing as the Slayer (dashing/swinging/meathooking around, quickswapping weapons and stuff) is just too fun. I’m kinda surprised anyone wants to play as a demon tbh.

 

Also, I would’ve had a lot more fun playing other Slayers as well. Swinging around is fun, but when I‘m chasing down a Pain Elemental that’s actively running away from me at 5 mph, it isn’t as appealing. I’d much rather be trying to shoot another player swinging around as well, and dodging their rockets. I suppose I could do that as a demon, but again, I like playing that way too.

 

I was very excited for the Invasion Mode, until I realized I would have to play as a demon as an invader, and it’d probably take a good few (up to 10?) minutes to interact with anybody once. I may try the Marauder in the Invasion Mode because that could be closer to what I’m looking for, and then I (likely) won’t have to worry about summoning other demons, health forcefields, blocking loot, and a bunch of other crap I have no desire to do.

 

TL;DR - I’d prefer to have some Slayer vs Slayer modes.

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Mattatsu

It has been fun. I had a tough time getting the hang of playing as the demons, but the Marauder seems to suit my play style best (being his movement is closest to the slayer, I guess). Prefer to play as the slayer. I've seen some good strategy put to use by demon players -- holding up in a certain enclosed part of the map is surprisingly valid in a few spots. Beats Doom 2016's multiplayer, that's for sure.

 

Irritated about the cosmetics not showing up.