I finally got a chance to sink my teeth into the 2nd tech test this weekend.
On balance, I really enjoyed playing Titanfall 2.
I did have a few thoughts:
I miss having grunts all over the map. I exclusively played Bounty Hunt which includes grunts at 2 localized areas on the map set to timers. This was interesting since it forces confrontation with the other team and sets up a risk reward style of gameplay: do you dive into the fray and try to collect as much money as possible with a greater risk of losing it on death or do you play conservatively farther back from the hotpoints and snipe other players or sabotage them when they are running for banks to deposit their bonuses. That was fun, but lacking grunts spawning across the whole map for the duration of the match is negative change. Grunts imparted the feeling of the larger battle/war taking place, gave the player more things to do when travelling, allowed weaker players (like me!) the chance to rack up kills and feel like they are contributing, among other things. There were some moments this weekend where I would spawn on the edge of the map and huff it across a large expanse trying to get to the action and there was literally nothing interesting between my spawn point and the locus of action. It felt like a Battlefield moment when you spawn at your base and all of the vehicles are gone and you realize you just need to run to the frontline. The maps are not Battlefield huge but they are big enough to feel empty with just a small number or pilots/titans playing without AI grunts.
The grappling hook is awesome and really adds a ton of fun and creativity to traversal. Too bad it takes up an inventory slot so you need to decide if you want to equip it or take another useful item. I kind of wish all pilots had it by default and not at the exclusion of other tools.
Weapons are more lethal this time around. Some people won’t like it but I never enjoyed how everyone were bullet sponges in TF1. Now I can actually feel and observe the impact when I am shooting another pilot or titan. It is more satisfying.
Teamwork and playing as a group make a big difference. I was just playing with randoms and was not using a mic or anything, but actively deciding to follow or stay close to another teammate really has a positive impact. The more I stayed grouped with my team the better we did. Lone wolfing tends to be weaker. I loved jumping on enemy titans pulling their battery out and then running to a nearby friendly titan, climbing it, and slapping the stolen battery in and giving my teammate a bit of extra protection pilfered from the enemy. Riding on a friendly titan is really useful too since, at the very least, it prevents enemies from rodeoing your buddy.
The game mechanics for the Bounty Hunt mode seemed really balanced. I never really experienced a runaway lead as teams were able to frequently take the lead from far behind or keep the score neck-and-neck. Every match was exciting and you never quite knew who was going win till the very end. Even if my team was behind most of the match I always felt hope in being able to turn it around and take the lead…it never felt insurmountable or out of reach (unlike Battleborn where you could determine a match’s results in the first 5 mins.).
I don’t know if Respawn applied the changes to Titan spawns for this weekend but I was able to get at least one Titan every match and usually 2 or 3 if I was playing at least at an average competency.
The level designs were interesting and gorgeous but there didn’t seem as many opportunities to string together long wall running and mantling chains as a pilot. There were many points where I was just running along the ground. The grappling hook really helps with this but there were larger flat open points in the map where pilots don’t have as many hiding places or interesting traversal decisions. Pilots also needed to be in those open plains since grunt hotpoints often spawned there.
I might have additional thoughts later today.
Despite a few steps back from Titanfall 1 and a design that leans closer to Call of Duty I really enjoyed my time in Titanfall 2. I hope Respawn can digest and apply some of the feedback to the final release. Titanfall 2 might be the only MP game I pick up this fall (since I mostly play single player now) and that is due to the interesting/unique theme, the gorgeous aesthetics, and the inclusion of a single player campaign this time around!
One thing I haven’t seen confirmed yet is whether or not their would be a cooperative horde mode that they later included in Titanfall 1. I loved the Horde mode and sometimes cooperative play is really refreshing after a frustrating period of multiplayer matches. I really hope they include it or even release it later…I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Another hopeful inclusion would be if they provide the option to play offline skirmishes with all AI. I have no idea if that will be an option but I would love it.
Edit: I kind of worry about the chosen release date however. I am planning on skipping Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty and a bunch of other hot releases, but I am in the tiny minority I fear. I don’t think Titanfall 2 can stand up to those all-consuming behemoths. I think Titanfall 2 would do much better in March or Spring generally.
This mirrors my thoughts on the grunt change. Having the AI grunts show up in those two spots and at set times is good for concentrating players in those parts of the map, but it really kills immersion for me. It’s so artificial. They may as well be flag pickups or literal target dummies.
Last night I fired up Titanfall 1 on the Xbox 1 (I have only played on the PC prior to this) and played a few rounds of the multiplayer campaign.
My almost immediate reaction was thinking that Titanfall 2 (based on alpha tech test last weekend also on X1) is actually a much more polished and elegant experience. The pilots don’t really feel any faster in TF1 but there are a lot more closely spaced buildings in TF1 maps that allow for longer wall running chains. I also almost immediately missed the grappling hook in TF1. I kept running towards buildings and desperately wanted to fire a grappling hook near the roof then remembered I didn’t have one!
Titans are really not that much more robust in TF1 either. If I wasn’t careful my Titan would be shredded and destroyed within seconds. That may be partially due to playing with mostly veteran players that have stuck around in the game this many years, but nonetheless my Titans felt almost more fragile than Scorch or Ion in TF2. The pilot melee kicks in TF1 don’t feel that satisfying or weighty while the melee kills in TF2 really worked for me.
I actually think a lot of the community is looking back at TF1 with rose tinted glasses. Of course my brief experience this weekend and week with both games is really subjective, but my biggest takeaway playing the games back-to-back is that Respawn put a lot of work in tightening up controls, polishing the experience, and making their sophomore effort a really streamlined product.
That said, having grunts and spectres all over the map and the more urban level designs are advantages that Titanfall 1 still retains. I hope that Respawn finds a way to carry the spirit of some of that over to Titanfall 2.
So after playing Titanfall 1 again I actually have a renewed excitement for 2 since I actually think it is a much more polished experience (though still have a few dings against what I saw in the tech test).
Ignore everything I wrote above I was sooooo wrong.
I played Titanfall at release on the PC. Had a great time but then the playerbase moved on. My disappointed take above was based on a reinstallation on PC back in April and only playing a partial match. I probably wasn’t in a good mood then. :-)
Since then I played the second weekend of the Titanfall 2 tech test on Xbox One and despite some issues like a lack of grunts and burn cards I loved the experience.
Since the tech test I have been itching for some more hot Titan-on-Titan action so I installed Titanfall 1 on my Xbox One (only played on PC before) and have been playing a mix of MP (Attrition + Hardpoint) and more recently the co-op horde mode (Frontier Defense). I am now up to level 32 and loving all of the little subtleties of the game. It has been the only thing I have been playing for weeks and I have really been digging into all the details, builds, tactics, and strategies. I absolutely love this game now. The movement is a constant source of joy and the myriad of ways you can build your pilot and titan and then further modify with burn cards is satisfying to tweak between matches.
On Xbox there seems to be consistently around 3,000 players a night and many new and returning players like myself so it isn’t just all high level veterans. I think the tech test weekends brought in a resurgence of players.
There will probably be even more players in the coming weeks since the community is organizing a Re-launch of the game with a focus on certain modes each weekend.
My excitement and support for OG Titanfall has never wavered. I thought it was brilliant on day one and still think so today. I know not everyone wants to only play online and many people need campaigns. I don’t. Titanfall, with its incredible movement and Titan gameplay, hooked me perfectly.
Remember, all maps and all new multiplayer game-modes will be free for all players.
The first announced map addition is Angel City remastered from the first game. Coming sometime in December.
Also, the inevitable paid cosmetic DLC has been officially confirmed.
[quote]
Following the release of Titanfall 2, we will offer more cosmetic items as DLC. These items will be available for purchase, but as always, gameplay is first here at Respawn and they will in no way impact the gameplay. We’ll be revealing more details on our post-launch DLC plans, from new maps and modes as well as customization options, in the months ahead.[/quote]
I’m torn between PC and Xbone versions. On one hand I prefer twitch shooters on the PC to play with KB+M as God intended, but on the other I am worrying about a repeat of Titanfall 1 where the PC player-base disappears after a few months.
The community is still quite robust on the Xbox One even now and the gamepad works reasonably well with Titanfall.
