Comment from CEO on “Too many snipers!! Waaaahhh!!!”

Let me walk you through your journey, because we've watched this exact same one play out over and over.

Over the last 2 or 3 months, and before that when the devs were testing, every cohort has followed the same path:

Phase 1: "Snipers are overpowered" Phase 2: "Shotguns are overpowered" Phase 3: "I'm not earning enough cash in the zone"

Right now, to you, phase 1 is completely true. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what you're feeling is wrong. But I can tell you exactly what happens next.

At the very start you're playing alongside about 80% brand new players. Everyone gets the basic premise but most people approach it like Battlefield and just run straight in. Then they start earning cash, and the funny thing is they get MORE protective of their money, not less. That doesn't last long, people quickly realise money comes pretty easily. But in this early window nobody has armour or helmets yet, so the Mosin has total free rein on bodies.

And here's the thing about the early sniper. He doesn't need his own armour, no silencer, no AP ammo, no pistol, not even bandages. So he makes a lot of money fast. But it's like sprinting the first lap of a marathon. You've still got a long way to go and everyone behind you is catching up.

For the first couple of days the only weapons in the game are short range and long range. The mid range stuff (assault) lands a few days later as people unlock the AK, Galil, M4 and the attachments that go with them.

At the same time players start unlocking Level 2 armour, maybe a Level 3 helmet. Suddenly the sniper is landing body tags but not kills. That gives the assault player time to escape at a bare minimum, but also to suppress (which punishes snipers hard) or just turn around and kill the sniper outright.

So now the sniper has a choice. Better ammo, a silencer, armour for himself, maybe a ghillie. People are rushing him so he probably needs a pistol now too (happens a lot). And here's the critical bit... his original loadout of a Mosin, a scope, a free backpack and some ammo has just gone from a $2,000 investment to a $12,000 one.

So he's gone from sitting on the edge of the zone needing 1 or 2 kills to turn a profit, to needing 7, 8, 9 or more, with a much higher chance of taking a loss. And so... we start to snipe less.

The snipers who stick with it plough through, unlock better rifles, learn to tailor how they play, and get genuinely good at it. But they can't afford to take as many risks, so you see fewer of them and they sit even deeper in the shadows.

That's exactly why, in my opinion, a Wardogs session without its meta is so entertaining. The players who've been at it for months know they're choosing their own direction of travel. The first time players just haven't clocked it yet.

For what it's worth I play recon/sniper a fair bit myself, mostly because I can do it while I'm sat in meetings :D. But I don't start my run on recon, I start on support, because at Level 5 I unlock an RPG. Second I've got that I switch to recon and snipe under and around flight paths and the spots where helis like to land. Most games I'll pull 3, 4, 5 heli kills packed full of people, bank a load of cash and progress support while I'm sniping. That's my "play your way". I'm an AA/Recon main.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of insight into how we think about balance, and why, with respect, it's hard to really judge it until you've moved a bit further into the game.

Last thing. There will only ever be ONE day one balance experience. After release there will always be players who know exactly what they're doing, and big alphas and tests will always pull in waves of brand new ones. But it won't be like this forever.

One more thing: Every season, we change the unlock and progression order.. so each season plays a bit differently.

Hope that helps, Bramm