Hourglass and How to Improve It

[Clown]

Introduction

Hello and welcome, today I bring a proposal, one that is not necessarily centered at the devs but at the playerbase, since I've noticed many in the community will argue for keeping hourglass the same as it is now. This thread will detail the current issues I see with Hourglass, and some solutions I believe would alleviate them. Discussion and other ideas are more than welcome. To note as well; I don't have any hours on PC however I do play on console.

The Issues

Currently, as is, Hourglass is a game mode that does not respect the player's time, nor effort invested into it. Experience is only awarded for completing the match, and for turning in win streaks. Matches also not only take some time to find, by can and often do drag on unless you are capable of overwhelming your opponent. In combination, this means that should you get into a match against an evenly matched opponent, or one that is better than you, and you put up a good fight, but ultimately lose, you earn the same amount of experience as someone who did not try at all, or who got utterly dominated. With the combination of Hourglass already being immensely grindy, this makes the mode feel utterly soul crushing, and not worth the time to anyone who is not able to consistently win against their opponents. With so many sailing the seas, there will always be some one better than you, and so expecting people to consistently win and go on these large streaks without ever losing is rather unrealistic.

The Solutions

So, how do we make the player feel like their time invested in this gamemode is properly rewarded, and that they aren't just running into a brick wall? Well, I believe the solution is quite simple. Reward the actions taken in match with experience. Virtually every other multiplayer deathmatch will reward you with experience for kills, securing objectives, and any other actions that serve to further the goal of the match. I believe that actions such as killing enemy sailors, damaging the enemy's ship, and making repairs to your own ship should reward you with experience towards your respective faction. This would mean that if you put in a lot of effort during a match, or your match lasts a long time, but you ultimately lose, your effort would not be wasted. While you would not get as much experience as winning and doing these actions, you would still get rewarded for putting up a fight. I also believe putting a time limit on how long matches can last would be valuable as well, ensuring battles do not get prolonged by people running from the fight, or equally matched opponents.

Concerns

While these solutions may help everyone who plays Hourglass, there is one concern many people have voiced when I have suggested these solutions elsewhere. Farmers. Those who would forgo any form of legitimate way of earning reputation in favor of simply farming it. While these solutions will help legitimate players, yes, it would also help farmers. Unfortunately, those who wish to farm, are an inevitability, and they will farm no matter how grueling it is. I however do not believe that the rest of the playerbase should have to suffer a poorly designed mode due to the actions of a handful of others. We all should want Hourglass to be an enjoyable, and rewarding experience, and not a slog that does not respect the player's time.

Conclusion

Ultimately I believe these changes are a necessity to change Hourglass into something that players of all sorts can enjoy. A mode, that not just rewards you for winning, but for trying your hardest to do so. No longer would losing a hard fought match leave you feeling as though you'd have been better off not trying, instead it would give you hope, seeing that reputation bar go up with how much you did that match. So, in the end, I hope this thread helped you to think about the way you go about thinking of Hourglass, and maybe voice those concerns to the fevs. I think we can get the changes this mode deserves, but we can't do it alone, we must all be fighting for it! Have a lovely day, and thank you for your time!

Yours truly,
Clown

[Fail]

Interesting thoughts, I like them. Except for the experience-for-repairing part. Too easy to farm xp by bumping rocks.

I suppose at the end of the time limit it would add up the xp from both crews and give a win to the one with the most... or force duels/tdms... the possibilities are actually kinda neat.

It's nice to have someone provide some thoughtful insights instead of the usual "HG bad, Arena gooood" that most of us (myself included) have said.

[Clown]

Originally posted by Fail:

Interesting thoughts, I like them. Except for the experience-for-repairing part. Too easy to farm xp by bumping rocks.

I suppose at the end of the time limit it would add up the xp from both crews and give a win to the one with the most... or force duels/tdms... the possibilities are actually kinda neat.

It's nice to have someone provide some thoughtful insights instead of the usual "HG bad, Arena gooood" that most of us (myself included) have said.

My thought process is you're working to keep your ship afloat, which is participating in the match. Sure, it would be easy to farm, but like I said, farmers will always farm. I'd rather have players be properly rewarded, than not just to make it harder to farm.

Likewise it's nice to hear some feedback that isn't someone just shouting "you just want it to be easy to get the curses!!!" Thanks for giving your thoughts!

[Panpan2019]

Amen to this, honestly. 51/100 levels into my Hourglass grind and I have to admit this would be appreciated.
I've been getting a lot of fatigue playing Hourglass recently, and I've only really ranked up one level in the past almost month because I kept getting matched up against sweaty opponents, which isn't a problem, but losing over and over with next to no reward does get pretty tiring.
Not sure about the repairing part, but I think scoring kills and hitting cannon shots earning you XP at the end of the match sounds great. Maybe you could get extra for taking down masts or hitting several successive cannonballs in a row without missing.
Great idea though. Love HG so far (despite it's many downsides) and I think this would absolutely make it so much better.

[Clown]

Originally posted by Panpan2019:

Amen to this, honestly. 51/100 levels into my Hourglass grind and I have to admit this would be appreciated.
I've been getting a lot of fatigue playing Hourglass recently, and I've only really ranked up one level in the past almost month because I kept getting matched up against sweaty opponents, which isn't a problem, but losing over and over with next to no reward does get pretty tiring.
Not sure about the repairing part, but I think scoring kills and hitting cannon shots earning you XP at the end of the match sounds great. Maybe you could get extra for taking down masts or hitting several successive cannonballs in a row without missing.
Great idea though. Love HG so far (despite it's many downsides) and I think this would absolutely make it so much better.

Thank you for your thoughts, the whole goal of this is to make Hourglass feel properly rewarding, and worth doing even if you wind up losing the match. The XP for these actions encourages actually putting in the effort, and even if you sink, it won't be for naught. Currently, Hourglass is one of the most mind numbing and boring slogs I've experienced in a game. I just hope we can convince enough people this is a good idea, as currently Rare seems happy leaving HG as is.

[Felix Ashur]

Honestly? I agree with this for the most part. Maybe not for experience given for repairs (yes, they are important in the battle, but they are a bit too easy to cheese), but definitely for getting ship damage on the opponent and kills on their crew.
As things are currently, it's just too much of a grind outside of double rep weekends.