Should Backpack Reloading (aka Born Ready) be built-in to your character?

[GIRL]

So we've had discussions before on the forums here about whether Dash should be built-in to the gameplay. The reasons being that, 1. Having it makes your survival/mobility immediately better than a player without it, and 2. Tons of other shooters often give dashes (or similar "get out" tools) to every player.

I want to argue that Born Ready should be the same. Born Ready is pretty much just "backpack reloading" from classic games like Half Life. The point of backpack reloading in games is to keep the action fast-paced with little downtime. In Half Life, reloading one weapon reloads every other weapon in your arsenal, which is by design. The gameplay thrives off of switching between your guns like a carousel of death - it's part of why the gunplay in those games feels so satisfying.

I argue that DRG in general, would benefit from making Born Ready part of the base gameplay. For starters, I think most long-time already run the perk. The only time you don't really need to run it is when you have guns that don't reload. Otherwise, everyone runs it, so at that point it's kind of just taking up a perk slot.

Perks by and large should be reworked soon, and that's a topic for another day. But my point here is - if a perk is so game-changing and useful that nearly everyone runs it, then it should either be nerfed, or made into a core feature. Because ideally, perks should be balanced enough that all of them see relatively equal use. If everyone is using 1 or 2 perks, the devs have failed at making them feel replaceable or interchangeable - but that would make them good as core gameplay mechanics.

The argument against making perks like Dash and Born Ready inherit features is, of course, "wouldn't that make the game too easy?" to which I argue no. Okay, maybe there's a debate to be had about Dash, because Dash is just... that good. But for Born Ready, certainly not.

Born Ready is a convenience at best, the reason everyone runs it is simply because it feels good, and because most of the passive perks simply aren't as valuable (which says more about the other perks than it does Born Ready).

tl;dr, I think Born Ready should just be a core mechanic of the game. Tons of classic shooters already had backpack reloading, and DRG takes heavy inspiration from classic arcade-y games. It's basically just a QoL that people feel forced to take because there's few better options for the passive slot perks.

P.S. Yes this would also ideally remove the voicelines (because I find them annoying and nonsensical, like having your Dwarf acknowledge a realistically impossible task like backpack reloading is... weird). Also, yes we could remove the Auto-Reload mods for the Boomstick and Flaregun and replace them with something better.

[SCamp]

Originally posted by ''Mimind'':

nah..

[Frisky]

nah, managing your reloads is a part of the game IMO and personally I'd lean more to nerfing or reworking born ready myself than having it put on everyone (or just not touching it at all honestly)

personally I haven't touched born ready in ages outside of on scout and thats mostly cuz I barely play scout and can't be bothered when i do, not even on something with long reload times like the autocannon do i personally feel it being necessary or important honestly, sure it's nice but I prefer other perks

also it would pretty much make almost every reload speed upgrade pointless

i don't think it'd make the game too much easier if it was base kit but I think the game would be less engaging if it was

[Zargothrax]

Yea, if something is good enough for people to want it be part of the base kit then it shouldn't be. In that case you'd nerf it to keep it in line with the rest of the game's balance.

Born Ready is a curious case though, like you said, it's convenience at best (even if it works very well with autocannon or coil gun whatever) so it isn't that good. There's simply no need for it to be base kit outside of that little bit of convenience it can bring, but if it were base kit then it will always undermine the challenge of keeping your guns reloaded. The cost of all of this currently is using one of your perk slots that could be running something more useful which seems fair to me.

[Ɛ: ʎɥɔʇɐԀ]

nah...

[ナルゴ]

No. Need less games to be about mindlessly running and spraying. Reloads are good for balancing weapons as well.
Love how slow this game is. Love the reload animations.

[Cor.]

Would be nice, but we dont need to remove perks, we need more.

[Thienen]

No thanks. Ammo management is part of the challenge in the game and making sure to keep your weapons mag topped off is there for a reason. You can use one of your valuable passive perks to negate it but that's the trade off.

Other games have backpack reloading because the core gameplay loop of those games is high octane bloodfests of always killing something. That doesn't fit into DRG as its combat gameplay loop is more of a horde wave defense. A core tenant of horde wave defense loops is resource management, spend it too quickly and you're out before the wave is done. Spend it too sparingly and you might get overwhelmed beyond the point of recovery. Outright removing that element by making Born Ready a base kit perk would be bad for the design of DRG.

On top of that, the best thing to do in DRG is to move and don't get hit in the first place. You can sprint while reloading so great players use that reloading time to reposition. Its not all that beneficial on higher difficulties to mag dump, switch, mag dump, switch, mag dump etc.

I don't even remember the last time I used Born Ready tbh. I rarely even hear others having it equipped either so I question where you're getting this "Everybody uses it" metric. I'd hardly put it in the same tier of perks like Dash or IW. Its a minor convenience perk to negate the possibility of being punished for poor ammo management, nothing more.

[GIRL]

Originally posted by Cor.:

Would be nice, but we dont need to remove perks, we need more.

The two could go hand-in-hand though, remove Born Ready as a perk and fill the gap with more perks. So many people are accustomed to running BR that no matter what new passive perks they added, I doubt they could really add anything good enough to warrant not using BR.

[Chibbity]

Gonna have to pass on this one, sorry man.

Personally I think reload management is an important and engaging part of playing any shooter.

It's fine to have a perk, but making it the default would just be weird.

[Derpykat5]

Managing reloads is a part of the game (as others have said). In particular it allows you to extend your shooting if you build both your primary and secondary to support you for several continuous seconds. This is most commonly seen on Gunner (where the perk is often run), but is easily possible on all the other classes. Making the auto reload baseline removes the incentive to take any reload speed upgrades since you could just switch to your secondary and use that. That might not be possible on some builds, but those would become the exceptions rather than the standard.

I think that it's run frequently by other players (which unless they made the voice lines clientside at some point I would argue against as I barely hear the lines anymore) because it's a combination of nice QoL and a tangible benefit in the form of extending your firing time via weapon switching.

[SCamp]

I'm actually fine with it as it is as a perk but I do actually want to open up my 3rd perk slot for something else.

The problem is that the rest of the passive perks are not strong enough to compete with Born Ready's convenience/utility.

Could solve this in a few ways without nerfing Born Ready or turning it into base gameplay:

1) Concentrate power of passive perks: Make other passive perks stronger by combining related perks and/or buffing them. New perks that are equally as strong to fill newly created gaps. (Ex: Veteran Depositer + Deep Pockets; also +5 bag size; Strong Arm + Unstoppable)

2) 4th passive perk slot. We can assume Born Ready, but if someone doesn't want it they'll get a power spike.

As for a possible Born Ready nerfs/changes:

3) Change Born Ready to have an additional "empty clip" requirement: The off-hand weapon only reloads if the on-hand weapon ran out of clip/overheated.

4) Turn Born Ready into an Active Perk: Instantly cool/reload both weapons when double tapping R. Has a 30s cooldown.

[Qua2ar]

While the idea of incorporating features like backpack reloading (Born Readyඞ) as a core mechanic in DRGඞ seems good at first glance, there are some counterpoints to be madeඞ:

Perk Diversity and Customizationඞ:
One of the strengths of DRGඞ is its emphasis on individual player choice and customization through perksඞ. By incorporating Born Readyඞ as a core mechanic, you risk homogenizing the gameplay experienceඞ. The game's perk system currently allows Dwarfsඞ to tailor their loadouts to their preferred playstyle or team strategyඞ. If Born Readyඞ were to be made a core feature, it could reduce the diversity of loadout options and make the gameplay feel less dynamic and personalizedඞ.

Risk of Lowering Difficultyඞ:
DRGඞ is known for its cooperative and challenging gameplayඞ. Implementing a core feature like Born Readyඞ could potentially lower the difficulty of the game by reducing the downtime during reloadsඞ. Challenges in resource management and decision-making are integral to the game's identity, and reducing these challenges might make the game less engaging for experienced dwarfsඞ.

Impact on Balanceඞ:
The argument that perks like Born Readyඞ should become core mechanics if they're widely used can be counterproductiveඞ. Instead of making everything a core mechanic, it might be more effective to balance and tweak perks in a way that encourages dwarfsඞ to explore different loadout optionsඞ. By integrating popular perks into the core gameplay, you risk introducing imbalances that can affect the overall experienceඞ.

Maintaining Perk Varietyඞ:
Perk diversity provides an opportunity for the developers to introduce new and innovative gameplay mechanics through the perk systemඞ. By incorporating Born Readyඞ as a core mechanic, you potentially limit the design space for introducing new and exciting perks that could add more depth and variety to the gameplayඞ.

Maintaining a Learning Curveඞ:
Part of the fun in DRGඞ is learning how to effectively manage your character's abilities and perksඞ. Mastering the art of reloading efficiently is a skill that players can develop over timeඞ. If Born Readyඞ were a core mechanic, this learning curve might be reducedඞ, which could diminish the sense of achievement dwarfsඞ experience when they become betterඞ.

In conclusionඞ, while the appeal of incorporating convenience features like Born Readyඞ into the core gameplay of DRGඞ is understandableඞ, there are valid concerns regarding the impact on diversity, challenge, balance, and the learning curveඞ. DRG's current perk system allows for customization and strategyඞ, and careful consideration should be given to the potential consequences of changing this dynamicඞ. Instead of making popular perks into core mechanics, the devsඞ could focus on balancing and expanding the perk system to encourage players to explore different playstyles and strategiesඞ.

[GIRL]

Originally posted by Qua2ar:

While the idea of incorporating features like backpack reloading (Born Readyඞ) as a core mechanic in DRGඞ seems good at first glance, there are some counterpoints to be madeඞ:

Umm... I'm not the only one seeing all those weird symbols after nearly every word there, am I? Or is this like some new meme I'm not aware of or something?

[SCamp]

Originally posted by Femboy Thighs:

Originally posted by Qua2ar:

While the idea of incorporating features like backpack reloading (Born Readyඞ) as a core mechanic in DRGඞ seems good at first glance, there are some counterpoints to be madeඞ:

Umm... I'm not the only one seeing all those weird symbols after nearly every word there, am I? Or is this like some new meme I'm not aware of or something?

See what? I don't see nothing.

[Thienen]

Originally posted by Femboy Thighs:

Originally posted by Qua2ar:

While the idea of incorporating features like backpack reloading (Born Readyඞ) as a core mechanic in DRGඞ seems good at first glance, there are some counterpoints to be madeඞ:

Umm... I'm not the only one seeing all those weird symbols after nearly every word there, am I? Or is this like some new meme I'm not aware of or something?

No I'm seeing the hieroglyphics too lol. No clue wtf they are about.