Now we are here with AC4: Black Flag Multiplayer. What do I think? Actually I think its really good! Just a note that I mainly play free for all types Deathmatch and Wanted so I will be discussing it from that perspective.
When I started playing AC4 multiplayer for the first time. It took a while for me to adjust to it longer than the previous games. It was probably due to me not playing in a long while with the new scoring system, the changes to some of the abilities such as knife stuns and with previous game I played pretty aggressive. AC4 puts more emphasis on patience and stealth especially on deathmatch this is due to the new scoring system. In the previous the bonus like hidden or bench kills add on to your detection meter score like +200. In this game the bonuses are score multipliers. So a hidden would be x2 of your original score.
So in previous AC games say your detection meter is at 350 and you get a hidden kill it will be
350 + 200 = 550 pts.
With AC4 if you get a hidden it will be.
350 x 2 = 700 pts.
On the flip side if you get into a contested kill or honorable death it will halve your score as well your opponent's. In a high level lobby if your careless or too impatient your target spot you which 90% of the time. There goes your 700pts out the window.
With that it has become more beneficial to use your blend groups and think of your bonuses. It forces you to become patient and observe the field to see what kind of kill I can pull off. Can I go for a bench kill or will it be better for me to stick with a hidden. Its a risk vs. reward system that where you can see the consequences or benefits of your choices.
Another result of the new scoring system is the score spread is a lot closer. There were a lot of games where anybody from 4th-8th could have taken first place. I myself have manage to sneak into 2nd from 7th and was in contention for 1st place. This brings in a lot of things. First I think its a way for players who is not as experience or high level as others in the same lobby to feel like they had a chance of at least making in the to the top 3. Thus brings the motivation to actually play and learn more about the game and to see what they can do to be better that can have them coming back. Another thing is that it brings the tension level even higher where right at the last moment you can win or loose...I LOVE THAT!! I never felt that kind of intense competition in previous games or not as much. Its not like who ever is in first place can keep that spot for the whole match.
Which brings me to to another topic is defense. Now a little while ago I watched a video discussing the lack of hard stun abilities (meaning: an ability that can guarantee a stun when you use it) and thus the lack of defense and how it hinders the multiplayer. I can kinda see where they were coming from. They like to beast it out in a match when they are in first place and if your in first place you would want to keep that first place spot. Right? When you are in first place you have multiple pursuers after you and you would want something to defend yourself from them. But in the previous games defense was a little OP. In Revelations just slap on mute and smoke and your good to go. It got to the point where EVERYBODY was using it. No variation and nothing unique. In AC4 they manage to balance the abilities better than the previous games. Now I see people using a wide variety of abilities and thus you having to bring in a different set of strategies to deal with the different players.
They also said that there is no incentive to be in 1st place any more because there is no abilities to defend yourself effectively. Now they are looking at it from the perspective of a veteran AC player where they want to a beast in a match all the time. I try looking at it from a player who sucks or just starting. If I'm starting out and go to a lobby with a high level players I would get my ass kicked over and over again to the point where I will not play this anymore. I see this with a friend of mine who sucks at the multiplayer but he tried hard to get better at it but in the end he just gave up which is sad. So when you are in 1st place you are top dog and everybody will want that top spot so it makes sense for them to have multiple pursuers and you should not keep the 1st place spot so easily.
Another thing the most people often overlook or ignore is that with AC4 for the most part its not all about your abilities. Its about your strategy, your play style on how you can use the environment, behavior, misdirection, sub defuse to throw off your opponent. Its about getting inside your opponents head and be 3 steps ahead of them. Your abilities work to compliment them not replace them. So when you are in 1st place and you have 5 pursuers don't think to yourself this is bullshit this game sucks. Think to yourself what can I do to outwit them or what shall I do so when I act it will in the long run benefit me more than my persuers. That's where the challenge is.
In conclusion this multiplayer I am enjoying a lot but I also understand that its not perfect and with any multiplayer it is an iterative process. So I can look pass some of the issues that come up, adapt to the changes and enjoy it like any other video game.
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