Twitchy Questioning 4: uBSN and the Goblet of Twitch

INTRO

Thanks for being here! I have gathered up many questions from fellow players on uBSN (the unofficial Bioware Social Network forum). I ask on our collective behalf not just for myself. Here goes….



BURNING TOPICS

Last week Mr. Buskell stated we would get even better patch notes going forward, yet the 1.07 patch notes were (A) not published in the usual place (Bioware blog), ( initially somewhat detailed then replaced by a brief statement, and (C) failed to mention changes to drop rates and to Challenge tracking for certain weapons, so incomplete. When will we see some improvement?

Last week we asked about making a ‘known issues’ sticky on EA Answers HQ and a couple of items were stickied, but there are a LOT more that should be added. Should we continue to bug report everything including longstanding issues like the sound glitch -- in the absence of a comprehensive ‘known issues’ list?

Are you taking action on cheating reports? It’s been weeks and despite multiple reports the same cheating lobbies are still up and running. (This is mostly on PC.)

BUGS

Data miners have observed that the multi-detonator powers Throw and Shockwave have penalties to their detonation damage. Is this intentional design or a bug that should be reported?

Any plans to reveal how many Respec cards we have accumulated? They are not shown anywhere.

The Apex HQ app displays incorrect values for weapons and some powers. Are you aware and will this be fixed eventually? (P.S. Shouldn’t MEA and Apex HQ pull weapon/power data from the same source? Why are the numbers different?)

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Do you feel that the ‘scrapper’ playstyle (melee-focused, point-blank, with shotgun and/or pistol) gives the right reward for its inherent risk and frustration? To clarify: A ‘scrapper’ is exposed to a lot of fire from extremely accurate enemies and can be easily staggered out of melee, which was chosen instead of durability in the fitness tree.

What is the design philosophy around jump+melee? It deals less damage than regular melee (does have a small AOE) and exposes the player to incoming fire for a long time.

What is the design philosophy around powers-based classes like the Asari Huntress and the Krogan Mercenary, who don’t have any way to self-detonate their own combos?

What is the design philosophy around the ‘dogs’ that spawn behind players as soon as the player takes cover (in this cover-based shooter) or engage a boss unit?

Which of the Player Character races do you feel fulfills your vision the best? Which needs the most work?
Ex: Krogan rage and lack of stagger resistance feels underwhelming for what is supposed to be the toughest race in the game.

Will we ever see additional characters with new powers added to the game, specifically designed for Platinum difficulty?

Which of the enemy factions do you feel fulfills your vision the best? Which needs the most work?

Will any new enemy factions be added? For example, a Roekar or beast/wildlife faction?

Have you considered any higher XP or higher credits weekend events, as seen in other games? This would make players happy especially those who can’t play as often as they’d like to.

Have you considered adjusting the Upload objective? It would be nice if enemies didn't halt progress or at least respawned farther away.

Who were you favorite characters in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer?

Would you consider creating a scope-less sniper rifle? Some players don’t like scoping in such a fast paced game.



QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

Hit registration off host is poor which makes certain weapons and characters unsatisfying when used off host. Is hit registration something you are looking to improve?

Any plans for lobby improvements? (such as: AFK indication / Countdown timer when 3 people ready / Join an actual 'Random/Random' game, not the same Apex lobby repeatedly)

Any plans to show in-game who is the Host after Host Migration? (so the new Host knows not to buffer video, etc.)

When Player Characters fall off the map, could we have more health/shields when respawned? Currently we respawn with low health/shields, in exposed spots, and enemies rip us apart before we regain control.

Player Characters bounce off each other excessively, especially in narrow doorways. This same problem happened initially in DAI but was eventually fixed. Why has the problem recurred in MEA, which uses the same game engine?



OUTRO

Thank you very much for answering our questions! Keep up the good work.