[Megathread] Defiance

[Edge-]

Will it? Like I said in the previous thread, wasn't the entire defiance team laid off?

No, but they had two rounds of deep layoffs, and they've closed the San Diego studio they were working from. They moved the remainder of the team up to Redwood City though, so there are still people working on the game. We'll have to see if they have any new plans to share about the future with their new senior producer (replaced the previous one a month or two ago) and Hartsman in charge as CEO.

[Angarin]

I see, I may try it for 5$

[Edge-]

I see, I may try it for 5$

If you enjoy shooters, its' worth the $5-10 for it at this point, even with its anemic content. The core gameplay is great (shooting), but everything after that kinda falls apart : (

[Razael]

If you enjoy shooters, its' worth the $5-10 for it at this point, even with its anemic content. The core gameplay is great (shooting), but everything after that kinda falls apart : (

Pretty much.

Played the DLC. Its pretty average at best. The highlights being able to change to a Castithan and the Melee weapons.
The actual story mission is dreadfull. 5 (or was it 6) Arenas , Horde mode style, filled with lag, they can break halfway and the story in them are 15 sec introducing the Castes each arena.
If this is what we can expect for the other 4 DLCs then i'm not buying them. Also they seem to want to launch the dlcs before the 2nd season of the show. Assuming the show starts again in April they have 7 to 8 months to launch 4 DLCs. Even though it took them 4 months to launch this 1 hour and a half DLC . /Endrant.

[Edge-]

Yeah, the free bits of the DLC weren't super impressive either. I mucked around for a few hours with the new events and then quickly got bored with them : /

[Bodaway]

It's still a fun game if you just want to sit down for a few minutes and blow some aliens up

[RoninaThorstone]

You know what irks me about this game?

It has some really great guns but the rest of the game is lacking. It's hard to make 'original' guns but at least defiance has a ton of diversity in their weapons. I wish firefall would steal them.

[RoninaThorstone]

Ark Hunters!
It’s been quite a journey since the launch of Defiance earlier this year, and the recent release of the Castithan Charge pack. With the team’s move to Trion Redwood Shores just about complete, we have the opportunity to make Defiance into the gameplay beast that it always promised to be. Shooting, driving, and chasing down arkfalls are each entertaining as hell, and that’s a great foundation to build upon. Defiance has incredible potential, and it is going to reach that potential come hell or waters that are high.
I’m Trick Dempsey, the Creative Lead for Defiance, and I’m presently packing for my own move up to the Redwood Shores studio. We have a fantastic team working there to improve the quality of the game, and bring new dynamic content to the world.

Weapons
Right now, we’re making the game better in phases and fixing our weapons is first on the list. We’re tuning our weapons so that each one is a viable and attractive choice. Weapons are a fun and exciting part of the shooter experience, and we’re going to make certain that all of them have their own special breed of fun. Not only will we be working on the core balance of the base weapons, but we’ll be assuring that our rarity and mastery bonuses apply to each weapon they can appear on. Higher rarity weapons will always be accompanied with celebration and never disappointment.
Shields
Parallel with weapons improvements we’ll also be addressing our shields so that each of them has a valid tactical advantage. The Respark Regenerator feels great, and we like that too. We’ll be improving the other shields to make them competitive and desirable as well. For example, the Ironclad and its ilk are going to see a significant buff in order to make them into a valid tactical option. We think that games are the most fun when there’s more than one “right” strategy.
Inventory
Our inventory interface needs serious improvement. Our current interface has a large number of loadouts and limited inventory space that makes it difficult to make decisions quickly and leap right back into the game. We’re making incremental improvements to this interface as we improve the significance of gear resulting in a much smoother process.
Social
Defiance is an online game and that means it’s supposed to be a social experience. but, we think things are too quiet. Frankly, chat (both voice and text) operate with less-than-stellar reliability. We’re also updating a variety of systems to create a far better social experience throughout the game. We’re going to clean up that experience considerably, both from a convenience and a reliability standpoint.
Objectives and UI
A solid, intuitive UI and clear, identifiable objectives are crucial to a good experience in game. We’re going to update the objectives and UI elements surrounding contracts so that they will serve to better pull ark hunters into the same locations. Defiance is a blast when other players spice up the action, and we’re going to improve the flow to cooperate and compete with other players. You’ll know where to go, what to do, and why the objectives are updating.
And Beyond
That will bring us to our second DLC, which you saw a sneak peek of during PAX. It’s going to be an exciting expansion with arkfall interiors, new boss encounters, and useful power-ups called spikes and stims. It’s a big update and I look forward to sharing more details soon.
After that, we’re putting a major focus on the chase. EGO, gear, and weapon improvements as those are needed to be a core part of the ark hunter experience. Not only will ark hunters improve over time, but their loadout and gear decisions will matter. Choosing to specialize in spitting out flaming death will obliterate flesh and blood opponents, yes, but that may not be the best way to handle a two-ton mechanical juggernaut. The New Frontier is a dangerous and unpredictable place, and only the most adaptable ark hunters survive.
Good Hunting.
Trick Dempsey, Creative Lead

State of the game update

[Edge-]

State of the game talks a lot about everything except adding more content to the game or increasing its size. Pretty disappointed still : /

[SirRobin]

After hearing about WAR I half expected this ti be getting shut down too. Not bad as a shooter but not good as an MMO.

[Edge-]

After hearing about WAR I half expected this ti be getting shut down too. Not bad as a shooter but not good as an MMO.

If anything, they'll try to milk the first 5 DLC's as much as possible before they do anything to the game.

[c2dholla619]

i just cant play this game for more then 1 hour at a time it get insanely repetitive

[Deleted]

How's the story in the game? They just started to show defiance on tv here and I watched the first 2 episodes and it's good and lots of potential from show to make a good mmo, perhaps not as good as a Terra Nova-mmo would be (one can dream)... but I can see quite epic story behind and interesting battles both pve and pvp.
They said game is silent, so what does the game have to offer in terms of dungeons/pvp... as in group up and do stuff?

[noahjam326]

State of the game talks a lot about everything except adding more content to the game or increasing its size. Pretty disappointed still : /

Except for the DLC dding Arkfall interiors.

[Edge-]

How's the story in the game? They just started to show defiance on tv here and I watched the first 2 episodes and it's good and lots of potential from show to make a good mmo, perhaps not as good as a Terra Nova-mmo would be (one can dream)... but I can see quite epic story behind and interesting battles both pve and pvp.
They said game is silent, so what does the game have to offer in terms of dungeons/pvp... as in group up and do stuff?

The primary story is divorced from the TV show, though there are side-missions that tie in with characters from the show. IMO it's pretty...not really good at all : / Really didn't feel like the story was much of anything, and the half assed voicework doesn't help either.

Except for the DLC dding Arkfall interiors.

Didn't talk much about that. And while they could be interesting, we'll see if they have much of an impact. The events added with the last DLC were fun for about...2 hours and then I got bored again.

[RoninaThorstone]

I still don't get why they bothered to tie it into the show. They should have been like, "here's something thats happening in the same universe / time as the show. Its a video game. We will now focus on content... And clothing for edge"

[Edge-]

I still don't get why they bothered to tie it into the show. They should have been like, "here's something thats happening in the same universe / time as the show. Its a video game. We will now focus on content... And clothing for edge"

They have a pretty good outfit system!...it's just that they don't have any fabulous clothing. And the only method to get more is to either buy it from the cash shop (lolnope) or spend a ton of time on pointlessly grindy achievements (which I did for quite some time already) : (

[Dezerte]

So, new DLC is out soon:

Patch 1.2 - DLC #2 - Arkbreaker - 12/10/13

== DLC EXCLUSIVE FEATURES ==

CALL DOWN ARKFALLS

• Use an ark spike at an impact window to call down an arkfall. Breach the fallen ark and take what you find in these new instances!

NEW MISSION LINE!

• Run through six missions and two side missions in a race against time! Stop the Dark Matter from gaining the power to call down arkfalls and become the Arkbreaker.

NEW BOSS BATTLE

• Volge Warmaster: Deep within the largest Arkbreaks, this monstrosity waits to do battle with 16 or more more ark hunters.

ACCESS TO NEW WEAPONS

• Owners of Arkbreaker will be able to use these new weapons:
  
  • All Volge Sniper Rifles, Volge Pistols and Volge Assault Rifles!
  • More than 25 newly updated Arkbreaker Signature weapons can be earned from Arkbreaks.

IMMEDIATE DLC BONUSES: ARKBREAKER STASH AND MORE!

• Receive the Volge Engineer outfit and helmet combo, plus an Arkbreaker Stash with your DLC purchase. The Stash has a random rare Volge weapon, plus a random rare spike, stim, and grenade to get you started! * *

== ADDITIONAL FEATURES ==

The following content, features, and improvements are included for all players!

CO-OP EVOLVED

• Solo mission maps can now be accessed in the Matchmaking menu. Fight Nim or Jackleg Joe with your friends whenever you want!

ENTER THE ARKBREAKS

• Keeping with the spirit of Defiance's co-op expansion, all players can take part in these new instance and earn rewards! However, some new weapons do require Arkbreaker to use.

NEW MINIBOSS

• Volge Huntmaster: A new breed of Viscera has come down with the latest arkfall. This "Huntmaster" can synthesize combat drones to help hunt its prey.

NEW CONSUMABLES

• Spikes: High tech pillars which can be deployed to provide powerful buffs to your allies.
• Stims: High tech drugs and nanites which can be injected to boost individual performance.
• Grenades: Grenades are now consumables, and now obey the new rules of these consumables.
  
  • Ego Perks: Guardian Angel and Mad Bomber no longer modify the cool down on Grenades.
  • Mastery, Rarity and Synergy bonuses that previously modified the cool down on Grenade usage now increase the damage of your next Grenade.
  • Grenades can now be altered by effects triggered from equipped items or abilities.
  • Grenade variety has been reduced and match the format of Spikes and Stims.
  • Enemies and missions now drop Common, Uncommon, and Rare variations of each type of grenade (Frag, Bio, Pyro, Cluster, Flashbang, Infector).
• Players may carry only one stack of each type of spike, stim, and grenade. Picking up a new consumable will refill your current stack of that consumable, regardless of rarity. If the new consumable is a higher rarity, it will upgrade and replace your current consumables.

== GAME UPDATE ==

Any note marked with a red asterisk (*) at the end means it was added or adjusted due to direct feedback from our Alpha Test Server players. A huge thank you to all that gave us feedback!

GENERAL

• Daily and Weekly login rewards are granted to an account when they login after a daily or weekly contract cycle!
  
  • The Daily reward is a common grenade, and the Weekly has one of each of the following: common grenade, uncommon spike, and uncommon stim. *
• Daily and Weekly login rewards now grant Arkbreaker players some consumables. *
• The main world has been split into 2 segments the Northern Bay Area and San Francisco. This will allow more players per server! As a result, there is now a loading screen when crossing the Golden Gate bridge.
• Exchanging salvage for keys at lockbox vendors no longer requires Scrip.*
• Independent minor arkfalls now grant keys to all participants, not just the few with the highest inscrutable contribution number.*
• PvP kills now have a chance to drop the lowest rarity of spikes, stims, and grenades. *
• Daily contract objectives now show up on the main map and minimap!
• Non-Hellbug Arkfalls will be much more common thanks to the rebalancing of spawn rates for each type of Arkfall.
• To help clarify which mods will change or add a scope overlay to weapons, we've changed the detail icon on sight mods that do not change the scope overlay (if it’s a sniper rifle mod) or add a scope overlay (all other weapons) to look like a sight instead of a scope.
• The Charitable title from Extra Life is now fully in the game. You should receive yours automatically within the week!

INVENTORY IMPROVEMENTS

• Items can now be favorited!
• Favorite items cannot be sold or broken down.
• Favorite items sort to the top of the list.
• You can now 'mass breakdown' all items in your inventory that aren't favorites.
• You can now 'sell all' all items at merchants that aren't favorites.
• Item comparisons will now compare to appropriate items based on their type. Weapons compare to weapons, grenades to grenades, shields to shields.

QUICK MATCH UPDATE

• Quick Match now attempts to match players with an instance that has at least one player in it. and can accommodate the most players.
• If the player has been in queue for a time and no one has joined this larger match, they will be grouped with smaller matches that are closer to reaching the needed number of players.
• If no matches exist that a player character is eligible to join, a random instance will be picked which has the fewest number of players required to start.
• The game now keeps track of players who select the Quick Match matchmaking option, so that it can make additional attempts to better match them with other players.

TUTORIAL UPDATES

• Mutants and skitterlings now reward a minimal amount of XP and loot.
• There are now less mutants to distract players from completing the first few missions!
• Removed combat enemies from holo training areas.

VARIOUS FIXES

WEAPONS

• Enemies in Thorn Liro arenas now grant experience and weapon experience. *
• The Charge Weapon pack from the Castithan Charge Pack DLC was bunk. Some weapons legendary, one was common, and none of them had stat bonuses. This is no longer the case, in a change that is retroactive to all weapons that currently exist.
• Shotgun magazine rarity bonuses have been fixed so they are additive rather than multiplicative. The persons responsible have been subjected to a rick-roll.
• The Volge Battle Rifle, Clustershot, and a handful of other projectile weapons have been fixed after some projectile updates scrambled them. That is to say, their spread is now significantly more accurate. Enjoy! *
• Common grenades now drop with greater frequency. *
• Ammo Caches now give 250 pistol ammo instead of 150, because that was pretty strange.
• Rocket Launcher Stocks (First Stage Booster) are now available from the Explosive Mod Vendor.
• Nano converter mods are now available for Assault Rifles, Pistols and Rifles.
• Sight Mods for BMGs/Infectors/Detonators now be drop from Soleptor, Top-Notch and VBI Mod Caches.
• Supplies vendors now sell common grenades which will refill any grenade rarity you have above them.*
• Particle Ultimag pistols now have the proper amount of mod slots available after EGO rating 1625.

UI/ART

• Resetting keybinds back to default will now more reliably work.
• Faces will no longer sometimes show the wrong texture in character creation.
• Character models now more reliably show when the appearance of that model is changing. Notably so if you are a Castithan wearing Liberty Heavy Trooper.

WORLD/MISSIONS

• Sutro Tower conflict site: the interaction to complete the "Override Primary Turret Targeting System" step is no longer blocked.
• Ladders have been added to Serenity Academy for additional play space.
• The side mission "Slam for Slam" now has a locator on its final objective.
• After completing the first Arena mission you no longer have to wait 20 minutes to talk to Ferik.

ENEMIES/NPCS

• Multiplied the Scrip dropped from enemies. *
• Enemies in arkfalls now more consistently drop Scrip. *
• Hellbug Warrior Syphon: Warrior will now attack players in the San Francisco region.
• Bob and Phil, the caretakers at Crystal Lake, have taken back those awful things they said about your mother. Since you have forgiven them, good person that you are, they are no longer hated. *
• Ranchers in Point Bonita Refinery now walk normally instead of whatever-the-hell they were trying to do before.
• The Matron now appropriately performs her power up ability while underground.
• Scrapper Arkfall cores can no longer be destroyed while their shields are active.

[PS3]

• Added a Region Select option to the Patcher. You can now switch to/from North American or European servers.
  
  • Note: Characters are stored per server, so your characters do not transfer (nor are they lost if you switch; when you switch back they will be available on that server again).

http://forums.defiance.com/showthrea...eaker-12-10-13

[Deleted]

was there some sort of character wipe? just logged in after a few months and my chars are all gone

[Edge-]

was there some sort of character wipe? just logged in after a few months and my chars are all gone

None that I know of. Granted I haven't played in about a month or so, but my character is still there.