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Titanfall 2 Multiplayer Technical Test Impressions (XB1/PS4)

5 matches in, and I'm hooked. Sucks that others aren't feeling it.

Not everyone hates it. :) I kinda like it now, and maybe a few more good maps, roll out the cleaner UI, etc. and it'd be great. I'm definitely playing it day one. I think some are happy with the games, too, but they're less vocal since what can you post?

"I'm having fun with the TF2 test." And basically that's it. Haha! Understandable that those who want to see more improvements will frequently post more.

I've reached max rank and unlocked all the test 2 things and now going to try Scorch. If they can keep adding more maps, Titans and such for free, I can see the game having strong legs -- provided Battlefield 1 doesn't just destroy it, which I think it won't. Gameplay of both are dissimilar enough to make it work.
 
I friggin love it, and yes i've played the first one


JqYTmjn.gif
 
There are a few things that are killing Bounty Hunt for me.

A) Nobody seems to know how to play the mode, and doesn't play the objective in a reasonable manner.

B) Last grunt syndrome. The game stalls when the bounty points don't get cleared. A lot of the time it's because of A, but sometimes that last grunt is ridiculous to find. He'll be crouching in between a tree and a rock, not shooting at anything. Sometimes it'll take 20 seconds to find his ass even if you're actually looking for him!

C) When the waves spawn, it's all drop-pods, and it kicks up a ton of dust. It makes it hard to see and efficiently clear them, and it tanks the frame rate. I hope the full version has drop ships as well, on top of lots of other shit. There just isn't enough variety in the waves.

Amped Hardpoint is kind of a lost cause. Hardpoint wasn't a favorite of mine to begin with, but make it campier, and have no AI, and It really really sucks.

So that leaves Pilots vs Pilots, which inexplicably has become my favorite mode in the tech test. The frame rate is solid, the highlighted spawn zones on the map provide just enough structure and direction to where it doesn't feel like a complete mess like in Titanfall 1. It's not what I come to Titanfall for, but I think it has enough legs that I'll be playing it here and there once the full game is out.

So, game modes are lacking here. Normal Attrition, LTS, and CTF would instantly make this tech test a lot better if they replaced the modes we have now.

The maps. Yeah, the maps aren't great. But we haven't really learned them that well either. I'm starting to really enjoy Boomtown. Even the stupid out of bounds areas, now that I'm starting to learn the hows and whys of transiting them. Titanfall 1 had a 10 second timer instead of 5, which I think is better, and wouldn't hurt here. But the out of bounds areas in Titanfall 1 were just generally more intelligent. The standout for me there was the very top of Rise, where you could use the 10 seconds to cross lanes above the map.

Kodai is really annoying in Pilot vs Pilot just because of the up top camping. That'll probably be less of an issue in game modes I actually like with titans sweeping that area at least. I think there are decent parkour options on this map though.

And yeah, nobody likes Homestead, but aside from the two big fields, the rest of the map isn't that bad for parkour either. I can easily cross the middle from base to base in a few different ways.

Mobility in general is actually really good now that they buffed the wallruns. There is a little too much in the way of cockblock debris in all these maps. I guess part of it is just learning it and knowing what is going to mess you up. There's plenty of that in Titanfall 1 as well. But I think they could do with cleaning the maps a little to make the parkour feel better.

The slide is really good, and it will help you chain together long parkour routes. Sometimes I use a real slide, sometimes I use the little slide bunny hop. They both help a lot.

One thing that I love, and is a huge boon to mobility is the much higher precision hipfire. And if you combine that with the ADS hover thing, and it really opens up the high parkour high speed aggressive playstyle.

And fuck the grapple. Yeah it's good. But you don't need it to get around. And stim is pretty badass:
qG8tK6g.gif


I really do think it needs its cooldown reset on death though because let's face it, that's a prime use. Nothing sucks more than dying, wanting to hit that stim to get back into the fight ASAP and realizing it's still on cooldown.

As for the EPG-1 being OP? Don't be stupid. Use it for like 5 minutes. It's fine. It's fun. It's not going to displace insta-melt hitscan weapons as the predominant primaries in this game.

I've already previously unleashed a wall of text or two on titans and rodeos (generally I'm optimistic about the fixed loadout and the new battery stuff). But I'll add my voice to the chorus of "where my recharging shields at?" It's just more fun to have them. The overshield you get from a battery isn't even particularly good. I mostly want the batteries to recharge chunks of health.

And I don't dig the current state of the doomed state. If you're at full health in doom, and you get another battery, maybe it should undoom your titan? It's weird you get no benefit from that battery. At this point the doom state is just an arbitrary point in your HP where you can get termed anyway. I guess the no HP drain on doom is to encourage people to risk being termed, which is fine I guess, but like I said, I just don't think it quite fits well with the battery mechanic.
 
RE: batteries

The average amount of teamwork I saw in the vast majority of my games of classic titanfall in pubs were shooting a pilot off someone's back. And you could pretty much say any game that has a team that works together to increase the chances to win is all that is necessary for teamwork. Yet, that understates the desire for mechanics that not only encourage teamplay, but reward it. When I delivered a battery to a teammate's titan, I felt rewarded for teamplay, and vice versa when I was in the titan receiving the batteries from my teammates... which then let me go on to keep taking out their titans.

In other words, playing as a team for the sole purpose of winning is just normal and doesn't preclude reason to have rewarding teamplay mechanics. OW has supports and tank characters. Technically ganging up on people with 2 offensive characters is teamplay, but games take extra steps to elevate that teamplay. Working together feels good, has another layer of strategy to it all, and is just fun in general.

Another theme I saw with the batteries and lack of starting shield is to reduce the impact of having the first titan hitting the field. In TF1 the first team that got first titan had a major advantage. And I'd imagine this remains true, but less so now that they don't start with shields. The first titan can have their battery stolen and then the opponent's team has a titan with shields, a way to swing the game back in their favor. Batteries and lack of starting shield add more strategy to the game.

The battery system poses questions like: Do I call in the titan now while it is uncontested to try to snowball the game? It's risky because I start with no shield and I stick out like a sore thumb, but the reward of winning faster is high. Or do I wait for them to call in their titans, call in a counter titan, and try to swing the game in my team's favor? Or do I wait even longer and grab a battery first?

I think in general the batteries add a lot more strategy, yet people here want the simplicity of the old system, less teamwork mechanics, less depth... I can't imagine they want the game to be simpler, I can only imagine they haven't really grasped the implications the battery system has on the way matches play out. And neither have I but that's because the game isn't even out yet, it's just smart to reserve judgment and not simply demand the change be reverted to TF1 state.
 
Liked it quite a bit last week. Not enough to buy it day one.
Then booted it up again tonight, played 2 matches and got frustrated to no end. :-/
Promptly deleted it.

Gues that's 3 for 3 when it comes to shooters by the end of this year.
What the hell happened to this genre? :(
 
Good Lord the Mastiff is a thing of beauty, I've just used it for the first time and it's one of the most badass guns I've used in an FPS in quite some time.

One shots never get old.
 
I'm having a blast with it. I understand the complaints. It's not a great titanfall game, but it's still a really fun game. I said screw it and preordered on PSN. The game needs a few tweaks and a classic map pack or two (or three.)
 
RE: batteries

The average amount of teamwork I saw in the vast majority of my games of classic titanfall in pubs were shooting a pilot off someone's back. And you could pretty much say any game that has a team that works together to increase the chances to win is all that is necessary for teamwork. Yet, that understates the desire for mechanics that not only encourage teamplay, but reward it. When I delivered a battery to a teammate's titan, I felt rewarded for teamplay, and vice versa when I was in the titan receiving the batteries from my teammates... which then let me go on to keep taking out their titans.

In other words, playing as a team for the sole purpose of winning is just normal and doesn't preclude reason to have rewarding teamplay mechanics. OW has supports and tank characters. Technically ganging up on people with 2 offensive characters is teamplay, but games take extra steps to elevate that teamplay. Working together feels good, has another layer of strategy to it all, and is just fun in general.

Another theme I saw with the batteries and lack of starting shield is to reduce the impact of having the first titan hitting the field. In TF1 the first team that got first titan had a major advantage. And I'd imagine this remains true, but less so now that they don't start with shields. The first titan can have their battery stolen and then the opponent's team has a titan with shields, a way to swing the game back in their favor. Batteries and lack of starting shield add more strategy to the game.

The battery system poses questions like: Do I call in the titan now while it is uncontested to try to snowball the game? It's risky because I start with no shield and I stick out like a sore thumb, but the reward of winning faster is high. Or do I wait for them to call in their titans, call in a counter titan, and try to swing the game in my team's favor? Or do I wait even longer and grab a battery first?

I think in general the batteries add a lot more strategy, yet people here want the simplicity of the old system, less teamwork mechanics, less depth... I can't imagine they want the game to be simpler, I can only imagine they haven't really grasped the implications the battery system has on the way matches play out. And neither have I but that's because the game isn't even out yet, it's just smart to reserve judgment and not simply demand the change be reverted to TF1 state.

Nice post. Yeah, the battery system opens up a new level of strategy. Personally, I call my Titan in depending on whether the enemy has no Titans, we outnumber their Titans, it can help us capture a Bounty and so on.

Also, I've noticed today that more and more people have been putting batteries on my Titan! I almost shouted for joy when someone literally chased me to do it. I kept pressing the "Thank You" wheel thing on the d-pad and forgot it wasn't there (too much Overwatch! LOL).

Good Lord the Mastiff is a thing of beauty, I've just used it for the first time and it's one of the most badass guns I've used in an FPS in quite some time.

One shots never get old.

Tried it, I got kills. Used the cloak with it to be all stealthy like, but I sucked. LOL!
 
In TF1 the first team that got first titan had a major advantage.

I never had this opinion. And I want to state, it's far easier to be the only person with a Titan (albeit Burn Cards) if you manage to have one in the first wave of Bounty Hunt. And if you DO happen to have one during the first wave, you'll have your Core ability available so you can almost instantly Doom another Titan as soon as it comes out.

R1 Titans, when up against 6 Pilots, were fucked.
 
This guy posted some good tips and musings on the new rodeo and batteries.

https://m.reddit.com/r/titanfall/comments/4zudoc/youre_playing_the_game_wrong_hear_me_out/



Ive been rodeoing a lot more lately and it really does feel like a key goal for any pilot once titans are on the field. If you're a pilot and dont have a battery, you should be trying to rodeo.

The stim and grapple are both really useful for rodeoing, the stim lets you get away quick and heal up.

Calling a Titan without a battery seems like a bad idea unless it's just to farm the dz in ai mode or there are no other titans on the field yet.

"Taking a battery from a titan will put it in a doomed state (But if you are the titian, for the love of God, don't disembark yet!) A doomed titan in tf2 is not a dead titan. Your health does not deplete over time like in in Tf2, and you can either choose to fight (but recommended at a distance to avoid getting executed) or sit back and wait for a friendly pilot to come to the rescue. This is where the battery system becomes very effective, because now your fellow teammates can go and grab you a new battery so you can keep fighting, and remain in your titan for an extended time."

The guy who wrote this is straight up wrong. Batteries do a chunk of damage, not instantly doom a titan.
 
I always try to grab batteries when I'm waiting for my Titan, yeah. It's hilarious because when you (as a Titan) see a friendly with the green trail near you, consider slowing so they can jump on and deposit the battery into your Titan! I've had to chase a few people since I don't run the grapple class, but it's always worth it, I find.
 
Ok, that hipfire is too much. Soon as most people realize how ridiculous it is... nerf this shit Respawn.

Umm, why? The second kill he wasn't even that far from his target. The third kill was against someone who apparently couldn't aim. The first was against someone with his back turned.

It's an awesome kill feed, visually great, but... come on. Accurate hipfire on a SMG is a necessity in a game this mobile. Reminds me of TF1 CAR accuracy tbh.
 
Ok, that hipfire is too much. Soon as most people realize how ridiculous it is... nerf this shit Respawn.

Spoken like someone who hasn't played TF1. Playing with the CAR on certain maps like this was the only way to combat the carbine. Coupled with the hip fire accuracy. Soooooo good.
 
There are a few things that are killing Bounty Hunt for me.

A) Nobody seems to know how to play the mode, and doesn't play the objective in a reasonable manner.

B) Last grunt syndrome. The game stalls when the bounty points don't get cleared. A lot of the time it's because of A, but sometimes that last grunt is ridiculous to find. He'll be crouching in between a tree and a rock, not shooting at anything. Sometimes it'll take 20 seconds to find his ass even if you're actually looking for him!

C) When the waves spawn, it's all drop-pods, and it kicks up a ton of dust. It makes it hard to see and efficiently clear them, and it tanks the frame rate. I hope the full version has drop ships as well, on top of lots of other shit. There just isn't enough variety in the waves.

Amped Hardpoint is kind of a lost cause. Hardpoint wasn't a favorite of mine to begin with, but make it campier, and have no AI, and It really really sucks.

So that leaves Pilots vs Pilots, which inexplicably has become my favorite mode in the tech test. The frame rate is solid, the highlighted spawn zones on the map provide just enough structure and direction to where it doesn't feel like a complete mess like in Titanfall 1. It's not what I come to Titanfall for, but I think it has enough legs that I'll be playing it here and there once the full game is out.

So, game modes are lacking here. Normal Attrition, LTS, and CTF would instantly make this tech test a lot better if they replaced the modes we have now.

The maps. Yeah, the maps aren't great. But we haven't really learned them that well either. I'm starting to really enjoy Boomtown. Even the stupid out of bounds areas, now that I'm starting to learn the hows and whys of transiting them. Titanfall 1 had a 10 second timer instead of 5, which I think is better, and wouldn't hurt here. But the out of bounds areas in Titanfall 1 were just generally more intelligent. The standout for me there was the very top of Rise, where you could use the 10 seconds to cross lanes above the map.

Kodai is really annoying in Pilot vs Pilot just because of the up top camping. That'll probably be less of an issue in game modes I actually like with titans sweeping that area at least. I think there are decent parkour options on this map though.

And yeah, nobody likes Homestead, but aside from the two big fields, the rest of the map isn't that bad for parkour either. I can easily cross the middle from base to base in a few different ways.

Mobility in general is actually really good now that they buffed the wallruns. There is a little too much in the way of cockblock debris in all these maps. I guess part of it is just learning it and knowing what is going to mess you up. There's plenty of that in Titanfall 1 as well. But I think they could do with cleaning the maps a little to make the parkour feel better.

The slide is really good, and it will help you chain together long parkour routes. Sometimes I use a real slide, sometimes I use the little slide bunny hop. They both help a lot.

One thing that I love, and is a huge boon to mobility is the much higher precision hipfire. And if you combine that with the ADS hover thing, and it really opens up the high parkour high speed aggressive playstyle.

And fuck the grapple. Yeah it's good. But you don't need it to get around. And stim is pretty badass:
qG8tK6g.gif


I really do think it needs its cooldown reset on death though because let's face it, that's a prime use. Nothing sucks more than dying, wanting to hit that stim to get back into the fight ASAP and realizing it's still on cooldown.

As for the EPG-1 being OP? Don't be stupid. Use it for like 5 minutes. It's fine. It's fun. It's not going to displace insta-melt hitscan weapons as the predominant primaries in this game.

I've already previously unleashed a wall of text or two on titans and rodeos (generally I'm optimistic about the fixed loadout and the new battery stuff). But I'll add my voice to the chorus of "where my recharging shields at?" It's just more fun to have them. The overshield you get from a battery isn't even particularly good. I mostly want the batteries to recharge chunks of health.

And I don't dig the current state of the doomed state. If you're at full health in doom, and you get another battery, maybe it should undoom your titan? It's weird you get no benefit from that battery. At this point the doom state is just an arbitrary point in your HP where you can get termed anyway. I guess the no HP drain on doom is to encourage people to risk being termed, which is fine I guess, but like I said, I just don't think it quite fits well with the battery mechanic.

I have to be honest, it's not that I don't know how to play the objective, just I honestly don't care about the objective, I just want to kill everything lol, I do go for spectres when they spawn just not Titans :)
 
First you should clarify this, if true, is only on the CAR according to that video. Pretty misleading.

And the Car with the hip fire mod was the choice of weapon on some maps to edge out the Carbine in TF1. I think I never once used ADS on that gun. Takes this away and you kill more of what made TF1 special.
 
I love the camp the bank mode so much :/. Play well, get camp killed, lose half of progress for 5 minutes in 4 seconds

Yea and coupled with how quickly you go down it can be infuriating seeing someone hiding in some nearby bushes taking you out

Spoken like someone who hasn't played TF1. Playing with the CAR on certain maps like this was the only way to combat the carbine. Coupled with the hip fire accuracy. Soooooo good.


popcorneating.gif
 
so can't believe it, but they managed to beat homestead (or whatever it's called). The third map is a completely new level of shit, I'm actually happy now whenever one of the other maps comes up.

And fucking hell, walls are sticky as hell. I continually get stuck one some shitty small ledge or small step. Bounty hunter is still fucking terrible, I'm almost tempted to play the other shitty modes.

Oh and campers everywhere, so much fun.
 
So I fucking hated the first tech test with a passion. But this one is clicking much more with me. I love the new map. And everyone getting more Titans makes it feel a lot more like Titanfall.

Some of my original complaints remain though. Titans are weak. God help you if you drop in front of someone with their core ready to go. I had a guy last night do it and I shot thermite on him then used my "super" and his Titan was basically dead before he could even control it. I guess they'll have more abilities later to add more defense and offense again pilots but damn, they are neutered now.

And those fucking outlines on characters. Why? I have gotten so many kills on people I wouldn't have normally even seen as they sprinted by me across a room or up a wall but thanks to them shining like a Christmas light I was able to see them and kill them.
 
I am one of countless people who didn't jump on TF because the word on the street was the game was a commercial failure on PC. And when the game came out people hated Origin a lot more than these days.


I played a free weekend, and its the smoothest. Most buttery smooth FPS game I've ever played. The kick is amazing. the wall jumping is incredible. I don't even care about the Titans. I just loved being a space ninja. There is this seamless animation pattern flow between the jumping, wallrunning, while your reloading, shooting, melee'ing, and doing all this crazy shit that takes me back to Bungies recipe for Halos famous "20 seconds of fun".

I look at the gifs, and I think this game looks fucking awesome. I don't understand the game modes or the deep intricacy of TFs quirks, but I hope this game will be a success because I really want and need a popular shooter that is not COD/CS.
I am going to buy BF1 but this is a different type of game, and I've been wanting a game like this.

To tell you the truth, I don't enjoy the Hero Shooters all that much. I was never that into Team Fortress 2, and that has extended itself to Overwatch. I don't get the fun of playing these wacky pre-created characters from a first person perspective or why I would find it fun or unique playing a copy-pasted character with such few abillities. Not that feature creep is a solution, but if it's fair to say that COD is overloaded with complex tagged-on rubbish that to try and create more depth, then I feel the hero shooters are the opposite.
I'm really salty on the Hero Shooters. I'm really missing out that I am not enjoying this emerging sub-FPS genre. It's such a big thing now, and so many of them are coming out. I really hope Titanfall 2 will carve out a big healthy playerbase on PC, but some of the posts here leave me worried. I don't understand it because I don't understand TF like you do. I just regret that I didn't play it while it had a healthy population on PC.
Had I just bought it on launch, I bet I could have gotten a lot of fun out of it in the first months.
 
Is every one else just easily destroying titans by getting on to pull the battery, get kicked off, grapple hook back on with ease and dropping a nade(or two?) to destroy the titan?

And those fucking outlines on characters. Why? I have gotten so many kills on people I wouldn't have normally even seen as they sprinted by me across a room or up a wall but thanks to them shining like a Christmas light I was able to see them and kill them.
This is my number one gripe with the game
 
I always try to grab batteries when I'm waiting for my Titan, yeah. It's hilarious because when you (as a Titan) see a friendly with the green trail near you, consider slowing so they can jump on and deposit the battery into your Titan! I've had to chase a few people since I don't run the grapple class, but it's always worth it, I find.

I hate it when I press square (which calls out a friendly that you have a battery for them, right?) and they just flat out ignore me. O_p

I always check for batteries for my teammates, or for my Titan. You can literally have one Titan last the entire match if you're resourceful enough. :D

So I fucking hated the first tech test with a passion. But this one is clicking much more with me. I love the new map. And everyone getting more Titans makes it feel a lot more like Titanfall.

Some of my original complaints remain though. Titans are weak. God help you if you drop in front of someone with their core ready to go. I had a guy last night do it and I shot thermite on him then used my "super" and his Titan was basically dead before he could even control it. I guess they'll have more abilities later to add more defense and offense again pilots but damn, they are neutered now.

And those fucking outlines on characters. Why? I have gotten so many kills on people I wouldn't have normally even seen as they sprinted by me across a room or up a wall but thanks to them shining like a Christmas light I was able to see them and kill them.

Don't forget that Titans (I assume) have more abilities and such later on that you'll unlock as you progress, so some might help with that, no?

What's even sadder than that is seeing an enemy Titan drop down with its bubble shield, and then there's like three enemy Titans surrounding it.

Speaking of, Scorch is annoying when dealing with infantry but against Titans? He can kill two Ions if he has his ulti up and with proper laning with his flame wall.

---

Alright, ran the Stim class and man, it's good! Might not be as good as the grapple one but holy shit at being able to kill two enemies in quick succession like a dervish! Best bit was me hitting L1 and chasing down a Titan with super low health and I pumped him full of Grenade rounds. Bwahaha! It needs a better cooldown, though.

At this point, I'm already sold, I think. I want a few more tweaks, but the base game is fun, which is something I can't say for Infinite Warfare's MP just yet. BF1 and TF2 should alternate nicely for me.

That said, I wish Respawn would reveal the rest of the unlocks for Pilots, Titans, weapons, etc. Curious what other skills there are. Right now though, Hover is beast. Managed to kill people while jumping super high up from structures and then hovering above them.
 
Is every one else just easily destroying titans by getting on to pull the battery, get kicked off, grapple hook back on with ease and dropping a nade(or two?) to destroy the titan?
If the Pilot controlling the Titan doesnt know how to react to it, its like taking candy from a baby. Somebody take a battery from me tho, I'm thanking his dead body for the extra 30% health and shield.
 
Is every one else just easily destroying titans by getting on to pull the battery, get kicked off, grapple hook back on with ease and dropping a nade(or two?) to destroy the titan?

I actually made a genuine effort yesterday to acclimatise to the new rodeo system and yeah, unless you're playing with a competent team or with friends, it's garbage. Once you introduce something into a game that REQUIRES teamwork to be even somewhat enjoyable youarealreadydead.jpeg.

I gave this another chance but I just can't. I can't justify the money and time required. As someone who devoted over 300 hours and got 2000GS in the first game, I'm pretty bothered by this. This was my end of year game that was going to last me well into next year.
 
Me. ;-)


I've got no time for shooting bullet sponge 'anything' in an FPS - also can't see the fun in killing bots that are no threat and stand around in the open.


I'm semi enjoying 'PilotFall 2' though but can't see me buying it when the novelty and new-ness of it gunplay and mechanics wears off, might pick it up cheap further down the line one day IF Pilot V Pilot is still populated.

No offense, dude, but these type of requests is why R2 is in the position it is now. Pilot vs Pilot doesn't even belong in this franchise.

Just play CoD and have fun.

And they better not reduce the accuracy of the hipfire. People are already camping as it is.
 
Most matches i played yesterday, batteries were scattered all over the place. Id hop out and hop in with one to get a shield. I agree with others who have said how do you not start with a shield but stealing anothers battery gives you one. It doesnt make sense.
 
Most matches i played yesterday, batteries were scattered all over the place. Id hop out and hop in with one to get a shield. I agree with others who have said how do you not start with a shield but stealing anothers battery gives you one. It doesnt make sense.

The most nonsensible part is if your titan initially gets it battery stolen, then you kill the pilot and get it back, it benefits you via giving the overshield.

Like...I just got the same battery back. Why wasn't that already happening? It makes no consistent ingame sense.
 
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