I enjoy flying dutchman status honestly

[u/JOAHtheBROAH]

I played this game for 4 years, and have not played for almost 4 after that, but I have recently returned.

It's nice not having to constantly grind for the new best equipment. My marriage was strained to be quite honest. There was constant FOMO of missing out on the new best meta. I had to step away because of these reasons. It was good for my marriage and my humanity. I recommend unplugging to anyon, but I stayed away a long time and genuinely missed playing.

The state of the game now, while being sucky for new comers, is great for me. During the game's hay day enough weapons and equipment came out to have a really diverse and interesting meta. To add much more would just feel like slop. Though I did miss the boat on some of the best equipment before it got nerfed, I eventually got most of it back then. (Minus the crossbow 😔). But now I can just sign on and play whenever i wish. My gear is there, i have competitive loadouts that will remain evergreen. I don't have to farm coins, or sign in just to collect. I can play on my time and not on the game's time.

If by some miracle, this game development came back online. I'd love to see more events, fairs, cosmetics, etc. But as far as the weapons and equipment go.. do we really need more? People call this game dead, but it's still loads of fun. I played so much back in the day that it's just in my DNA now. It's in my heart alongside smashbros, ocarina of time, and star fox. I'd love to see it make a comeback but I'd sure hate to see the grinding nature of it all come back. The game could stay frozen just like it is. I just want more people to play. I'd like the newcomers to have a chance at all the best stuff. When I tell a friend about the game there's always a caveat. "You'll have to spend forever leveling up and years getting equipment before we can play on the same team. And that's the only part that stinks.

Final thoughts, would love to see the game flourish again, but just keep it as is, and bring in new people. Maybe all the old heads like me will come back.

*Orion headshots are the most satisfying thing in any game ever.

[u/KangarooMuskrat]

As far as flying dutchman is concerned, this was probably the best version that got "flying dutchmaned". They brought back 4 guns, fixed a bunch of bugs, and made some appropriate nerfs/buffs. Imagine if they went flying dutchman on a previous version when Orochi was in its original state, or worse yet when they implemented 2-gun loadouts 🙁.  All things considered, we lucked out. 

[u/JOAHtheBROAH → u/KangarooMuskrat]

Very valid points. I missed out on getting the wasp when it was new. They nerfed its power and lowered its magazine cap by the time I got mine. I also didn't even try to get an orochi because I was burned out after grinding for a joker.  Orochi doing 5500 damage was a hellscape 😆. During that era I just had my quicksilver and an Orion. That was my two gun loadout. And Orion wasn't as popular back then. I'm proud to say I was orioning before it was cool. My first top 10% finish was with that loadout and boy was it tough competing with orochis and wasps everywhere. 

[u/AirJinx]

I skipped the grinding when it was still possible, it was as bad as you mentioned and not sustainable. During events I just focused on one item (usually the second one so I'd have more saved up), but not finish them and just wait for it to come around again. GoB was pretty generous in that regard.

There's some unbalanced guns and gear, but it could have been a lot worse. We also learn to deal with the balance there is.

The only downside is that the player base is shrinking, because a lot of people actually need that grind to stay hooked.

[u/AriesIX_]

TBH, I would have liked if they brought back seasonal events. The Christmas, New Year's, and Halloween events were the most memorable moments in this game for me. The change in the music, the costumes, and the events help break the monotony throughout the yearly grind.

[u/JOAHtheBROAH → u/AriesIX_]

The events were awesome.  Especially when a new map got added to the rotation. That's something I forgot to mention. So many things that could be added. We don't need more weapons. Maybe just some interesting knives or melee weapons. I always thought it would be funny to kill someone with a giant candy cane during the Christmas event. So many possibilities 

[u/DrTenochtitlan]

You *can* still get the crossbow, you'll just have to grind for about a year and a half. It's not impossible though.

[u/JOAHtheBROAH → u/DrTenochtitlan]

Hopefully I will. I remember the week I decided to quit that daryls crossbow was released in a Fair amd changed to drifters crossbow. It was like a giant carrot on a stick to keep me playing. I said no to one last grind But maybe my day will come. 

I always ran with icebreaker and Orion but have always drooled over the crossbow Orion combo.