K/D and Objective Based Games

[Trafalgar]

You can use your K/D ratio and accuracy with different weapons to see which ones you're better with, and if you can see what weapons and attachments other people are using and their K/D ratios and accuracies, use that data to improve your own performance by using what you're better at instead of what you're bad at, or trying new things that work well for other players to see if they also work well for you. (Of course you may already have some idea what you're good with and bad with, to some degree, but stats from a game tend to be finer than my own senses, at least)

So it's not necessarily a bad thing unless you get completely obsessive about it.

Of course, focusing on k/d rather than objectives is pointless. You could bomb an enemy base all day long for tons of kills if nobody is bothering to shoot you down, but if no friendlies are trying to take the base it doesn't do your team any good (unless your targets are using resources up trying to make vehicles or airplanes, and you're destroying them).

[fvdham]

> Do you think those same players would hold off on charging a point to protect their K?

Sounds like you need a radiator.

[Spiv]

I don't think it'll be the k/d people will be worried about. I think it'll be their xp/minute(or points or resources whatever it is). If the best way to get xp is to camp a choke point or ress people who will die instantly afterwards that's what they'll do. a good k/d might just be a by-product of it,

[infected]

game should implement a tracker on how many vehicles you destroy (how many enemy resources you've managed to eliminate)

then again, if it turns out its easy to horde resources... that could mean that trying to strategically deny a faction of a certain resource = not possible. we'll wait and see.

[Memeotis]

Nope, nope, nope aaaand nope, because nope. Sure there will be quite of lot of people at the start who will be focusing excessively on their K/Dr, but they will quickly realize that the game comes into its own when you play with a squad, and it will lead them to instead divert their focus onto helping the squad and playing as a team.

There's not much fun to be had playing this game alone. It will convert the masses, don't worry.

... that said. This is still a shooter, and K/Dr is still a show of skill if the player can keep other relevant stats high as well.

[Antivide]

Originally Posted by Memeotis

... that said. This is still a shooter, and K/Dr is still a show of skill if the player can keep other relevant stats high as well.

KDR is never a show of skill in an objective based game.

You can easily get a 5.0 overall K/D by using the chopper gunner seat in BF3 every match. Is that skill? Is sitting in a vehicle with overpowered infantry killing capabilities really a test of skill?

No, it isn't. Someone can easily get a 10.0 K/D in a tank if they wished in PS2. Is that a sense of skill? Maybe... maybe not. Most likely not. It's not hard to set a tank up in a chokepoint and spam an area to get kills. This applies to all games with vehicular play.

K/D is only important in Deathmatch game modes and arena shooters.

My K/D in BF3? 2.90. Do you know what my W/L is? 6.36.

My K/D comes from vehicle play. I'm naturally good in a vehicle so it's easy for me to rack up kills in a tank. Not a test of "skill" as in a tank versus an infantrymen is not a fair match up. I don't play for K/D. I play to win. I play to help my team win. My K/D has no influence on the matter. If it was up to me I'd get rid of the K/D stat on my statistics page REGARDLESS of how high it is. I'd much rather people see that I'm a team player than someone with a high K/D.

Stats encourage stat whoring. Stat whoring encourages negative gameplay. BF3 is the most guilty of this. Get rid of the K/D stat altogether. It does not belong in objective type games. I have 460 hours in BF3, I know what I'm talking about. I've seen it happen and I continue to see it happen. People bitching about not getting revived by medics (getting revived doesn't count as a death).

Players camping on the edges of a capture point farming kills rather than trying to capture the flag. It's disgusting.

Your first thought in a team based objective game is "How can I help my team achieve victory?". Not "How can I kill the most people to protect my K/D?".

[Baneblade]

We don't value killwhoring as an outfit. If you get a nice kpd, cool, but we are an objective oriented heavy armor/support outfit and kills won't define us on the battlefield.

That said, we will be alpha striking enemies left and right with coordinated target management. We won't be unstoppable, but no rag tag Prowler Line, Magrider Navy, Lightning Zerg Rush, Liberator Squadron, or Galaxy Gunship Flight will be a significant threat to our formations. So our kpd will be naturally high. I fully expect our outfit average to be 5:1 or better.

[Accuser]

Originally Posted by Antivide

Your first thought in a team based objective game is "How can I help my team achieve victory?". Not "How can I kill the most people to protect my K/D?".

Indeed.
I plan on keeping my grief as low as possible so that I'm free to TK people who are obviously padding their K / D