Why is NC so Popular?

[Whalenator]

Originally Posted by Hamma

All of a sudden we are discounting the past 10 years of population counts?

Empire counts have always been VERY close to equal all this time. I see no reason for that changing.

Because the pool of players has expanded from hardcore gamers to regular gents and cod players. Purple and light green coupled with a technophiliac mentality won't push your faction far. A sense of freedom and powerful weapons or a militaristic sense of domination will.

[Troscus]

Every faction relies on outward appearance. Do you LIKE looking like a rebel/soldier/alien? Then, more than likely, that's the faction you'll gravitate towards. We're also expecting to pull alot of BF/COD players, and most of them like the rebel look.

I'm expecting a TON of NC on launch, then it'll even out once the tweens who thought NC was unbeatable get sucker punched in the daddy-bags by a few good TR and VS soldiers.

But then again, I'm not Nostradamus.

[meiam]

How can people not play VS? They have laser LAZER!

All seriousness apart, they do sound kinda weak on paper (actual number most probably will disprove this), every time they talk about the faction, it's like "NC hit hard, TR hit fast, VS...they...hum...are purple and shoot energy" plus there vehicle on first sight look weaker, basic tank not having a turret and most footage of scythe being of people crashing

[Knightwyvern]

Originally Posted by meiam

How can people not play VS? They have laser LAZER!

All seriousness apart, they do sound kinda weak on paper (actual number most probably will disprove this), every time they talk about the faction, it's like "NC hit hard, TR hit fast, VS...they...hum...are purple and shoot energy" plus there vehicle on first sight look weaker, basic tank not having a turret and most footage of scythe being of people crashing

Magrider is muuuuch more maneuverable than the other MBT, especially on rough terrain. Also, on today's stream a large number of the killcam shots were of people getting owned by Scythes. Many Vanu energy weapons do not have bullet drop, a pretty nice bonus at range.

[Baneblade]

Well... NC in general are considered overpowered. And in a sense, we are. Being the hardest hitting faction, means our stuff hurts more in the shock and awe aspect. By comparison, the TR tend to be more about spamming than making each shot count, so they seem less dramatic. The VS are just weird... and purple highlighted by teal. So there is no mystery why they aren't so popular.

[Vashyo]

I've allways been under the impression TR is the most popular empire. Juts looking this forum and Reddit one I mostly spot the TR-emblem the most.

and I remember seeing a poll at some point where TR had slightly more votes than the other 2.

[neonlazer]

NC is so popular because the VS and TR both hate us cause we kick their rear ends!

[DerFurst]

If you suddenly found a fountain of information detailing the practical applications previously incomprehensible ideas, why would you NOT exploit it? It just seems stupid that people wouldn't take an advantage when it's practically handed to you...

Anyways, from E3, it looks like Vanu can get black camo. Purple still perfectly fits the role of an "alien" faction, though, which is why I see nothing wrong about it.

[ElectroEsper]

Well, the NC is not that much popullar than the TR as far as I know (well like if I know anything).

Personnaly I go NC cause I love the Warhammer Imperial Guardish look they have, plus my friend want to be the dedicated tanker of our platoon and want the meanest tank to fit the tank destroyer role.

Not really any other reason for us.

But if I were to play alone, I would go TR and max as an Interceptor Fighter Pilot

I think it all go around the play style people want, or for they biggest need ( good tank for us).

[Verruna]

I dont see any race having a major population imbalance tbh. Will probably be even for the most part at release.

I like TR and NC..............'s bloody bodies getting run over by my magrider hood. So i guess their popular to me, as i enjoy watching them suffer.. Purple for life!

[Zekeen]

All three factions generally even out in popularity. NC is just flashier and edgier. TR "looks" like the bad guys, while NC "looks" like the good guys. And Vanu just look like a higher technology that many go for, despite having the most interesting gameplay.

[Kirotan]

Not really. People do it all the time, especially when faced with something new where they don't know the different mechanics as much as the lore. This was seen in games like WoW; there's a reason why the Alliance was filled with new players and the casuals, at least compared to the Horde. That is in PvP of course, and before cross server PvP.

In WoW beta, most of the beta testers decided to roll horde; even the ones that played Alliance. They knew that not only were Horde racials were better, but Horde was going to be outpopulated because they had no "pretty" races at launch. I tried to find a few old threads about it but nothing came up.

As for PS1, it always seemed like VS was outnumbered. Part color scheme, lore, and weapon mechanics. I played NC for the first 3 years, and then VS for the rest afterward. After using the Gauss for so long, the CoF/spread on the Pulsar makes me want to break things even to this day.

I feel NC is the easiest empire to play. Hitscan HA, "Safe" AV, best MA rifle, hardest hitting (makes crucial first strike capability even deadlier, narrows the margin of error your opponent can make and still win a fight), most armor (improves your margin of error and still win a fight). At least they're losing speed this time. Is the Prowler in PS1 still slower moving than a Vanguard?

In PS2, I think the TR and NC will have very close populations, and VS will be behind, but catch up a bit.

[Kriegson]

As hamma pointed out, the factions are usually fairly balanced when it comes to the polls.

Like most have said, the TR and the NC are fairly relatable factions to most people. The totalitarian regime that rules with an iron fist, and the sympathetic rebels who fight for their freedoms (Some anyhow).
The VS are the odd men out in regards to aesthetic, story and weapons. I would think they appeal to a certain niche, while NC and TR are more widely so.

As for some generalized pros and cons for each faction's weapon style:

TR:
High rof and low accuracy play well into a run and gun style, good for assaulting and ambushes.

They do however require you to be exposed while unloading damage onto an opponent. Harder to fight with full effectiveness at range.

NC:
High damage and good accuracy play well to juking behind cover and defense in cover. Minimum exposure with maximum damage.

Missing shots greatly increases your time to kill. You must be accurate, and this makes things difficult in a close quarters run and gun.

VS:
No weapon ballistics and strangely "behaving" equipment makes you difficult to predict. Like hover tanks that can strafe and scythes with their insane mobility.

Aside from the unpredictable and unique functions of their equipment, the weapons are fairly modest in regards to kill capability. Not really outstanding in any regard, but with their own quirks.

-As far as I figure things.

[Huntsab]

NC have the easiest weapons, simple as that. K/D on NC is usually higher due to the point click win ability of the JH. Tower farming being the most popular past time (yawn) for the NC. So it surprises me that some NC like to camp doors. With such great weapons you would think about using them in close quarters, you know the way they are supposed to be used? NC are a pathetic faction that attracts the younger crowd who all think they rock when flicking on PShield and Max humping.

You NC do nothing useful for your empire except spam SA, camp doors with 99 vehicles (er your weapons), if confronted in a tower with an agile enemy you run down and use your UniMax over and over till all your timers depleted. You lot are so lame and that was shown when the quadshot and surgile were removed, oh did anyone see the NC pop's drop? oh I forgot spawn camp....sorry It's how you get your kills.

[GTGD]

NC look "rough and tough" and have the popular blue colors.

TR look like the standard evil empire, red is a decently popular color but has a bad connotation in video games.

VS are purple freaks with lasers.

^that is basically how people see it, hence why VS is least popular.