What does the addition of XP and levels add to Insurgency?

Hopefully this isn't in the wrong forum, but what does the addition of XP and levels add to the Insurgency experience? I don't think it adds anything. For the last few days, I've gone back and played Insurgency (Source). That game had no experience or leveling mechanics, but that in no way detracted from what makes Insurgency (Source) a great game.

In Sandstorm, a match earns you XP which, each time you accumulate 20,000 of them, convert to either $100 or $200 coins. Levels are, effectively, just an indicator of how many times your XP have been converted to coins. Apart from that, levels really don't serve any purpose. The game would be just fine without them--their absence in no way lessens the awesomeness that is Insurgency.

This is not really a plea to remove levels, just pointing out that they really don't add anything to the game. In fact, they seem kind of pointless. Something to keep in mind for the next iteration of Insurgency (and I hope there are many--Insurgency and Sandstorm are great games!).

To answer the question: nothing.

Right now, you can unlock items and get $ to buy gear, camos, etc. Expect NWI to make announcements in the future.

@xxxrayrocks said in What does the addition of XP and levels add to Insurgency?:

Right now, you can unlock items and get $ to buy gear, camos, etc. Expect NWI to make announcements in the future.

they could of done that without adding in the ranking system with it, im at 214 rank and its pretty meaningless it just means ive hit 20,000 points 214 times,all the rank system has done is create the rush fest cap simulator 2019 the game is now.

it would have been better by gaining military ranks instead with rewards to that effect

last edited by b4ndo

@b4ndo - I believe there is room for the system to be revamped. its a strong platform with all kinds of possibilities and serves its purpose for now. What I mean by that is I hope they revamp it. I agree with the side effects of the rush system. Co-op needs its own medals rewards system with no scoreboard. A possible squad/platoon/battalion group and rank system. that we can progress through.

last edited by Max80

It can let you get a very general idea of a player's amount of familiarity with the game.

If I see someone struggling with beginner mistakes and they're level 0 or 1, I feel pretty comfortable offering them some advice over chat or comms. I'm not going to start explaining game mechanics unprompted to someone who's level 200, regardless of how they're playing.

@maa_bunny - That's a valid point. I've used levels that way myself, so it's handy for that.

@maa_bunny said in What does the addition of XP and levels add to Insurgency?:

It can let you get a very general idea of a player's amount of familiarity with the game.

If I see someone struggling with beginner mistakes and they're level 0 or 1, I feel pretty comfortable offering them some advice over chat or comms. I'm not going to start explaining game mechanics unprompted to someone who's level 200, regardless of how they're playing.

indeed although if the matchmaking system they felt they had to implement actually worked our main point still stands

Given that XP in no way lines up with actual skill or experience, and is primarily an indicator of time spent in the game, not much right now.

That said, I'd love to see the system fleshed out so that things like teamwork, communication, effectiveness, and leadership can be tracked.

That could feed into giving preference to higher-skilled leaders to get commander role, or other ways to help shape the game experience to reward good gameplay in a more persistent and global way.

I think that if XP or some other metric was public and strongly tied to being a good teammate, that it could go a long way to encouraging even more good gameplay as a natural outcome.