Community Q&A: January 30

Welcome, ark hunters! You’ve asked, we’re answering. Make sure to keep an eye out for the next question collection thread on our forums next week! We’re back with another action packed Defiance Dev Q&A!

Source: http://forums.defiance.com/showthread.php?199010-Community-Q-amp-A-January-30

Questions:

• Is the Dev team thinking of implementing any changes to charge blades in the near future?
• Could you tell the community more about the community moderator program?
• What are some of the things that you would have liked to have had in for the Valentines event, but couldn't fit it in due to time or design constraints?
• Are there any changes planned for the bug report system?
• Will there be a nanoless jackpot weapon in the future?
• When will we get the ability to name our gear like you mentioned a few months back?
• Will there be any features to work Expeditions into the private match system for people in the same clan, etc. who want to play together? (eg, if you lose a player, can the instance remain closed for the other 3 to continue, extra cool points if the dead guy can spectate like in pvp, etc)?
• There are concerns of thieves on the PS3 using a bug that freezes the PS3 to steal choice weapons. This was investigated, can you tell us about the results?
• What’s your policy on scamming in game and what can players do if they’ve been scammed?
• What does the Dev team have planned to promote map exploration?
• Can you remove the encryption from named weapons like the Diablo?

1. Is the Dev team thinking of implementing any changes to charge blades in the near future?

   Not currently. Our focus is on Alcatraz at the moment.

2. Could you tell the community more about the community moderator program?

   The Community Supporters will be granted limited moderator permissions to help remove obvious spam posts. Currently, their scope will not include actioning actual players.

3. What are some of the things that you would have liked to have had in for the Valentines event, but couldn't fit it in due to time or design constraints?

   This is gruesome, but I wanted bouquets of hellbug hearts. I wanted to not only have the hearts of hellbugs skewered on pikes in front of major game locations, but I wanted to task players with harvesting those hearts from incapacitated hellbugs. Then players would take that bouquet to any of the main stars to “declare their love”. Because that is awesomely gross!

4. Are there any changes planned for the bug report system?

   There are none currently planned, though we certainly could in the future!

5. Will there be a nanoless jackpot weapon in the future?

   If it makes sense for the weapon, that's certainly possible. All jackpots are case-by-case.

6. When will we get the ability to name our gear like you mentioned a few months back?

   There isn't a release date for it yet, so there’s no word at present. We're in love with the feature though.

7. Will there be any features to work Expeditions into the private match system for people in the same clan, etc. who want to play together? (eg, if you lose a player, can the instance remain closed for the other 3 to continue, extra cool points if the dead guy can spectate like in pvp, etc)?

   Actually, yes! They were intended to be paired with Private Matches, but we’re going to hold off on Private Expeditions for a future update. (It complicates matchmaking, and Expedition matchmaking is complicated enough for one release, thank you!)
   
   Spectating will be a big no-no for the foreseeable future, but Private Matches are still in the plans for the future.

8. There are concerns of thieves on the PS3 using a bug that freezes the PS3 to steal choice weapons. This was investigated, can you tell us about the results?

   While we won’t discuss scamming, cheating, exploiting, etc. publicly, we do investigate and deal with reported cases. The key factor is proof – we log everything – and will go through chat logs, play style history, etc. and if there is clear evidence the player will be dealt with.

9. What’s your policy on scamming in game and what can players do if they’ve been scammed?

   If you’ve been scammed, make sure to report it to our support team as soon as possible. Scamming is where a player generally makes an agreement with another player that is not fulfilled and only benefits one individual. If a player agrees to give 10,000 Scrip for a weapon and the trade occurs but the other player never gets the weapon and the offender runs off with the Scrip, this qualifies as a scam and is actionable by our support team. We consider this a major violation of our Code of Conduct, and possible suspensions may occur for the player performing the scam. We will also reverse the trade, so you’ll get your currency returned to you!
   
   In order to protect yourself, please be sure to make sure perform any trades using the in game text chat system so that we can reliably track the agreement. This helps protect you and your trade.

10. What does the Dev team have planned to promote map exploration?

    We’re placing Golden Skitterlings and Ark Chests in the world for players to find. A bit of a scavenger hunt with semi-random locations.

11. Can you remove the encryption from named weapons like the Diablo?

    Most fixed-bonus weapons are built specifically for the rating tier they drop at. El Diablo, for example, only has bonuses up to the rare tier. It’s encrypted so you get the 3% damage bonus since you can’t upgrade the weapon anyway.