Horde mode is getting to be right around the corner now, so I figured why not get a bead on what players are expecting/wanting out of this hotly anticipated addition. Lemme describe down below the differences between the styles I gave options for. I have no idea what features will be contained within the mode, such as boss battles and rotating hold out zones like in WWZ or even if there will be a Horde XL version. So I won't speculate on that part. Pick the variations you would want and the final  choices are to show Sabre whether players would like to curate the experience with multiple options, or have a singular and consistent "set in stone" method. But a base version in matchmaking would be used in pug/random groups even if options in private were considered/added. 

*Post edit note. I am adding some pros and cons to each variants description and will bold that part, this can be ignored as the base description is the take away. None of the options are bad by themselves and I welcome any or all of them. Simply, they offer a slightly different experience, with their own pros and cons and all of them share a bit of said pros and cons in some form and degree.*

Endless - Pretty self explanatory. There is no end to the waves. There are no breaks (cept between waves), and there is no stopping until, you all are downed or dead. You keep going and going until either your fingers fall off. Or you all are killed/downed without any means of recovery like relics and such. Reaching higher and higher waves gives more rewards and xp.  This would play the most like CoD Zombies does to give you an idea to draw from. This one has the highest investment, as I said. You keep going until you die. So if someone needs/wants to dip while the others don't, then there is a bit of an impasse. Not to mention that it kinda feels bad if everyone wants out, you have to essentially give up and lose on purpose to end the match. But, if it's a premade whom are all on the same page, these issues go out the window. And being able to be finished whenever you want to, rather than being hard locked in for X number of waves is certainly an advantage though.

Hard set​ - There are a hard set number of waves needed to survive. An example being 50. Finish the 50th wave, you're done. There is an end, you just have to get to it. Failure does not mean you get no xp or rewards. But making it all the way to the end adds additional rewards and such. The Gears of War series own Horde Modes would be a good comparison here.  This version has a sense of finality to the whole session. As there is a definite end goal, to complete all the waves. But, it kinda of also locks you in to do the whole set of offered waves. And even then, some of the previously mentioned cons still follow this method. Like wanting to leave partially through the session.

Sets of waves - This variation somewhat combines the two above methods into one. You progress through a set number of waves, with the final one of the set upon completion then allowing you to pull out and "win" the mode on your terms. So, do 10 waves as an example, then decide whether to pull out and take the w, or go for another 10 to see how far you can go. The only limit is how long you want to go for. Same reward structure as the Hard Set rule variation. You just do not receive the given rewards of the set unless you complete it. Save for the xp up until that point. This also allows players that are wanting to leave while other players wish to keep going. If all are good to go for another set. Waves start as usual, if not and 1 player wishes to leave, they may do so and the others may continue on and MM will backfill within a set amount of time to find another player before starting again, with or without the backfill. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is the basis for this version. ​This version has the pros and cons of both the above methods, but they are to a lesser degree but it shares them all. There is a hard set number of waves to do for each "clear", but they are in much smaller amounts of usually 10ish or so rather than having a full set of say 50. There is an end here, but, should you opt in to do another bulk of waves. You are essentially stuck doing them until they are done. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but you gotta reach it first. And people coming and going is handled much better by letting players leave once the batch is done, and the ones who wish to keep going get a bit of down time for the MM to find a back fill within a set time frame before carrying on. With or without the backfill. Which is a double edged sword for sure. The only time things end is when you want them to, once you complete the batch. Leave or go again.​​

Short, medium, Long match lengths - This version would let you set the game length right from the start. Only have a short amount of time to play, pick the short and only have 3ish waves to complete. Medium would be 7ish. Long would be 10+ waves. Rewards are given after a full completion, but xp once more is granted up to that point. The waves do not necessarily need to be the amounts given, but it was more-so to give an idea of how long each option was. Killing Floor is where this idea comes from specifically. So for this it has similar advantages and disadvantages to the Hard Set, but it has it in different extremes. Short games have the ramp up in difficulty relatively huge in a short period of time. But if you don't much time to play a full 10 or so wave set, it doesn't leave you many options. While a 10 wave match can feel more like waiting to get to the good parts. Once more, you are locked in until the whole set of waves of complete.

And there ya go. As I said the final choices I added are to let Sabre know, if there should be other options, that in private games let people host and choose how they want to play. Or just straight up keep it 1 singular way to play to keep it consistent. And, should modifiers be added down the line, see if players want the ability to tweak them with different pros and cons to tailor the session even more. Multiple choices are enable so people can either pick the versions they wouldn't mind then want to tailor it a bit more in private, or pick the one mode they want then select 1 version of horde to keep it consistent. I may have my preference of the Sets of Waves offering more pros than cons in my eyes, but if it were up to me, I'd have the Endless version and one of the others being offered in private games so players can pick which they want to do with their groups while offering a lobby for pugs to join in should they open it up for others because they lack X number of players for a full lobby and want to fill it with a potential MM player.

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ChaosStruck6789 wrote:

Horde Mode should have difficulties that resemble Operations. That difficulty should translate in terms of enemy lethality, resource/equipment availability, Medicae effectiveness, mortal wounds mechanic and loot rarity drops (Armoury Data: Artificer, etc.) after a run. This will ensure the casuals can get there fun in as well as the sweaties.

I think I'd prefer Endless where the goal is to set the highest cleared wave on a Leaderboard on x difficulty. Loot drop is determined by how many Terminus enemies are downed during the match. I'd keep the same number of players in the party the same as Op, 3 (less hassle on dev's part).

The way they implement access to equipment and progression is my biggest interest. I'd like to see everyone start off as a scrub with no perk points in their class or weapon. The player's own skill and effectiveness (meaning how many enemies they kill and what threat level) should determine how much resources they gain to unlock perk points as well as purchasing equipment. I would love to see special abilities that allow the players to summon turrets or vehicles, call in air support, orbital strikes, etc, that can really turn the tide. Though this ask is a stretch, we should at least get some sort of defense building aspect within this game mode. This route seems a lot more viable.      

 The standard difficulties would still be chosen before starting the game. Being Normal or Hard. In terms of in game mechanics, I assume it will function somewhat like it does in WWZ being handled by the same devs. It will def not be a 1 to 1 replica, but I would say it is a solid basis for how it will/could be handled. Which is to say the following for both the normal and Xl version. To which XL had it's own unique additional mechanic (which I'll explain below the general mode explanation):

There was no end to the waves. You spawn in with whatever level you had, weapons equipped and perks up to that point in your progression. Wave completion as well as randomly given objectives on some waves (capture area, kill X number of specials etc.) gave you supplies to purchase defensive structures like barbed wire, shock pads and fences, auto-turrets and manual turrets as well as mortars etc. It also allowed you to purchase restock boxes that can be placed at many defensive points, health kits, weapon restocks that fall into a primary and secondary and power weapon style loadout like rockets or a heavy mg etc., environmental respawns like oil barrels to light sections on fire when shot and additional gate guard spawns (this was the secondary objective alongside your own squads survival, if it fell you auto failed no matter how well things were going, as civilians you are defending are behind those gates). Every so often, the hordes would swap which area they were attacking from. Giving a sort of new local to look at and fight on/in. But your defenses did not carry over to the new area. Rather once you defended enough times in the new area, you would either be sent to the next new area to defend (of which I think there were usually 3ish) or be sent back to an area already set up. For both the normal and XL version of horde, this is how both collectively played.

XL mode however had an additional mechanic. Every wave would lead closer and closer to a mega horde, with each consecutive mega horde getting bigger and bigger each time you completed it successfully much like the standard waves do in both modes. Each successfully completed wave(s) could spawned in extra objective that gave you pooled resources to then send in air strikes and other things to soften up and slow down the mega hordes. Below are some examples of an XL wave:

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ChaosStruck6789 wrote:

Horde Mode should have difficulties that resemble Operations. That difficulty should translate in terms of enemy lethality, resource/equipment availability, Medicae effectiveness, mortal wounds mechanic and loot rarity drops (Armoury Data: Artificer, etc.) after a run. This will ensure the casuals can get there fun in as well as the sweaties.

I think I'd prefer Endless where the goal is to set the highest cleared wave on a Leaderboard on x difficulty. Loot drop is determined by how many Terminus enemies are downed during the match. I'd keep the same number of players in the party the same as Op, 3 (less hassle on dev's part).

The way they implement access to equipment and progression is my biggest interest. I'd like to see everyone start off as a scrub with no perk points in their class or weapon. The player's own skill and effectiveness (meaning how many enemies they kill and what threat level) should determine how much resources they gain to unlock perk points as well as purchasing equipment. I would love to see special abilities that allow the players to summon turrets or vehicles, call in air support, orbital strikes, etc, that can really turn the tide. Though this ask is a stretch, we should at least get some sort of defense building aspect within this game mode. This route seems a lot more viable.      

Srry had to make another post to not make the previous one a wall-o-text. Personally, I'd rather have the base version either be a set of waves or have a hard limit. I don't always have to the time nor patience to play until my fingers fall off. And also, once I am done, I'd rather have the end either happen because we won (with a set number) or we can opt to keep going or call it a day with a Set of X Waves. As opposed to just having to give up and die when I am finished. As the Sets of Waves, also let the players who wished to keep going, let them do so while I was able to then leave to then have MM step in and find a replacement player for them. However, I do think there needs to be an option for either or in private games. That I think should be a given.