I think the A17 systems destroys the A16 system. A16 system was too cheesy and encouraged garbage like crafting/salvaging loops to cheese xp. Or as my one friend would do, just get an auger and dig pointless tunnels for easy speed leveling. Cheese with cheese sauce on top.
If you're playing a zombie survival game then, duh, you're going to need to kill zombies, and killing zombies should be where you get most of your xp, not from busting grass with your fist or crafting scores of clubs per day, or from chopping down trees, or for digging a subway with an auger. There is ZERO risk or challenge in the crafting or gathering grind - you do not deserve tons of xp for doing what is essentially nothing.
I'm fine with the gating. It's not that hard to level up in this game - just play and it happens. It's less of a gate and more of a mild speed bump.
It saddens me how many people are resistant to change. Why play early access games if you don't understand development, iteration, change, progress? Stick with released games and you'll be less unhappy. Maybe. Probably not.
IMO, people who just want to be superman and play the game likes it's a pertty minecraft variant should probably just go play minecraft (seriously, modded minecraft destroys all others when it comes to purely crafting/building/and being ridiculously powerful with low/no risks).
I get it buddy, you're all sold on the new version and everyone who isn't is resistant to change. How can I even counter that argument, it's so perfect ?
Oh, let me try, point by point.
About A16's chain crafting. First of all, I've never done it. I can understand it breaks PvP servers, but I only play with buddies of mine, and we never cheesed. So while A17 fixes this, it doesn't fix anything for me, and probably doesn't fix anything for a lot of other people. Just because there's a way to ruin the leveling phase doesn't mean you have to use it, right ? What about if your friend actually didn't auger sand blocks for easy levels and played the game instead ? And there would probably have been a dozen ways to actually nerf chain-crafting without totally removing exp gain by practice... level gating just happened to be the one being chosen, and we're discussing the fact it might not have been the best. Oh by the way, we should probably remove god mode because it totally breaks the game since you can fly and spawn any item day 1. /s
Regarding your second paragraph... subjective, and to each their own. I'd rather gain EXP in mining skills while mining than while killing zombies because... it makes sense, you know ? Obviously killing zombies is a part of the game, but should it be the allmighty way to level up ? I don't think so.
As far as the gating goes... no, it isn't "hard". Yes, "i'll eventually get there". But it's boring and has a static pace, and THAT is what we are criticizing. In every playthrough i'll ever play, i'll have a forge level 20, Steel level 60, and so on. No more randomness, no more early game made easier by a lucky book find, no more mid game scavenging like a madman because I can't find the minibike book. Everything is unlocked, in every game, at the exact same time in my character's progression. Can I decide not to unlock the forge by level 20 but wait 'til level 25 "to change it up" ? Sure, but there's still no randomness, only pure choice and planification. And well, to put it bluntly... 7dtd character's progression isn't exactly what is making the game stand out in comparison to other games. What was really different is how looting random containers was affecting your character's progression in a totally different way with each new playthrough.
For the last two sentences... what can I even say. Thinking everybody that is against the level gating solely rejects the concept because he wants to be a powerhouse day 1 is... too easy and almost insulting. If anything I love the fact that I feel like a caveman longer than in previous Alpha's. What I dislike is knowing exactly when i'm gonna advance to the next "stage" of the game because that allmighty level cap is reached (be it 20, 30, 40 or 60).
Please get off your high horse thinking everybody who doesn't agree has a simplistic way of thinking and can't or just won't adapt. If anything I think you're the one not fully grasping all that is induced by static level gating, don't turn this around and act like we don't want it because we don't want the game to change. I want it to change, but for the better, and right now I don't feel it has in all the aspects previously mentioned.
