🚀 go-pugleaf

More updates on duo mode.  It just gets better and better.

The tight level of cooperation between you and your teammate is some
of the best I've seen.  For whatever reason, duo mode only seems to
attract players interested in teamwork, no screwing around or juvenile
headaches.  Even some of the youngest players I've encountered (a
couple of them sounded like they were about 10 yrs old), turned out to
be excellent team mates, able to work effectively as a pair.

One thing I observed only after my skill level improved (something
that is ongoing in this particular game) is that when you and your
teammate survive long into the round (for example the two of you are
in the top 6 or 8 players left), you encounter these incredibly
intense two-player team dynamics.  You both want to win, but you might
have somewhat differing ideas on where or how you should position
yourselves to do so.  You typically don't want to drift too far from
each other, because if your teammate is downed (but not killed) you
want to be able to revive him.  However, in most cases if you are down
to the last 10 players, you're holding on for dear life in a dangerous
situation, and the chances of actually being able to revive him
without getting killed get reduced by the second.

So, as the overall intensity level grows, the way you work with your
teammate changes.  You both are faced with this tasks of balancing
individual tactical ideas, personal compromise, and the not-so-easy
task of simply agreeing on the best plan to keep both of you alive (or
at least one of you) as long as possible.

I do understand how some people could say they've "seen it all" after
a week or so of play, they are referring to the fact that there are a
fixed number of cities on the (huge) map as opposed to procedurally
generated terrain (thank god), and while knowing where to find weapons
changes with each round, the process of looting is what it is and
could be considered repetitive.  In duo mode you're doing more than
just grinding though, you're also working with your teammate to trade
items you've found to be sure you each have the best loadout available
before you head into serious combat.

The crux of the game, where you and your team mate are progressively
making your way to the target area, plays out differently each time,
and just feels like a different game.  It's not just the game
mechanics themselves, it's the in interaction between players that
creates the dynamic variation.  

I suppose at some point everyone will get tired of it unless the devs
progressively add more content, but right now I see player fatigue as
a long way off, this game is already a sales phenomenon.

That said, I'm still not a huge fan of squad mode, which is rare for
me because I'm normally a fan of squad based games.  In this game, it
just lacks the tight focus and teamwork of having only two player
teams.  If duo mode weren't available, I'm sure I'd probably be more
interested in squad play.