I am beginning this thread here, moving one I saw from reddit. Original post here

When you retire a premium operative from your team in Online there is absolutely no way to recover, find or recruit them again, paid or otherwise as of this posting.

In any respect - THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE

Possible reason why people may retire Operatives (Premium or otherwise)

• Mistake - There are glitches and latency in GUI that can cause things like shopping/team selection/options to be chosen that were not witnessed in the interface.
• Decision to retire due to not wishing them in the team - It happens, but any paid for service should remain unlocked AND unlike Campaign, creating a new save game file is not an option here.
• Needing more character slots - Frankly some P Ops are poorly designed and a waste of space. Retiring them in order to utilise the character slot feels tempting every time I look at the roster. At this stage I am unsure and could not confirm if "retiring" the Prestige Operative even allows their character save slot to be retained for use after they are retired.

Ok so what feedback to I suggest?

• Create Character slot premium purchases (the limit of Online mode character slots is ridiculous and does not allow for diversity and collection of different operatives.
• Allow Buyback through the Store. Pretty obvious, all double dipping aside, perhaps a recovery option to be paid for or simply available would be a great idea.
• Create a "Sidebar" - What does this mean? A Retired Ops Pool for everyone you retire in perm memory/cloud, allowing RE-RECRUITMENT at a steep Influence Fee. (<<<<I want this idea)
• Make it a fun Online quest to "Recover your operative" (perhaps a part of the sidebar idea above?)

In any case, Prestige or not. The current status is punishing for customers of the game and is poor business practice to not even offer a paid recovery option of some sort. In theory because Online taps into our cloud account structure, even a re-install and restart of the game itself would not restore the ability to possess/buy/acquire these operatives again.

This topic has not been thoroughly explored up until this point that my research could locate and I would like Developer feedback to confirm accountability for something many fans are having genuine trouble with.

I do largely agree with many of these points. I differ however that rather than remove them, perhaps a selectable challenge mode could be an option... So that single normal mode and team hard mode becomes available with proportional rewards to go with it.

I would be more interested in this "survival" style gameplay if (like in Division 1) the rewards were transferrable to your main game. Not simply ETO rewards, but cosmetic exclusives, or abilities and weapons currently exclusive to this game mode only...

Often I feel as though the Developers miss the mark because they do not truly understand what motivates and drives players. Risk and Reward. We enjoy a fair struggle to obtain things. That is the very nature of gaming. The design work is amazing, as are the world building and options emerging in this game mode... However... when you leave it... and return... you have no real reason to keep playing... nothing earned or banked...

Suggestions:

• The "streak character" can be gradually and permanently upgraded at great cost to acquire ongoing weapons or gadgets (incentive to survive)
• The special items, guns and loot finds that get "extracted" can be taken back into Online and Campaign modes - Exclusive LOTD variations and items.
• Boosters such as reduced CD time for things like the Cargo drone (currently at 9-10 mins CD) - Or purchasable tweaks from main menu.

These are only a few, not exhaustive, but a solid start for development.

The "streak character" can be lost.. and everything you paid for goes with it. True incentive to build teams, survive and build the streak. Develop, grow and SURVIVE. Extracting the map exclusives (very much the way Division franchise has a Dark Zone). This would provide deep incentive to keep surviving and the loss at losing the character akin to permadeath in the main game... but... this would be a unique game mode and something to return to again an again.

Touching on the points raised above....
(1) I agree on the zombies being slow and innumerable as soon as you get close they run and auto latch if you do not strike them first a few times to get them down... More than one and you lose half your life, all it takes is two or three of them and 2 lucky unblockable latches and you are done.

(2) Awareness range should be dependant on stealth and like things with rotting eyes or noses... (as we see in the Walking Dead) heat and sound should be the main triggers. Although a challenge to write into a game as variables... it would be the best solution.

(3) I have not seen zombie teleports, I have however seen Zombie spawning in a very random way in unoccupied areas effectively blocking several pathways to "react" to my decisions and those of my team. The Zombies could not climb stairs fast nor jump fences or barriers, which I used often to control their flow.

(4) Time limit should be a selectable option for those that enjoy extra risk for more reward, like a multiplier. That way people wanting a slow stealthy paced extended run can enjoy that minus the time limit pressure... Or (Like in Division 1 Survival) a way to push the timer back or freeze it... by looting or locating items inworld would be a fantastic compromise and become a strong motivator.

(5) The fog really felt punishing even on PC. The new daylight activity time was a pleasant surprise as was starting in the extraction zone and having to go hunt for supplies to bring back (only to have clan Kelley goons waiting upon my return.. nice touch!). Maybe reduce the obfuscation just a little bit... for balance. Right now dense fog adds more lethality to the unblockable attacks they can spring from nowhere. Two bites and you are gone.

All feedback thus far from all posters has been incredibly good and if balanced a little more... this becomes a very fun co-op (or solo stealth) survival game.

I enjoyed the DLC for Assassin's Creed crossover. I enjoyed the general outfitting and clothing options for Darcy.

However... This is the first character to prohibit.. standard weapon choices. NO firearms LTC or Ballistic, NONE. ONLY the 2 specialised firearm types along with the hidden blade. any other basic types of baseline weaponry is not available to Darcy during Edit.

• In open conflict CQC Melee is the only option... the rate of fire on the single high calibre damage pistol (Hidden Gun: Bullets - even with combat roll) is slow and if you miss... getting slaughtered is very likely in a busy firefight.
• The ammunition replenishment is also limited. General ballistic ammo for the Hidden Gun is replenished from both ammo drops from enemies and Ammo Caches. The Special Berserk Dart Ammunition (in the Hidden Gun: Darts) cannot be replenished with ammo drops and ONLY from Ammo Caches. The double standard sucks, even special weapons like the grenade launchers replenish from combatant ammo drops during sorties. Side Note - The Berserk duration is incredibly short and the death of the victim too swift... The Magician Hypnotism again is a better choice for turning an opponent against their faction.. and better range and ability to use in busy open conflict, not requiring a shooting mechanic. I suggest a minimum 30 sec-45 seconds berserk, instead of the

For the special Hidden Blade... The Weapon Wheel selection whether they are active or not only affects takedown cosmetics... they DO NOT appear during CQC as they traditionally did on AC games. I expected the blade to be a light melee weapon during open CQC, however the only element changed is takedown and the description takedown from any angle is inaccurate... I expect full 360 (gun kata style) instant takedowns if out of combat... instead Darcy begins throwing punches. This is a poorly translated mech from the AC franchise and worth overhauling... especially given low rate of fire on the firearms and inability to even possess/equip the standard baseline variations of LTC weapons. The Arrest toggle mech from Police/Albion is effective allow out of combat takedowns from any angle, unlike Darcy, who begins swinging and starting a CQC sortie instead.

Stealth "Eagle" Drone - Very cumbersome and difficult to manoeuvre in comparison to CTOS drones and parcel drones. For the size this is poorly executed. Also explosive option tends to draw attention since no "recovery/recall" option exists as it is not a gadget. I would have preferred giving Darcy THE flying spider bot from Bloodline named the R.A.D.S Multi drone... my god I think we all want that toy... its well balanced, slow on ground, a sec to air deploy, and allows for a unique element for this premium character. The Stun radius and explosive element is also comparable and balanced when compared to the Eagle Drone. I blends several drone styles well, while leaving core drones valuable to focus on one thing well like speed and takedowns for stealth spider, turret spider hits harder and is manually controlled, better rate of fire etc... The balance is maintained. That R.A.D.S is a better fit for Darcy as a stealth infiltrator.

Parkour is no different... at the very least maybe a zipline to grapple rooftops or a wall climb mech would be good... even if limited to out of combat that would be workable and maintain balance.

The team based Uniform Blending is a great idea to replace the Blend mechanics in AC within the WDL framework. This was well translated.. however... perhaps a random skin for the blend based on the tactical location would be better for cosmetics. I am sure if flagging to recognise Kelley/Albion/Police/Construction/Medical for infiltration already exists... then a responsive avatar to match the environment is extremely achievable and in open street random avatar blend option from the same engine that generates the population imagery each instantiation.

Essentially this assassin does not feel like an assassin to me, but a nerfed standard London citizen at the time of this posting.

@alecmoon
I would be more interested in this "survival" style gameplay if (like in Division 1) the rewards were transferrable to your main game. Not simply ETO rewards, but cosmetic exclusives, or abilities and weapons currently exclusive to this game mode only...

Often I feel as though the Developers miss the mark because they do not truly understand what motivates and drives players. Risk and Reward. We enjoy a fair struggle to obtain things. That is the very nature of gaming. The design work is amazing, as are the world building and options emerging in this game mode... However... when you leave it... and return... you have no real reason to keep playing... nothing earned or banked...

Suggestions:

• The "streak character" can be gradually and permanently upgraded at great cost to acquire ongoing weapons or gadgets (incentive to survive)
• The special items, guns and loot finds that get "extracted" can be taken back into Online and Campaign modes - Exclusive LOTD variations and items.
• Boosters such as reduced CD time for things like the Cargo drone (currently at 9-10 mins CD) - Or purchasable tweaks from main menu.

These are only a few, not exhaustive, but a solid start for development.

The "streak character" can be lost.. and everything you paid for goes with it. True incentive to build teams, survive and build the streak. Develop, grow and SURVIVE. Extracting the map exclusives (very much the way Division franchise has a Dark Zone). This would provide deep incentive to keep surviving and the loss at losing the character akin to permadeath in the main game... but... this would be a unique game mode and something to return to again an again.

Wow edit posts for 10 mins after posting is lame... who the hell thought THAT was a good forum mechanic??

Addendum to my post...
the Berserk shot lasts for 20 seconds and creates immediate threat, draws Albion/Kelley and they know where I am and come hunting. Why?
The Lore of Berserk Dart is stealth and misdirection... and it lasts a heck of a lot longer as previously mentioned. Adjust the timers on this please. At least 45-60 secs, matching the Hypnotism ability. Remove immediate threat gen from use of the firing tool (as it seems to count as a non stealth gunshot in regards to triggers) and increase the darts to 5 from 3... really...


BTW - ***REMOVE*** the damn Edit button or ***extend*** the Time to edit to something reasonable like 60 mins... having an EDIT option that fails after 600 secs shows an unprofessional and lacklustre commitment to community discussion and posting.

@bonniebioss
I hear you load and clear. This still has potential to be patched and altered... Feedback is needed, so I am happy you guys are writing here to essentially save the character... franchise of AC and value for us as players and fans.

Here's my proposal:

• Allowing standard firearms as selectable is a good start... (the LTL pistol is a stealth pistol in its own right, Darcy currently has NO stealth long range options)
• Upgrade darts to at least 5 and allow refill from dropped opponents, not just caches. Also treat each shot as if it were LTL pistol or silenced pistol so that the spirit of the Dart shot is preserved as a stealth /misdirection tool.
• Hidden blade becomes a core light weapon, ACTUALLY assisting in melee as described in the ability and granting a similar takedown to Gunkata (Use the gunkata template as active when Blade it toggled) Easy coding there.

Currently I think they are really strongly suggesting the Combat Roll is used to reload, it is only slightly faster, but may help. Yes the early patching shows ammo counts as Red or missing upon game load or character swap, and reloads, slow, which could be telemetry based on the poorly chosen Host based GTA style MP the studio went for, instead of dedicated servers... Oh wait we can't even play the game without dedicated servers anyway... >.< mhmm Due to Live Service element.

@d-i-d
I agree... the Uniform access has only one benefit when compared to the standard variation.... It can be deployed Out of combat but Inside the Perimeter... More utility... but barely... It also is an AOE, so if you are in group and the short CD is enough to go by... your team could keep cover through observed restricted areas... Still the CORE recognition needs to be nerfed enemies should not have reduced awareness, but should not recognise you unless you do something abnormal, like accessing locked area or taking down alarms (which should be blue and not recognise you anyway).

We need:

• Overhaul to the CORE Uniform recognition mechanic/detection
• Updated visual for Darcy's AOE variation of the ability.
• Potential in combat not in LOS utility to engage again, returning to core AC gameplay style. Often we used blend to avoid pursuit... and the pursuit mechs in this game are already ignoring outright invisibility at this point. Using Darcy's unique stealth AOE field makes her unique again and effective if we can drop our team out of combat ina similar way the Mime Statue/Sweeper mech works to make you truly invisible in plain sight.

I am still learning of ways to enjoy Darcy however... the stealth spiderbot is still a good skill as is the Stealth field, in conjunction with the Uniform mech...

I do largely agree with many of these points. I differ however that rather than remove them, perhaps a selectable challenge mode could be an option... So that single normal mode and team hard mode becomes available with proportional rewards to go with it.

I would be more interested in this "survival" style gameplay if (like in Division 1) the rewards were transferrable to your main game. Not simply ETO rewards, but cosmetic exclusives, or abilities and weapons currently exclusive to this game mode only...

Often I feel as though the Developers miss the mark because they do not truly understand what motivates and drives players. Risk and Reward. We enjoy a fair struggle to obtain things. That is the very nature of gaming. The design work is amazing, as are the world building and options emerging in this game mode... However... when you leave it... and return... you have no real reason to keep playing... nothing earned or banked...

Suggestions:

• The "streak character" can be gradually and permanently upgraded at great cost to acquire ongoing weapons or gadgets (incentive to survive)
• The special items, guns and loot finds that get "extracted" can be taken back into Online and Campaign modes - Exclusive LOTD variations and items.
• Boosters such as reduced CD time for things like the Cargo drone (currently at 9-10 mins CD) - Or purchasable tweaks from main menu.

These are only a few, not exhaustive, but a solid start for development.

The "streak character" can be lost.. and everything you paid for goes with it. True incentive to build teams, survive and build the streak. Develop, grow and SURVIVE. Extracting the map exclusives (very much the way Division franchise has a Dark Zone). This would provide deep incentive to keep surviving and the loss at losing the character akin to permadeath in the main game... but... this would be a unique game mode and something to return to again an again.

Touching on the points raised above....
(1) I agree on the zombies being slow and innumerable as soon as you get close they run and auto latch if you do not strike them first a few times to get them down... More than one and you lose half your life, all it takes is two or three of them and 2 lucky unblockable latches and you are done.

(2) Awareness range should be dependant on stealth and like things with rotting eyes or noses... (as we see in the Walking Dead) heat and sound should be the main triggers. Although a challenge to write into a game as variables... it would be the best solution.

(3) I have not seen zombie teleports, I have however seen Zombie spawning in a very random way in unoccupied areas effectively blocking several pathways to "react" to my decisions and those of my team. The Zombies could not climb stairs fast nor jump fences or barriers, which I used often to control their flow.

(4) Time limit should be a selectable option for those that enjoy extra risk for more reward, like a multiplier. That way people wanting a slow stealthy paced extended run can enjoy that minus the time limit pressure... Or (Like in Division 1 Survival) a way to push the timer back or freeze it... by looting or locating items inworld would be a fantastic compromise and become a strong motivator.

(5) The fog really felt punishing even on PC. The new daylight activity time was a pleasant surprise as was starting in the extraction zone and having to go hunt for supplies to bring back (only to have clan Kelley goons waiting upon my return.. nice touch!). Maybe reduce the obfuscation just a little bit... for balance. Right now dense fog adds more lethality to the unblockable attacks they can spring from nowhere. Two bites and you are gone.

All feedback thus far from all posters has been incredibly good and if balanced a little more... this becomes a very fun co-op (or solo stealth) survival game.

@alecmoon
I would be more interested in this "survival" style gameplay if (like in Division 1) the rewards were transferrable to your main game. Not simply ETO rewards, but cosmetic exclusives, or abilities and weapons currently exclusive to this game mode only...

Often I feel as though the Developers miss the mark because they do not truly understand what motivates and drives players. Risk and Reward. We enjoy a fair struggle to obtain things. That is the very nature of gaming. The design work is amazing, as are the world building and options emerging in this game mode... However... when you leave it... and return... you have no real reason to keep playing... nothing earned or banked...

Suggestions:

• The "streak character" can be gradually and permanently upgraded at great cost to acquire ongoing weapons or gadgets (incentive to survive)
• The special items, guns and loot finds that get "extracted" can be taken back into Online and Campaign modes - Exclusive LOTD variations and items.
• Boosters such as reduced CD time for things like the Cargo drone (currently at 9-10 mins CD) - Or purchasable tweaks from main menu.

These are only a few, not exhaustive, but a solid start for development.

The "streak character" can be lost.. and everything you paid for goes with it. True incentive to build teams, survive and build the streak. Develop, grow and SURVIVE. Extracting the map exclusives (very much the way Division franchise has a Dark Zone). This would provide deep incentive to keep surviving and the loss at losing the character akin to permadeath in the main game... but... this would be a unique game mode and something to return to again an again.

@ingeniekey
I understand your frustration. It was the opposite for me.. I wanted a tighter rear cam when I was drifting. I found the answer... In your "Options>Gameplay>Camera Centring" There are three modes.

• Sprint - Snaps only when moving fast (sprinting/cars)
• Always - Always snaps behind character
• Off - No Camera snapping behind avatar/vehicle (free view that requires independent adjustment)

I hope this might help what you are looking for?

I am beginning this thread here, moving one I saw from reddit. Original post here

When you retire a premium operative from your team in Online there is absolutely no way to recover, find or recruit them again, paid or otherwise as of this posting.

In any respect - THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE

Possible reason why people may retire Operatives (Premium or otherwise)

• Mistake - There are glitches and latency in GUI that can cause things like shopping/team selection/options to be chosen that were not witnessed in the interface.
• Decision to retire due to not wishing them in the team - It happens, but any paid for service should remain unlocked AND unlike Campaign, creating a new save game file is not an option here.
• Needing more character slots - Frankly some P Ops are poorly designed and a waste of space. Retiring them in order to utilise the character slot feels tempting every time I look at the roster. At this stage I am unsure and could not confirm if "retiring" the Prestige Operative even allows their character save slot to be retained for use after they are retired.

Ok so what feedback to I suggest?

• Create Character slot premium purchases (the limit of Online mode character slots is ridiculous and does not allow for diversity and collection of different operatives.
• Allow Buyback through the Store. Pretty obvious, all double dipping aside, perhaps a recovery option to be paid for or simply available would be a great idea.
• Create a "Sidebar" - What does this mean? A Retired Ops Pool for everyone you retire in perm memory/cloud, allowing RE-RECRUITMENT at a steep Influence Fee. (<<<<I want this idea)
• Make it a fun Online quest to "Recover your operative" (perhaps a part of the sidebar idea above?)

In any case, Prestige or not. The current status is punishing for customers of the game and is poor business practice to not even offer a paid recovery option of some sort. In theory because Online taps into our cloud account structure, even a re-install and restart of the game itself would not restore the ability to possess/buy/acquire these operatives again.

This topic has not been thoroughly explored up until this point that my research could locate and I would like Developer feedback to confirm accountability for something many fans are having genuine trouble with.

@phayilkid
I had the same issue. I must have fallen half a dozen time before trying a different approach.

Sprint (shift and direction) makes Darcy run and then drop off the ledges.
Holding (Space and Direction) instead creates an interactive movement like leaping across gaps, land rolling and making small jumps and is not unique to Darcy.

Give that a try. it is not always intuitive like the sprinting is.

I could not believe the platform jumping had to be solved by holding space bar then pushing forward.

@bonniebioss
You know... its funny you say that... I have and will use Helen and now Darcy in a particular way, having reviewed optimal Gadgets and strategies to employ... I joined some co-op today and loved playing my Darcy... with great success... I also found out things like simply holding the mouse button for punching, caused her to chain attack with such speed the [single] opponent cannot resist, they *might* block .. maybe, but generally go down for finishing moves in a few seconds. In multi opponent, I watch for the incoming attacks, and dodge.. which triggers Darcy's instant death counter (provided your Hidden Blade is armed and toggled on). Next counter no matter the heath is instant kill. Food for thought... play defensively and she wipes the floor easily. In fact... being an AC fan you would know The first half dozen titles up to Unity really had a "counter-kill" success chain. Every big attack opening came after successful (and unstoppable) counters... (maybe they **did** pay attention there?).

If only she had a smoke bomb... and gas immunity... I combined another character I have with those things and wow... takedown, takedown, takedown.. It was a feeding frenzy. Remember the smoke bombs in AC with Ezio? It felt like that. That could be a thing... The tools are already there.

@bonniebioss
I hear you load and clear. This still has potential to be patched and altered... Feedback is needed, so I am happy you guys are writing here to essentially save the character... franchise of AC and value for us as players and fans.

Here's my proposal:

• Allowing standard firearms as selectable is a good start... (the LTL pistol is a stealth pistol in its own right, Darcy currently has NO stealth long range options)
• Upgrade darts to at least 5 and allow refill from dropped opponents, not just caches. Also treat each shot as if it were LTL pistol or silenced pistol so that the spirit of the Dart shot is preserved as a stealth /misdirection tool.
• Hidden blade becomes a core light weapon, ACTUALLY assisting in melee as described in the ability and granting a similar takedown to Gunkata (Use the gunkata template as active when Blade it toggled) Easy coding there.

Currently I think they are really strongly suggesting the Combat Roll is used to reload, it is only slightly faster, but may help. Yes the early patching shows ammo counts as Red or missing upon game load or character swap, and reloads, slow, which could be telemetry based on the poorly chosen Host based GTA style MP the studio went for, instead of dedicated servers... Oh wait we can't even play the game without dedicated servers anyway... >.< mhmm Due to Live Service element.

@d-i-d
I agree... the Uniform access has only one benefit when compared to the standard variation.... It can be deployed Out of combat but Inside the Perimeter... More utility... but barely... It also is an AOE, so if you are in group and the short CD is enough to go by... your team could keep cover through observed restricted areas... Still the CORE recognition needs to be nerfed enemies should not have reduced awareness, but should not recognise you unless you do something abnormal, like accessing locked area or taking down alarms (which should be blue and not recognise you anyway).

We need:

• Overhaul to the CORE Uniform recognition mechanic/detection
• Updated visual for Darcy's AOE variation of the ability.
• Potential in combat not in LOS utility to engage again, returning to core AC gameplay style. Often we used blend to avoid pursuit... and the pursuit mechs in this game are already ignoring outright invisibility at this point. Using Darcy's unique stealth AOE field makes her unique again and effective if we can drop our team out of combat ina similar way the Mime Statue/Sweeper mech works to make you truly invisible in plain sight.

I am still learning of ways to enjoy Darcy however... the stealth spiderbot is still a good skill as is the Stealth field, in conjunction with the Uniform mech...

Hi Mark... I have submitted my feedback on the old bugs report forum and YES Finally... the Online mode stores NOW save!!!

I tested this by visiting Piccadilly and Camden, checking the unlocks and then signing back out to main menu, reloading... and the saved stores were in the Safehouse.. I also checked by closing the game out and doing full reload... and they were still saved.

I guess an array string was added to the cloud save data, flagging the shops you have previously visited and now works the same as Campaign mode... ENJOY!!

Previously this was every Session instantiation, as the world is recreated each time we begin Online mode, compared to our save file in the Campaign world. How data is saved determines the behaviour of the mechanic. Now that saving has been changed from what I can see... Online mode should now Keep our unlocked clothing stores from now on. Previously discarded each Session after signing out.

Wow edit posts for 10 mins after posting is lame... who the hell thought THAT was a good forum mechanic??

Addendum to my post...
the Berserk shot lasts for 20 seconds and creates immediate threat, draws Albion/Kelley and they know where I am and come hunting. Why?
The Lore of Berserk Dart is stealth and misdirection... and it lasts a heck of a lot longer as previously mentioned. Adjust the timers on this please. At least 45-60 secs, matching the Hypnotism ability. Remove immediate threat gen from use of the firing tool (as it seems to count as a non stealth gunshot in regards to triggers) and increase the darts to 5 from 3... really...


BTW - ***REMOVE*** the damn Edit button or ***extend*** the Time to edit to something reasonable like 60 mins... having an EDIT option that fails after 600 secs shows an unprofessional and lacklustre commitment to community discussion and posting.