Killzone Shadow Fall Multiplayer Details - Player Progression

At Gamescom 2013, Killzone: Shadow Fall developer Guerrilla Games teased some big changes were coming to the multiplayer in their forthcoming PS4 shooter. However, in detailing the multiplayer, they only provided a brief overview, and left a lot of questions unanswered.

In the second part of their multiplayer preview, Guerrilla has decided to further flesh out some of the finer points of Killzone: Shadow Fall's multiplayer. And while a lot of the basics in this fourth game are the same, there are still somenew ideas at play in Shadow Fall.

First up, Guerrilla has further explained Killzone: Shadow Fall's new player progression system, which will be based around the completion of challenges (destroy 1 turret, kill 1 enemy with X weapon, etc.) not earning XP. After completing a challenge, a player will earn a point towards their rank, and with each point, players will earn new weapon attachments, enhancements to their abilities, or new visual embellishments for their avatar. In essence, Guerrilla is trying to take the grind out of leveling, and encouraging players to try out new weapons and abilities.

While challenges will simply act as a replacement for XP, Killzone: Shadow Fall's 'Combat Honors' system is completely new. Combat Honors are single use "buffs" that players can activate during a match for a strategic advantage. Unfortunately, Guerrilla did not provide any examples for the Combat Honors, so it's hard to get a clear picture of how exactly they will work.

Some of the other features highlighted by Guerrilla include a new deployable shield, the ability to select two attachments per weapon, and the fact that exoskeletons and jetpacks will not be available outside of the singleplayer campaign. Nothing too revolutionary there.

Shadow Fall will also include what Guerrilla is calling a Spotlight System, whereby the winning team's top player can taunt the losing team's top player in a brief cutscene. Apparently, the winning player will have to successfully complete a quick time event or else the losing player gets a chance to counter. It's a neat idea, but one that seems to be purely for brief entertainment. In other words, after the first couple of matches, we could see players mashing buttons frantically to skip the cutscene.

With the PS4 only a little over two months away, gamers are likely selecting which launch titles might be worth checking out. Of course, Guerrilla would like Killzone: Shadow Fall to be the first game players pop into their brand new next-gen console, and they have made a strong case with impressive visuals, the promise of a more open campaign, and new multiplayer features. Whether or not those will pay off is yet to be determined.

What do you think of the changes Guerilla Games is making to multiplayer for Killzone: Shadow Fall? What has you most interested?

Killzone: Shadow Fall releases November 15, 2013 for the PS4.

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Source: Killzone