AFK and Game Feedback

There is a very delicate balance between the power and necessity of this particular mechanic in the game. I can see both sides of the debate. I’ve heard people complain about spys being able to remain AFK flagged and listen to their microphone channels unmolested and impervious to harm. There are also people who remain in plazas with their arms folded while AFK and casually take in the comings and goings of the planet. The AFK flag is a great way to stake out a landing pad, a hotel, or any other random location in the game and gather intel without the risk of harm. In a way, I can understand the frustration with these scenarios.

The other side of this debate is where I empathize with people who take these actions. Like Kirash mentioned, some of us have a finite amount of time to play the game. At times our schedule may be so constrained we can barely log in at all or for very short amounts of time. I actually don’t even play espionage characters, but if you are a spy who has successfully planted microphones you will have no opportunity to reap the fruits of your labor if you don’t remain logged in. I personally enjoy being able to remain AFK and still have working comlinks, rather than leave myself vulnerable to other players in the game when I’m not actually there.

LED does bring up a good point and that is the idea that you can still have these benefits of being aware of what is happening, while AFK, even without your flag. It is a good point, but I’m not sure a bunch of unflagged, unresponsive characters would make the game any more interesting. I’m not really interested in coming across a bounty who wasn’t paying attention. It would rob the joy of the engagement from me. I know some people would probably LOVE to have it that easy, but I think it would suck.

I really don’t have a huge problem with AFK in its current form. Everyone gets the same benefit from it and I’ve camped out my fair share of AFK players just to smash and grab them the moment they were paying attention. If you don’t like someone sitting in a plaza listening to your conversation, go somewhere else. If you don’t like spys listening to your conversations while they are AFK, don’t get bugged or check yourself and the surrounding area.