I’m going to lay this out on the front end, Titanfall is my favorite FPS, I would do unspeakable things to get even a glimpse of Titanfall 2, so if you’re looking for a highly objective take on this subject, be warned, fanaticism ahead.

I’m (mostly) not ashamed.

As someone that got into Titanfall in a crazy way, despite its dwindling user base (RIP, every mode except attrition), I believe that this IP has an insane amount of room to grow. I think you can see a hint of this in the direction that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Black OPs 3 went, adding not only wall running and sliding but also a lot more futuristic weapons. It shows that there’s definitely at least some interest in developing new movement systems in the modern FPS genre. In my insatiable thirst for more Titanfall, I’ve nearly grabbed BLOPs 3 multiple times because of the similarities. However, I’ve always relented, not because I think the game is bad, but because I know that it won’t capture that same feeling of speed and freedom that the original Titanfall nailed so well. That being said, there were some problems with Titanfall, one’s that I think Respawn is entirely capable of fixing. This is a unordered rundown of the features I think would be great, without changing the solid core Titanfall developed.

Additional Movement Options

Short of Mirror’s Edge, Titanfall has some of the best wall running and traversal systems in any game I’ve seen (sorry Brink). The ability to climb a tower in seconds or cross a chasm with some well timed double jumps made combat fresh and literally added a new dimension to your calculations. In much the same vein as games like Tribes and Tribes: Ascend, Titanfall requires you to keep your eyes not around you but also above you. These systems allowed for incredibly interesting level designs. For example the Swampland map is filled with tall trees that a player can jump between allowing for an almost pseudo stealth vibe as you jump from tree to tree, hunting down enemy pilots.

It’s pretty sick.

Despite all this praise I still think there’s room for the system to grow. One issue that I often ran into involved climbing onto objects and through windows. As you were running you would sometimes fall a little short on a jump or hit the bottom of a window unexpectedly, the time it would take to climb up would often not only break your momentum, but also leave you vulnerable. This seem like a case where either a faster animation or an optional alternative should be introduced. Something like a single handed vault, allowing you continue aiming your weapon might be a way to maintain the flow and speed that makes Titanfall so exhilarating.

There are also several additions I personally feel might add a new layer of complexity to the game’s movement. One of the most unfun situations in Titanfall has to do with open terrain, the Training Ground stage specifically is bad for this, with large parts of it lacking anywhere to hide from the enemy’s titans. To combat this I believe a tether system might be an effective addition

Kinda like this?

Something allowing you to pull towards a structure or at least allow you to gain the speed you would normally only be able to achieve through wall running. The tether could even be limited in time or uses, only allowing a single swing or pull to escape a harrowing situation. Honestly anything you add that reduces the pilot’s time on the ground would be welcome. The dichotomy of the titan on the ground and the pilot in the air is the essence of the game and I believe giving the pilot more ways to excel in movement is an effective way to maintain that balance. Titanfall is half twitch reflexes and half smart positioning, I have on many occasions seen players with exceptional reflexes being out maneuvered by players smart enough to find a way outside of their line of sight.

Titan Customization

This is one that I think was rolled into many other people’s critiques of the game, under the banner of “this game doesn’t have enough content”. While I will agree that Titanfall has a minor amount of Destiny syndrome, having launched with a low amount of options, story and little reason to regenerate (the game’s version of Call of Duty’s prestige system), I think there are are arguments to be made about the gun’s and pilot abilities. I think having limited types of guns allowed the game to put more emphasis on movement in lieu of aiming proficiency. However, I do agree that the titan options felt woefully lacking, with only 3 main chassis to play with and differing abilities that didn’t feel incredibly distinct. Whereas there were a couple large differentiations between the guns, for example the three round burst hemlock and the hotly contested smart pistol, the titan types seemed much less varied. It was essentially a decision between heavy, medium and light, with the lightest having the best movement and the heavy the best defenses. It unfortunately makes the Titans feel rather similar both as the pilot inside of them and also as the person having to fight them. In this way I think Titanfall should take cues from older titles like mechwarrior or armored core and include some different build options. I’d love to see some quadruped or tank tread titans in addition to the bipeds, it would certainly vary up titan combat.

Maybe add some wheels but you get the idea.

They could even add individual part customization, allowing your titan’s abilities, for example the big punch titan kit, could be tied directly to your titan’s arms. This could be compounded with some additional cosmetic upgrades to truly individualise your titan.

Make Titan’s less Disposable

A Penny Arcade comic too relevant to not include.

Many praised the pilot combat in Titanfall but were rather lukewarm when broaching the actual Titan combat. Despite my personal satisfaction with Titan fights, I would agree that more often than I’d like Titans feel fragile. Even the Ogre, the heaviest and shieldiest of the three chassis is able to be taken down in about 10 seconds with effective coordination between enemy pilots and titans. This lead to an unfortunately frequent situation where only highly skilled players could keep their titans around and newer players often ended up a situation where their titan is about to go critical before they’ve barely fired their first shot. This is even worse with unbalanced teams, there is little more discouraging than looking down and seeing that your enemy’s team has 6 titan’s on the ground and you have none. I feel like these situations cheapen the impact that Titan’s have in the game. If you’re getting player and minion kills regularly it’s possible to go through 3 or even 4 titans throughout a long match. I think this could be fixed by both limiting the amount of titans on the map at once and giving titans more health. You could even allow players to cede control of their titan to another player, making the titan a communal team buff. The idea that the whole team should come together to take down an enemy titan would definitely make them seem more threatening. Ultimately, it’s about making a titanfall more of an event then a Call of Duty kill streak reward.

Better Burn Cards

Don’t get me wrong, I think the burn card systems original implementation was serviceable, except for the fact that it led to situations like this.

I have a problem.

And don’t think I’m just a crazy hoarder since Respawn themselves had to add several features to make sure that players were using their burn cards, and that they wouldn’t lose burn cards if their collections got too full. I think this exposes a problem with the system, it just feels bad if you don’t “get your money’s worth”. Especially with the addition of the in-game store, the idea that you could spend credits on a burn card, pop it in a match, and immediately die kept many players, myself included, from using their cards. I personally always feel like I need to wait for just the perfect moment, for example when all the enemy titans are gone and I don’t have to worry about being stepped on. It creates situations when players will go through a match without even using a card. As great as it is that the Respawn explicitly stated they would never monetize burn cards I still think that there’s room for improvement. To steal an example from a current game, I think the deck building idea in Paragon might fit Titanfall pretty well. The idea is that you set up a deck of cards for each match and gain access to the abilities of those cards through play. This adds customization and a meta to the game that would allow for more competitive complexity and remove the terrible feeling of squandering a burn card. Titanfall already has MOBA elements so it wouldn’t exactly be a stretch to add a couple more.

Closing Thoughts

Some of these critiques are nitpicks, but feel like they’re actually small problems that could easily be changed into major selling points. They could honestly leave the pilot stuff the same and I would still play, but I think that adding a bit more complexity to it could lead to some incredibly tight gameplay and strategic considerations. The Titan focused changes are the real meat of my issues, and if they are able to shore up the weaknesses in titan vs titan combat, as well as the inherent issues with titan homogeneity, Titans could become what I think we all wanted them to be, threatening juggernauts instead of disposable power ups. Suffice it to say that I am incredibly excited for Titanfall 2. Even if none of these features are implemented, I’m interested in seeing if Respawn can top their previous successes. If they can create a better feeling then the first time you climb onto the back of a Titan and begin unloading a full clip into it, they might as well just go ahead and empty out my savings for me.