It seems that lowriders aren't the only recent trend in GTA Online which have been a bit overwhelming for fans. While some dissenting voices could be heard in the past as well, the recent reveal of the In And Out Adversary Mode coming on the 3rd of May garnered a pretty negative public response.
Rockstar has been hot on the release of new Adversary Modes for GTA Online since the fall of last year. We've seen standalone Adversary Mode updates even before Halloween's Slasher mode. Ever since, Rockstar has released countless Adversary Modes, either on their own or as parts of larger DLCs.
The ideas the developers come up for these competitive GTA Online game modes are creative, varied and more often than not extremely intuitive. Slasher adapted the good old style of the Manhunt games, Offense Defense and Running Back managed to capture the feel of American Football (handegg?), but with cars. Modes like siege mentality are eternal classics and Sumo is a new fan favorite.
However, despite Rockstar's best efforts with unique design, taking the risk of thinking outside the box and the generous double RP and GTA $ events, there are a few issues with Adversary Modes that just don't make them as fun as they could be.
The biggest issue isn't even something Rockstar can control: population. Most Adversary Modes work best with a full or almost full lobby. However, the number of players who go for the modes is pretty poor. You'd be surprised at how many players don't know how to access the modes, or even that they exist (this isn't exaggeration — just check Reddit).
Adversary Modes with few players are either unbalanced or just not fun. What's the point of Slasher if there are few victims? In the case of uneven numbers, what chance does the smaller team have in Offense Defense, or any other team based mode? Where does the novelty of Every Bullet Counts go when there are fewer players than bullets in each gun?
Another issue is something Rockstar could remedy, however it might not be the best business strategy. Adversary Modes, even during double GTA $ promos, just don't pay very well. Even if you're on the winning side, you reward will be a fraction of that which you earn in other jobs, let alone heists.
However, considering how important a source of income Shark Cards are, giving players a quick, easy and fun way to earn cash would make buying Cards less appealing.
Before anyone cries foul, remember that all the free DLC Online is getting is primarily funded by the cash coming from Shark Card sales.
This second cause may be one of the causing factors of the first. Ramping up the payouts just a little, to make them capable of competing with other jobs would be enough to drive up player count.
However the creation of Adversary Modes from a developer's perspective has several advantages. Adversary Modes are relatively easy to make with existing assets, but allow for the team to let their creativity loose in terms of gameplay. We've seen the kinds of approaches to multiplayer via Adversary Modes that were never done before. Several of the modes are pure novelty, contributing to the gaming industry as a whole on a transcendental level.
More importantly, if the players would actually play them, they would be the perfect small updates to tide over the community between large scale GTA Online DLCs.
Anti Adversary Mode rumblings were heard back before the Lowriders update. Well, you saw what that go you — three lowriders spread out across three weeks. And people we pissy about that too...
If GTA Online's Adversary Modes were more populated and paid better, would you play more of them?
