Hi everyone,
I'd like to propose removing the attrition chart from live games.
Zero-K is a strategy game, not a spreadsheet, and part of the skill is doing the math yourself:
keeping a rough count of what you've traded, comparing mexes, energy and army with the enemy, and learning which trades are actually positive attrition.
The chart does that thinking for you, and it isn't even enabled for most players. So whoever has it is often playing against someone who doesn't.
If they see 150% and know the economies and armies are equal, they know exactly what they can raid without losing, while their opponent has to guess. Even when both sides see it, games get more linear: the leader plays safe, the trailing player is forced to gamble, and one number sets everyone's role. Without it, players will sometimes misjudge the game, and I think those mistakes make games more tactical and more fun, and to (watch as well)
The strongest counterargument is that the chart is a learning tool that shows newer players what positive attrition looks like. That's a real benefit, but people learn by reviewing or getting feedback, not by getting live answers. Keep the chart in replays and post- game stats, where players can study what happened without it deciding the game.
And if most players barely check it, we lose little by removing it, while the few who use it keep an edge over everyone else.
I'd like to hear what others think, especially higher level players :)
