i can't even be upset about this because coming back from the brink of a knockout with a clean sweep as the timer is ticking down the last 30 seconds feels incredible

the more skilled and coordinated team is still going to win, but also that kind of push and pull makes matches absolutely intoxicating

on top of that, unlike catchup mechanics in games, it's something we opt into with gear

we know what we are hoping for when we equip last ditch effort, and we are explicitly investing in a main of gear dependence that won't even proc if we do exceptionally well

and for it, the game is just more exciting for us, everyone we play with, and anyone who might be watching!

of course, this all falls flat if objectives are hard to get

which means the fact that clam blitz needing fewer clams, and rainmaker having checkpoints plays into this really well!

smaller victories matter

they mean that underdog teams can still accomplish things, but also, teams facing others with LDE activated can counter very predictably where those objectives exist

but it does also recontextualize the map chokepoint struggle a bit

i guess the tl;dr is: people are encouraged to pick LDE because:

• it's a generally very potent ability
• everyone loses matches

but it also has a fun side effect where it also just makes the game more fun with the way the maps/modes have been designed

did you know that a significant number of people only feel a game is "fair" when they win 75% of the time? but online, that's obviously impossible

but what happens if in the 50% you win, some were underdog stories that felt amazing?