Last Stand. A perk that all Call of Duty players love to hate. While Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games did exclude it from their latest title, Modern Warfare 3, the same can’t be said for it’s little brother, Final Stand, which lingered on in the form of a Deathstreak. Robert Bowling, Creative Strategist, shares his thoughts.
The general consensus is that Final Stand should be removed and that no one wants it in Call of Duty. However, Bowling counters, “I wouldn’t say no one. Deathstreaks are popular among the lesser skilled players. The game has features for all skill sets.” At the same time Bowling also empathizes with those who fathom the perk. He explains that “Last Stand was removed because it was super annoying as a perk (used every death), kept Final Stand as compromise (every 4). I understand for guys like you & I who find it annoying no matter how often it is, this still sucks, but it is what it is.”
Bowling spoke of the subject in greater detail during a recent Machinima Respawn Livestream event: “Deathstreaks are the thing that’s always going to piss off good players and always make bad players happy. But there are a lot of people who play call of duty and no one likes to constantly get owned.” He went on to explain that “the difference between final stand and last stand is, at least with removing it as a perk, it’s not happening every time someone dies. And that’s the benefit we got and that’s why I was so happy that it was gone cause you see it much less often.” Again, while Bowling believes it necessary to help out those who struggle in Modern Warfare 3, he admits that it can cause frustration: “You know, when you still see it, it’s frustrating as hell – if you hate that concept to begin with, which I do and other people do. But then there are other people who disagree with us. And so it’s that balance – it’s the compromise of game development.”
If you missed it, Bowling also shared his thoughts on bringing classic maps to MW3 in the same livestream, which you can check out here.
The big question is, will we see some form of Last Stand or Final Stand in the next Call of Duty title? After all, Treyarch’s David Vonderhaar already shared his thoughts on how perks affect the competitive nature of Call of Duty.
Of course, we want to hear your thoughts on Last Stand/Final Stand in the comments below! Love it? Hate it? Do you think Deathstreaks even belong in Call of Duty?