I’m actually not against the idea of footfall, I travel a lot and frequently veer a (short) ways off of my goal to cross someone’s plots. When I started I thought it was a great idea, and in principle I still do.
However:
I’ve been subject to a lot of footfall traps, of course. And I’m not the type to call every build a footfall trap. But ESPECIALLY as a newer player trying to find places to sell items, or get items I needed and couldn’t acquire yet, I was often frustrated by people who had created obvious footfall traps.
With fewer players and more established markets, this is less of a problem than it used to be. As someone who spent hundreds of hours trying to get into the game during the december/january timeframe I can tell you that “bait shops” as I called them were a HUGE issue.
I also resent it when people create obstacles for the obvious purpose of “multiplying” footfall. I don’t want to call anyone out on the forum but to clarify some comments I’ve made recently, I know of at least two hubs which have 30 or more beacons just inside the portal area.
One of these hubs I love. It’s a decent setup and for all the size of it, it’s nearly full of active portals to ‘live’ builds or popular locations and being in a sunken pyramid shape, it feels nearly as small as a portal hub with so many portals can be. And if you know where you are going you can walk or grapple in a straight line to where you need to go.
The other I avoid. It’s sprawled out so far you can’t read the signs across the hub, but it’s just empty space. There are obstacles between some of the portals that serve little purpose but to make you walk across more beacons, or look into more “stalls” to find the portal you are looking for. Even if you know the location, you still have to traverse the obstacles.
The first hub I visit, often several times per day and sometimes on more than one avatar just in the course of my normal business. The second one, I’m sorry, I avoid it.
You nailed it on “waste their time”. I feel privileged to complain about people that use bait, like empty request baskets (this is now fixed by the devs THANK YOU) or shop stands with outrageous prices so they never look empty, or other tricks to lure people into their beacons.
I don’t do co-op mazes but don’t consider them a problem especially since you usually ahve to enter them on purpose. I might honestly ride a fun slide without even knowing or caring if it’s a footfall co-op.
Same for people who beacon around resources. I’ve done this myself in the past. I put a portal near a gleam field, created paths and things for people to grapple onto, etc … If I can see that someone has improved an area or made it easier for people to access a resource, I’m very happy to generate footfall in their “farm” even on the lowest level worlds. I do call this a farm and not a footfall trap.
I don’t know I guess that’s long winded but I feel like I’ve said a lot about footfall today and maybe it’s worth explaining. I do know people that go out of their way to avoid generating footfall for others, even if it means they’re inconveniencing themselves to do it. But personally, I’ve just come to feel that over the time period that I’ve been playing, footfall has led to more resentment and shenanigans than anything else.
Considering all of these things, together with the fact that there are now better coin generating systems in game, I’ve come to think we might wholly be better off without it.
EDIT:
When even the devs express their disappointment in what their selected mechanic has led to, it’s maybe time to look a little closer.
I know it can seem especially grinding if you feel you are categorized in with a group that’s getting a lot of negativity. But as you point out it’s a small and shrinking community. The solid people, those with good intentions or whatever do stand out.
I own shops. I own a (tiny) portal hub. I own two “farms” now. And I don’t think any of those things are inherently bad. Despite some people just being bitter jerks and calling every build a footfall trap, there are definitely 100% abusive practices and abusive people in game.
Right!
Even if I’m in a hunt, I’ll go out of my way to go step on someone’s plots to give them ff lol
