Join-in-progress in Nuclear Escalation is wasting boosters and unfairly reducing rewards
I want to raise an issue with how Nuclear Escalation currently handles join-in-progress matches, especially when using personal boosters.
I have “Join battles in progress” disabled, but for some reason this setting does not appear to apply to Nuclear Escalation. I was placed into a battle that was already around 75% complete, leaving only the final few minutes to play.
Before joining, I had activated the following boosters:
- +420% Silver Lions
- +250% Research Points
Since boosters are activated before entering a battle, leaving and searching for another match would simply waste them.
Despite joining late, I managed to:
- Destroy 4 enemy aircraft
- Deal 2 severe damage hits
- Earn several battle awards
- Return to base
- Get teamkilled while rearming
- Continue fighting until the match ended
- Help my team win the battle
However, because I joined so late, my final battle activity was only 51%.
Battle summary (late join)
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Time played: 7:29
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Activity: 51%
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Aircraft destroyed: 4
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Severe damage: 2
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Victory
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Total rewards:
- 175,908 SL
- 7,557 vehicle RP
- 10,201 total RP
This is where my concern begins.
I compared this battle to another Nuclear Escalation match where I played from the beginning.
Battle summary (full match)
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Time played: 21:07
-
Activity: 73%
-
Aircraft destroyed: 4
-
Severe damage: 4
-
Victory
-
No RP boosters were active.
-
Total rewards:
- 10,956 total RP
Despite using +250% RP boosters in the first battle, I actually earned less total RP than I did in the second battle where I wasn’t using any RP boosters.
I understand that activity affects rewards, but this creates a situation where players who are forced into an almost finished battle have no realistic opportunity to earn normal activity or make proper use of their boosters.
The activity system is also very unclear. The game never explains exactly how activity is calculated.
For example:
- Is it based on total battle duration?
- Time spent near enemies?
- Mission score over time?
- Time alive?
- A percentage of the entire battle?
Without knowing how it works, players cannot understand why two nearly identical performances produce very different rewards.
In another Nuclear Escalation match, I achieved essentially the same number of aircraft kills without any RP boosters and received 10,956 RP. In this match, despite using +250% RP boosters, I received only 10,201 RP because I was placed into a battle that was already almost over. If boosters can be effectively negated by being forced into a late-join match, then either late joins should not consume boosters, or activity and rewards should be calculated based on the time the player was actually present in the battle rather than the total battle duration.
My suggestions
- Make Nuclear Escalation respect the “Join battles in progress” setting.
- Do not consume personal boosters when a player joins a battle that is already mostly finished.
- Alternatively, calculate activity relative to the amount of time the player was actually in the match.
- Explain exactly how the activity system works so players can understand how their rewards are calculated.
I’ve attached the battle reports and screenshots for both matches so others can compare the results themselves.
I’m interested to hear whether anyone else has experienced the same issue.