A Simple Break Down of Fortnite's "Confusing" Progression Systems

So partly in response to Kotaku's article, but mostly this is just how i've been explaining the game to my friends who are interested in what i'm playing for 2-4 hours a day.

I will admit, there are not many games that have systems in place that i can point to in direct parallels. My go to's are Warframe, for a sense of the instances missions, and progression (I specifically point to BETA and early release Warframe, not Warframe in it's current state) I point to Sanctum for gameplay and i break down progression and monetization/ micro transactions below:

There are 4 Clear progression tracks I see in the game that i can split down into based on how how much time you put in effects the progression path.

• 1. Llamas or Gear progression the obvious one. Play time is not a HUGE factor in this progression path, play enough each day to complete your dailies and you will be progressing as fast as every other player, on average while accounting for the RNG variance. NOW of the criticisms of this game i can admit RNG might not feel like a good mechanic to bar progression, and in SOME regards i can concede that it is fairly restrictive, but overall with the weekly "premium llamas" I'm ok with this progression path as it is, as unsatisfying as it CAN BE at times. That said i'm open to a better system as long as it isn't just immediately pandering to people who don't know anything about game design. It should be Noted that it is BEST to think of this progression path as "Gear" in a MMO, heroes included. Because we swap this stuff around and they provide stats like any other this "Gear progression" largely influences our play style, or rather we tailor our gear toward our play style.
• 2. Skill progression. This is the exp you get while leveling up from doing missions and directly translates to power through the use of the skill tree. Now for me playing 1-3 hours a day, this progresses at a fairly ok pace, but overall i feel i'm alittle behind because i play about 30% of my missions below my power level to help a buddy level up negating any exp gains i get. This seems like the most "normal" paced progression path in my opinion, and GREATLY benefits players who spend ALOT of time playing as it is very rewarding in teh early to mid game (unlocking survivor slots is one of the biggest boosts to home base power you can get) while unlocking inventory slots and necessary building perks//gadgets/and stats. This powerspike CAN BE eventually capped if you progress to a point in which you are story locked and prevented from going to the next tree, which i PERSONALLY disagree with but i can see the design arguments for it. I don't agree with them, but i also awknowlage i am not a game designer and may not be seeing a possible exploit without these locks in place. Best i can come up with is removing these locks would progress players into trees that give them bonuses, that get leveled down anyways as currently the game "levels you down" to the map you're on (note your harvesting tool and stats are leveled down when you go back to stonewood and such.
• 3. Research Trees. These are time gated at a real world pace, as an EVE player i am no stranger to this mechanic. This brings in line players who play alot to players who only play once a day at small intervals. You CAN benefit greatly by harvesting your research withotu letting it cap but GENERALLY most active players will be in similar spots accounting for the time they started playing the game. This works as a sort of equalizer, but PERSONALLY i feel like it should be alittle fast, mostly due to the fact that only unlocking 1 or 2 nodes PER DAY feels alittle unsatisfying. Again, i could be wrong, but hey that's my opinion. Lastly it should be noted Science is NOT restricted by Story progression, so, in that respect you can expect to unlock more and more science over time.
• 4. Exp progression This in tandem with "gear" or llama progression works as the upgrade system you see in most MMORPG's. Things like enhancing, enchanting, or otherwise +'ing your gear. The currency used, is hero/survivor/schematic exp, with bonus materials needed like manuals and rain drops/lighting in a bottle. This you can get by farming missions, and will greatly benefit players who are willing to put more then 4-5 hours a day into this game, or min max their missions for speed running and such.

Now Many will note i have not at all made mention of resource farming for crafting, nor have i made ANY mention of the issues with that mechanic. That in my opinion is not directly tied to the progression system. It is something i'm willing to discuss in length but i remind everyone that the point of my post is describing the apparently convoluted progression systems in the game. I found it to be simple enough once broken down to relate-able terms, and in my opinion offers a balance between players who play a lot and players who play 30 minutes-2 hours a day.