Why is "Expert" now known as "Mercenary"?

[echo38 4]

I've noticed that in Day Z, there are two different words for the highest difficulty setting. Officially, in the game, it's called Expert (although, digging into some of the game files shows that it is, at least sometimes, called Mercenary in these files); that's what you'll see in the menu options. However, most of the server titles call it Mercenary.

I'm baffled by why the decision was made (by whoever) to obfuscate things further. It's very difficult to find a maximum-difficulty server in this game, because the great majority of servers run lower difficulty settings. Having two different keywords to search for makes things twice as hard.

Why was the decision made to informally call max-diff "Mercenary," even though "Expert" is still the name for it in the game options, and who made that decision?

[DemonGroover 8836]

Hmm, don't know but i think it should have been changed to Chuck Norris instead.

[echo38 4]

Heh--at least that'd let people know what they're in for!

In seriousness, any name-change at all for the difficulty levels is a really ill-thought idea, for all sorts of reasons. Anyone can figure out that "Expert" difficulty means a high difficulty, but "Mercenary" difficulty isn't so self-explanatory. But, more importantly than the logic of the word itself, "Expert" was already established for a decade within the game series. Changing it is unnecessary, and, beyond unnecessary, it causes all sorts of confusion now. When I'm looking for a max-diff server, I now have to run two different searches, modifying the filter twice--one to look for servers with "Expert" in the title, checking them for other parameters, and then a second time for "Mercenary." It's the same damn thing! Why the doubling of the effort for the search process, which is difficult enough already due to their rarity?

And there are quite a few servers which have mislabelled it altogether, calling it Mercenary when it's actually running a lower difficulty setting, so that makes it even worse. It's just a terrible idea all around to have two terms used for the same difficulty level; is there any decent reason, which I am perhaps overlooking, for it? And was it BIS who started the trend, or the Day Z team, or some sort of weird movement within the community?

Edited November 9, 2012 by A. Darkthorn

[sibexus 26]

Just use DayZ commander and you can easily search for server features regardless of what's in the name. Also, mercenary and expert are not the same, do some more digging before you complain.

[echo38 4]

Also, mercenary and expert are not the same, do some more digging before you complain.

Do tell. I have always been told that they are the same, and I've never heard otherwise until now. I'm not seeing anything at all about the subject in the manual or wiki.

[mr_chabowski@live.co.uk 2416]

I noticed this too, but I still always find "Expert" servers with crosshairs enabled <_< (WTF?)

A massive influx of "veteran" n00bs has made the listed difficulty name irrelevant. You should still be looking for particular features to get a suitable level of challenge.

The difficulty settings per server should be fixed in standalone, just "DayZ" for a real challenge or "HoliDayZ" for the kids.

All server options should be restricted for the most part, so there can be a set level of HARDEST that will always be HARDEST.

The OFP way of doing things is unnecessarily confusing. Especially since everyone is now playing the same game type.

EDIT: @Sibexus

All settings are customisable, by default Mercenary and Expert are the same. It's just called Mercenary in your .cfg and Expert in the GUI. Look it up. observation fail.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Chabowski

[echo38 4]

I still always find "Expert" servers with crosshairs enabled

Yeah, these are mislabelled servers. If it's actually running Expert difficulty, crosshairs aren't possible at all. Try it out--go to the game options, hit Difficulty, select Expert, and hit Edit. The crosshair option, along with almost everything else, is red and cannot be enabled. Many servers have Expert in the title, but are actually running Veteran with crosshairs on. That's surely what you're seeing. See my other thread on mislabelled servers: http://dayzmod.com/f...belled-servers/

Edited November 9, 2012 by A. Darkthorn

[venthos 605]

In terms of the server configuration file definitions, there isn't an "Expert" mode.

Source: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/server.armaprofile#Arrowhead

Recruit, Regular, Veteran, Mercenary.

That's all there is (in accordance with the raw config options). That's probably why you're seeing the naming that you are.

[echo38 4]

So, since the config file lists "Mercenary" in Operation Arrowhead, and not only in Day Z, it appears that the change was made by BIS. However, since the actual game options still call it Expert and not Mercenary, the community really should have continued to call it Expert, since that's what it's called in the game itself. Not many people dig into the config files, compared with how many people play multiplayer (in which it is again called Expert, as well as in the game options and hosting options).

In short, it looks like BIS--for some odd reason--made an internal change, which is only found in the files themselves, and then some of the community irrationally began using that term, even though the game itself (the main menu options, the hosting options, and the server list display) always uses the Expert term. What a mess!

Why doesn't the community simply refrain from using the "Mercenary" term until BIS actually officially changes it? Right now, it's still officially Expert, or it wouldn't say that in the game itself (as opposed to what one finds when digging in the config files). Sticking to what it's actually called in the game would eliminate virtually all of the considerable confusion currently present, and would make it much easier for max-diff players to find servers.

Edited November 10, 2012 by A. Darkthorn

[sibexus 26]

EDIT: @Sibexus

All settings are customisable, by default Mercenary and Expert are the same. It's just called Mercenary in your .cfg and Expert in the GUI. Look it up. observation fail.

Lol, really? Fail? I love internet people... There is a difference, and simply because you can see some settings in a config file that are the same means squat. The difference is/was on the server side. It has recently changed I guess, but when I hosted my own server the difference was that "expert" was editable and "mercenary" wasn't. So to my point... if you wanted a true hardcore experience, choose mercenary. If indeed this was changed then I concede, but fail? Learn to express yourself without using memes.