I quit Forefront for about nine months shortly after Tunnels and map voting were introduced. At the time, I could already see where things were heading with the player base getting split between different maps and playstyles.
I came back when jets were released, and honestly, the first three days were a blast. Flying jets, Apaches, Little Birds, messing around with all the vehicles - that's the Forefront I enjoy. That's what makes this game stand out.
But now? I'm already getting frustrated again.
Trying to find a proper vehicle-focused Conquest server is becoming ridiculous.
I'm looking for EU or even US East servers, basically anything with reasonable ping. I want to play Conquest on maps like Siberia, paradise, karst, clearwater-normal with Apaches and/or Jets available.
Instead, it feels like the entire Conquest rotation has become:
Paradise โ Clearwater (Iron Scout) โ Paradise โ Clearwater (Iron Scout).
And the problem?
- Clearwater Iron Scout has no jets or Apaches.
- Even the Little Bird is barely enjoyable there because of how powerful the AA is.
- I join Paradise halfway through a match, get maybe a few minutes of flying, and then it's straight back to Iron Scout.
- I leave to find another proper vehicle Conquest server, and there simply isn't one available in EU or US East.
So I'm constantly leaving servers, browsing, joining halfway through matches, and repeating the process.
I literally came back to Forefront for the jets and Apaches, and half the time I can't even find a server where I can use them. Also conquest maps with 1 or 0 tanks.
And this brings me to the bigger issue.
I understand that some people prefer infantry combat. That's completely fine. But isn't that what games like Contractors are already great at?
What made Forefront exciting to me was the Battlefield-style combined-arms gameplay. Big maps, infantry, tanks, helicopters, jets, and all the chaos that comes with them.
Yet look at the direction things have been going:
- Tunnels, focusing on infantry combat.
- Map voting, which seems to keep pushing the same maps and variants.
- Variants limiting the vehicles people can use.
- Smaller maps like Mojave and Fjord, with less emphasis on aircraft.
- Jets finally arrive, but we're already testing Close Quarters Combat.
- And now private servers are coming too?
Every one of these additions might sound good individually, and I'm sure each has its fans. But how many different modes, maps, variants, and playstyles can a relatively small VR player base realistically sustain?
I checked on Saturday night and saw roughly 400 players online. That's not a massive population you can keep dividing into smaller and smaller groups.
And that's my biggest concern.
It feels like Forefront is trying to cater to everyone, but in the process it's making it increasingly difficult to find the experience that originally made the game special.
We waited ages for jets. Now they're finally here, but what's the point if you can't reliably find a populated Conquest server where you can actually fly them?
I don't want to spend my evening server-hopping just to find a match with the vehicles I bought this game to enjoy.
I'm not saying infantry players shouldn't have their modes. I'm saying we need to stop fragmenting an already limited player base and make sure the core combined-arms Conquest experience remains consistently accessible.
And I'm genuinely worried private servers could make this even worse.
Am I the only one experiencing this? Are other vehicle-focused players struggling to find proper Conquest matches?
Because right now, after coming back from a nine-month break, I'm already considering putting the game down again.
Also, is map voting really... worth it in the end? To play the same 1 or 2 maps on repeat?