[General Discussion] Perks etc in FPS games - Yay or nay?

Its a double edged sword:

On the one hand, gaining extra stuff from leveling adds in replay value.

On the other hand, making the things you gain actually have the ability to change the sway of how the game plays out is discouraging to new people who just picked up the game compared to those who have been playing since release.

Normally, this isn't too much of an issue, since the game will always randomize what players are on what team. However, if a group is in a party, they'll always end up on the same team, and if they're really good, then they'll have all the perks and destroy those who don't.

Normally, I'd say it isn't necessary, as achievements add enough replay value to keep people going. However, FPSes these days are the same thing with just slightly upgraded graphics (or heavily upgraded graphics in the case of BF3), so I guess they really needed something to rejuvenate the genre.

How ya doing, buddy?