Nah, it's something else. Remember that at the same time they introduced zoe, they updated a lot of weapon cert/sc costs. I don't think that anyone that can play HA effectively can't be awesome (though less versatile) in a max. The difference is in cert investment requirement, which zoe giving the advantages that mattered for 150 certs. The other thing that really made a difference is the enormous shift in VS mentality towards maxes in general. Prior to the zoe intoduction, if I wasn't in my outfit squad I would have to practically hunt for engineers, then sit next to them whining for repairs, get ignored and then move to somebody else that might want to do it. Now though, this is max heaven, with two and three engineers racing to repair you, medics risking to rezz you and people supporting you like you're a true asset. And all the experience I described previously was in a max with composite armor and camos etc, which is a good indication of cert investment. I can't imagine how the quality of life of people whose cert investment was not obvious.
yeah which is stupid to do in the first place. Really, to say out loud that one faction will only play if something is overpowered? That's just insulting to anyone that plays that faction and shows the devs have no clue how to read their statistics. Remember how they treated MBTs when they released the statistics that the Magrider was doing better at tank versus tank, but didn't bother to factor in that the VS usually had 2 players at all times, were usually at range, had AT for their main gun while the NC and TR usually ran with 1 player farmed infantry, and had their primary weapon set for HE rounds? Then they still balanced around those stats? Same thing here, only now they are going after the VS's Max AND insulting any VS player while doing it.
Balance in PS2 means noobs should be able to kill skilled fps veterans at least some of the time. I fully expect to see future updates lower the health pool of all maxes, since having good players live for more than 10 seconds goes against this principle.
When large amounts of people use something, it means it's OP. Shotguns, ScatMAX, HE cannons, Rocketpods, Liberators, Phoenix. ZOE is no exception. Maybe the insults were a long time coming. Higby is an NC player, and since the start of Planetside2 NC has borne the brunt of the "baddies, cawadooty kids, and freedumb" jabs.
Have always said VS Maxes was OP'ed and I been proven right once again. Just like VS, easy mode oped faction.
So when VS use their ESRL 1/3 as much as TR or NC it means they need a 66% buff? (might actually start to use the Glancer then) Also the fact that VS used their MAX less than half as much also is proof they where severly underpowerd! (your own words)
Less people using it, more kills for you, thus a higher KDR... They didn't nerf it because low amounts of players didn't use an "OP" item. It had a higher KDR because, you had more to kill.. Now, mroe players are using it, but more power allows you to die less. You see 3-6 MAXes running around, you're not going to shoot it, you're going to run.. and die. And no one is running a macro to "warp" And to be honest, I have never knew the MAXes were this good. You don't need to use ZOE to get high KDR. The biggest changes was the 250 cert AI weapon. That is the biggest cause of the high KDR. If they didn't change the cert prices, I am sure, not that many VS MAXes would have been used. I know I wouldn't have bothered much. But after the update, witht he cost being that low and me finding out how great MAXes in general were, I had to invest many thousands of certs into this class.. If anything, ZOE causes people to die more trying to act like Rambo and ****..
The funny part about your comment is how disjoined it is with the in-game reality. People naturally flock towards where the power is. And the grim condition of the VS population is more than telling on the perceived power or easiness of the faction. (and no, all the nonsense about cosmetics are just that, nonsense. Otherwise people would not be in clown mode because a certain item is too good in any mmorpg. For most people power >>>> looks and I doubt PS2 is any different.)
The Lancer is the best ESRL available. Unlike the Striker, and Phoenix it does not have a limiter. The range on it is unlimited, it's pin point accurate, and the projectiles travel instantly. If you can't see how good the weapon is, I can't help you. I never said the VS MAX was underpowered. All I said is that when large amounts of people use the same weapons, it means there's a problem. The ZOE MAX flies in the face of what the MAX is designed to do. Namely act as a walking tank, what ZOE did was make it the ESF of MAX suits. It's faster than a normal MAX, while at the same time it has more firepower. The damage modifier doesn't matter when many shots miss, and the ZOE MAX can out DPS everything else. It would have been better with just a speed boost, or a jet pack.
So when alot of ppl in a faction uses a weapon it means its OP... but when an entire faction DONT use a weapon it dosent mean its UP... intressting...
it only works if it benefits NC or TR. Sorry you can't use the same one sided logic for the faction the developers hate. How long did it take them to fix the TRs infantry farming with their MBT or the scattermax? They are quick as hell to fix what they see as OP with the VS though. And I say this pissed off that the developers can be so one sighted being an NC player myself. by that same logic we should buff the VS Vortex should be buffed like mad because no one is buying those and nerf the Fractures. And he is a developer, he should not be making insulting comments about the player base, any player base. That is just stupid.
Accoridng to one of your fellow VS comrades a few pages earlier, it was because there's not as much teamplay in the VS faction if you're not running in a squad/platoon/outfit, so without some helpful engineers not so many wanted to play as VS max. Higby stated that the VS max had the highest KDR before ZOE already, so it was not weak, not at all. With ZOE, it simply got so ridiculously out of control that you can go solo on open ground against a bunch of enemy heavies, not desperately needing an engineer like before ZOE because of the way too fast movement speed and still the KDR went up significantly (even when engaging a bunch of enemies on open ground, going solo, keep that in mind!). Like I said in another thread, ZOE in its current state transforms a VS max into a faster, better armored heavy assault with a higher damage output. It's not made for area domination (locking down rooms/corridors/the sky) with support of friendly engineers, VS players use 'em to hunt down enemies on open ground. And yes, this is most definitely not what SOE had in mind when implementing this ability. It's out of control.
