At the first place yes. But then you started arguing that the NC AI Max is the best one all around and now Im confused.
I agree entirely OP, NC is only the MAX in the game I have a big problem with, solely for this reason. But until DBG actually does anything about it, I'll continue to curbstomp recursion pounder MAXes and their support with my hacksaw MAX, because "balance"
It is "fixed" it is called range. To be killed by an NC AI MAX before you can kill it you've really got to be close, keep 15m away and you'll win all day every day. Every room in PS2 is bigger than 10m wide, this is 15m render-range - stay beyond this range and you win (all of the time).
It doesn't work like this with shotgun weapons. Look at infantry shotguns, they too unload a lot of anti-max power at close range. The NC AI MAXs one real advantage over TR/VS AI MAXs is they carry a lot of Anti-MAX damage 0-8m and reasonable Anti-MAX damage 8-15m. So the aren't remotely "do everything" (as you'd know if you'd use them yourself), that would go to something like the Mutilator or Blueshift if anything.
You are seriously suggesting you engage an NC AI MAX at 0-15m with any TR or VS AV or AI MAX? You gain literally nothing at all in that range. But lets just say we go with what you are suggesting making it so NC AI MAXs now lose in the 0-15m range (they already lose 100% of the time in the 15m to infinity range, of course) - where exactly is the "balance" there? Given that NC AI MAXs have much, much less effective range than VS and TR AI MAXs? And that's ignoring Pounders which are pretty much THE best AI and AV MAX weapon around, with effectively no downside for anything with the remotest capability to aim.
So I did quick math. 8 rounds from any NC shotgun against a standard enemy MAX (so 112x6x8x0.2) only does 1075 damage. A MAX has 2000 health.
I play VS MAX and i think its fine when you pick correct AI weapon and there are ways how easy kill nc max, until he deploy shild... its curently indestructible... It dont lose HP like before, just deploy shild and you can make target for all enemy tank platon...
Nothing left to kill and so many shells left. #NCMaxProblems I put up my Aegis and the other guy just reloads. #NCMaxProblems My skillsuit is too blue. #NCMaxProblems Do you even scat? #NCMaxProblems Didn't get a chance to do anything. Got ran over by a Vanguard. #NCMaxProblems >>MFW: Using Ravens for medium range anti-infantry. Cuz, you know, reasons. #NCMaxProblems We got a new meme here guys.
I never said anything like that. Why are you changing the subject to AI vs AI max when I was very specific I was talking AI vs AV max? I already said I think Pounders may need adjustment too.
Yeah, sonetimes its really buggy and gives you an advantage, the next time it doesnt work and then again you take it down and cant fire your weapons.
I think what he is saying that in its ideal range, the scatt max has very little to worry about, it gets to kill maxs and infantry with relative ease. The other AI maxs for TR and VS do not get this benefit and are pretty screwed when faced with an AV max in their ideal range. So if you're an NC max user and you're fighting at your optimum range, you choose scatmax since it will deal with both infantry and maxs very well at that range. If your TR or VS and you pick your optimum range, you have to choose between whether you think maxs or infantry will be your main target, sinced you'll want the AV max for anti-max work and the AI max for anti infantry work. I do agree with the viewpoint tbh, the NC scat max is way out of wack balance wise. But thats not to say it doesnt have downsides that the others do not share. I suppose it depends on what the whole idea with maxs is, the devs either want them different, or they want them similar. Judging from the vehicle gunner weapons, id say we will get both ranged AI for the NC max, and cqc AI for the TR/VS maxs at some point or another. If they do that tho id hope they make ES weapons like they did the secondary vehicle weapons.
Max shotguns, maybe. Certainly if you compare the dps on a scattermax it has something like 75% of an infantry shotgun dps on each arm. A chaingun max has more like 50% of carbine/ar/lmg dps on each arm. Though the specific issue I was talking about (max vs max) could be addressed in other ways, like giving max suits resistance to max shotguns.
So as a balance do NC MAXes get a resistance to small arms outside of 15m so that they can fight back or what is your idea?