Why do you main Heavy Assault?

Borderline ****post, but no hate. Just curious.

I don't any more but I did when I started because I was aware of my limitations as a player and wanted the comfort blanket of the overshield, plus having a rocket launcher - the only infantry class at the time to carry a third weapon.

I don't.
I have done it in the very very early days, but found that I was doing as good or better with other classes due to being more flank-oriented.

Because learning how to actually play the game is haaaaaaard

Because how else would you express your arbitrary sense of superiority?

Launchers and high capacity magazines!

It's definately a comfort blanket as you eloquently put it.

That was beautiful.

I don't main HA
but having general av, aa and ai capacity as well as bit more survivability that doesn't require tacking cover all the time is a nice perk to have ..

i primarily play support engineer but HA when i want to get more into the action
and otherwise LA if i want to be annoying

I don't. I don't really 'main' anything but usually prefer engi or infil but lately I've been doing a lot of medic and LA stuff. I tend to play what's required to help my squad if I'm in one.

When I play HA I don't really do very well with it. I mainly just jump to it for AA or AV when needed.

Because I always fancy myself emptying a 100 rounds magazine in a long , joyful and continuous burst, ejected shell cases flying at my side and enemies dropping in front of me like flies while bullets are harmlessly absorbed by the glowing overshield. With which other class could you do that?

Of course it never happened but I haven't lost the hope yet.

I don't main HA, but I use it for AA / AV duty, then stick back to medic/engineer.
That sai,d I admit I currently play HA a lot, for the LMG directives.

I used to main HA for 3 reasons:

1. It's the only non-MAX class that has mobile, mid to long range AV/AA
2. They nerfed Nanoweave so it stopped protecting the head, thus starting the outdoor domination of Snipers and killing my preferred playstyle (Engie Battle Rifle Marksman). So I switched from Engie-main to HA-main so I could gain Resist Shield's OHK protection from BASRs while using the Eidolon.
3. HA with Resist + Flak gives you good protection against pretty much any type of damage out there.

That said, ever since they gave Battle Rifles to Infils my HA use has gone way down and I switch between Infil, LA, and HA fairly equally.

I find infil to be much better than heavy assault. I'm probly just bad at it though so nm me.

Started at the top of the list with infil working my way down to the easier classes. Haven't really touched Heavy yet because it seems all battles are saturated with that class right now.... heavy class is for people that can't work out of their comfort zone of KDR.

I almost always pick HA when I know I need to grind myself into the control point room and expect to die.
Otherwise I rarely pick it.

All i'm really hearing from this thread:
"Why the f**k is the heavy shield needed?"

Honestly, no person who is actually good at shooters mains the heavy class. The HA shield feels like cheating in PS2....it was designed so that terrible players think they're awesome.

At this point, they're afraid to get rid of the HA's inferiority complex bubble because they think it will make people leave the game. I got news for them....people already left the game because it existed in the first place....get rid of it and watch the competitive player base grow.

While it's validating to claim a moral high ground and all, the problem is actually the opposite.

Yes it can and does serve as a crutch, but it is most problematic as a tool used by the highly skilled to create a clear advantage over all others in infantry play.

Nonetheless, we're better off blaming the poorly designed system rather than being unpleasant towards human beings. As much as highly skilled powergamers create a big "no fun zone", they're just playing the game as they see fit. I blame the designers for creating (and not fixing) a system that lets this happen. (Disclaimer: When I say "don't blame the player", I exclude griefers. Those little sadists don't deserve the internet.)

Personally I would like to see the shield...
-Put on a 2 second delay that is interrupted by damage
-Reduce the HA's base movement speed to 75%
-Raise the shield to 1000HP to compensate (50% resist + very short duration for the resist shield)

This would relegate the shield to a breaching ability instead of a tool for 1v1 powergaming. The reduced movement gives the HA an actual downside for having more HP: being a little easier to outplay/outposition.

There are other problem areas that HA mains magnify such as crouch spamming (making it mathematically impossible to win unless you do the same) and the age-old ADAD hitbox desyncing.

Most of what you're "hearing" so far is from people who don't main HA.

So far, it doesn't look like many HA mains are responding... despite the question being specifically written toward them to answer. The only 2 posters so far indicating they (might) main HA are Campagne and Erendil.

HA alleged imbalance and it's affect on the game's playability is a hot topic in PS2. Might be some HA Mains see this as a trap post.

I main HA on my alts because I won't grind up the certs for making the other classes or vehicles useful, except the ESFs. Besides, I only play those alts for the HA goodies (Carv, MSWR, Orion) and otherwise I'm pretty much satisfied with the equipment on my primary char especially on the other classes.