This is back in 2003-08 sometime Before SOE completely nerfed the cloaky cloak and took it's ability to shoot pistols whilst cloaked away. Oh darn you, SOE! At least we have snipers now. I spose...
The infiltrator suit also had 0 armor. Meanwhile people in pajama (freshly spawned players with default armor) had 50, Light armor wearers had 100 and Rexo suits had 200. Which made them ultra squishy, way squishier than they are currently. Nowadays PS2 infiltrators have 400 armor (shields), rechargable with time, while the rest of classes have 500. That being said, I'm a supporter of Infitlrators getting the so much dreamed "Stalker" cloak (primary weapon slot is denied, full invisibility while crouched or standing quiet, different increasing levels of visibility while moving: moving crouched, walking, running, cloak recharges while stationary) . However, given the high lethality of PS2 (aka low TTK), I'm afraid allowing stalkers to shoot the pistol or stab/slash with the knife while keeping the concealed state would be a bit too much. So either don't allow them to shoot the pistol while cloaked or at maximun make them to drop the cloak with the first shot/stab (at a high level of stalker cloak certification).
I spent lots of time as a combat engineer cloaker in PS1, the biggest challenge as a cloaker in PS1 was darklight vision, everyone and their dog used it.
And personally, until we get the NS revolvers, it leaves you without a good weapon, at least for VS. (no the manticore isn't brilliant. Usable, but not brilliant. I'd rather have a weapon like the Rebel).
This is the kind of play style I wanted from CQC Infiltrators when I joined. Weak in a fair fight with low health & weaker weaponry, but having the ability to easily get into a winning position. I personally can't wait for more pistols simply because of this fact. Stalker-style cloaking + pistol would make me a happy guy.
Or it could be something similar too Tribes while firing you become "more" visible for a few moments.
The Rebel isn't very good, in my opinion the Magshot is superior. I would like the cloak to be better but I don't have much issue with it. It's better to think of it as camouflage rather than invisibility. I would be all over stalker cloak if they added it. I also want the melee booster that they had listed in the beta which was never implemented or tested.
If you think I wouldn't give up all my shielding in this game for an effective cloak, you're sorely mistaken.
I don't own the Manticore but the stats look near idenitcal to the Magshot. I like the Beamer better than the Rebel but I haven't used the Beamer enough for a fair comparison to the Magshot. As a compliment to the SMG I have no complaints but I dont snipe as Vanu so I haven't had to rely on the Beamer too heavily. Speaking of the SMG, the Vanu got shorted with the Eridani in my opinion. While the TR and NC SMG's have clear advantages, the Eridani feels like a muddled average of the two with nothing that makes it stand out.
The Beamer hits like a wet tissue. The Manticore is closer to the mag shot, but doesn't hit -as- hard to compensate for the no bullet drop. And personally the feel of the manticore isn't as good as the mag shot. Then again, that's a very subjective observation, so others may disagree. It's the few but hard hitting shots that entice me with the rebel you see.
Hmmm how about revamp the infil completely. Something along the lines of, 150 armor, unlimited cloaking time, stronger cloak, has only the ability to use pistols, and even FIRE THEM while cloaked... but when fired, the cloak 'malfunctions' a bit and they start blipping or some sort of easily recognizable distortion to make them visible at close-medium range for lasting until a few times after finished firing... While also remaining BARELY visible while moving without firing for those with keen eyes. Of course we'd need more motion sensors and other various gizmos to counter it, but not make cloakers defunct. (no darklight for everyone and their dog). And then of course, add a dedicated sniper class.
the rebel just, doesn't do enough damage for it's fire rate to be able to outclass even the weakest of your hand guns, has too small a clip, and if you miss even once, hoo boy.
Infiltrator is not so much about a good stealth field anymore, while I kinda like. Means I gotta use the STEALTH part instead of running around in a base giggling because my stealth suit is so wicked. I find thinking of it as camo like the post above stated is good. I still work from rock to rock, and work like I dont even have camo on. Its rewarding and doesnt feel as cheap as getting shot because someone had darklight and happened to spot me.
Getting shot because someone saw through the extremely visible transparency effect without any equipment or any reason to be looking for me feels way cheaper. The best part about hard counters is that you can actually make it obvious to the victim that they're dealing with one. Also, the Infiltrator not being all about stealth is one thing, but we haven't gained anything to fill that void in our class either. The kind of stealth gameplay you're talking about is in no way class specific, and other classes can be far more destructive than we can from the same flanking positions that we now struggle to reach.
I dunno, the Beamer works fine for me, 167 max isn't a wet tissue. On both my NC and VS toons I have very similar stats on both the Mag shot and Beamer, on my TR however terrible stats with the Repeater, that gun is so bad that it requires you to get the Emperor for a decent sidearm.
Ya I find that if you dont land every shot you get killed mid-reload... and thats hard considering each 'shot' is three shots. and each one of those jump around.
