MAX Balance Changed Needed

So we've railed about all things that kills infantry quick... its time to put the biggest infantry lawnmower back where it belongs. Zephyrs, rocket pods, tank and vehicle guns, shotguns, etc all have been the focus of previous balance changes. Its time we took a look at the MAX unit...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AmUavphHXmIxdFhHUzJfN1VYalRnWS0xMnBUdTJpM1E&gid=37

You have one class, that lawn mows infantry, and beyond that, they do the same thing to air with Bursters. This single class is outperforming others by a large margin. And don't bring up the MAX is always in combat excuse, cause we all know that Burster MAXes are standing around waiting for air to show up (lots of idle time) and Mercy/Saw/Cosmos MAXes are all mulling around cap points waiting for a cap when the other side gives up on defense.

Problems with MAX:

• Survivability - takes a lot more punishment from infantry weapons and explosive weapons. Can be repaired and resurrected endlessly. Only resource based unit that comes back to life after death.
• Cheapness - doesn't cost much resources compared to the kills you can get from it. Spawn times are meaningless in current state as they can just be brought back to life.
• Counters - very few counters, its not easy to get C-4 onto them unless they're just bad, air isn't a viable counter to Bursters, you're left with MAX vs. MAX a lot of times.
• Efficiency - they're just blunt instruments. Blunting their instruments further doesn't really do much as we have seen with NC MAX changes.
• Render - this is a huge problem for Bursters vs. air. Just a few Bursters melt air before even something like Striker HAs have a shot at getting kill assist XP ie. their range is just far too great.
• Versatility - change loadouts at any friendly infantry terminal.

Fixing the MAX:

• Medic rezzing - increase rez time considerably and award greater XP for the effort. A level 6 medic tool should take 20 seconds to rez a MAX, and 5 seconds for each level lower. Give twice the health currently restored to rezzed MAXes. Meaning, if MAX dies in a bad spot, you're not going to get rezzed.
• Repair times - they should be considerably harder to repair, more like tanks/turrets, not like terminals. Again, repair in the heat of battle becomes a lot less viable. Also require a level 4 or higher repair tool for MAX repair, so their supply of cheap repair is more limited.
• Ammo - limit their ammo resupply to level 4 or higher ammo packs only.
• Resource/timer - 150 resource points, 15 minutes timer (now that the timer will count for more)
• Loadouts - no more loadout changes. What you get is what you get, you use it till you respawn.
• Flak/kinetic armor - reduce effectiveness of both by half.

What we're doing here is not focusing on their blunt instruments that mows down infantry, we're just decreasing their survivability so they can't be as reckless, and making them actually play by some of the rules/balance checks that are meant for resource based units.

Fixing the AA Burster MAX:

• Reduce Burster damage by 20%. A dual Burster MAX simply does too much damage to air.
• Reduce AOE radius of Burster flak.
• Reduce projectile speed of Burster.
• Shift some AA capability to Skyguards (which don't have render issues)
• Slight COF reduction and projectile speed buff for Skyguard
• Add a 2nd Skyguard weapon utility option, mag size, 12-15 extra rounds at level 4
• Overhaul the GD-40F which is currently doesn't have a reason to exist

Tired of this game being MAX-side 2.0? Time to get the MAX fixed... remember SOE is going to release even more weapons capabilities for the MAXes pretty soon. They might actually get anti vehicle options too!

I'd like to see more diversity in this game and combined arms. The anti-infatry MAX is currently ruining big infantry fights making it all about which side has the most MAX units, and Bursters are making A2A ESFs, lock-on G2A launchers, Skyguards all redundant and needless.

Ever seen the killboard of MAXes? There is nothing else in game that gets you that sort of killstreaks... not even those OHK pump action shotguns so many people hate. Mercy Mercy Mercy, Hacksaw Hacksaw Hacksaw, ad nauseum, and even the VS know the value of the MAX, or they wouldn't constantly bother filling Galaxies full of the VS MAX and dropping them on you.

Maxes are easy to kill as infantry, just need to use skill and tactics, i mostly come out on top with maxes 1 vs 1 as a heavy, nevermind involving C4 with other classes as well.

Maxes armor if anything needs increasing, after all they are maxes.

Big infantry battles are not 1 on 1 situations, and that's where the imbalance lies. They're far too good as lawn mowers to be left in their current state.

While I support your statements, that are designed to buff the Skyguard, I think you are off when it comes to the max.

Don't get me wrong, I agree on some of your points.

Max units need to be more expensive. You are pulling a tank, it needs to cost as much as a MBT. You should have to choose between explosives and max suites.

That said:
Max units are Very vulnerable as they are, and if anything need a slight boost. I'd push their health up, or increase small arms resistance. Also max suite v. max suite combat should be more difficult. Decreasing max v. max damage would mean that you increase the TTK for maxes at all ranges, unless a max rolls out the Anti-armor weaponry This would mean that if a max actually wanted to kill other maxes, he would have to use something effective Against other maxes. Like rockets.

Your point on loadout switching. I don't think that we should stop that on maxes, but we should allow that to be done with vehicles.

and on medic revive of max suites, There is Nothing in the game currently that takes that long for a single action. 20 seconds is a lifetime in PS2 and you would effectively just Nuke maxes ever getting revives by pushing the timer up -That- high.

I have read many nerf threads. But this one left me speechless. You can't even try to discuss about it as every single part of it simply cries "I'm too too bad to defeat MAXes. Instead of me practicing - nerf them!".

Dude, do you even have a slightest idea of what MAXes are suppsosed to be? And do you realise you demand making MAX to no to be MAX? -.-'

And I thought the PS2 community couldn't get even more STUPID.

Nerf maxes? LOL

Go back to call of duty OP, you can't run around with a SMG in PS2 and expect to faceroll everything.

Also remove the PSA its overused and makes you look stupid.

I was under the impression that the general consensus is MAX's are underpowered. They need 100% small arms resistance unless you use AP ammo, and slower turn times. Their accuracy is also laughable.

If they have slower turn time give them invincibility against infantry guns, and give them guns which decimate infantry like the old scattermax.

So you have to kill them with explosives.

That's sort of the idea...

Its only buster max that needs a slight nerf, nothing else.

Care to explain why it should be nerfed?

Other than why you've probably hovered infront of a dual burster max and died.

Pretty much this. Maybe not exactly 100% small arms resistance, but the point is still valid.

I use buster max much more then I fly, infact I only fly galaxy mainly which never get killed by busters as whole point is dropping troops of safety and getting out of there. With extended mags it's just deadly and owns the sky, especially if teaming up, no air can stop them if enough busters. You just beat the living day lights out of anything, if its a lib two+ buster maxes can whipe it out no problem, one on one esf, esf don't stand a chance unless flies away.

Anything can be countered, one MBT is enough to make these burster maxes hide inside buildings which means you can send the libs in to suppress them even more.

I've not died to a burster max in my lib for a long while.

Buster is not AT, that's the whole point, this is AA vs Air. If you not died to busters, then i guess you not been on miller.

I still remember liberator-side 2. So no i do not want to go back to the getting zephr spammed 10 deaths in a row.
You are right on the cost at least, it should be 150 or 200 inf points and also it should give more xp for killing them, around 200.

If maxes were balanced with infantry, why would you pull a max? They're slow and have zero utility outside of shooting stuff at short range.

And we've been through this all, already. There was a tech test, there was a beta. We tried worthless maxes and guess what? No one used them.

Someone saying that maxes are too powerful?
Everyone keeps saying they're not good enough except at AA role and the old scatmax. The only thing I could possibly agree with would be the repair time.

How about stop nerfing ****e,this game is gonna end up tasting like cold watery oatmeal,adapt and thrive,or perish and whine till they ruin the game..

What about we nerf your mouth!

Listen, the game is fine balance wise now (My opinion) But what needs to be worked on is the massive megatons of bugs in this game!

For once leave everything now and get your as*es in gear and fix some bugs that has been there since launch (What i heard) I only have played this game for around 2 month...