Current state of the NC MAX vs. TR/VS MAX

Close-Quarters-Combat

So one more MAX vs MAX fight and my dual mercy MAX with kinetic 4 had a snowballs chance to do anything against NC MAX with shotguns. So it doesn't really matter how much the NC cry, the MAX with the shotguns will win the fights where a MAX is useful.

I even got the drop on a MAX and shot his engineer in the back and then landed quite a few bullets before he noticed me and turned around. I still got murdered and that was well out of the 10 meter zone NC likes to talk about.

Were you already damage when you began firing at them? If not, I can tell you right now that everything you said is a blatant lie.

Nope and I was in quite a few MAX fights over the course of half an hour. The NC MAX is just plain better at the ranges where the AI weapons are useful. This was at a tower base as we were trying to push into the vehicle bay. It's even more painfully obvious as the ranges grow shorter. Inside a Bio Lab where you almost never can engage at range, the NC MAX is superior. Same thing when they hold a cap point. The only way to break through unless the MAXs are stupid enough to stand in the doors are to spam C4 or assault with many more MAXs.

Yeah, that's a lie.

Listen, I mean this as nicely as possible; learn to play. If a NC MAX puts his shield up you can run away until you're fighting where you want (hopefully with a heavy or two flanking the NC MAX). Putting up the shield means loosing all damage and a lot of mobility. If you're allowing a NC MAX to close on you with the shield up then you died from stupidity. If died because the NC MAX charged you then you didn't use your own charge. Once a MAX charges there is a minimum 30 secs before they can charge again. If you charge away then they have burnt their charge for no benefit and are often stranded away from their troops and exposed.

The NC MAX's burst DPS is devastating. But if they don't one clip you then you can kill them easily and if you use charge well then they are unlikely to ever kill you.

I'm 90% sure the devs are preparing to go the exact opposite way.
Making one MAX OP in close quarters (and, necessarily, UP at range) is a nightmare for balance and makes certain base designs clearly favor (or disfavor) the NC. And for a competitive game, designing bases/weapons that are heavily impacted by which faction you're on is a non-starter.

I'm probably still stuck with Planetside 1 logic, but I always saw MAX vs MAX as a fight to see who could take out as much of their opponents infantry support as possible.

Who said anything about making it OP? I'm asking for CQC superiority, which is different from being straight-out OP.

The main reason Comets are so annoying as my NC Slug MAX is that they seem to ignore the Aegis to a very large degree. I can ignore C4 and grenades and tank shells all day long but a comet ZOE will kill me 100% of the time and there's nothing I can do about it.

I can't complain too much though, because that's how I feel when I'm driving my max shield/auto-repair/AP/Enforcer Vanguard and run into another tank

How about the NC max get's a mid ranged AI weapon that's not a shotgun (heresy I know), OR the Aegis shield ability let's us fire with one arm.

also make it so lock-down gives the TR max a defense buff for the front.

and VS.... VS doesn't deserve anything, you already have nice things.

How about leave everything as it is, no nerfs, no buffs and everyone learn to play to your factions strengths.

Frankly, I find dual Cosmos/Mutilators to be better than shotguns in CQC because they just **** out rounds endlessly. Sure a dual scatmax can kill like .3 seconds faster, but it's also got more downtime than uptime if it's frantic.

Anyway slugs are pretty great and, let's be honest, the best we're going to get so learn to love them.

So lets buff slugs and make NC Max's have better sustained fire! But seriously Slugs could use more accuracy and the NC Max has an extreme lack of ammo for the reload speeds it has.

I unlocked both mutilators (high ammo) for my TR MAX and it's amazing how long you can just hold down the button. Any NC MAX who has tried using a TR MAX would be jelly. NC MAX is 40% shooting and 60% reloading. TR MAX is more like 90% shooting.

Personally I'd like the NC MAX's actual biggest problem - tiny mags and tinier reserve - addressed first. That's why I like the idea of a slug-only gun. Make it have bigger mags+MUCH bigger reserve and more accuracy on the move at the cost of being premium (aka Mattocks) and not getting buckshot or a high ROF. VS/TR's deep mag options are basically buy and forget, whereas the NC ones need 1300 certs dumped into the pair to make them workable, and that's AFTER the 500 certs used to purchase it are factored in.

For what? +2 per arm and +4 per reserve. Compare that to the 100/700 per arm of the Mutilator MAX or the EM6s of the Cosmos.

Hmm, that could actually be interesting, removing the slug attachments from all shotguns, making Mattocks slugs by default and not allowing them buckshot, and then just giving them larger mag sizes and better accuracy, I don't believe I have ever thought of that. Still yeah, I agree completely here how the NC Max needs so many certs to be put into it for it to even be usable.

We need pump shotguns with slugs for our MAX. Instant death within 20m.

I'd like slugs to be an option for the others as well, I'd just like to see the Mattocks specialize. Like, if someone is a run n gun Rambo badass they can **** out their hacksaws and kinetic armor and still have an option in longer engagements that isn't "walk up to them while getting shot to **** and C4'd"

Grinders/Scats would be accurate if you're stopped and crouched and have a buckshot option, hacksaws would be spray and pray either way, and Mattocks would be accurate even if you're strafing but have no option for CQC face****ing buckshot. Makes sense to me, and is totally possible without changing the actual engine at all.

Plus, it'd actually get people to give slugs a shot!

For the reason that I have never used anything but Mattocks on my MAX I have mixed feelings on this. I paid SC for my Mattocks back at launch for the reason they are the accurate shotguns for NC MAX. Tighter pellet spread is there thing for much lower raw damage. If Mattocks went to slug only then I would be pissed and out right demand a refund of the 1,400 SC and 1,000 certs I put into them (or do that 2 CP for 1 SC thing they did before).

Removing shot from a shotgun makes it not a shotgun, but a high caliber rifle. That is a complete weapon type change. Even just making slugs standard and shot a cert option is to much of a change. You do not change a weapons type, no matter what. It will not be anything of what people paid for anymore like if it was just a stat change. Even if you gave full refunds and you would still have a PR monster from not only NC players (like me) that mained Mattocks, but from TR and VS players as well.

There is no need to make a drastic change in weapons. If you change Mattocks, then you must change a weapon for TR and VS MAXes from them not having an option of going pure CQC. The smart thing to do is just make NS MAX weapons. A shotgun balanced like NC MAX weapons and a HMG balanced like TR/VS MAX weapons. 2 weapons are much easier to balance than 3 or changing 3 so much that they might as well be brand new. More so when they are not limited to one faction.

Why there isn't NS MAX weapons already for AI and AV is a ******* mystery to me. You would think that weapons like those would print money and would give options to everyone. I would gladly spend a little for SC for a NS HMG or 2 for my MAX and you KNOW that ZOE peeps would jump on a NS shotgun. Or maybe that is the reason right there.