Why factions and weapons are NOT easymode (proof included)

absolute and total garbage. you know the maps, you know effective movement patterns, you know the core gameplay mechanics, you know what to cert and what not to cert, you know when to ADS and when to hipfire, when to reload, how to use cover, how to stick with your team and you can't just wipe all of that knowledge away and pretend to be a new, unbiased player because you aren't. as if switching empires makes you suddenly an inexperienced babe in the woods.

this is a bad, unscientific "experiment" and you should feel bad that you're trying to prove anything about equipment balance by it.

So much flawed logic....

If such a large pool of data taken from the servers shows a discrepancy between weapons, I'd say that is pretty compelling evidence that there is some imbalance going on. And sorry, but one player's experience cannot be used as a compelling counter against that statistical evidence of that weight. An outlier does not invalidate 99% of the other data points.

Also, I'm a bit...confused by your response. Are you saying confining myself to a pistol would not be imposing a handicap on myself?

Except its not just me, it is literally thousands and thousands of players that go into the stats that show NC at the bottom on many of the most important metrics and that is where NC has been since release.

There are players in NC from all different skill levels and unless you think there is something special about VS or TR that draws in a significantly greater proportion of more highly skilled players (and have been since release) then what are you really saying?

Honestly, it sounds like are just loathe the think that maybe, just maybe, you do have it a little easier.

A LMG that allows you to aim down sites and move quickly will allow you put more accurate fire down range while dodging the high hitting rounds from the powerful LMG and take less hits from the fast ROF LMG (which, ironically fires just as fast as the Orion)

I can create an NC toon, put a C85 Modified on a Harasser, and pick enough stragglers to have an insane killstreak, the same killstreak I would get while using a Marauder. Does that mean these two weapons are balanced?

I can also get a bunch of friends on VS toons, get Lancers and just pick off tanks and jets until our fingers go numb, I suppose that means that the Striker and Lancer are totally balanced as well...

Knowing the basic gameplay isn't the same as knowing a weapon. I'm pretty good with the LMGs but if you give me a sniper rifle I'm probably not going to do as well immediately because I don't know how to be effective with it yet. General game knowledge isn't going to help me in every situation. But in the end, it doesn't matter anyway because the LMGs performed pretty much the same, except for the better range on the Carv/Guass and bigger ammo clips.

The first couple of days with the new weapons I didn't do quite as well because I had to learn how to adapt to them. Which is exactly my point. The weapons are not better or worse, you just have to learn how to use them. But I understand that making excuses is the path of least resistance.

Well, at least you've demonstrably shown you don't know what you're talking about, so we can safely disregard this thread.

Normally I would not be so unkind to say directly, but really now. Experience at playing VS has no transfer over to any other faction? Not like the handling of each weapon is the only thing different, since you didn't touch vehicles. Not like knowing the maps made any difference, right? ...yeah. I think we're done here.

Again, you're not getting it. First, when I say "its you" I mean EVERYONE who thinks that way. I don't care about the weapon stats, people just use them to help keep their "everyone beats me because their stuff is OP!!!" delusion. I have looked at the stats and even they show that the weapons do some things better and worse than others.

If I had it easier I certainly didn't notice when I was on NC and TR. In fact I really enjoyed playing my TR character. That Carv is a beast.

Yeah, disregard something that shows you don't have to rely on excuses as a crutch when you get beaten by the other factions. Feel free to continue with your endless complaining about everything being OP. I'm sure that will help make you a better player. And I will continue not making excuses for myself and just becoming better and better as a result.

While I generally agree with the OP's message, I must point out that my K/D has almost doubled since switching from NC to VS, and if things keep going like this, it will continue to rise. I am far more capable with an Orion and a Lancer than I was with any of the NC LMGs and a Phoenix, and I feel like a superhero with ZOE.

That said, I feel like the 30% more damage taken with ZOE balances it out pretty well, but it's still phenomenal in the hands of a good player. The other MAX abilities are hilariously bad in comparison, and I think they both need to be reworked to be more useful, but not to the point where VS loses the "best MAX" trait.

I hope everyone realizes that this is just an elaborate "learn-2-play" troll topic.

Actually, it's an elaborate "LOOK MY KAY DEE" Thread

Whose inferior weapons? I didn't say anything about inferior weapons.

KDR doesn't prove that everyone and everything is balanced. Anyone can use and abuse any number of countless cheap tactics to rack up KDR, the simplest of which being shooting suicidal newbs through the shields of outposts that have been surrounded by enemy spawncampers. Instant KDR/Winrar is you.

Anyone can pull any number of player profiles with high KDR and say, this faction is balanced because this guy. And you're not exactly a new player yourself either. Why would switching factions make you suddenly want to charge enemy tanks across open ground and kill yourself repeatedly?

If you want to argue faction balance (I don't personally) then argue it on the merit of actual non-biased statistical data. "My KDR!" is an empty argument.

My K/D jumped from 3.3 on VS to 3.9 on TR so I guess that means the CARV and TR are really OP too.

No, I'm saying you have two choices in your pistol situation. First you can come on the forums and complain about dying because the pistol isn't as good in every situation as the other weapons.

OR

Your second option is to adapt and learn how to use the pistol and find out what situations it is suited for...

I'm all for asymmetrical balance.

I want the TR to be dakka and speed

I want NC to hit like a truck but move slower then one

I want the VS to be... exotic.

But this egotism doesn't help balance, just spawns hatred :/

Hey Vixen I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish with this post. My only criticism is that by putting your alts on Connery instead of Waterson, you have changed the environement that you are able to compare with your main. If you consider your main the "control group" and the alts your "test subjects", then you really should have them all on Waterson, to reduce variable such as server to server skill (and types of players you encounter in different TZ's).

At the risk of thread derailment, my waterson alt can rack up a real high KDR and SPM by farming oblivious masses that are not as easy to farm on Mattherson. Just to illustrate that going to connery may throw your data off.

First, yes, you do care about weapon stats- enough, in fact, to create alts just so you could make this shameless post.

Second, I think the delusion is that a lot of people have an "everyone beats me because their stuff is OP" mentality. There is a big difference between saying "hey, this feels a little off and oh look here in the data it does look like it is underperforming" and "I would never die if it were not for being so gimped". A lot the discussion takes place around attitudes closer to the former. Oh, and by the way, why- if you do not care about weapon stats- would you give a damn about people who do? If you're so certain that you have skills and in no way have an easier time of things then why do you care?

Third, you claim you did not notice and that is great and all. No really, cute post. Except that you are not the only person playing the game. Data is pulled from everyone who logs in and everything meaningful they do. The amount of data we are talking about here is astounding and to dismiss it when it shows for almost a year that you can rank the factions very predictably and one is, overall, always at the bottom for your personal anecdotal experience is the sign of an extreme egotism and naivety.

I never said anything was OP. My point was that, while better abilities/weapons/etc will not make you a better player directly, they will assist you in reaching your potential.

Well you may not have said it but there are a lot of TR and NC (even VS sometimes) out there who think they lose all the time because the other faction's weapons are so much better. And that was the point of my thread, it was never about weapon balance. I was showing that all weapons have their ups/downs and you CAN do well with them if you understand how they are supposed to be used. Hopefully I won't have to repeat this again because I have made it pretty freaking clear multiple times.

I've played all 3 factions for a while now, and whilst my preferred faction is NC, my highest k/d/spm etc is easily my VS char.

Do I think VS is OP? Not especially, although the Orion is probably the only LMG you ever need, and all weapons are easy to use.

Do I think NC is UP? Not really, but they are the only faction that 'feels' a little 'different'.

As for TR ... only OP due to pop balance really. The only weapons I prefer from TR are the medic ones (and the marauder!).

That or, you know, rely on the massive amount of data collected from PS2 that contradicts her personal experience.

It is impossible with a single case, no matter how much time you have, to say anything conclusive about a population.