1. unbalanced: lower horizontal vs. higher vertical recoil is penalized by the HS multiplier at medium to long range especially afrer the nanoweave changes and both DPM and DPS is effectively reduced by higher COF Bloom 2. possible change: either higher DPM on Carbines and ARs (NC not TR should have the DPM trait with those stats) or bring down COF-Bloom to TR/ VS figures) 3. actually HA variety. Jackhammer, Anchor, EM6 offer very good options. But give the Anchor .75 ADS movement Speed (would compare to the GD-22 like the Jaguar to the Trac-5)
Thank you Luperza for stepping in and help clarifying. Its hard sometimes when different people provide different opinions. 1. Harder hitting weapons(i.e. almost all weapons 143 dmg+) with the ability to completely mitigate damage. (i.e. Max shields, Vanguard shields). 2. I don't think I would change the NC, more as to balance the other two factions. When balancing any equation with 3 or more variables, you need to have a control group. Such as A = NC, B = TR, C = VS, but A = B = C. Right now, its something more along the lines of A = A. B = A^2. C = (A * 3)^2. Once you bring everyone to par, then make adjustments that affect all three factions. 3. I like their slower firing, but heavier hitting weapons.
What makes you feel that NC is unbalanced? If you could change one thing about the NC's balance, what would it be? What's your favorite aspect of NC balance? 1. The thing that stands out the most to me are the Aegis Shields. 2. As per statement 1 - dual wielding a shield poses no advantage except being a huge meat shield; a vanguard shield-type max makes more sense. 3) The introduction of the Air Hammer made A2G gameplay a lot more interesting than any other balance so far imo.
P.S.: NC and TR maxes are fine, powerful but still vulnerable. ZOEs are being brought in line. that will do. always balance server-pop around small arms as this is the core-gameplay which happens around capture-points and most players want this at arms length. they don't mind dieing but want to be competive in infantry 1 on 1s. played 70 BRs as NC before quitting the game for other reasons. came back as TR simply wanting a higher DPM carbine. would have done so even if TR pop was 30% at all times
What makes you feel that NC is unbalanced? Cert prices to bring NC gear in line with other factions seems out of whack, TR and VS infantry weapons are easy to control without addons from the get go, where as the NC needs the attachments to get them performing well, which they do once they're certed into. If you could change one thing about the NC's balance, what would it be? Shotguns, we need more hard hitting weaponry thats fun, not shotguns. What's your favorite aspect of NC balance? Hard hitting infantry weapons(Not shotguns)
Again though your arguement is with the developers; game balance is a completely different thing. If you want them to introduce a scale where you can "****" yourself for extra challenge that is up to you (although again I'm not convinced they'd see the value in that).
I don't think the NC is massively unbalanced, but equally it seems to be slightly subpar in general and specifically subpar in some areas (vehicle AI weapons); total worldwide K/D ratio, WDS positions and score adjusted for population, KPU, aKPU and Higby's mentioned data all seem to support this. That the NC traits are actually an advantage, like the VS and TR traits, high damage per shot is often as much of a disadvantage as any advantage, as are shotguns in general (especially on vehicles) and "defence" works well in the context of the Vanguard shield, but not anything like as well in the context of the Aegis Shield. The vanguard is really the ONLY aspect of "NC" balance that actually genuinely works, it isn't the best overall tank, but the shield does its job well (unlike say the MAX Aegis Shield) as does the overall make up of the tank (this may well be because it's the closest bit of "PS1 NC" trait that exists in PS2).
What makes you feel that NC is unbalanced? As the most important thing I'd go with, it's probably the shotgun enforcer, which is hardly a viable AI gun in comparison to the other two empires - other than that I think the main difference is in the population and its quality. If you could change one thing about the NC's balance, what would it be? Probably the empite specific AI gun on Harasser, but that alone wouldn't solve the so called NC problems. What's your favorite aspect of NC balance? I'd go with the Vanguard, as it's quite a versatile thing and well balanced against the Prowler as well the Magrider. Each one of them excel in different ways - not entirely balanced in every situation, but all three of them have their ups and downs which I really love. (Plus Vanguard actually look like a real badass tank, which actually makes it cooler than the competitors but that's purely visual) Oh and I do not have any bias towards any of the empires, I'm actively playing all three of them - though getting somewhat bored of my VS character and NC is my absolute favorite. As for the population remark I don't only mean the numbers, but the fact on most servers NC seem to have a rather horrible average player. I'm sure it's not like that on every servers, but sadly we started our NC characters on Cobalt and we unlocked far too many things before we realized it's not really the right place for playing in those colours. On Cobalt NC I'm getting hilarious amount of team damage, majority of the population often sitting in warpgate doing nothing, didn't see any organized outfits yet and well, people seem like pretty bad in general (even though I'm not an fps expert myself, they are on a whole different level). The issue is that no balance patch will fix these players, possibly if they'd make NC borderline overpowered, then more competitive players would join them, but that's hardly a viable solution. I've seen people suggesting a swap in starter weapons and I find it a good idea, easier to handle guns would probably help the learning curve. Sorry for the wall of text.
Maybe I'm crazy but for all of NC's faults I don't think they are under powered perse - I just feel like they are missing a little something here and there. 1.) Our weapons generally have both a lower overall damage model (DPS) and a lower RoF / long reload (major penalty for missing) this means under perfect conditions we do less damage, and more importantly under realistic conditions we do alot less damage. In the case of the DMR and ACX11 we have a smaller mag for no reason to boot! Ultimately this makes us more skill dependent - but without a payoff if you do it right. 2.) No. More. Shotguns. Really? We get to be really good at killing people point blank? Awesome. It's too bad that everything in the game is good at killing point blank and this does us no justice. 3.) High damage per shot. Stop giving NC shields and stuff - I didn't sign up to be the defensive faction. I signed up to put the hurting on people. If you have to adjust our DPS up - don't raise our ROF, raise our damage per shot.
I'm 90% TR, but I have played NC, this is coming from the perspective of a newbie to using the weapons and their traits. 1. What makes you feel that NC is unbalanced? 2. If you could change one thing about the NC's balance, what would it be? 3. What 's your favorite aspect of NC balance? 1: The default NC weapons, particularly the Gauss Saw, is considerably more punishing to use than the T9 Carv or the VS Default by nature of it's slow fire hard hitting design. While the Gauss saw can be very deadly when Certed out in experienced hands, when given to a newbie to the game it's significantly less effective than it's counterparts; a new NC heavy vs a new TR heavy is probably going to get chewed to pieces. 2: As stated above, make the starting weapons more forgiving to use, as far as other weaknesses I do not know, I haven't played enough of NC to get a grasp on anything besides what a new player might experience. 3: From what I've seen so far, I really really like the sidearms and to a lesser extent vehicles, the Vanguard feels like an actual tank, big and powerful, like swinging around a giant hammer, also the way the Reaver handles, it's no scythe in terms of maneuverability but it's pretty good.... Still prefer the downright speed of the Mosquito.
The fact many weapons marketed as hard-hitting do in fact have a lower overall DPS than those of other factions, especially found in current LMG balance and moreover, the NC MAX has an issue not primarily of range (which slugs fail to help with, as a side note), but rather of limited sustainability of damage despite the usage of Extended Magazines, which is made nearly mandatory by the small magazines of these weapons. Not really only one, but limiting myself to the main problem, I primarily feel that the infantry DPS urges a change/buff to be in line with that of other factions, as currently there are additional inherent disadvantages associated to using slow firing weapons over fast firing ones. The Vanguard is the ideal prototype for tank balance and is my favourite one among the bunch as well as the Cyclone SMG being the only true NC close quarters weapon that actually stands a chance against other factions.
What makes you feel that NC is unbalanced? Harder to use weapons that don't excel anymore at task then the weapons of other factions while lacking the versatility other factions enjoy. (NC MAX suits only got extreme CQC use, Vanguards fail against infantry, Reavers require more accuracy then others, Infantry weapons have worse recoil and COF bloom then others while having the same DPS, etc.) If you could change one thing about the NC's balance, what would it be? I would make the NC weapons viable in a more wide variety of situations then currently. What's your favorite aspect of NC balance? A higher variety of infantry weapons to chose from, sure a lot of them suck on many levels, but at least less of our weapons are just clones of other weapons.
1. Just about every 'NC' themed weapon feels gimped somehow, from the pathetic velocity of the AC-11X to the worthlessness of MAX shotguns outside hugging distance to the complete joke that is the Enforcer Modified; and even the ones that work well (like the Gauss SAW) have massive disadvantages outside their vanishingly small niches. 2. Not sure I can pick one thing. Most of the problems are minor on their own, but add up. 3. Vanguard.
I dunno, I seem to do fine with them. I regularly go 20+:1 and if I'm smart about positioning with my highly certed Charge/max NAR I'm effectively invincible. Anybody who plays with me will attest to my slug MAX prowess and I'll have you know I play super aggressively - probably not more than 20-30 of my kills have come from bored pot shots taken at a falling base. https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428021759059989185/killboard Also, DA's stat page says I have a much better infantry vs infantry KDR even factoring in the 2 months I spent at 0.32 KDR so pbbbttt I mean it's not like your no outfit does any good. You spend a lot of time in a magrider, have you ever come up against a couple GOON Vanguards? Or do you just run HE and burn away from even lightnings lol For this I'd recommend people mosey on over to the guides in the individual classes on these very forums. I could go into great detail about my beloved slug MAX (I actually have off-site) or any number of the ways to exploit their upsides but in this thread, it was simply be scrolled right past. I will say about the Jackhammer - you must think of it like a combo shotgun. In single fire it is a more accurate Mauler with bigger mags, the alt fire turns it into a super pump action (18x112 as opposed to 2nd gen pump actions being 11x134) with all the downsides inherent to the weapon types. I prefer a more viable ranged option for my sidearm with the Jackhammer so I run the Commissioner (also da Commish is NC as fuuuuuucckkk) but the Desperado is also a great choice, just make sure you slap a laser on it because it NEEDS a laser. On my JH loadout I run max adrenaline shield and generally single fire if there's big groups. Lead with a rocket and/or AV grenade, start mowing people down as each kills grants you 20% more shield, then if you need to reload just start knifing because if they're hurt it'll kill them dead and if they aren't you failed and you're toast.
i see a lot of people complaining about max range weapon, but have you test the mattock instead of the hacksaw , i have play with both mattock for long time and the extra range is insanly good i play NC since the beta and for me the thing that need balanced ( up ) only are the phoenix ( more damage on vehicule, maybe more on infantery ) and the enforcer. after all NC are a close combat faction, with pro and coin on weapon, i like the way it is, lot of shootgun and high dealing damage weapon, hard to use , but rewardly .
1. NC gear is the worst for people starting out (especially when they're new to FPS's), requiring more skill and experience, as well as certs spent. (SAW hard to control and bad on the move, super-slow Vanguard pretty much needs shield, Merc and Gauss Rifle not as good in CQC without Laser as the other starter guns, MAX probably requires the highest cert investment) 2. Change Enforcer-M. A simple numbers tuning is not gonna cut it. Make EM6 or that 100cert LMG the HA's starter LMG. Lower cost of GD7-F (and maybe reduce its bloom) and Anchor (that said, the best pure CQC guns that aren't shotguns still are either of the SMGs). 3. NC AR and Carbine (and SMG) selection is far more varied and interesting than the TR's and VS'.
1. Lacks a dominant force in the main venues (ZOE MAX in infantry, Vulcan Harasser in outdoor), other factions outstanding infantry weapons are just a little better (e.g. TAR, Lynx/Jaguar, SVA-88, Orion) than any NC options. 2. get .05/.1 bloom and/or .75 scope movement carbine, tone down ZOE, Vulcan 3. Reaver is interesting, MAX shield is great.
