The more reason NC max in UP. TR/VS maxes have significantly higher TTK than the NC max outside 10m. 1) Main buff NC max needs is more magazine (or reduction in the cost of extended mags) 2) Less reload. 6 round magazine has a longer reload than a 60 round magazine? i understand its a shotgun but it's still ridiculously high than it should be, while the TR/VS maxes need a nerf in reload speed. (i practically never perform the long reload on TR/VS maxes unless i'm just open spamming)
With their combat effectiveness within 10-15 meters renders them highly uncompetitive against the other two factions that can engage them at over twice the distance they're capable of... I've tried playing effective with a NC MAX and the only way to reach your enemy is to use environmental cover and charge to get towards the effective range of your weapon. Unfortunately in open fields such as Amerish and Indar deserts completely show the disadvantage NC has against TR and VS maxes firing at them hundreds meters away... It gets even worse when going against Fractals and Comets, where as the Raven is actually easily avoidable at long distances due to its low projectile travel.
People Stop using buckshot Buckshot is garbage, just look at the damage dropoff. 130@8 - 40-50 @18. 18 meters, on top of fewer pellets hitting per meter because of spread! Slugs are the only choice, slug Grinders for preference. Or Falcons. The NC MAX is fine. It's a ton of fun and It's great where it's great and you've gotta be good with it elsewhere. If anything what's needed is more differentiation between the TR/VS MAXes
What you're basically suggesting is to give up any slight advantage we may have in our niche range to be sub-par at all ranges. Even with slugs, they have to deal with cone of fire. So if RNG really just hates you there's no promise that any of your shots will connect if you're aiming at the target. Not to mention it requires more aiming and leading than either buckshot or the TR/VS AI options; it's putting a handicap on yourself. Before 15 meters you're better off using buckshot because it'll at least reliably inflict some damage per shot. Not to mention that at least with buckshot on grinders you can at least 1v1 a kinetic max within said niche before ammo is gone. Anyway, I won't go as far as to say our maxes are bad just that the lack of staying power(low default and extended ammo counts) and range doesn't exactly bode well for a faction when it's the only option available to it. But at the very least, many NC max users would be happy with a magazine buff. Something that doesn't influence TTK, only lasting power.
Slugs are just as limited and situational with the current NC Max design, like the above poster said. Shotguns tend to have a naturally wide cone of fire and projectile spreads significantly faster as you do you quick followup shots. Slug inflicted damages against an enemy MAX is also laughable because of the small clip size that weren't able to compensate the loss of health inflicted by the enemy during a fire exchange. Heres a killstreak today with my TR max a while ago that was mostly close and midrange during my encounters, I've scared off/killed a few NC Maxes while holding a point and pushing forward. Where as my NC max would take less than a hand full of people before falling to a rocket launcher or C4 during room clearing. http://www.planetside-universe.com/character-5428077657659886161.php?tab=killboard http://www.planetside-universe.com/character-5428021124280566177.php?tab=killboard
No it doesn't. NC Max is borderline OP. Shotguns melt people faster than any other max, it has guided missiles, and dual-Falcons will 1-shot people.
Does anyone have stats (average K/D and such) for all three MAXes? If the NC MAX isn't underperforming, I'll happily close this thread.
Slugs will still OHK up close as they do 500 damage each, and the RNG aspect only comes in at extreme ranges and if you're mag dumping (don't magdump). Firing while still and crouching will give you great accuracy. I've got about 7,000 combined slug MAX kills and let me tell you, they are WAY more lethal than buckshot. With buckshot, you've gotta magdump at someone 18 meters away to MAYBE kill them because you're fighting both spread and pellets that are now doing 40 damage each. With slugs you're still doing about 450 per at that range. If staying power is your primary complaint, just fire one arm at a time or use Falcons. I wouldn't mind a substantial ammo reserve buff, at least to the Grinders
The only time i get a OHK with slugs is if the enemy is literally at 0m. Or i get 2 headshots in mid-short range. (which is rare) Reload speed is the buff i would like. Why does it have more reload and less RoF when it is basically the exact copy of a non-max class shotgun. Example: Grinders-Sweeper Piston-Hacksaw Mauler-Scattergun Mattock-Jackhammer (this one is a bit different since jackhammer does not have slugs, and starts at 9 rounds per mag) TR and VS max guns get lower RoF and more reload on their carbines, but they have like twice the magazine a carbine would have to compensate for their loss. In practical use (unless i'm spamming) i never have to perform the long reload. While on the NC max, i mostly perform the long reload. TR and VS max guns need a reload nerf, while the NC max guns need a reload buff.
You're forgetting the point, the NC max is heavily geared towards close quarters whereas its abilities are severely limited in ranged combat (think of this as a hard counter where as VS and TR maxes are more well-rounded in many combat engagement ranges). The NC max may feel OP to some people because they're finding themselves in a bad spot without keeping their distance in mind. (I wouldn't stay in a room for long if I know NC troops where around the corner ready to charge in) Don't forget that dual Comets and Pounders can also oneshot people as well...Nothings wrong with the Falcon, they're easily avoidable as the other 2 max AV weapons.
Falcons and comets are much more avoidable than Pounders. I go "***** this game" every time a pounder max kills me in CQC. (me in a dual AI NC max)
I'll give you one. Sadly, living in Australia, I have piss poor upload otherwise I'd show you the multitudes of enemy I killed at that range (FWIW, took about 10 minutes to upload that 7 seconds of footage). I made that little snippet for someone who claimed it was impossible to kill someone with a TR MAX at that range - much like yourself. I have 200+ hours with the NC MAX. I have a pretty high K/D because of the NC MAX. The NC MAX is very capable in specific scenarios. If you gave me an equivalent medium range weapon for my NC MAX, I'd drop my shotguns in a heartbeat and pony up the SC. If you proposed that TR/VS be given CQC shotguns to compensate, I would giggle at how much easier you'd have made my job at killing enemy MAX.
The problem with this is that the NC MAX is only pulled in specific engagements that favored the NC MAX. Biolabs for example. Whereas the TR/VS MAX was used as all-purpose. I have observed this behavior personally playing all three factions. The last bunch of figures that I've seen puts the NC MAX slightly ahead despite the majority use in its CQC element. It paints a skewed picture that does a disservice to a MAX that's only pulled in high volume CQC environment compared to MAXes that are pulled everywhere.
We got Das Anfall's database: http://stats.dasanfall.com/ps2/items/weapons and a bit old spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...QVFWS3hQQnZETWp1SmRZYk1oSWc&usp=sharing#gid=1 No, Pounders cant instant gib ppl. You need 3 hits against a non flak target. The last data i have seen is the spreadsheet i link, and from "average uniques" we can see that the NC MAX is pulled in similar numbers, compared to TR/VS MAX's. You get the same if you add up Das Anfalls "users", at least it was pretty level the last time i did it. a month ago.
Take care in how you read that data. Dasanfall, as far as I can tell from rereading its lists and the FAQs, uses old and new data without a way that I can see to filter old data in case of balance changes. Even minor changes to a weapons stats needs a clean slate to understand how it is now doing. That spreadsheet, although old, does not account for anything but the time frame stated and isn't effected by outdated data muddying the waters. But it also doesn't update at all without making a new version each time you need an update. That data is also finicky to read across different weapon types as some weapon types will and should always have its own "normal" for that data set. For what Purg said about NC MAXes being pulled less. I tend to agree in opinion from what I see in game overall. But disagree in certain bases that favor CQC, so that might counter everything in the long run. Using that old spreadsheet let me just add up all the unique users real fast for a half ***** way to see. NC- 8083 TR- 8490 VS- 8260 Granted this spreadsheet was made some time ago and around the MAX ESAs coming out but it shows that there are less unique users for NC MAX AI weapons. Does that mean there was less NC MAXes? Don't know. Maybe there was more players with more weapons with their own loadouts on TR and VS MAXes boosting the numbers and a bit less for NC MAXes as weapons for TR and VS tend to have more varied uses in how they are used than shotgun or shotgun. The data isn't there for me to know for certain. Every set of data needs to be read in its own way or might just be not be worth a damn from not knowing anything about it. It is hard as hell to understand it all. Thus the reason balance in a ***** to find.
You're surprised? NC MAX Master Race. Those lowly TR and VS MAX peasants can only wish they were as handsome, manly and stronk as us.
You cant argue with facts! Why ohhh, why did NC get the phat looking MAX. Well at least my infantry guys got future spandex and sexy girls.
