Why do people criticize those who main heavy?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Dieter Perras, Nov 12, 2014.

  1. Dieter Perras

    My hypothesis is that the reason players play the heavy over every other class in the game is because;the heavy is the only class in the game to be able to defend itself from anything in the game.

    1) It has a rocket launcher which can deal with tanks and maxes. as well as dealing with hover-spamming ESFs which happen to make up the majority of AI pilots.

    2) has a shield they can use that makes them much less likely to get ganked from someone they didn't see without being able to at least attempt to defend themselves.

    3) an LMG which carries enough bullets to not have to worry about running out of bullets half way through a fight like other classes have to. LMGs also tend to be less restrictive with the ranges they are effective at and are even decent at dealing with light vehicles and maxes.

    My point is that players aren't drawn to the heavy because it is "op" but because its abilities negate the things that tend to annoy players. (aka, running into a player that you have no way to defend yourself against, getting killed from someone you didn't see with no way of getting away before death, and having to watch how you fire at enemies to make sure you can down them in one clip)

    Is it really that surprising then that there are so many heavies on the battlefield when logic says they would be the least frustrating class to play? And on that note would it even be a good idea to nerf the heavies shield effectively removing one of the things that makes the heavy the least frustrating class to use and thereby making it the most "noob friendly"?

    Why do you think the heavy is the most played class in the game? Please explain your response as open ended statements don't really help the discussion.
  2. Xasapis

    Most generic class in the game, a class that people coming form other FPS games would need the least amount of familiarization. The second class that people unfamiliar with PS2 would choose, would be a sniping infiltrator.
    • Up x 4
  3. Rovertoo

    It would help if the other classes were on par in terms of options, since I do agree with you. The HA is the most adaptable class, and a lot of the frustration people have with it would be negated if the other classes had access to some form of class-flavored AV, AA, and AI tools. That would mean LA gets a set of grenade launchers or something, Infil gets an Anti-Air tracking beacon or something that decreases lock times (or something) and an Anti Material rifle, Engineer gets an AA turret, and Medic gets... Something. Or something. Open for ideas for Medic.


    That said another source of frustration is the "I-win" shield, HA mains being able to dominate 1v1s at the press of a button. Balanced or not it's very frustrating. (And not helped by the few who "Your best is my worst" after blowing you away.)
    • Up x 7
  4. Copasetic

    It's a class designed to be better at combat in a game where every class is a combat class, no wonder it annoys people.

    The fact that outfits run 80% HAs, where the other 20% is grudgingly given to medics and engies whose only job is to keep those HAs going, should ring some bells at SOE. But apparently that's how they want it. At least conc grenades aren't an I-win button anymore.
    • Up x 9
  5. tahn1000


    i don''t know what server you are on, but when i run on briggs, there's usually just 1-3 ha per squad, and one of them is me.

    everything since june 2014 about the ha has been neutered. both resist shield and standard shield in july, launchers in august and last month the poor striker was turned into something that does less damage than banging my head on a brick wall (to the wall/tank/plane if you can hit one)
  6. _itg

    I haven't heard much criticism directed at HA players so much as at the class itself. Whether or not it's good for the game, it's frustrating when another class is straight up better than yours in many common situations, particularly crowded indoor fights. Personally, I'd rather see infiltrators, LAs, and engis get more viable indoor combat options than nerf the HA shield, but I'm not sure what those options should be. Autofiring turrets might do it for engis.
    • Up x 6
  7. RykerStruvian

    I don't know what people expect. The heavy doesn't do anything else besides pop shields and use a rocket launcher, aside from the occasional C4 if it tickles your fancy. But the fact is that...heavies are, as others mentioned, the shock troopers. And thats all they do. They don't heal, they don't repair, they don't deploy radars...they go in with a big gun and kick ***, and probably die in the process.

    While I don't mind the shield I will say that I wish we had something else to choose from. But 'something else' is hard to define because the class itself is rigid in it's use already considering it's a purely combat oriented role.

    As for 'noob friendly' I think thats a farce. The noob friendly roles are medic/engineer as those are purely support roles. With the heavy assault, you have to have some understanding of your abilities as a heavy assault, knowledge of the weapons you are using to be effective, and a playstyle which you develop and hone considering you are usually going to be the first one going into a fight/building/room to clear it out. Not only that, but you are also the only class that can 'essentially' go 1v1 with a Max and walk away. And while I'm not saying doing requires OMFG 420NOSCOPE sk33lz, you still have to know the strength and weaknesses of your weapons to do the job right (No teamkilling in the process, getting the most out of your weapons, etc).

    I don't think HA is any better or any worse than any of the other classes. It's just a class. And even then, it really comes down to the player if their class, for them, is good or not.

    Also, one more thing. I wasn't always HA. I started playing as LA during the beta/first few months of PS2. And the conclusion I came to was that HA is more applicable to situations in the game vs. the other classes. There is almost a 95% chance that I will get involved in a combat situation, and I want to make sure I can respond to that to the best of my ability may it be against infantry, ground vehicles, or air vehicles. And if I can kill them first, then maybe I can save you.
    • Up x 4
  8. Horrida Messor

    As _itg described its not criticism towarsds HA players - its critcism towards class itself.
    Why I criticise HA as a class? Well right now I'm playing Infil 99% of the time, and when I'm using SMG and spending good few minutes to flank my opponent, I want to hit HA players with a baseball bat right in the nuts every time, when my effort being nullified by a press of a button. Yes, HA is designed to be the biggest bullet sponge out of the infantry classes, but why only HA's are allowed to completely screw advantages that other people get? Why HA is the only class who can press F and survive an ambush? (That's not only about Infils, LA's also suffer from this). Why an ambush class loses his advantage over the guy he just ambused? Why in return direct combat class NEVER loses his advantage over the guy he engaged in direct combat?
    • Up x 11
  9. LodeTria

    The class is too adaptable with no major downsides, that's my reason why it's overused. You sacrifice nothing to get more Hp, AV duties & AA abilities all at once.
    • Up x 1
  10. tahn1000

    why critisise ha as a class? because you don't play it and don't want ha to be effective in battle.
    • Up x 1
  11. Catalyist

    I'm not critizing players who play heavy all the time, I'm critizing the fact that you have to play heavy all the time in order to be somewhat competitive in close quarter engagements.

    I think what really annoys people (and me) about heavies i that there is ALWAYS a heavy assault unit inside a building or behind a rock, apparently just waiting for you.
    Holding a point as an infiltrator or light assault? Don't worry, 2-3 heavies are coming for you...

    I get the point that they are the designated shock troopers. And someone has to deal with vehicles. But goddammit, the only thing you can do to counter heavies in cqc is be a heavy yourself. Or a max.
    People started to realize that and now everyone is doing it. Heavies are freaking everywhere.
    The ones who won't adapt to heavyside are either too stubborn or want to play other classes because they find playing heavy kinda bland compared to light assault or cqc infiltrator.
    • Up x 2
  12. tahn1000

    i think what really annoys me is this constant whinge that 'everyone plays ha' when i'm usually the only ha in my squad on briggs, the constant whinge that shields are 'op' when i survive better as a la than a ha because shields were neutered in july, the constant whinge that launchers are 'op' when they were neutered in august and the striker got an extra serve of neuter last month.
  13. WUNDER8AR

    Ignorance
    Idiocy

    There you have all of the reasons why people criticise you.

    Ignorant people fail to realize that this game is first of all all about shooting things and just enjoying yourself.
    Ignorant people fail to see the real value of shooting things. They've somewhere read or heard the words "teamplay" and "support class" in the context of this game, from which they conclude that everyone is supposed to play a support class and dispense warm hugs and kisses all day.
    Ignorant people refuse to accept that there's supposed to be asymmetrical balance. Thus they have a hard time seeing, understanding and utilizing the true strenghts of all classes, which inevitably results in a distorted picture of game balance.

    Idiots are just, well, idiots.

    Seriously HA is the most played class because, as Xasapis already said, it's the easiest class to understand and its specialty is quite simply shooting stuff, and that's what we're all here for, right? (Well maybe not all, but the vast majority of us I would guess)
    • Up x 7
  14. FieldMarshall

    I dont really have problems with HA. Sure they have a shield and a RL but thats pretty much it.
    Im more annoyed by LAs popping in and out of cover on top of buildings, or random SMG infils that pop up behind you, or MAXes, or medics that have (arguably) better weapons than HA and self heals.
    Meeting a HA is pretty low on my "oh crap" meter.
  15. JobiWan

    I play mainly engineer and some infiltrator, and I kill plenty of heavies 1 v 1 with my engi and a fair few with the crossbow when stalking.

    I decided to start trying heavy a few weeks back and I was just dying dying dying all the time, probably partly because I wasn't used to the recoil on the gun and I hadn't certed as much into armor and what-not.

    I keep seeing comments that heavy is easy mode and push F to win etc but my experience doesn't show this at all. It's just another class to play, and like all classes it suits a certain style of play and a certain situation.
  16. Xasapis

    The best unit to hold a point would be a MAX. The second best would be a heavy. Why would an infiltrator be good at holding a point?

    As for people playing other classes, they do for two reasons:
    • They provide more rewards, especially rewards not directly tied to killing
    • They are more advanced and/or specialised classes, which means that playing them properly (a medic derping around with his med kit out is not playing properly) is tougher than playing HA.
  17. Aaren


    Medic's get directional oversheilds that are designed to provide frontal protection for a small squad. Ala TF2.
    Downside is it's a seperate equipable "weapon" and you can't return fire while using it - relying on your squadmates to do the actual shooting.
    [IMG]
    • Up x 3
  18. \m/SLAYER\m/

    no, we hate HA because of "I WIN" shield. as infiltrator - HA is most annoying class. but as infantry - HA is best class, because you have access to med kits without loosing AV and you have shield... and its cheaper then MAX suit
    • Up x 3
  19. Zotamedu

    Funny, the outfit I'm in most often have a limit to one or two heavies max in a squad unless we are actively doing AV or AA work but then, just pulling vehicles is often more effective. We roll medics and engineers with the odd LA to place beacons in hard to reach places and one infiltrator to spam darts. The HA is the most overrated class in the game.

    The ones who cry about HA being OP are the ones that are too bad to play to the strengths of the other classes.
    • Up x 1
  20. Zotamedu

    Two words: medic ball