Tone down HA shields

Make there be a cost to pull a heavy.

I'm not going to get too caught up in this, but anyone who says something is "supposed" to always win in a so-called competitive FPS just has a fundamentally flawed viewpoint. And it's no wonder the game has suffered since day 1.

When you have a class that can fly, without many drawbacks, and other classes can not, that is just fundamentally screwed.

When you have a class that can become invisible without many drawbacks, and other classes can not, that is just fundamentally screwed.

When you have a class that can revive a theoretically unlimited number of players with the throw of just one grenade, and other classes can not, that is just fundamentally screwed.

What kind of argument is this?


May HA´s be the best 1vs1 class? Who knows, but either way, it actually does not matter, because Planetside is not a damn 1vs1 game.


Let me give you a little fighting scenario:

20 HA´s vs 15 HA´s and 5 Medics.

Or to make it even more interesting:

20 Medics vs 20 Heavy Assaults fight each other until last man standing.

Who would you say would win this contest?

I know where my money would be...


(And just a reminder, I do not main HA, far from it.)

See post above.

PS2 is not a 1vs1 game.

HA-only groups will lose terribly against a mixed group of classes of the same size.

Do you have any source to back up the claim HA´s being a major factor for players to leave the game?

A percentage number or something like that would be nice.

1 vs 1? HA's can win 3+ on 1's.

And please find where I said HA's were a major factor in people leaving the game? HA's aren't the only problem. The problem is the entire concept of "force multipliers" in the first place.

Hyperbole with no source cited. This depends on a lot of factors and where the fight takes place etc etc. We've all seen groups of HA's steamroll everything in their path, so not sure what you mean.

The easy I-Win overshield is the whole problem and we all know it. I abuse the hell out of it when I play HA to great success, even though I know it's cheese. Isn't having the most firepower, armor, AND spammable medkits enough?

There's just so much about Planetside 2 that negates player skill, it's tiresome at times.

One way or another, there wouldn't be 7 pages of discussion if there wasn't any problem with HA..

some people have a problem with HAs. that doesn't mean there is an actual problem with HAs.

That depends on player skill, it´s not HA specific. The amount of skill needed to reliably win 1vs3 would let you do the same with other classes. For example, an Infiltrator on the same skill level can do the same easily.

Where does the "suffering", as you said it, of a game lead to?

Oh, the irony...

So you say that, in a controlled environment (even skill distribution, communication, organization, fighting area), 20 HA´s could reliably beat, for example, a group of 10 HA´s, 5 Medics (heal, shield regen, revives), 3 Engineers (ammo, mines, AI-MANA-Turrets) and 2 Infiltrators (one with Motion Sensor, one with Darts, EMP grenades)?

I am sure you will not find many following you on that mate.

Did we?

Anyway, it does not matter if a group of MLG HA´s can wreak havoc on uncoordinated players.

They don´t play against an organized group at that moment, it´s more of a series of 1vs1´s where they beat one enemy at a time.

We already established HA´s being a powerful 1vs1 class because of their versatility, sustainability and toughness.

Put those MLG HA guys up against a mixed class group of equal skill and coordination and you won´t see them pull of "1vs3"´s anymore.

"Everyone pull HA" said no squad/platoon leader ever. I wonder why.

The easy I-Win cloak is the whole problem and we all know it. I abuse the hell out of it when I play Infiltrator to great success, even though I know it´s cheese. Isn´t having OHK-Sniper-Rifles, cloak, Motion Sensors AND spammable medkits
enough?

Dude, what kind of argumentation is this?

FTFY.

If you are getting in a 1v1 with a Heavy and losing and then complaining, you are a ******.

The only thing about Heavies that is OP is how strong we are out of combat. This term may seem a bit strange to you, but we Heavies carry tons of ammo and four medical kits. We can get ready for fight after fight after fight. We should win straight up fights. We shouldn't be able to repeatedly prepare ourselves alone for continuous fights.

Just learn how to not engage the Heavy in a straight up 1v1. Get the drop on him. Take the time to come in from an angle he can't see and line up the headshots whilst he doesn't even know you're there. If you get the drop on a Heavy and can't kill him first, the fault isn't with the shield. It's with your horrible aiming. The amount of time there is to react, locate the threat, and turn to it, is plenty of time to offset the extra HP from the overshield. I have been in this situation numerous times, both as the Heavy and the person jumping the Heavy. Just remember, if you get into a straight up 1v1 with the Heavy, where he can see you at the same time you can see him, it's pretty much already over. As it should be. The class wasn't designed to be beaten 1v1.

Get rid of our med kits and lower the ammo we carry, and the game will be greatly balanced.

No **** sherlock. You entirely missed the point, but anyways - enjoy the rest of the HA rant and whine thread.

I think it's time for a change.

The one reason they gave HA so many HPs is that they envisioned this class to be the vehicle fighter, without much thought on how it might interact with infantry play.

The first part isn't needed anymore in my opinion and all we are left with is class that dominates every other class just be sheer weight of hit points.

Such disparities are huge in regards to FPS games. Yes, it is.

I don't believe the armor differences in PS1 between Rexo and Agile were this pronounced. There's no way the differences were ever this big. Even so, wearing Rexo forced you to move slower than agile.

I propose a speed change. If they want to be the tanks, with great guns and rockets, then let them move slower. There's no penalty or drawback for running around with that many hps, those guns and that shield. None.

Uhhh that's nonsense. No other infantry class outside of a max unit can soak up the damage, and DEAL the damage, to reliably take on multiple opponents like the heavy and win. Hell Adrenaline Shield keeps the damn shield going with every kill. That ALONE trumps anything else an LA, Infil, Medic or Engineer can bring to the table.

That fact alone shows how biased you are. Not like I needed any proof. It's pretty obvious you're firmly in the HA Shieldmoneky camp and want to keep the status quo.

Look I get it. Enjoy your crutch. I'm not trying to ruin your fun.

And whoever said use C4 against HA's as a counter is a complete fool. That only works on HA's who don't even see you in the first place or who are REALLY stupid.

Source? Because it sounds like something you just made up, or you stating an opinion as facts.

Hell if anything I would say that should be the role of AI Max's. They actually cost resources to pull. And the sad thing is, they're way easier to solo than a good HA player in most situations.

I can get behind that. Or at least limit them to one Medkit that only heals a certain percentage of health. But the ability to spam full health kits like no tomorrow combined with the Overshield and everything else is just all kinds of stupid.

All infantry should be equal on the field against other infantry. HA shield should be removed and Infiltrator given full hp.

Or at least balanced against each other better. But any statement by a player claiming "HA's were just designed to wreck you all RAAWWWR!!!" is bringing some kind of World Of Warcraft balancing logic to a military shooter.

What's really silly is that a "Heavy" assault can run as fast as an Infiltrator or "Light" Assault. Honestly what's with that?

The other alternative, instead of a speed nerf, is to give that over shield a long, long cool down.

I'm talking fire suppression or longer cool down. Get rid of adrenaline pump completely if they go this route.

I think a speed nerf, cool down nerf or just simply buffing other classes would be the most non-painful way of adjusting the disparities, without affecting the overall mechanics.

All infantry units should be equally viable to driving/piloting. Right now the engie class is mostly the only class to bring. This needs to change.

Change it so entering a vehicle removes your tool slot and it will make things way more balanced.

This childish tactic just makes you look foolish. You can't enter a debate and just juxtapose things around and call it a day. You haven't actually made a point.

You might have a point if the game didn't have Light ASSAULTS and COMBAT Medics. While Engineer is designed to be complimentary for vehicle play, the fact that there are infantry units in this game clearly designed for combat roles dictates there should be some sort of balance.

makes no sense.

Wouldn't it just be enough to make the shield work only in frontal direction ( 90°-110°) and slow down turning speed on activation?
Should make flanking viable against HA (exposed flanks and back), while still let HA have an advantage in head on fights.