[Suggestion] Darklight Riot Spotlight for Valkyrie Gunner

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Capernici, Apr 9, 2018.

  1. Capernici

    I’ve been thinking about this one for a while, and I think it could really amplify the concept of “air support” as opposed to “air intervention”.

    The idea is to add a new weapon option for the Valkyrie gunner seat that is a turreted riot spotlight. Here would be its list of its properties:

    - An effective range of 150, 200, or 250m (or some other range that balances its usability without requiring the Valkyrie to be excessively close to combat.
    - Darklight capabilities, which strongly illuminate ALL cloaked targets in the field, including Sunderers, ANTs, & nightmare users.
    - Flash and concussion visual effects (conc effect slightly less than a standard conc grenade. Flash effect less than a standard flash grenade, thus producing a white washout effect), which affect all non-max infantry inside the illunimated zone.
    - At night, it brightly illuminates everything in the illuminated zone, and increases brightness contrasts for those in the cone, making it more difficult to make out features outside of the zone.
    - Due to the intensity of the light, the spotlight’s glare makes it very difficult to see anything within close proximity to the spotlight (by angle distance from spotlight measured by observer, like how weapon accuracies are measured) while it is facing you. (Thus, a ground-skimming spotlight Valkyrie could hover over an infantry advance to provide visual cover)
    - Blinds IR/NV users.
    - Either blinds heat vision users OR becomes easily identifiable and visible to heat vision users.
    - Completely disables tracking on IR projectiles, but (due to presumed heat buildup in the spotlight) attracts heat-tracking projectiles, possibly even causing lock-ons to change targets to it.
    - Gunner gets assist xp when enemies are killed in the illumination zone.
    - Spotlight relies on the Valkyrie’s primary on-board power source, and thus disables the Valkyrie’s standard squad AMS feature, but does not override Logistics Specialist.
    - Spotlight’s “ammo” is a single, no-reload, no-heat-bar, pool of power which slowly drains while the spotlight is being “fired”.
    - Ammo pads are the only thing that can resupply fast enough to support constant firing, while ammo printer and ammo sunderers resupply at a non-sustainable rate.

    - A tight beam attachment could tighten the beam’s angle to a more exclusive zone, but significantly amplifies con and flash effects, and could possibly apply light effects to MAX suits.

    “Air Support” in Planetside 2 as it is now, is better phrased as “Air Intervention”. Aircraft don’t so much support ground troops, but rather compete with them for kills, simply because there is an inability for infantry and aircraft to coordinate past a certain, arbitrary value that is present in games that boast “Air Intervention”, and provide. The Valkyrie spotlight would be a huge step towards solving this problem.

    If you have any more ideas for features, or if you think certain features should be built upon, please tell.
  2. Doc Jim

    This sounds extremely unpleasant. I believe that messing with people's vision and abilities should only be possible at close ranges and at the cost of exposing oneself as is the case with EMP, flash and stun grenades for infantry. So for this reason alone I am opposed to the suggestion.
    Furthermore, the Valkyrie can already support ground troops with its scout radar which has a range of 200m.
  3. Capernici

    Ideally, the visual effects would be properly balanced (and well-countered by implants & by being a MAX), without removing them.
    As for scout radar, when was the last time you saw a Valk in a fight primarily to provide scout radar, excluding tight-knit squads?
  4. Calissai

    What have You been drinking sir o_Oo_O:eek:
  5. Doc Jim

    Yesterday, I was flying it :)
  6. Capernici

    Congratulations! You are capable with your use of air. The same cannot be said for pretty much the entire Emerald server. Aircraft are used for transportation and ground-pounding, and pretty much nothing else. Anyone competent or exploratory with their aircraft is a rare sight, but definitely not unwelcome.
  7. LordKrelas

    So basically a flying death-inducing field that ends all ability for infantry to survive, attached to a Valk.
    Add in any ally, and that's pretty much free kills in the area; even more so with a second Valk with a gun.

    IE, that's more of a disruption weapon than a support tool.
    If it actually helped allies, rather than cripple the enemy entirely into screwed-villa it would likely be more easily called "support" rather than Assist-Weapon.

    After all, would you like a fly-by-valk to strip near all control, blind, and decloak you (if infiltrator)?
    Do this around a sundy, and you just turned that spawn into the easiest farm possible..
  8. hansgrosse

    I like the idea of a Valk-mounted darklight spotlight, but I don't like the idea of flash and conc effects being attached to it. I could see adding a coaxial Kobalt or something to give the gunner something in the way of Lethality, but beyond that I'd say it should just be a big darklight.