I think that Scout Rifles should be much more prevalent for Infiltrators. That is why I am making this post. Most of us know that Scout Rifles need a nice buff, the automatic ones. I have no idea what it should be, maybe making it require even less headshots. I like how the Tomoe feels, but its headshot TTK is still around where everything else's headshot TTK is at. I suggest we turn that into a 3 headshot kill. This may have been done in the past, I don't know, but I honestly don't care. You may notice that this is entitled "Rework SMG Infiltrators". To me, they are very powerful and pretty dang good. I think that SMG Infiltrators should remain in the game, but only usable when you have the NAC cloak activated. That means that if you want an automatic weapon for your Hunter Infiltrator, you are forced to use an Auto Scout Rifle. I know people won't like this, but I really don't care. I think Hunter Infiltrators should truly be Headhunters. This is not to say that every other class or cloak shouldn't, but I think it should be especially important for Hunter Infiltrators. If NAC cloak doesn't work well with SMGs, then we should change the cloak to recharge faster. I don't think it should last longer to make up for it. I think NAC should be a quick burst cloak, and the upside could then be that there is no cloaking noise. How does that sound? Leave your comments and opinions down below, and do so tactfully.
I can see where you're coming from, though given the hate Infiltrators already have, I would worry people would only call for nerfs. The reason why people choose auto scouts is because SMG's lack the range (and sometimes damage) ASR's provide, whether it be min or max. If I were to make a change to the ASR's, it would be make them more faction-specific. The Tomoe is at least different in that it holds the same damage regardless of range and the additional 0.5x headshot multiplier. The 3 'faction-specific' ASR's are exactly the same as one another. I believe they should be changed. There's a lot of copy-pasted stat weapons in this games. E.g. shotguns and sniper rifles. There's already a bleed between different factions these days as is, so this would be a good time for ASR's to get reworked into something more faction-specific. The only thing different about them are their models... which is... pretty lazy to me.
I agree, but we should go further. Make almost all of the weaponry asymmetrically balanced. That could lead to imbalance, sure, but at the end of the day, I like differences. I think NC should make good shotguns and snipers, mostly cuz I love the Railjack, though I wish it had an alternative firemode like every other ESSR. VS can have good ARs and Carbines, TR can have good LMGs and Battle Rifles, and the rest is history.
Better SMG infils run NAC anyway. I think you should play the class a little more before you start recommending all these adjustments. The Tomoe is a beast as is. A 3 headshot kill at any range on a 750 rpm gun was beyond OP. ASRs do suck. I'd suggest a little less bloom per shot. And they're not entirely copy/paste. VS has a slower velocity and no bullet drop. Same as their shotguns.
I solely play Infiltrator. I have been playing a little bit of Heavy, Engineer, and Medic just to see how they feel, but I almost only play Infiltrator. I like my Tomoe. It functions well. I don't think you could get a really long range 3 headshot insta-kill very efficiently though. Plus, changing it to only one more headshot at range isn't all that much of a change really. If you need 1 more headshot to kill at range and you just consistently got 3 headshots, I think you can get another one just fine.
You want SMG infils to only use NAC. I can only assume that's because you think the longer cloak time of Hunter is OP? Unless you're sniping from long range or working in fields then NAC would be the easy choice for a close range infil anyway. Plenty of cloak for the distance you have to travel, 100 extra HP, plus damsge resistance if you cloak and bail. That's a confusing position you have. Or maybe I'm not seeing what you're seeing.
I didn't realize SMG infiltrators used NAC. I thought they mostly used Hunter and that is why they can get away so fast and so far. I literally forgot about this post until you mentioned it. You are probably right.
Hey now, don't talk bad about my SOAS. I honestly feel that in real world situations the ES auto scouts are at least as good if not better than the Tomoe simply because they don't suffer as much from body shots as the Tomoe. In an ideal situation sure the Tomoe is a beast but against an evasive opponent I think I'll take my ES scout. I do really wish that there was more differences between the scouts/shotguns/snipers of different empires than the sound they make and the VS bullet drop, though.
You could boost the Tomoe's body damage by a little bit and I still don't think it'd unbalance the weapon.
Do you main an SMG infiltrator? If so, more power to you -- if not, though, boosting your own gameplay by nerfing the main that other people play isn't the solution.
I don't know. The only place I'd rather have an auto scout than the Tomoe is point blank. I chronically ADS though, often when I shouldn't, so maybe that's why I love the gun so much. The only thing I think it could use is a little less bloom so it could take advantage of its flat damage at range. The Doku FS SMGs were alright. The BRs are great, though it's a let down that they're all basically the same except for the obvious VS superiority. So scout rifles would be a good contender for new FS guns. Doku mentioned he was done with PS2 weapons, but with this additional attention this game is getting, I'll believe it when I see it, maybe they could get him back on board for some infil love.
I am fairly certain everyone using the ES ASRs/Tomoe ADS a lot as the alternative would be less than optimal. Personally, I get more performance out of ES ASRs because I get more headshots with them + can effectively extend the range of the weapon because it has that sweet spot of a damage model of 143/652. Scouts are also my most used weapon class (especially ASRs). But that's the beauty of different weapons. They're different (Captain Obvious at your service!) so we can float about in our preferred boats.
