I am suggesting further certifications for the Engineer's Ammunition Package utility. Below is the current certifications. I know the Wiki is outdated, but I know for a fact that the Ammo Pack hasn't changed in a very long time, so these numbers are still correct. Level Cost Description1 | 0 A deployable ammunition pack that replenishes the ammo supplies of nearby soldiers.2 | 60 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 2 minutes.3 | 100 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 3 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 4 meters.4 | 150 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 4 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 5 meters.5 | 200 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 5 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 6 meters.6 | 300 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 6 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 7 meters. There should be further certifications for the Ammunition Package. This change would not hurt any aspect of the game, at all. I know most people don't cert into their Ammo Packs until higher levels when they are running out of things to spend certs on, so they wouldn't be affected as much. My suggested next certifications: 7 | 400 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 7 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 8 meters. 8 | 500 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 8 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 9 meters. 9 | 1000 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 10 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 10 meters. The numbers are subject to change, this is just what I thought made the most sense, with how most certification costs in a similar matter. Many of you think the certifications for even the previous levels are not worth it, but after the resource revamp I know a lot of people have over 9000 certification points. I play as mostly a support player, my low framerate dissuades me from engaging enemies on the front lines, and this would be a great asset to any team. Could you imagine a single Ammunition Package supplying an entire aircraft landing pad? It would in no way break any aspect of the game. Some of you think people will cert into these just to get more certs, but there is no way you could possibly regain the certs spent with resupplying alone, and this is a huge help for any team. Many players will spam 'v4' to ask for ammunition, even if there is an ammo pack several meters away. I hate it when people have to stand directly over a lower-level ammo pack just to resupply their weapons. TL;DR Further certifications for the Engineers Ammo Pack, see "suggested next certifications"
I apologize for the disorganized data, I was unaware that my copy/paste chart would be converted to text
I like this idea, however if I may suggest: 9 1000 Increases the lifespan of the Ammunition Pack to 10 minutes; also increased the radius in which the pack will resupply ammo to 10 meters and allows the Engineer to carry a second Ammunition Pack which replaces the turret slot. The reason for this is that it takes a dedicated Engineer to cert up that far and by losing the turret's slot they'd be giving up their ability to suppress vehicles / infantry in order to be more supportive.
Definitely a fan of adding massive cert dumps to anything that isn't vertical progression. Improving ammo packs are mostly just lateral progression. (Almost never would the improved radius be the difference between life and death for someone, although it would be a teeny-tiny little increase.) The only concern is "ammo XP cannibalization", where one player's massive-radius ammo pack actually deprives lower-end players of being able to generate XP. Personally I'd like to see that style of cert follow a much flatter progression: Rank 1 recon darts should have the same radius and capacity as max-rank darts. Only the duration should increase. Ammo pack radius should be normalized across all ranks. Only the duration should increase. Mostly I feel that new players should only be constrained by play-experience and skill, not by their character being under-leveled. That doesn't mean we can't have some sidegrades that cost way more than others though (providing something for high-end players to work on.)
An easy and reasonable solution to that would be to give priority to the ammo pack that's closest to the player, I like playing support on my Engineer so I would not mind at all if I only got 1 out of every 10 resupply ticks as long as everyone's able to reload their weapons with fresh nanites.
Well wide-radius ammo packs resupply through walls/ceiling. So the problem is more that: A vet and a newbie deploy ammo packs on the 2nd floor of one of those 3-floor capture points. A bunch of players who are about 2 mags short enter the building on the bottom floor. Even if they were going to run directly to the newbie's ammo pack, by the time they reach the 2nd floor the veteran's ammo pack has already topped them off -- so no XP for the new player.
That still doesn't really alleviate the problem given how distance is scaled. A less obvious problem is the incentive to cluster them all up near a cluster of players, where they all compete, rather then incentivize them to spread out for better coverage. A couple earlier suggestions included limited number of resupplies per box, in order to make them higher maintenance, and give opportunity for newer players (who tend to be more single task focused anyway) to build up certs. Higher ranks can then expand range without ubiquitously superseding the lower ranked ones. This change seems to work out well because the certed Engineers tend to focus more on their other equipment half the time, where as uncerted engineers tend to avoid them when the efficiency is too low (like repairs, Mana Turrets, mine fields, etc).
You're right, it does give a second pack. Also, 7 metres and 6 minutes is more than enough. My packs don't last that long because I move with the troop and put the ammo packs there, where the soldiers are. Only long tower-defenses require more time, but thats not a problem. Highest ammo rank seems to override lower packs, so a higher radius would be unfair.
Ok cool, I'm glad I wasn't told wrong. And yeah I don't think you really need that crazy of an ammo pack. I know nanites are magic but they can only go so far! I play my engi actively, moving along the front lines and dropping a pack for those who I know need it, and then after a minute or two move to a new location. I just want to max out the pack for that 2nd one, that'll be awesome
Every tool that is certed is more effective than any uncerted tool. Medical applicator, regen field, repair tool, recon darts, motion spotters, radars, etc. Why would the engineer's utility be any different? According to you, every tool and utility is unfair. I was unaware that I get two packs, it seems like when I place a second pack the other one disappears.
Let's have a look at the costs: normal ammo pack: 60+100+150+200+300 = 810 certs suggested addons: 400+500+1000 = 1900 certs Thats 1900 cert points a newbie could put to other things, i.e. nanoweave or flak armor, but if he does, the higher ammo pack from the veteran player overrides his pack -> no xp for him. The high cert requirements makes the extended ammo pack unfair. Only the last rank gives you 2 packs.
