You guys have really done a fantastic job on these new attachment choices and made the game so much more fun. There are veterans who I could never touch before who are now within my reach if I made the right attachment choices. It's all I think that can be asked from a new player or veteran alike. Granted there are some imbalances seen with shotguns, but you folks caught on to it pretty fast. This brings me to my main topic. The forever camping of vehicles and how overpowered they can be due to firepower and mobility, especially in mass. It's a noble concept to think a group of players like an entire squad can concentrate fire on one vehicle, but more vehicles can concentrate fire on a single squad than their ability to repel back. Could we possibly have attachment choices on anti vehicle/air weapons? Many of the launchers just feel one and the same with no real variety. Things like the Swarm for instance have a toggle, but it is often confusing to see what it can do. So much more can be done to enhance the use of sub par weapons. Rocket choices for launchers that have shorter distance but more damage up close or vice versa a rocket with fast travel but less damage and better tracking, even one that can be cluster rockets or ones that have cluster flak, tank buster rockets or even good old fashion stingers that actually hurt aircraft, even a emp rocket would add flavor, rockets with better heat seeking choices or even infra red, definitely better scope choices for customization, there are limitless attachments choices for customization on launchers that is untouched territory that can be explored.
It would be so easy. For example different rocket/missile types ro equip: - laser upgrade. Dumpfire rockets are upgraded to missiles, the same speed and same projectile drop but with a small ability to move left or right to help it aim. - airburst rocket. Slower than usual but can be manually detonated, sending a shotgun pattern forwards that shreds infantry and light armor. - flak rocket. Its a rocket, with flak ability. Unlike regular flak it would have a flak detection radius of 1 or 2m, rather than the whopping 8m current flak has. - airburst flak rocket/missile. This is how real anti-air missiles and autocanon ammunition works. Once the proximity fuse or locking mechanism thinks its close enough it will detonate, sending a payload of smaller submunitions in a shotgun pattern forwards to shred the aircraft. This rewards aiming: off to the side and the submunitions miss or only a few hit, dead center and you deal full damage (which should realistically be more than a regular lock-on as we reward skill here). There's also some stuff you can add to the rocketlauncher: - data uplink. Lets you lock on to enemy aircraft after the missile is in flight. Would require you to maintain lock rather than fire-and-forget. Locking would be quicker but have a smaller lock-on angle (you need to aim closer to the center to hit). - pre-loaded tubes. Instead of reloading, the player carries disposable rocketlaunchers and simply switches to another once the previous one is fired. To compensate it cannot be replenished at ammo boxes and you carry less total ammunition. - tripod/high bipod. Lets the player go into deploy mode and fire higher velocity rockets/missiles. Downside is that you cant move until you redeploy (repack the tripod).
I like these ideas. I would add to them by suggesting something like the PLO or SOFLAM systems used in the battlefield series to make infiltrators and heavies work together. I would also advocate for range buffs to AA launchers so they can actually be a threat to aircraft. And I would recommend the devs add deployable SAM turrets for engineers and Active fire-and-forget launcher to heavies that function like the striker missiles do now, but with a single high-damage warhead instead of the strikers sustainable fire. They should also explore the idea of shoulder mounted railguns for the NC, Laser AT weapons for VS, and recoilless rifles for the TR. NC Railgun: Based on the max railgun I outlined in the new MAX weapons thread a while back. Smaller weapon for heavies, requires charge time, high damage. Similar to the VS lancer, but with the physical projectile, higher damage but longer charge time, projectile travel time is also slightly slower. Perhaps make it a single shot super high damage round to further differentiate it from VS Lancer. Good verses tanks and MAXs, and mediocre against aircraft. Great against sky whales. Smaller damage output than the larger MAX variation. VS AT laser. Scaling damage HA weapon. Low damage at first, but grows more powerful as it is held on target. Also outlined in VS max thread. Alternatively, the vs could have the HA version be a collective weapon, where the more lasers are pointed at a target, the more they all do. Or they could weaken the target, making then take more damage from other sources. TR Recoilless rifle: Shoulder cannon, semi auto, 60-80 MM. Medium damage, high velocity, steady fire rate, and customizable ammunition, (HE, AT, Flak). Three shots per reload. Estimated damage per shot: 300=400 for standard ammo, 350-450 for AT (on vehicle hit). possible variations for MAX suits as well that allow for lockdown benefits. For heavies through, just the increased projectile speed will go a long way in reliably engaging and ambushing vehicles. Note: all of these are skill based AT weapons that require varies demands of the wield and offer risk and reward gameplay options. All three offer specific, but effective, gameplay options, and all three would have options for improvement for such things as charge times for NC railgun, power charge for VS laser, and reload speed or alternate ammos for TR recoilless rifle. I also think the devs should really consider experimenting with AT rifles and alternate rocket types for launchers.
