[Suggestion] Class Combination: Light Assault + Infiltrator

Right now, I see two root issues with Infiltrators.

1. They're NOT good at sneaking around, and
2. Light Assaults ARE good at sneaking around.

After a few bored minutes one day, I started thinking about how awesome a Light Assault with a Sniper Rifle would be. It would be a better sniper than the Infiltrator is right now. That didn't make sense. It seemed to me that classes should get abilities that support their main weapons, and the ability to cloak isn't that important when you're engaging targets from half a kilometer away, whereas the ability to jet to a good roost would be amazing.

So here was my imagined solution: Combine the Light Assault and Infiltrator classes. Take away the cloak. Final class stats would look something like this:

...Lightfiltrator? Infilsault? Light Infiltrator!
400 shield
500 health
Weapon choices: SMG, Carbine, Sniper Rifle, Semiautomatic and Auto Shotguns (NO PUMP SHOTGUNS)
Ability slot: Jump Jets (all variants)
Can carry up to 2 C4
Adrenaline Pump suit slot available
Nanoweave Armor NOT available
New "Stealth Sheathing" unique suit slot that prevents detection by Proximity Radar

With this new class, hacking would become a universal certification (Everyone can do it).

Also, Scout Rifles would no longer be a thing in an ideal world. Allowing a class both Carbines AND Scout Rifles is redundant, if not OP.

Certifications that no longer exist should, of course, be refunded.

Benefits:
"Light" now means something - The new class will actually BE light with 100 less health than everyone else.
Cloak visibility issues 'vanish' - The cloaking device is no longer an item, so we don't have to fix it.
Snipers can snipe - The Jump Jets would allow the new class to get into good sniping perches.
Sneaking - The Jump Jets would also allow the new class to come from an unexpected angle.
Less Teamkilling - Heavy Assaults wouldn't get friendly-fired for killing terminals anymore (they can hack now).
Pump Shotguns are for Heavies - Only Medics, Engineers, and Heavy Assaults can now use pump shotguns.

Drawbacks:
Possibly Slightly OP - Range + Mobility = Too Much Win?
More Changes = More Whining - Every change made to the game, regardless of how good, will result in tears.
Choice by Default - The new class would need to be given a choice of two primaries: a Sniper or a Carbine.
Pump Shotguns are for Heavies - Only Medics, Engineers, and Heavy Assaults can now use pump shotguns.

The Shotgun changes are listed in both categories because I know they'll provoke... Feelings.

Any thoughts on this idea?

With the balance already being tough for light classes and add to the fact that LA aren't really sneaky anymore I doubt this would go through. We could get scouts or BRs in our class update though, so keep dreaming large

No.

Thank you for your constructive criticism, sir.

no

HAHAHA... I had to think about it for a minute but you're right, we don't need cloaking to snipe and LA's always get the best perches.

It just seems really underwhelming. I've fought a Lot of LA's who consistently only walk away from the fight (with like 10% health) b/c of that extra 100 shield and Nano... You can't "element of surprise someone who's constantly juking back and forth and "looking up". You need a distraction.

Even if the whole class-combining thing was scrapped and my whole long post above rendered obsolete (which it could be, I wouldn't cry) Light Assaults could deal with having 100 less shield. They're called "Light" for some reason, right? Yet they have the same amount of health as Heavy Assault?

Also, I know Pump-Actions are a polarizing issue, but I think they should be put into a category that LA's can't use. They're fine as a weapon type, but not for a class that already has so much mobility.

Heavy assaults get overshield AND they, for some reason unknown to most designers, got both the heavy gun and the launcher. They are also (last time I checked) the most played class in the game. Please leave here if all you're going to do is yell for nerfs and be obnoxious.

No.... not even close. That's more of an Imbalance on HA's having heavy weapons for every possible scenario all at once (plus Conc 'nades) yet suffering no difference in Speeds, turning, or Hitbox from all the other classes. HA is historically imbalanced right now. This isn't me saying this, this is 10+ years of better designed multi-class MMO's AND shooters speaking here. You never give the class with the-best combat versatility*dps; the same exact tier of dodginess as your "light" classes.

Thank you for that comment, I absolutely agree with you.

Back to topic: HELL NO!

...

Yeah, reasoning. So basically you wanna scrap the Infiltrator class completely and, since someone has to do it, let the LA's snipe instead. And what now if I wanted to play the Infiltrator? What if we didn't want to play LA's, sniper rifle or not?
There are very many ways to play this game, which basically is what makes it fun. People play in different styles and for different reasons. We're a community of very many, very different kinds of players.
You're basically suggesting to tell one of those kinds to go play elsewhere, because from now on, they can't play their game anymore. One of that kind of players being me. So no, I'm not supporting that idea. Fix the damn class, don't erase it entirely.

I think that when they re-vamp these classes you might think differently. Personally, I think this class would be super imbalanced.

NO

That makes every fn rock or tower just swarmed by lightfiltrators. It would be TERRIBLE. I know a lot of people who main infiltrators, love their niche and I doubt they would be happy if devs remove cloak. I love LA class and their health pool + nanoweave armor. With the removal of those I would be doomed to use HA up close. I'm against it as HA is already my go to mid-long range class.

Actually, I don't fully agree to that. Seeing as sniping is hard to learn, only mildly rewarding and doesn't accomplish too much in the long run anyway, I wouldn't see the Lightfiltrator as much OP. Most of them wouldn't be sniping anyway, they'd simply do what LA's do now. Oh and have a crapload of optional weapons to not use. Still hate the idea though.

Can't believe we're even still talking about this.

Don't like this idea. The cloak is actually very effective if used correctly, especially at night. If they would just force all graphics setting to display the cloak in the same manner we'd be set. I doubt that having to render one or two cloaked infiltrators in a more advanced way will strain lower end GPU's that much. And even if they do... tough. There's no reason that playing a game on a different graphical setting should give you an advantage against a certain thing.

Back to the original point though... don't like the idea. Infiltrators do what they do quite well if used correctly and the same can be said of LA's. This change would likely piss off a large number of Infiltratos and LA's. Also... it's just unrealistic. SOE isn't going to completely change two classes at this point in development.

Keep thinking though, it never hurts to have ideas!

Yeah, I knew it wasn't really a realistic thing.

I actually appreciate how many of you guys have constructive comments instead of "You're a moron we're not doing this."

I only read the beginning a bit before writing this.

This idea is actually why I use the AC-X11. While it is poorly suited for a sniper role, it is the best I can get. If I could get a battle rifle on my light assault (getting the certs would take a long time, stupid game crashes right before an alert ends), you would bet I would be jetting up on rocks and buildings to harass enemies from afar when they think they are safe (... is kind of what I do now, but I bet it would be better).

This is so dumb I got cancer. Thanks.

I actually kind of like the idea. In my version, the cloak stays, but it eats the same energy source the jetpack does, forcing the (newly renamed) Recon soldier to make hard choices about sneaking around or flying over obstacles.

LA should be an aggressively disruptive class

INF should be a sneaky sabotage specialist

combining them isnt really a good idea

they just have to improve differently,as soon as the INF and the LA update hits they will feel much more complete

I disagree with this idea simply because nobody with jump jets should be able to possess a sniper rifle. And this would just nerf the current light assault in favor of the infiltrator. Having less health than everybody? No thanks, I use my jump jets quite aggressively. This would just inspire snipers to get into hard to reach places and camp all day.