(Long post) Quantitative proof that the rocklet rifle is unbalanced

You have more or less copied my idea: Allow more sundies to be actually placed. I suggested the removal of NDZ of sundies, not of bases! On your side, this comes at the cost of funtionallity, but why?

I dont fear stacking sunderers, they genearte a very well defensible structure that is worth fighting for, jet has the same weakness like every sunderer in the game: Air and Armor, long range AV and ***** C4/mines.

But instead of having that solo Lightning blowing up the whole fight, or someone with C4 + RockletRifle or AT mines, the fight can go on, you can spawn longer in one place, and thus you can better react to dangers in said area: Lightning blew up one sunderer while you were on A-Point? New spawning players now can hunt him, and still reinforcements can coming.
Before the spawn died, no hunting but the 2 players that spawned in time and better back off, because 2 vs a tank on open field is meh...

I do fear stacking sundies. Imagine finding a shield-sunderer roadblock that's backed up by some repair/ammo sundies? Imagine having to blow up 3 shielded Sunderers near one garage? It's also a QOL improvement. If you don't have some kind of limitation or drawback, you get spawnscumming. One player places a Sunderer, the next player places it a bit closer just to get the spawns.This would be a discouragement for players to actually bring sunderers to the fight again and would reward bad placement. Who cares if your sunderer is spawncamped, you got the spawns and support ribbons! In fact the faster those guys die and respawn the faster you get your ribbons.

Now if you could perhaps "reserve" a spot? You place the Sunderer, but it won't deploy in another sunderers deploy zone until the "original" is destroyed. This way if the spawn sunderer is destroyed, the next one immediately deploys (even if you aren't near it) and functions. This way players can place backups but not create supa-dupa gunturret-shieldwalls with them.

I dont fear it: In this Exapmle we have 600 Narnites by 3 ppl.
I will buy a AV MBT 2/2 and a long range Harrasser 1/3, please?
Or maybe stealth flash with mines for 200 N and two players in total, blowing up one by one, but the shield?
Or one Lib and two AV Turrets?
Or an Ant base if nothing helps?
Gal crash and C4 Valk drop?

Or i just go around, capping the next base?

If they have more ppl in those sundies, i get more ppl to destoy them. The scaling is allways in favour of the attackers, to the pont where one can 1-Hit-Kill a sunderer.

This is a good idea, if one is really afraid of stacking, but it comes at the problem who's sundi will deploy next, My idea here would be to allow deployment through the vehicle-locking menue remotly. You will get the message, that the last sunderer you spawned is destroyed, so you can just open it and deploy yours anytime.

The addition of the Rocklet led directly to the death of small fights where I played. LA is too mobile and Rocklet makes their ability to take out a Sunderer too fast.

I used to spend a lot of my playtime getting Sundyes setup at quiet bases to start small fights. After the Rocklet came out, the ability to keep a Sundy alive for longer duration in a small fight became a nightmare. Small fights consistently ended much faster, and casual players eventually bothered less and less to join small fights other than the Stalkers looking to camp an enemy base.

If we want casual smaller fights, Rocklet has to be nerfed vs. Sundys. Or provide some non-Sunderer way to keep small fights going.

A while back, we saw PS2 Devs reduce the effectiveness of AV on Sundyes from various sources, and the addition of shields and cloak. All which helped Sundy keep small fights going longer. Then they add Rocklets, and it kills small fights. Which promotes more zerging (which is reliable and goes longer), which players complain about.

Players need to make a list of the kinds of gameplay they like and want to see more of. Then Devs need to tune the game to reliably provide more of that to be viable (for those things on the list that currently aren't viable).

Shield Sundy. Spitfire.
One Engineer, place some AI mines. Ta da.

If you can't kill one LA in a Small fight; Heaven help you.

New way for spawns: Forward-Station, FS, for Medics per the PTS.

More people... to kill an easier to increase number of Sunderer spawn points.
People spawn in, have AV, or jump into the dozen shielded sunderers; This is the Attacker's sunderer chain.

They are the ones with the vehicle advantage...
No Defender sundy would benefit from numerous sunderers unless inside a base where tanks can't reach.
IE those odd bases.

It favors attackers not defenders with the Sunderers.
Usually Sunderers are the Attackers as well.

I do like the remote deploy a bit.
Since I place a lot of Sunderers, I'd find it useful.

Engineer can kill Sundys well, but they don't have the mobility, evasion, and infiltration ability of an LA.

When I would setup Sundys to start Small Fights, sometimes an Engineer would take out the Sundy, but it wasn't that often and didn't just happen right away. In contrast, the LA taking out the Sundy after Rocklets were released, was often and would happen pretty quickly after the Small Fight started. LA was just too good at tracking back the enemy players to the Sundy, evading the enemy players, and then getting to the Sundy and taking it out quick.

I tend to park the Sundy a good distance from the base, otherwise it's too easy to find and take out by the enemy (especially by them just spawning a Tank). But putting it a distance from the base often means it has very little protection at the Sundy, and just a line of defenders between the base and Sundy as defense. This works fine against most Infantry, but it isn't very effect vs. LA in many bases (especially those with elevation or large cover only the LA can get to or move between easily) when that LA can find it, avoid enemies, get to it, and the destroy it fast.

Before LA could find it and get to it, but they were much slower at killing it and could often be killed before they could finish the job.

Sounds neat and encouraging. Have to see how it works out. And also see if it's actually used in Small Fights.

Jetpack sound.
Vulnerability in Flight, the time needed to C-4, and the rocklets need to be right up there - with the longest firing time.
As you need multiple salvos, none of which are quiet.
Add in the Spitfire, which will find & easily hit the LA if properly placed, you place Land mines in the predicted landing spots or place hidden from the spitfire.

An Infil is better at tracking, given sensor systems, and the ability to be literally hidden.
An LA is only good for it, when the opponent isn't using terrain & isn't paying attention.

The reason your sundy dies, is simple:
No defender, ample time to attack, and the C-4 is what does it mainly.
If it's a Shield: if it's not, well dear lord will it die fast as it ain't a shield sundy: A fortified spawn point.

Ironically, the Rocklet takes longer, exposes the LA for longer, and is nearly the same range as the C-4.
The Engineer is far worse, for quiet kills, as while the LA can avoid the allies leaving, the Engineer is dead silent.

This is from a Defender of Sundies, in large, small, and moderate fights - And someone practiced at killing them.
Traps are godly.
(as is a properly equipped sundy, a nice pistol, land mines, and a spitfire)
Mix that with a proper defensive position, or one that exposes the enemy more than you, and you are golden.

yeah, I can't wait for it either;
Mind you I should mention the data about:
It has a large detection radius to the enemy.
Dies to grenades.
Has a deployment-block for other Stations.
Has a range restriction on respawn (50-100 meters, off the top of my head)
Has a time limit for existence. (I think it was 2 minutes or something)
1 Per medic.
And If I recall, it's in the aux slot.

It should be effective in all fights.
But mind you, an single Infil with a good throw can take it out.
Planing proper placement would be key.

I usually stay as Stalker Infil the whole time. From getting to the enemy base (and Spawning the Sunderer from the best location), to setting it up, to triggering capture activity to get allies to join, to being a survivor when things go bad so I can get another Sunderer/battle going.

I think you're factoring your skill in defending your Sunderer, but most players don't have that skill, and it doesn't make sense to build a game around relying on the play of better players to make things work... unless you are making the game for the better performing players... which SOE/DBG typically does. Personally, I will lose most 1-vs-1 fights with Infantry, especially the LA that come hunting for Sunderers. I only usually kill the Sunderer killers because they are focused on the Sunderer. And the average player performs like me, especially the solo casuals that join and play in these small fights. And in factoring my skill level and those of the people who join me in small fights, it's the LA that has been the main thing that ends our fights.

You can pencil it you however you want. And I believe that LA is not a problem for you. But for me and the small fights I start or join, it's the LA+Rocklet that has consistently been the game ender.

If you want to tell me PS2 is not for solo or casual players, except for zerging, that's fine too. I'm not a fan of that design, but it fits what current PS2 is.

Oh. Doesn't sound like it's really very casual usable. 2 minutes of deploy ability and 1 activation won't save a small fight of casual players. They don't have Squad Beacons, mic communication, Certed up characters, etc. They are hardly ever Medic either.

Sounds like DBG/SOE is building for another Ducks Unlimited park for the hardcore players to shoot ducks in a barrel, but (again) they're building a park that also drives off the non-hardcore player "ducks" (except those that stick to zergs).

As a Stalker, unless you switch to Engineer, you have only AI mines, and the smallest amount of them.
And that's just switching to Engie for the mines for the moment, and switching back.

If your side can't defend it, having a second doesn't achieve much unless a change in tactic is done.

All it takes is a spitfire, some land mines, and being alert.
My skill is doing it with an Archer, or basic pistol; not the placing of a turret or land mine.

That's not an issue with the LA;
If you can't kill the LA, and that's not from their rocklet rifle, then the rocklet isn't related to your actual problem.
Your problem being the inability to kill 1 guy.
In larger fights, that 1 guy expands to 3-15 LAs at once.
If the LA needs to lose the ability to kill the Sunderer, to the point that someone who couldn't kill them has enough time to do so, which I assume is 2-3 respawns, that LA can't kill the Sundy at all past 1v1.

Causal capable; Sound is obvious.
Cliff is obvious.
Placing down a turret in open space? Oh yes, causal. No special set-up.
Throw grenade: to hell with friendly-fire, Sundy lives.
Try these, even as you can't solo the LA, the spitfire can take half the dolt's health away.


Well, considering any medic can put it down easy, like a Sundy but without the driving skill needed.
They don't have any squad **** correct, if they aren't in one; However placing it down is easy.
As well, it's not built for the use of "casual" to the level of "No planning it out"

It isn't a mystical "Hit the combo right, and use with the other 3 magic keys to activate"
it's a pad you place, that has a short range that lasts for 2 minutes.
It's basically like having a medic fire off a heal aura, for simplicity's sake but it allows respawns rather than heal.

Drop & run capable.

Before Rocklets, I didn't have the problem. And that's me doing it for years in these small fights. Other Infantry methods are too slow. Even if they kill me, I can respawn and come at em again before they can finish. Old LA, you could even just spawn as an Engineer and use the repair gun to put the Sundy into a health level that takes them forever with the crossbow to finish. Engineers were only a problem when they drove a Flash in so they could drop the mines in place right away.

Typically I'd be sitting in the Sundy with it locked to others. Gave me a good vantage and decent firepower. Pre-Rocklet, the biggest threats where an opponent pulling a Tank and driving it tot he Sunderer and then outgunning it. After Rocket, it was LA. They could drop the 2 C4, then land and Rocklet to finish.

And yes, I used Cloak. Had to in order to get the Sundy in place and in order to keep it from being easy Air food.

It's only 2 minutes. And it's not multi-use, unless the Medic can respawn on his own Deploy device. Which seems unlikely. And even if he can, he has to keep spamming respawn to keep it up. And casuals may use it, but they won't go the extra distance of actually then going and getting a Sunderer of their own to start a new beachhead. So it will only last until the enemy knocks it out, which they will have the force to do if they've already taken the Sunderer.

Casuals don't have Squad Beacons. And they typically don't bring any Sunderers with them unless it's an ally zerg (which is kinda weird, cause they used to years ago). And this Medic tool does not seem viable as a casual fight cornerstone either.

I can see the Medic deploy use in hardcore gameplay. And I can see its use in Zergs. Two styles of play that are already super dominant in their tactical tool support.

It's not the type of tools they are adding that buffs and promotes hardcore and zerg play, it's how they are tweaked. Neither hardcore nor zerg gameplay interests me.

Server Smash was the pinnacle of hardcore play, and it had a boring meta of abusing a handful of dumb broken tactics/units rather than interesting strategy and tactics. Server Smash was also only possible in short lived, massive coordinated events, and the Devs failed to support it as a common experience in the game... which then asks the question why design for it if its just a rare niche anomaly with a minuscule half-life? I applaud the players who made Server Smash happen, I bash the Devs who never delivered a better SS meta and who didn't make SS type large scale play viable in the Standard Game.

Outside of SS, hardcore is mostly elites stomping inferior units with dumb broken tactics only they can do. Which is very boring to me.

EQ gave us Cheal. It led to a very dumb broken raid tactic of cheal rotation. Figures that SOE/DBG would keep up with the dumb narrow tactics in their other games, short cutting the actual development of broader and more interesting gameplay.

So many things done right!
... and you are telling me that you cant kill a single LA? Try a kobalt!
And place it so you have some field of view. A stealth sunderer should NEVER be parked in garages and other obivous spots. Better let the spawns run 10 m, that range is used by your guns!
If the infantry push is coming (aka the front is your sundi) pack your things and move! Better run than beeing farmed.