[Guide] NC for beginners

I agree. Last night I played for 2+ hours on my BR 20 and 24 VS and then 4 hours on my BR 66 NC. Guess which characters did a lot better in terms of SPM and KD.

The problem is a lot of people claim NC is fine. While even a pistol will grant you a kill once in a while that doesn't mean its fine.. While the silly called god saw might kill people once in a while doesn't mean its fine. Our weapons are pigeon holed into something all the time.. People claiming just use jackhammer I also question if they actually have used it themselves.. id trade it for tr minigun in a microsecond.. then id have huge dps, be able to kill a medium and still have less recoil on that mini gun that I do with any standard nc weapon. The next thing is our weapons are 1000 certs.. almost all of them are. Then you have god aweful bloom, cof ratings... like the gd7f one of my favorite weapons, some reason soe gave it the bloom and cof rating of a 167 weapon even though its a 143.. Its like whoever designs weapons intentionally take whatever pros our weapons have and heaps tons of negatives.

First time I played tr just for kicks I went 23/3 with my t9 carv.. I was blown the **** away at how easy it was.. same with my vs trial.. but I refuse to switch I shouldn't have to abandon all my station cash and certs to play a balanced faction.. all of them should be close. I am exhausted though.. forum post after forum post have begged the devs to tweak our weapons.. give us a high dps weapon that's good close/medium/long ranges. Make it not cost 1000 sc or 1000 certs err 700sc... same difference. adjust the cone of fire and bloom, tweaks is all we need.. not asking for earth shattering buffs.. I just want the same club the other cavemen have.

observing the wild NC in their natural habitat

After searching a bit I found this spreadsheet which compares the damage output of the phoenix against various targets, both before and after the nerf, as well as other launchers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Akqy-9TdLEOKdExXRG1ubDlFY0x3bGR1N2NUalBLVnc&output=html

You can also go into the VR and try it for yourself. I myself haven't unlocked the phoenix yet because 1000 certs is quite a bit for a "toy". Even though I play HA almost exclusively there are still many other things that take priority.

How to play NC.
Grab Vanguard w/shield & AP and enjoy beating every other land vehicle in a fight. Vehicles not your thing? Try an infiltrator, and don't worry you have the best default rifle. Hell sniper rifles be damned, like a TMG-50 on crack the God Saw is the best long range LMG a heavy can get. But if you don't like fighting at a distance pick up a Jackhammer, it's now a straight upgrade over every other infantry shotgun in the game.

At least, that's how I play mine.

LOL SAYS THE GUY WHO DOESNT HAVE A NC CHARACTER

This is getting annoying now. Here's my retort.

After playing the NC for 73 BRs I can say for sure:

Our faction isn't nearly as bad off as you think.

Our tanks are awesome, our aircraft is competitive and unique, and our infantry weapons are just as good but harder to master.

Here's where the NC needs improvement: .75x movement speed carbine/LMG (we only have assault rifles), NC MAX needs better capability at range instead of being restricted to 10m effectiveness (where all MAX slaughter infantry), EM1 and C85 need huge buffs, Phoenix needs to be reworked for more DPS and viability outside its current niche (in particular to give NC a way to fight Harassers), Falcons need the deadzone fixed, Aegis Shield needs a buff (either sprint capability or larger surface area). The Enforcer could potentially use a change since it is just a Halberd with less AI potential and a net DPS increase against vehicles (meaning, just use a Halberd so you can also do AI). Jackhammer might need some tweaking.

That's pretty much everything you could possibly want changed, and most of those aren't even close to gamebreaking.

Here's the real state of the game: TR are in a great spot with basically everything as average+ and a decent number of things as a good bit above average (fractures/mosquito/striker/vulcan/etc.). VS have the overpowered ZoE MAX and a few boons such as amazing infantry weapons, but are otherwise pretty average with a few other things that need some tweaking. NC has a few things that stand out as rather strong such as the Vanguard, but are otherwise pretty average. However, they seem to have the most things that need fixing (which could just be because I don't notice the things VS/TR need since I don't play them, but the ones I mentioned way above stand out to me).

Overall the game is pretty balanced besides a number of things that need tweaking (which I just went into great detail about) and the ZoE MAX and Harasser that need toned down.

NC isn't as underpowered as most say it is. It is the hardest faction of the three but that's how we like it. If I wanted easy mode I'd play TR. VS for super easy mode.

I dunno, while I don't feel that the balance is that far off, I do feel that something is wrong, and the statistics back that up.

http://stats.dasanfall.com/

The WHY of it could be debated, but the fact that all NC, as a group, on all servers, are under performing... yeah. I think that takes it out of the realm of complaining, and more into the realm of realizing that something needs to be tweaked a bit. So far, every statistical observation shows the NC as under performing. I have yet to find anything that shows us as excelling. For me, the above statement just puts it in serious perspective. We're pulling the highest accuracy, the most headshots, and still the lowest K/D and SPM. Why?

I think the biggest fear though, is that in typical SOE fashion, if NC gets a balance pass, we'll end up OP.

Well if pretty much tho i would also increase base manuverability of our ESF while tweaking manu chasis upgrades soo it doesnt sux stock soo much.(Upgredes would give less benefits.) Give it like 5% more hp to compensate for bigger profile or shrink the whole model by 10-20%.

Replace stock Godsaw with a general purpose LMG or at least introduce one in 250-500 cert range.

Reaver "maneuverability" is fine though. All ESFs perform the reverse maneuver at the same exact speed, and the Reaver already has an advantage in many engagements because of more powerful vertical thrust (which is what most ESF battles make use of). Although, I do agree the hitbox could use reducing or a tiny bit more HP.

As for the LMG, the Gauss Saw is weird. I don't know whether it should stay as the default LMG or if the EM6 should replace it. The Gauss Saw has the faction traits of the NC but isn't really all-purpose like you said. In any case, the EM6 is a great all-purpose LMG.

EM6 is 500 cert I believe.

Highest accuracy and headshots can make sense. We fire less bullets and have vertical recoil, TR fires a ton of bullets with mostly horizontal recoil and the VS are in the middle.

The TR and VS spray much more than the NC simply because their guns generally let them do it more often. In addition, 167 damage guns tend to need burst firing more, while 143 damage guns have the capacity to fire in longer bursts due to larger volume of fire even with the same cone of fire. The 167 and 143 would still net the same damage, except 167 would drop damage because of burst and 143 drops because of cone of fire.

As for headshots, it's more likely for you to get a kill from a 334 damage bullet than a 286 bullet I suppose. Plus, spray vs aim. With 167 guns you get the most out of them by aiming. Which is also true of 143 weapons for the most part, but because you can just spray at the body with 143 weapons more easily, people will, thus less headshots.

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Regarding NC underperforming. NC weapons are harder to master than the VS/TR so that explains some of it. There's also the fact that the NC seems to have more below-average piece of equipment that need fixing, also lowering effectiveness of people that try those things out.

Also EM1 is 250cert which is tempting. But rather keep these and get EM6. Em1 is nice but sometimes feels just too weak.
And as for begginers...

If you are totaly new to FPS games - rly dont go NC.. just dont.

As goes for NC underperformance.. If i get into team with ppl which actually know where to point a gun and that W key moves them forward and death doesnt mean they have to create new character - I say its pretty fair square agains vs or tr. With even numbers.

Problem is that advertising to NC is like we are real heroes etc - freedom fighters, rebels that unfortunately attract ppl with and without fps experience.

When i first made a NC toon after playin alot of Vanu i was shocked bout teamplay they represent. Died gettin rez in 2secs ammo all around dont have to yell for it or search. Sundys placed in right spots not on opposite side of base in front of shield spawn and so on and so on. I was like WTF?! y i didnt played nc before.

And then other day ive simply wanted to throw my rig thru window when i find myself fighting underpoped with braindead ppl - i mean how many standing still like stones in open field nc you killed lately.. ?

As for esf - ok its big but it has a punch right - loads of vids on YT when reaver rly just rock.
The only thing which coudl use a tweak is a max - with some mid range AI weaps rest is just solid fine. As in promo vids - as long gun shoot straight its good enough.

And for love of god - change indar rotation already or alter line peris - regent - xeno - xr - or develop DLC with only this area for some of NC - at least on woodman. How in the world you can play same over and over and over. Whole map can be lost no hvar etc random vs capin allatum with 3 ppl but u can always find 48+ down below a map. Its just anoyin.

I wonder why there are always so many people stating: "NC is not as bad as you make them sound with all your proof and data and numbers and statitics. I get killed very often by a NC." But I never see somebody contributing FACTS to proof that the OP is not unneccesary.

I'm the definition of "average player" in any FPS.
Check out my stats, if NC weapons were that bad, you would not see that.

All this whining over nothing is silly.

Everybody who does not like NC please change your faction or quit playing. We have enough of pu$$ies in our faction who camps in spawn rooms and cries that they are loosing.
NC has the best guns of all factions so far except MAX.

Our Max is pretty good too actually.

Don't play the underdog card.

Not even ZoE maxes can save the VS from being facerolled by the TR on Waterson. Roll with us for a night, and you will understand how frustrating being the "underdog" can be...

I don't see why it is considered "good". If you don't mind, care to explain why you consider it good? I genuinely want to understand why. The only real advantage I see it has is MAX vs MAX at close range.

A lot of people say "NC MAX is so good because it kills everything in close range". Well, yeah, but that's the point of the AI MAX. The TR and VS MAX both obliterate everything 1-10m just as well as the NC MAX, especially the ZoE. If you send any MAX against 5 guys 1-10m, those 5 guys will always die within the same time frame regardless of which MAX you use.

However, the NC MAX is actually disadvantaged in AI IMO. It lacks the kills/magazine that the TR and VS MAX have, so after a few kills you need to reload, whereas I've seen the TR and VS MAX spray for the entire engagement. Speaking of, that's another disadvantage. The NC MAX simply can not lay down suppressive fire.

The last disadvantage I see is the range problem. Like I said, 1-10m each MAX kills everything. However, 10-15m the NC MAX quickly loses effectiveness and 15m+ they're basically a non-threat. Conversely, the TR and VS MAX can at the very least threaten infantry at twice that distance since it's the equivalent of hip-firing two LMGs with no cone of fire.

As for AV, the Ravens are awesome for sure. However, they lack versatility like the Fractures which can also hit Harassers and can do effective AI and anti-MAX. As a tanker, the VS ZoE MAX is the worst thing to fight since they're nearly impossible to take down (they literally need to stand still or move in a straight line while you and your gunner both hit them with perfect accuracy).

As for AA, the Shield is useless since it doesn't block splash, while the ZoE and Lockdown both improve bursters.

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I don't mind who it is, but someone explain to me what is so "good" about the NC MAX. I know it feels horrible to get killed by shotguns, but you would also die if the MAX had two LMGs for arms as well.