New battle rifles on PTS. Thoughts?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by The Shady Engineer, May 8, 2018.

  1. The Shady Engineer

    Personally I think they are a great addition.

    With a flat 334 damage model, very controllable recoil and a 6x scope with no sway, these rifles finally give non-infiltrators enough ranged firepower to make it a fair fight. Vanu gets an added benefit of their battle rifle having no bullet drop too.

    Also hooray for faction traits, which unlike the ES-SMGs, were implemented well on the battle rifles in my opinion.
  2. frozen north

    So, heres my first impressions:

    VS: Definitely the best one so far, and not just because it has the fewest crippling bug right now. I say this because it is by far the most versatile of the three. This is on top of it having great recoil, that generally makes it a great weapon.

    TR: This one is not terrible, but its far from great. The full auto firing feels sorta wasted with this weapon, especially given the recoil. On top of this, theirs a bug currently preventing the use of barrel and rail attachments at the same time. Also, its explosive ammo, while interesting, is not great, since it really does hinder damage. I do think it needs some attachment work, but otherwise, it shows potential.

    NC: I do think this will be one of the better ones. This is in part because this weapon steals the TR trait of having the best default magazine capacity. That, and the fact that its attachments are all actually pretty good. I'm not sure how good its piercing bullets will be in practice, but I do suspect that this gun may become the poster child for random multi kills. That is, if they actually do implement it, since it is currently bugged and not working. Still, a solid addition.
    • Up x 2
  3. Zak Preston

    new BRs in general are better than any other semi-auto rifle in the game
  4. DarkStarAnubis

    My 0.02 CHF:

    TR/Dragoon:
    Compared to the AMR-66 BR:
    - better damage model (kills in 2xHS versus to 3xHS)
    - worse RoF(185 versus 333 rpm)
    - worse magazine (8 versus 20)
    - similar speed, slightly better for the old BR
    - both have no sway
    - the explosive projectile adds 75 indirect DMG and reduce to 250 direct DMG -> who cares
    --> comparable, kind of Meh...

    Compared to the 99SV semi-auto:
    - worse damage model (the 99SV has 400-334, the Dragoon is flat 334, both kills in 2xHS)
    - worse RoF (185 versus 231 rpm)
    - worse magazine (8 versus 10)
    - both have no sway (the 99SV can equip ballistic computer) but the 99SV can equip a x12 scope
    - the explosive projectile adds 75 indirect DMG and reduce to 250 direct DMG -> who cares
    --> the 99SV is better

    VS/Obelisk:
    Compared to the Eidolon VE33 BR:
    - better damage model (kills in 2xHS versus to 3xHS)
    - worse RoF(185 versus 333 rpm)
    - worse magazine (6 versus 20)
    - similar speed
    - both have no sway
    - the heat mechanism coupled with the low RoF allows to fire almost forever
    - power reservoir --> useless
    - safety override --> no opinion
    --> comparable, kind of Meh with the exception of the endless firing option (as risky as it can be of course). Unlimited ammo you get anyway with the Ammo Printer implant so...

    Compared to the VA39 Spectre semi-auto:
    - comparable damage model (the VA39 has 400-260, the Obelisk is flat 334, both kills in 2xHS)
    - worse RoF (185 versus 231 rpm)
    - worse magazine (6 versus 10)
    - similar speed
    - both have no sway (the VA39 can equip ballistic computer) but the VA39 can equip a x12 scope
    - the heat mechanism coupled with the low RoF allows to fire almost forever
    - power reservoir --> useless
    - safety override --> no opinion
    --> the VA39 is better, with the exception of the endless firing option (as risky as it can be of course). Unlimited ammo you get anyway with the Ammo Printer implant so...

    NC/Bishop:
    Compared to the Warden BR:
    - better damage model (kills in 2xHS versus to 3xHS)
    - worse RoF(185 versus 333 rpm)
    - worse magazine (10 versus 20)
    - similar speed, slightly better for the old BR
    - both have no sway
    - Sabot round --> niche/borderline useless How many times you will find players aligned?
    - tungsten liner --> useless, more recoil for 16 DMG extra? "Thanks but no thanks"
    --> comparable, kind of Meh...

    Compared to the Gauss SPR semi-auto:
    - worse damage model (the Gauss SPR has 400-334, the Bishop is flat 334, both kills in 2xHS)
    - worse RoF (185 versus 231 rpm)
    - same magazine (10 versus 10)
    - similar speed
    - both have no sway (the Gauss SPR can equip ballistic computer) but the Gauss SPR can equip a x12 scope
    - Sabot round --> niche/borderline useless How many times you will find players aligned like lemmings?
    - tungsten liner --> useless, more recoil for 16 DMG extra? "Thanks but no thanks"
    --> the Gauss SPR is better

    Overall conclusion: DBG hasn't recovered yet from the Canis ****-storm and keep proposing Meh weapons with little gimmicks here and there and nice graphics hoping to capture the interest. Come on guys, you can do better than this...
    • Up x 2
  5. DIGGSAN0


    Why ever you use Swiss Francs (i am from switzerland lol)...it could be also 2 rappen but since we have the lowest currency of 5 Rappen (since 2006) it does make no sense.

    Back to topic:

    Do the new BR's feature a silencer?
  6. DarkStarAnubis

  7. Gustavo M

    If I had to resume my thoughts for all battle rifles, I'd say; "What if they made a battle rifle out of a Commie". It's not great, yet it's not terrible, either.
    I'm pretty sure players with great tracking/leading skills will faceroll lots of noobs w/ it, tho. Specially if you're a NC main -- the penetration mechanic will make lots of folks ask for a nerf, heh.
  8. Campagne

    Kinda disappointed as well.

    And a piercing mechanic for NC? Even if the round does full damage after passing through an enemy it's very unlikely to ever get a kill out of the deal let alone ever hit anyone with it.

    At times it could down right detrimental, accidentally punching through and hitting allies. Can't it just have a high velocity and nothing else instead?
  9. frozen north

    No they do not have suppressors.

    My overall opinion of them is not that great. I mean, in theory since their battle rfiles, the only class that can't use them are light assaults.

    Using the TR as an example though, heres the issue.

    Medics already can use the SABER, which up close will deal with 1 burst what the new battle rifle does in one shot, but the fire rate is much higher. Plus the saber has better capacity, recoil, and I believe velocity.

    For an infil, any semi auto sniper has the potential to work better, given that they have equal ranged damage save for the VS ( based on wiki), and better fire rates.

    On a side note, anyone else notice that the last few weapon additions for each faction all seem to have rather similar appearances?

    I find this most notable with the TR, since all three of the new guns ( jackal, watchmen, and this thing) have triple rotary barrels, side loading magazines, and the same general appearance.
  10. Liewec123

    there are some bases with long tunnels/bridges that force enemies to push down a narrow lane,
    imagine spamming 3 bodyshot kills down that tunnel with endless piercing, that thought makes me very, very happy XD
    20 guys running down a long narrow corridor (like the one at the base on amerish with the vehicle shields and jump pads)
    vs 4 guys behind deployable cover at the end of the corridor (because hey, engies can use this too!)
    and the 4 guys will shred through the 20 guys in seconds since only the enemies at the front of the 20 can take shots at the 4 guys behind cover, while the 4 guys behind cover will be hitting every single enemy infront of them, spray wildly and watch the kills roll in!


    outside of those tunnel scenarios, enemies will always clump up in chokepoints,
    and i'll be spamming the crap out of those chokepoints with this thing!
    ANYTHING in front of me will take damage, not just the first guy peaking around the corner :)
  11. Campagne

    Eh, I think you're over estimating the usefulness of the piercing ammo. It'd be very unlikely to ever see more than two or three players tops all lined up for one bullet even in narrow hallways and chokepoints. Wouldn't likely survive very long either against proper automatic weapons in short range engagements.

    And I'm sure nanoweave will have something to say about that 3HK. :p
  12. frozen north

    It does.

    Heck even the 50hp personal shield boost forces it to be a four shot.
    • Up x 1
  13. Corezer

    I wonder if the deployable cover, being a "hittable" object, can be penetrated...
    • Up x 1
  14. Doc Jim

    Just going by looks, mag size and general feel, the Bishop is really sexy while the other two are... weirdos.
  15. boomchacle

    if you hit someone directly with an explosive round, doesnt it add the explosive damage to the regular damage? that should make the bullets do more damage past 10 meters but much less below 10 meters
  16. frozen north

    It does deal both sets of damage with the hit, but since the explosive rounds impact damage reduction is greater then the explosive damage gain, the net result is still an overall damage loss.

    75+250=325 with an impact from explosive rounds ( 250 impact, since explosive ammo does reduce your impact damage).

    334 ( the base damage), is also the absolute minimum per shot damage for a 3 body shot kill in this game against any infantry unit except for infiltrator ( minimum for infil is 300).
    • Up x 1
  17. boomchacle

    lol its essentially a very slow lasher with an extremely low Mag cap at this point
    • Up x 1
  18. breeje

    dos the explosive round do damage against vehicles?, for me it would be the only reason to equip the ammo
    the guns on there own are not so special to me, i will be playing with them but i don't know if i will like them enough to play full time with them
    i also think the VS one will be the most fun to use, looking forward to play with it
  19. Lee Weldon


    You're looking at it the wrong way. You can just roll a medic then if allies stand in your way, shoot them anyway and revive your friend after you've killed both of them. It's the NC way. Best trait.
    • Up x 1
  20. VhynSeven

    Hittable, yes, but immune to small arm fire, so I think it would stop the bullet anyway.

    I saw a video presenting the 3 BR, and I have the feeling NC is probably the worst of the 3. The VS one is clearly superior, with the ability to be used as an emergency SMG at short range and the heat mechanic.
    The TR one isn't that bad, damage wise Explosive ammo still allows for a headshot-body shot combo, which wouldn't be too hard to pull off since it has access to 2 equipments that reduce both vertical and horizontal recoil.