Being In a Platoon: Pros: 1. Assuming that you have a fairly large platoon, you almost always have engineer support. 2. Since you are not going to be running alone, you will (most likely) have medics to revive you if and when you die. 3. FAR greater sense of accomplishment/fun, even if you die, as you died knowing that you helped your platoon get to the goal. 4. When you are running alone, you eventually get bored with farming infantry and MAXs. Cons: 1. Your kills per life will decrease DRAMATICALLY. When I am running alone, I get an average of 15-30 kills per life (without revives). When I run in a platoon, I get an average of 5-10 kills per life. 2. Fellow troops will KS far more often. Simple, more troops=more people firing at the same thing. A Guide For Anti-MAXing in your MAX suit. 1. If it's me (an NC MAX) vs another MAX, 1 v 1, I can't remember the last time I lost, unless I was less then 1/3 health or if the other MAX had Fractures, and I usually came out on top with 2/3 health left. If I had a full magazine, I don't believe I ever ran out of ammo when killing another MAX either. 2. If it's me vs another MAX with an engineer backing him up, I still win most of the time, I take out the MAX first then go for the engineer. 3. If it's me vs two other MAXs, I most likely lose, depends on whether they come simultaneously or whether they come in 3-5 seconds of each other. What I Have: 5th Tier Kinetic Armor, Dual Hacksaws/w extended magazines, and lunge. What I Do: I usually lunge within my optimal range of the MAX (1-2.5m) and unload into the MAX's head (about the distance where most or all my head-shots connect). If they are 4-8 meters away, I always go for the center mass, where all my shots have a greater chance of landing, especially if they are backing away and I am following. Unless I am low on health, I save my Charge for later instead of using it to get to 1- 2.5m away and getting a lower TTK. If they are 8-20 meters away, I use charge, try to get into optimal range, and go for the head. If I can't get within optimal range for whatever reason (ZoE) I go for the body shot. If they are 21- I haul ***. In fact, I can't remember the last time I died to regular bullets, it was always because of either C-4s or rocket launchers. This is what works for me, might not work for you. NOTE: This is my experience from lone-wolfing. NC MAX AI Weapon Guide General Cons: Long reload times. Small magazines. Short ranges Hacksaws: Pros: Best NC MAX AI weapon at 0 meters. Best AI weapon at 0 meters in the game. Why? Because at 0 meters (0 meters meaning that none of your shots miss), you will instagib infantry with one shot, as will the Grinder and Scattercannon. With MAXs, the Hacksaws have the least TTK killing the other guy, as that 5 damage difference between the other NC MAX AI weapons and the Hacksaws might as well be non-existent at when you don't miss a shot, and when you factor in the ROF, the Hacksaws is the best at 0 meters by leaps and bounds. Assuming you have extended mags, of course, as any dedicated NC MAX user should. Cons: Stupidly short range, even compared to the other shotguns. You will NOT be able to kill anything over 10 meters. Grinders: Pros: No need for the extended mags, with the extended ammunition, it can kill a MAX without needing to reload. The extra ammunition really comes in handy in extended battle, well worth your time to buy. Cons: N/A Scattercannons: Pros: Needs only one to complete the set. Sort of the "middle ground" for the NC MAX AI guns, not as fast as the Hacksaw, not as accurate as the Mattocks, but still better then Hacksaws at accuracy, and more damage then the Mattocks. Very well rounded gun, extremely viable choice. Cons: Dosen't really specialize in anything compared to the other shotguns, but on the flip side of that, they are pretty decent in all (shotgun) areas. Mattocks: Pros: Accuracy. Put slugs on this baby, and you WILL show that guy 30 meters away from you thinking that you can't get him that, yes, you can in fact get him. Cons: It doesn't have the raw damage potential of the Hacksaws, the reliability of Grinders, nor the balanced nature of the Scattercannons. General Tips: Do not crouch when you are in a pitched battle with explosions happening around you, it will make you a prime target for C4, Decimators, and other various explosives. DO crouch when someone is trying to run away from you, and you need the extra range. In my experience, Charge>Aegis Shield. Not only does it give you a "get out of dodge" card, it can also be used to charge and clear a room, run down fleeing MAXs, compensate for ZoE MAXs backing away, charge people to get into range, etc. Skill Cap: The NC MAX in my opinion is the least forgiving of the three MAXs. It has the highest skill floor, but also has the highest skill cap. And of the NC MAX AI weapons, probably the one with the highest skill floor and the highest skill cap would be the Hacksaws, and the lowest skill floor Mattocks and Grinders, with the Scattercannons forming a "middle ground."
I thought grinders had a larger spread than the standard scatters. Or maybe that was the hacksaws. Put some spacing in the weapon section.
Sorry, but yeah. I have used dual Scatts, hacks and Matts. Mattocks are by far the superior choice, they don't have the extra 2 ammo Grinders have but after doing many tests in VR and the field I find that I do far far better with Mattocks than any of the others guns. The accuracy is nice and so is the damage, my only regret is I didn't switch from Hacksaws sooner. Hacksaws are nice because you don't have to click but one you learn to alternate click quickly with Mattocks you destroy everything and waste less ammo doing it. Mattocks are always great at 10-20 meters where the others pretty much drop dead at 10m>. Numbers may say otherwise but this is personal experience, just like everyone goes with blueshifts or nebs and I use Cosmos.
I am sorry that I will have to proceed to destroy your argument XD "By far the superior choice" Depends on the situation, your generalization of Mattocks, and all other NC Shotguns for that matter, is frankly quite frankly just dumb. "The accuracy is nice and so is the damage, my only regret is I didn't switch from Hacksaws sooner." The accuracy is VERY nice, but the damage, RoF, and DPS in general fall far short of what the Hacksaw can dish out. "Hacksaws are nice because you don't have to click but one you learn to alternate click quickly with Mattocks you destroy everything and waste less ammo doing it." No, that is not why the Hacksaws are nice, Hacksaws are nice because of their damage output, which is extremely important against other MAXs. Mattocks simply cannot compete with Hacksaws against other MAXs (if you know how to play). "Mattocks are always great at 10-20 meters where the others pretty much drop dead at 10m>." Pretty much the entire point of this guide is about being able to get into the 10-1 meter range. Yes, Mattocks are better at killing soft targets in general, but yes, it lags in terms of damage output.
Damage output doesn't mean **** if your pellets don't hit the target. Wouldn't matter if a weapon one hits people, if you can't hit the target it doesn't do you any good. Mattocks are the superior choice over the other options.
More and more I'm getting the feeling you didn't even read the guide. Your pellets, all of them from a Hacksaw, will hit if you find out a way to get within 1-ish meter of an opponent, even when you are aiming for the head. Given, there is latency, movement, lag, etc, but the point stands. You didn't give any examples, no concrete evidence, and used only the scenario that benefits you. Please stop posting any embarrassing yourself.
The problem is that, besides biolabs, it is very hard to stay within our low effective range unless the NC max is camping a doorway. Also, by charging at the enemy to close the distance, you just lost your only escape mech. And with the long reload times the NC max has, that means that you are pretty much done for. The NC max can be very effective in short range, but so can the TR and VS max, with a very small increase in TTK (according to some other thread it was 0.2s at point blank range?) while still being effective in mid range. Most people on this forum are not complaining they cant use the NC max effectively, but they are complaining about the number of situations the NC max is actually usuable in, compared to the other 2. (and the amount of certs needed to be effective in the first place) On topic: nice guide, altough i will have to disagree with hacksaws having the highest skill requirement. It is a full auto shotgun, after all. i would say the mattocks have the highest skill requirement, since they will be the least forgiving in close range when you miss a shot.
Thank you for being so specific. Is this because I called you out when you were wrong about always aiming for the head? XD
Still no concrete evidence, I see. Interesting. Especially when, on average, I'm better with the MAX then you are. And I also notice that you are not disputing that you were wrong and I was right, nor are you disputing anything I said in this guide. I will now stop responding to your troll posts.
Just a suggestion but instead of the sniping going on, how about a little discussion about what you think is wrong with the guide, and the counter-points from the author? Having more opinions is always better when making threads like these.
I think you need to push Slugs ammo more. I think the versatility you gain is pretty darn useful I found Scatters use them pretty well with Mattocks being the best as you mention.
http://voodooshipping.enjin.com/for...ad/8393581-voodoo-elite-infantry-squad/page/1 Scroll down a bit, you will see my (average) amount of killstreaks. Those killstreaks in my killboard were achieved running in a platoon as front-line fighters, I was bound to get focus-fired. The killstreaks in my link was made with me lone-wolfing it out in bio-labs and such. Char Stats (Take the 100 last killboard with a pinch of salt, for reasons stated above): http://www.planetside-universe.com/character-5428017900391751361.php?tab=killboard
