Test update notes: 7/2

Discussion in 'Test Server: Announcements' started by d_carey, Jul 2, 2014.

  1. d_carey Developer

    New faction pistols. Note that these are in an early state and may have missing animations or other bugs.

    NC08 Mag-Scatter
    The NC08 Mag-Scatter’s powerful tungsten buckshot and compact frame make it an excellent close-range sidearm that can quickly dispatch nearby targets.

    T4 AMP
    The Terran Republic’s Automatic Machine Pistol functions similarly to an SMG thanks to its lightning-fast, fully automatic fire.

    Spiker
    Reverse-engineered from ancient Vanu tech, the Spiker’s hovering powercore allows the standard 2x burst to be held and charged into an accurate 4-round salvo.

    Known issues
    Animations and final looks are still in progress. We are putting these on test server early to get feedback on the general directions of these weapons.


    Tank/AV Adjustments
    Tank primary weapon direct hit damage changes added to test last night have been reverted. In addition, the Prowler blast damage will not be changed as much. Finally, the tank reverse speed, projectile velocity and other changes previously on test have been reverted to live values.

    These changes are part of an overall goal to improve combined arms gameplay. Removing some of the instant twitch kills that tank primaries can dish out is part of that. These won’t be the only changes in this regard; this is just a first step and more changes will be coming, likely on both the infantry and vehicle side of things. We are discussing the tank secondary weapons as the potential next step, such as improving the anti-personnel effectiveness of Canister and Marauder.

    Here is how the list of changes appears now:

    Lightning HEAT
    • Blast damage reduced from 1000 to 750

    Lightning HE
    • Time to reload reduced from 3750 to 3000
    • Outer blast radius reduced from 8 meters to 5 meters
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 1.5 meters to 1 meter
    Lightning Viper
    • Blast damage reduced to 450
    Magrider HEAT
    • Blast damage reduced from 1000 to 750
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 1.5 meters to 1 meter
    Magrider HE
    • Time to reload reduced from 4750ms to 3750ms
    • Outer blast radius reduced from 8 meters to 5 meters
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 2 meters to 1 meter
    Vanguard HEAT
    • Blast damage reduced from 1000 to 750
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 1.5 meters to 1 meter
    Vanguard HE
    • Time to reload reduced from 4750ms to 4000ms
    • Outer blast radius reduced from 8 meters to 5 meters
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 2 meters to 1 meter
    Prowler AP
    • Blast damage reduced from 500 to 375
    Prowler HEAT
    • Blast damage reduced from 650 to 450
    Prowler HE
    • Time to reload reduced from 3500ms to 2500ms
    • Outer blast radius reduced from 8 meters to 5 meters
    • Inner blast radius reduced from 1.5 meters to 1 meter
    • Up x 4
  2. DeadliestMoon

    Question, why does Vanguard HE reload slower than Prowler HE?
  3. Vortok

    I don't mind this direction for HEAT. There have definitely been times when using AP that I missed enough shots that I would've appreciated a decent splash radius, even if it took multiple indirect shots to kill the infantry player in question.

    Also long disliked a longer reload on HE being the method of balancing it since it just penalized accurate players. Glad to see another direction being pursued.


    Prowler has a forced half second delay after each shot, so the true time it takes to fire both shots and reload is 1 second longer than listed.

    Yes, that does still mean the Prowler has more damage output. It's a trait of the tank.

    The fun comparison is between Vanguard and Magrider HE, as the Magrider is also more mobile (helps a lot in AI situations) while all the Vanguard gets is some extra direct hit damage which is generally pointless in an AI situation - that and the Vanguard itself being slightly more durable.
  4. DeadliestMoon

    Huh, I guess that makes sense.
  5. Wezdor

    First off, I like the VS gun idea, it seems to include both charge up and burst fire. Win win. The NC and TR i cannot judge before trying out.

    As for the tanks, wouldn't these changes actually buff HE rounds? I'd rather see they reduce reload speeds by half as much and instead give them an inner blast radius of 1.5m. Should be better balanced then the currently proposed change. And bring the Vanguard HE reload speed down to 3900. The difference in direct hit damage should be negligeable for a HE weapon.

    Otherwise, the new iteration seems very passable, provided they don't go about nerfing the PPA, but instead buff the NC and TR options to its level. This gets rid of 1/2 inf farming tanks and improves 2/2 inf farming tanks. Seems a step in the right direction, now we just need tanks to be less accessible to everyone and their mom's cat.
    • Up x 1
  6. lNeBl

    How are these new patchnotes different from the earlier ones? Oh i see, no nerf to AP. Still nerfing the HEAT to uselessness though.
    • Up x 2
  7. Shatters

    Now this is much better. Slight nerfs to blast damage on all weapons in order to reduce the damage vs infantry while not nerfing AP (which would have promoted more heat AI farming if i really got nerfed)
    • Up x 2
  8. Ranik

    They are barely different. AP changes were removed and HEAT wasn't nerfed quite as bad.

    Still pretty terrible unless there are drastic and sweeping changes to ES AI secondaries and ALL infantry AV.
  9. Chewy102

    Still have major problems with this. A 2.5 second reload time is to damn fast on a tank weapon that can kill infantry outright in a direct hit (flak or no) AND has 2 shots per load. Lowering splash range IS NOT going to do anything for base shelling once players see that super fast reload time. It's faster than most infantry weapons! And yet again this is before lockdown! Maybe even before any certs. Does this account for stock or fully certed with reload time reductions?

    If this wiki is still right ( http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Anchored_Mode ) then a maxed anchored Prowler should have a zero ***** to give 1.3 second reload time!
    2500 * .48 = 1200
    2500 - 1200 = 1300 or 1.3 seconds (again I do not know if certing into reload times is shown or not in the notes)

    That damned MBT as is has a MASSIVE amount of ability to send shells into what ever it wants with an without lockdown. You think for a moment that this will do anything to lower MBTs wanting to farm infantry? **** NO IT WONT! The only thing that reload time will do is make MBT players want to farm even more! How could they NOT want to farm infantry all damned day when they never have to stop till running out of ammo.


    And back to the Vanguard HE. Why will it have the slowest reload time even though the amount of infantry damage will still be more or less the same? Titan HE has a higher direct damage (1300) than the VPC (1175) but the splash is still the exact same with the exact same ranges, ammo pool, and travel speeds. How the hell is an extra 125 damage make up for a .25 second slower reload time to the Mags VPC? Also, why will the Lightning HE (1000 direct) be a full second faster to reload than the Titan HE as well for a mere 300 less direct damage when, again, EVERYTHING else is the exact same? What is the reason for making the Titan HE the worst one when every other weapon does as good or better in AI?

    Im no dev, but this looks rather lopsided to me. And I haven't thought of looking into the other parts yet. If you want AP/HE/HEAT to be their own roles. Then why not just remove direct damage from HE making it pure splash and thus CRAP to useless for any AV work but nice for AI, remove splash from AP thus making it VERY skill based in AI but nice for AV/AA, and make HEAT the only one with both at a great cost of damage in both splash and direct for adaptability?
  10. Plunutsud pls

    The Spiker...

    Shut up and take my money!
    • Up x 2
  11. vanu123

    These changes do not improve the quality of gameplay, these changes don't make the game more fun. In fact these changes don't make sense. Tanks need love and buffs, not more senseless nerfs.
    • Up x 21
  12. Hip Russian Man

    Looks like a nerf to tanks in general, especially splash damage wise. They already removed/reduced splash on the Liberator weapons, I guess their moving onto tanks now. I don't see this as a positive change to the game, this just reduces the effectiveness of tanks against infantry. ATM I think the balance between tank vs infantry combat is fine and should not be altered. Don't fix something that isn't broken!
    • Up x 1
  13. Schwak

    Much better then yesterdays notes. Although these look better, reducing multiple aspects of a weapon are harmful for gameplay. You guys should change and observe a bit at a time. If you don't have a time table for the week after these implimentations I'd suggest nerfing damage first, and then nerfing the splash radius after if the problem hasn't resolved itself. It's easier to go forward then backwards. Food for thought.

    I'd also like to thank for you taking the time to read our concerns and quickly respond, it's a critical aspect of what makes a dev team good or bad.
    • Up x 1
  14. Epic High Five

    As a Vanguard that never runs anything but AP (because Vanguard for AI lolol) I'm quite pleased now
    • Up x 5
  15. SamDaMan

    These are much better patch notes than before, I like the idea of secondaries being AI and the main gun being AV. Thanks for listening SOE!
    On the flip side, is the bulldog still getting a nerf?
  16. Ranik

    This still reeks of nothing but nerf. And I can already see the future....

    "We nerfed everything MBT by 50% but hey we nerfed infantry AV by 10%. How do you guys like that trade off?"

    At this point I'd even be amazed if we saw any infantry AV nerfs let alone anything strong enough to make up for this garbage.
    • Up x 6
  17. Brasil

    No sense in nerf tanks. PS 2 needs new weapons, modes .... and not nerfs
    SOE, you even saw that no one approved these changes. Keep nerf, and soon there will be only one server with no players.
    • Up x 5
  18. Jaybo H

    I guess I don't understand the ROLE of the HEAT - what is it's intended use?

    Also, the Spiker pulls away during rapid fire while you are ADS. I assume this is being addressed but wanted to report it in case.
  19. Jaybo H

    ...but then how do you explain the Lightning changes?
  20. WMDeath

    Because in the Prowler there are two separate loading mechanisms that load the 120mm shells at the same time, and loading a 120mm shell is faster than loading a 150mm shell.