The correct way to balance/nerf the Heavy Assualt Sheild

You think I like having to use C4? Remove AI weapons from MAXes and Vehicles and I gladly will give up C4.

What headshot resistance? I regularly receive and deliver headshots to shielded HAs.

Damage from headshots are lessened when OS are activated. They should not be.

I'm comparing the classes as a whole. You can't compare class ability to class ability in a vacuum, because the game isn't played in a vacuum. Weapon selection and the ability to obtain terrain advantage is something that has to be considered for class balance.

If this thread has proven anything. Its that anything detrimental to 'the farm' has got to go. People will stop at nothing to make sure their farm is as painless (and boring) as possible. Whether it be threads like this, or resorting to TKing in game.

You don't need to look far to see them even admit to it in some cases.

What would be the point of tanks then? My playstyle revolves around killing tanks farming infantry.

delay would make NMG (aka, the newbies shield) useless.

Resist shield is already activated prior to taking damage proactively because thats how it works best.

NMG on the other hand was designed from the ground up as a reactionary shield.

I am honestly confused as to why everyone seems to be raving about HA OP'ness. It's the frontline class of the game, intended to be the optimal choice for infantry, line vs line fighting.

To take a look at the class defining features of each class option...

• Medics have: healing, shielding, res, and assault rifles - This is a support class with some serious bite.
• Engineers have: infinite Ammo, AI / AV turret choice, sticky grenades, tank mines, repairs - Also a support class with huge combat capability, with an emphasis on planning, setup, and large quantities of AV capability. This is the only real choice for vehicle piloting, short of bail assaulting.
• Infiltrators have: Cloaking with forced flatulence audible over exploding tanks, high zoom sniper rifles, carbines, and AI mines. They have their uses, generally a 'annoy everyone at all times' class, unfortunately, whatever condition gives them such low lung capacity and muscular control was contagious.
• Light assaults have: Jetpacks and tears, they also have their uses. Highly ambush oriented, dependent on oblivious enemies, due to their flatulating jetpacks also being audible over all else.
• Heavy Assault: Can absorb one more round, can engage at short to long range, dependant on LMG choice, man-portable Anti Vehicle lockon / dumbfire launcher, and has an overshield that allows them to take a few more rounds in open combat. The shield snares, turns them into a beacon, and is still lag / clientside hit detection susceptible. Conc grenades are quite nice, and are generally the only fast, effective way to break into a heavily max-defended area without using max crashes and superior numbers.

The only major advantage I see here is on the Engie's side of things, short of conc grenades. The overshield, in my experience, is actually the least effective tool in the HA's kit. Due to such low TTK in PS2, making yourself more visible via shield use is a death sentence shortly after using it, it literally lights you up as target to everyone in the immediate area. That said... why all the venom directed at overshields? I seriously don't get this.

He's talking about regular head-to-head fights.
An HA turns the corner and you're fighting head-on, any other class and you'd have a chance, but with an HA, if he has any skill at all you're screwed unless you're packing a shotgun and it's a CQC fight.

But in this case:

Why are you running around alone? If a support class, shouldn’t you be in a group? If a Light Assault, isn’t there a less obvious route? If Infiltrator, radar… didn’t you know he was there? Plus cloak+SMG.

If you run around blindly through doors and get killed by HAs, the issue is your playstyle mixed with the class you selected.

/thread

HA's shouldn't be an "I win" button infantry tank.

Their role is anti armor/air/max, not infantry insta-win slaughter machine.
(That's actually the role of max suits and AI engie turrets.)

Actually, Front line AI is part of HA's role.

They wouldn't be very good frontline if they didn't have the OS.

LMG's are already inferior to AR's. Medics would just become the new "OP" class. Best gun, can self heal infinite times, en masse you'll never kill them all and they'll all get right back up, even has C4 for MAXes or Tanks!

If you cannot kill a medic trying to C-4 you in a max or a tank, you're using the max/tank wrong.
If they can get close enough to pee on you, you're not doing it right.


My point is, HA's shouldn't be able to take 90% of the rounds from a stalker's pistol and live.
Anything else would be dead nearly twice over, but with the NMG an HA can tank them even after they get the drop on the HA.

I know, that last part was a bit of an exageration...

though I do get MAXes with C4 well enough.

See max > run away > toss C4 down after turning corner > ??? > Profit$$

I could pee that distance in real life.
C-4's range barely 5 feet in front of you.

As for maxes, yes, there are many idiots that simply follow you without Q-spotting for C-4 when they enter a door.
Again, that's someone in a max not using the class right.
He made a rookie mistake and paid for it.

Yep, that sounds completely unfair, no wonder I never bothered to play that game..

And they aren’t. If you run straight into an HA, you are in a direct assault now, you failed to use your class’ strengths and are now engaged in his strength. (Which still isn’t hard to win against BTW, but you will need to out-maneuver and out-skill that HA.) Everyone arguing for a nerf is basically saying: “it should take less skill to direct assault an HA with another class.” I have played HA the most, but I have a lot of time logged in every class and have never felt disadvantaged against an HA. If I get killed by an HA, good on him, I think about how I entered that room in a dumb way or forgot to check a corner or whatever I did that put me in that bad situation.

If you flank properly with an LA, it’s ridiculously easy to kill an HA (or any class). If you run directly into one, yeah you are at a disadvantage and you should be because you F’ed up. Odds are, your gun already has better DPS and is more accurate than that HAs LMG. How can you argue that you should get your class’ perk, plus still have even footing in a direct assault versus a heavy assault?

Use your class’ advantages and profit. F up and learn from your mistakes.

You are defining the roles now? Heavy Assault is the primary frontline soldier, they are called Heavy Assault not Heavy Support. Every class (but Inf) has C4 to destroy MAX and vehicles. MAX is the best AA.

I'd say the solution is to just buff EMP & W/O grenades. (reduce the hesitation / animation time especially)
Currently almost no one uses them and even fewer people ever run bandoleir with them.
They also bring up the point that H.A. gets WAAAAAY better grenades than INF or LA get.
...infact.... even the Higbying engineer gets TWO much better "utility" / Ambush grenades than the 2 classes who are supposed to Higbying specialize in Higbying infantry Ambushing. Higbying what the Higby SOE???

/Hatting Intensifies

Look at the actual updates and statistics before you embarrass yourself with comments like these .... Vanguard underwent a huge nerf despite being the worst performing MBT during the time. H.A. shield nerf WAS on the Test server for a while but they never shipped it live b/c they were worried it would take H.A. from being the best-by-a-mile performing Infantry and all-around most versatile unit to only "moderately best" or tied with engineer. You got the best of both worlds here which defied all basic logic. If anything, you just make SOE's hypocrisy here look worse by drawing attention to yourself and it by proxy

Because this is not a Korean MMORPG.

Enough with this bollocks. Having a combat oriented role does not make free HP at a press of a button OK.

You do know that LMG's are some of the WORST weapons right?

Remove OS and HA would go from top of class direct 1v1 (which they're supposed to be) to being flat out worst against anything but an Infil

SOE never pushed the update live because they knew it would bloody well break the class and class balance as a whole. It was a terrible idea and they realized it, and thankfully didn't give in to forumside tears for once.

Meanwhile maxed Vanguard shield used to basically guarantee wins even against overwhelming advantage. It still grants a massive advantage in a direct 1v1 fight, and can save your tail in a number of situations just fine.


The ONLY viable nerf to HA I've seen posted in hear is removal of covering the head much like Nanoweave was made to not affect headshots. I even say that change is debateable, but it's at least discussion worthy.

This is NOT call of duty