I don't have any problem with the HA specifically, and in fact I don't think they should be touched (que people telling me I'm just an HA tryhard, even though I have no interest in the class). The problem is much deeper than that. The problem is that at most bases the thing that is needed most is the "standard" foot soldier. It is possible to put together specialized units with varied composition, but they don't really accomplish much because there isn't anything special for them to do. For example: there could be capture points (think up in the Hossin trees) that could only be reached by Light Assaults. I'm thinking have the only access point be a hole in the floor, so you can't just land a Gal on top and drop any kind of soldier down in there. There's all sorts of things you could do, like have a gauntlet of base Spitfires that only a cloaked Infil could navigate leading to a capture point. I love the other classes but they just aren't as needed in the average battle, so you see less of them. ...But the easy way out is to just nerf the HA, so that's what people cry for.
It's true. I almost put a disclaimer at the end saying I was prepared for such an answer. On-topic, I play LA and infiltrator a lot and do end up cursing HAs from time to time. If this was an infantry-only, open-theatre deathmatch then feelings of imbalance might be warranted. However I try to remind myself the purposes of the game, playing as a bigger unit, representing your empire, and so forth. That being said, the state of the game at the moment, for me, does leave it feeling like just that: a big, open-theatre death match in the medium of your choice (for me, infantry). The lack of incentives behind capturing territory, partially tied in with the half-done resource system largely contributes to this. If there was more purpose in-game I might be inclined to join an outfit and start playing strategically again, rather than just jump from place to place looking for an even fight. Just my two cents.
Yes they should be balanced. We shouldn't have 95% HAs and one medic and engi, and sometimes not even that. The classes should have roles and uses, which can also change depending on the loadout. What I think HA should bring the heavy weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and generally suppresion, but depends on engies for ammo and the team to not be killed by a sniper or asassin.But right now they have the most versatile infantry weapons, then weapons which can deal with almost all armour, and they don't have any disadvantage(no reduced speed like in PS1, no depending on engies for ammo, etc.). HA, more than a nerf, needs a revamp. Just my two certs.
I always thought of the HA as the base class after playing for a bit, the standard class if you will. If you want or need other abilities you can give up the stopping power and survivability of the Heavy to do things like rez dead players, or repair damaged vehicles. Or you can switch to LA to flank well and come in from unexpected angles. Maybe you want to go in is to infiltrate, or snipe from afar. All these things are great assets to your teamand you have to give up the effectiveness of killing for those other advantages. They're not advantages that show on your K/D but at the end of a fight they are advantages we all know are there. If your effectiveness in a 1v1 or just pure combat is the main concern then HA is the class for that. If you pick another class know that its effectiveness in straight up combat is reduced due to the other benefits the class has. There's a give and take here, the game is a much bigger picture than just you and one other player. When you lose to a HA as most other classes, it's likely because you were supposed to. If you sniped him from afar you did it right. If you killed him after he killed your friend, then rezzed your friend, you did it right. If you supplied and repaired your MAX who then killed the Heavy you did it right. If you hid in the tree and shot him from where he would have a hard time figuring out where you are, you did it right. If you shot the super soldier, with the bullet shield, and the big giant gun, whose sole job it is to kill, kill, kill, from 15 meters away right behind him, well the death screen will tell you that you side it wrong. Trust me, took me a while to learn not to shoot at heavies even if they are turned away, just get one of your friends to do it, let him deplete the shield, then waste him .
I'd like to point out that due to the nature of the HA shield (in that it can be flipped on in a moments notice) the HA has an advantage in any and every situation that doesn't involve OHKs. So because of this the benefits of the other classes abilities are soft countered, shoehorning them into very niche positions and leaving the HA as king of all things fighting. I think that's why giving the HA shield a delay would be a phenomenal change because then it doesn't reduce the value of enemy skill or positioning like the current shield does. Giving this new delayed HA shield a greater HP gain however would help it shift the shield role from "stomping 1v1s, and aiding in 1vMany" to a more powerful but more specific ability for room clearing or breaches or other planned events.
Sorry 'bout that. Please enlighten me? Because currently the HA shield gives the HA an advantage in every combat situation that doesn't involve OHKs. And no class has an advantage in OHK situations.
To be fair, Light Assault and Infiltrator are 100% killing classes. Infiltrator is also more than just a sniper. Again, there is nothing wrong with the HA being a front line soldier. When I suggest balanced classes I certainly don't mean everyone has the same role. But it is possible that a single class, even with a unique role like front line fighter, is too powerful. But something I think a lot of HA mains forget is that this is a game with 5 combat classes, two of which have support capabilities. Not 1 combat class with 4 support classes to back it up. A good balance exercise it to examine single changes to the class. For example, say we take abilities away from both the LA and the Heavy Assault. So the HA has his LMG, Rocket Launcher, Pistol, and Utility of choice. The LA has his Carbine, Pistol, and Utility of choice. In this state the LA is massively disadvantaged. So we have to ask, is the Jetpack powerful enough of a tool to counteract both the benefits the HA has with his weapons as well as his Shield? I think not, and I think usage stats support that.
This is all elitist mumbo jumbo. You say this "the game is a much bigger picture than just you and one other player" "If your effectiveness in a 1v1 or just pure combat is the main concern then HA is the class for that" While telling us that. The only thing reduced in combat from other classes is they don't have a shield that can give effectively HP from 1200-1600 apx. Albeit Infil has less like 900? Take away the shield and HA still has a bit more base HP? HA shield should only, at best, reduce flak imo.
Right .... on the other hand ... Versatiity DOES NEED to be balanced on a 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 basis. (the last "to 1" missing from this list being infiltrator, b/c every1 @ SOE hates inf still, we gave up all hope) Engineer is preehhhhhhty close to HA in versatility and might even be better once it gets an update. Medic isn't close to HA on versatility, but they can Duel a good HA in some cases and come out a winrar. MAX is a frikking MBT resource-wise & slow moving. MAX is only "versatile" when there's a Terminal nearby. LA is .... ..... HAHAHA, who would I be kidding here, not even with C4 spam in most cases. There's a number of ways of doing that clientside actually. The most obvious and non-hooking being to listen for a specific sound effect like the "taking bullet damage" one and trigger that to the shield keybind. But there's an even better one when hooking where it polls the vectors of all enemy models in LOS to your model and checks for any gun barrels pointed at your hitbox. I'ver seen these in a number of games where you can follow a guy from a good distance for a long time and never be spotted until the exact moment you put your Reticle right over them.
I still don't get it. An HA is built for direct combat and the shield is their main special ability so are you saying other classes should be able to directly negate that ability to take away that advantage? Is that what you mean by 'rock/paper/scissors'?
If we decide that classes aren't meant to balanced, yes. At least something to that effect. For example, many MMO's have the 'rock/paper/scissors' built into the game in the form of tanks and mages and marksmen and the like. One class counters another more effectively than another class. Currently in PS2 however there is no counter to the HA. So in a game with unbalanced classes there would need to be specific roles that counter other classes. LA's might for example be dedicated HA killers, Engies are dedicated vehicle killers, etc. Of course that's not how things are now, and I don't really want to change them to that. I don't like the idea of having specific classes that directly negate the advantages of another class, it's just my preference. That's why I answered 'yes' to the question. It is also why I don't like the HA shield. The HA shield is a soft counter to enemy positioning and aiming skills, negating or reducing the advantage they got with their abilities. That's why I think increasing the shield's HP gain but giving it a ramp up time would be a great change because then the HA won't have an advantage in every situation that involves taking damage, but instead have an advantage in planned room breaches and clears, putting the HA's maneuvering and planning skills as the driving force behind the ability instead of reaction time.
The classes ARE balanced. The HA is built to meet you head on in close range gun fights. The INF and LA are not. They use their tools too attack when they have an advantage. INF owns at long range. Close range you use darts and stealth to SMG them to death. LA you go to the roof tops, in windows and treetops to drop C4 on them and only engage when you know you can win
HA are supposed to go toe to toe with HA. HA is only most played by random zerglings, any decent outfit will have barely any in a gal drop, you load up with MAXes engs and medics
I agree that the roles are balanced. HA is the front line bruiser, Infiltrator is the stealthy assassin, LA is the flanker, etc. I don't want to change that. But the classes are not balanced. If they were, all the classes would have close to the same usage stats. As it stands the HA scores waaaaaaaaaaaay above the others and is used waaaaaaaaaaaay more often. The biggest reason is that the HA will always have the advantage unless A) He doesn't have the reaction time, or B) It's a OHK (which no class has an advantage against). So assuming that all the classes are meant to be balanced, the HA is simply overperforming. Whether you want to nerf the HA or buff the other classes (or both) something needs to be done.
LA and INF are harder to use. Most players mindless run in a straight line to the closest battle, HA is the best at this.
You call it elitist mumbo jumbo. What about me makes me an elitist? It's certainly not my K/D ratio, is it? That is poor at best. My SPM isn't that great either. I wouldn't call myself an elitist, I would call myself someone who plays within the reality of the game. Here look at my character. https://www.planetside2.com/players/#!/5428010618039667985 70% of my play time is as a medic, a large part of why I have such a bad K/DR. Yet most kills is from the EM6 a weapon on a class that comprises 17% of my play time. I would say that the reason I said what I said is not elitist, but because I've found it to be effective. I have almost as many killson the HA between 2 weapons in 17% of my play time as I have between all the the AR's I have in 70%. TThat's because when I need to kill a lotof other players and focus on that I use the class best suited for it. If supporting my team with heals is needed I play medic. What I ddon't do is try to force a class designed to excel at one role into another, I use each class for the roll it does really well at. I don't blame people forr wanting to stick with a certain class, I love playing medic, what I do blame them for is whining when things work in a manner they were designed to work. Nobody complains that their heavy can't revive his buddies, or that their medic can't dispense ammo. Nobody complains that their heavy isn't great at flanking and getting into great spots tactically with ease. But when everyone tries to go head on with the heavy with the class that's tailored to be better in other areas they have a fit when they (rightfully) get stomped. As for the bigger picture piece, forgive me if I wasn't clear enough. My thoughts on the game are that is an MMO, that is a Massive Multiplayer Online game. I think we are made to depend on each other, some people don't feel that way. From what I can see though this is how the game is designed. If you are not a heavy don't engage the soldier designed to take a beating with his damage absorbing shield and dish it back out with hisheavy hitting LMG, have your guys with the same do that and support them in the role you excel at. Now I know some people don't want to play the game that way, and that's OK, I was just trying to get them point across the game is (as far as I can tell from observing it) designed other than optimally for how they chose to approach it. So, should their approach be that of a 1v1 nature, then Heavy Assault is, in most cases (curse you LA in a tower with a shotgun ) the class that will best suit that approach. So, should you decide not to take that class into that situation you should be aware that there are other players out there who are playing a class that will give them a distinct advantage in a 1v1 scenario. I apologize if I came across as an elitist, it is in no way my intention. I always try to be as friendly as possible and in no way see myself as better than others. I also have the stats to prove that I'm not .
True, I think ease of use is definitely something to consider. But the HA scales as well or better with skill than Infil or LA, simply because those classes are not very powerful. The best LA or Infiltrator player will still score less than the best HA player. I don't think the massive discrepancy between the HA's use and other classes use can be completely explained by ease of use.
Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will play Heavy Assault. No, classes are not supposed to be balanced. You ask about reasons to play others? If you want to play it like Call of Duty, there is none. But this isn't Call of Duty, is it? This is (or should be) an objective based game. So from that perspective: Infiltrator: Recon; eliminating priority targets; stealthy harassing attacks; hacking. None are especially potent lone-wolfing or in the K/D or cert farm department, but all can be powerful in objective-based gameplay. A single well-placed sniper shot can open a critical path for your team, while recon shows where the enemies are. Meanwhile, you can spawn Sunderers from the enemy's own base and cause havoc with their own turrets. Light Assault: When a defense is focused on the floor, they are easy prey for an assault from the roof. A quick SMG or shotgun rush can down several of them before the others realize they're under attack. A suicide mission, to be sure, but as they're distracted and weakened, your allies can gain the needed opening to breach the defenses. Also, hunting snipers, placing spawn beacons, and C4'ing vehicles. Medic and Engineer: As support classes, this one needs no explanation. That being said, if you want to play without thinking, HA is the obvious way to go. Why take that away? Most gamers, I think, don't play to think. As-is, those who don't have their thing, and those of us who do have our thing.
I can agree with this kind of a game in PS2 (even though I would prefer not, and that's why I answered 'yes' to the question), but my issue is that the other classes roles are either not powerful enough or prevalent enough. If we decide that the HA is going to be the king of 1v1s, and for example the LA is going to be king of surprise attacks, then we need to make sure the LA is just as powerful in his niche as the HA. Not only that, we need to make sure the HA is just as weak outside his niche as the LA is. It's a bit subjective at this point, but I don't believe this is the case and I think the usage stats and average score support that.
