I didn't start using the MAX until two days before the first nerf. For months I was resing/repairing my mates who had the hacksaws. I was stoked that I'd finally be able to make some kills in a biolab. Hacksaws were so powerful then. They were ZOE/Striker level OP yet more situational. It was still a good time to be NC... But, Hacksaws are still viable. Up close I can take down any MAX with them. I move in with Aegis shield, wipe out my guns and - a second and a half later - there is a dead red or purple MAX in front of me. Hacksaws are just limited to extreme cqc use. They aren't what they were. Sure. But, they're definitely not useless. Grinders are great, too. Their larger mags make them very handy when there's a buttload of enemies around you. Nevertheless, SOE will make a lot of cash when they get around to giving the NC a mid to long range AI gun. There is a big gap between Mattocks and Ravens that must be filled. I'd give us a slow firing machine gun. Doesn't have to be accurate, just effective enough that the NC isn't handicapped the moment we step outside. The VS and TR are able to make use of their MAXes in more situations (especially, the VS).
Based on the thread it looks like NC max is definitely in need of a small buff, but where to place it, and how? It's doing really well against infantry, but falls short max to max. So what if there was some small level of armor piercing added? Similar to the way rocket launchers encounter different resistance that multiplies their damage vs vehicles over infantry, or the way Anti vehicle grenades shred maxes more than regular ones? Maybe a RoF buff, because OHK in 2m is overkill enough for raw damage output I really think a mag buff would make the most sense though, since it already took a mag nerf, and it is the reloads crippling the max vs max battles (see grinder stats ) Just spitting ideas Edit: to the post above: I'd love to see that! It should be almost cannon sounding, maybe around 150-180 ish RPM with 30 round mags, single bullets with something a bit worse than the SAW's sustained(not first shot) CoF and about 70% of our slug damage. (Roughly) Would be awesome
Stats are used for horse racing, do they always pan out that way? Like I said, I have just been head to head and it was more than 5 meters and with a shield, these are a beast. You may not agree and you may use stats, but in game play, they are god dam hard to beat, infact they were. I just checked his stats, he had a 25 KILLING SPREE, not bad for a poo weapon. So I don't care about stats, his stats proved he was dam good with them?
I am not saying they're bad, and the data is also ONLY max vs max. So the only conclusion we can safely draw, is that the NC max is weaker than another max, not that it is terrible at mowing through infantry (which is clearly not the case) The real issue, is at 15 m the NC max is helpless at the hands of a TR/VS max, and in CQC they're on EVEN footing rather than having a powerful advantage. That'd be like giving your MBT a cannon round that auto detonates at 80m, but still punches only as hard as every other MBT's main cannon that can shoot out to 300m (range numbers clearly not true connections to our MBT's) If the NC max guns get gimped past 20M, they better be damn good within 10m, and as of right now, they're worse than yours even in that range. That said, it's still a max, it will kill well.
Me or Ultra? I don't have a 25 kill streak in my feed. I have a 13 one spread over MAX AV, AA, and AI weapons but don't have one for pure Mattocks. There is a 14 group of Mattock kills in the pure kill feed but I can't say how many deaths I had over those 16ish minutes. I am not one to use for a kill feed. I main support and use my MAX to boost my K/D to get rid of the guilt of it being low. I know how to put my Mattocks to work but not worthy of gloating about it. Without my MAX I would be with a K/D of 1, maybe. You want to see a kill streak? He is a DVS member using a fresh VS alt. It shows at lest a 94 kill streak just using a Quasar Blueshift combo. There is more but the kill feed only counts to 100. https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428099899898517585/killboard
just like to point out that bringing up a comparison of mbt vs mbt as a hypothetical imbalance scenario is hilarious. vanguard beats all other tanks in an equal footing environment. long and short range.
i think i'd prefer a damage increase, after all we're shotgun users so we shouldn't gt range options and i dont think bigger mags would fit it as well as current mags with more damage, it wouldn't effect infantry too much since they get killed by all factions maxes within 0.3s it'd jsut give us an edge in max v max situations. that being said i wouldn't say no if they decided to increase our mag sizes instead XD but lets face reality, its NC so they probably won't buff anything.
Welcome to where MAX talks go to die. It was only a matter of time but had a good run. Hard enough to get a talk going on the main forums, here it's just a few people that even know about the MAX sub forums.
Yeah, it's odd that they'd throw something clearly getting attention into another zone to be ignored.... unless.... CONSPIRACY!
One of SOE's biggest mistakes, the over nerfing of the MAX of an already under-performing faction. The last nerf absolutely displayed complete incompetence. Please SOE fix this now.
Thnx For the link . Good to see that the max that has been nerft alot of times is now the worst lol .
This is true, the major problem with this however is the range the lower spread weapons tend to become more effective is the range where other non-shotgun weapons work just as well (or better).
Nice info! Remember though the other MAXes have better TTK at range. Any chance you did a comparison where Mattock will beat the other maxes at which range? (assuming all hits, non kinetic) And did you use extended magazine on this? Thank you in advance.
I did and it's posted 2 topics below this one as of typing. Link https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/max-balance-part-4-everything-ai.139234/ More or less Mattock without extended mags will have a TTK of about a full second higher than that of TR and VS MAX accurate weapons (Mercy/Blueshift) at 0m. That TTK gap grows with range to at 20m Mattocks have a 13 second TTK, Mercy 10 second TTK, and Blueshift 6 second TTK. Not ******* kidding. Dual STOCK Blueshifts at 20m have a MAX kill TTK of 6.55 seconds. Around half of NC MAXes and about 2/3s of TR MAXes thanks to not needing a reload while the others do. Even if it needed a reload adding a 2.7 reload time would make it 9.25, still a full second under TR Mercy TTK at 20m. If you add extended mags to to all of them, to be fair and not cherry pick NC data, all you would need to do is rework when a reload is needed. Comes to at 20m TTKs are Mattock 9.46, Mercy 7.5, Blueshift, 6.55. NC TTK 2 seconds higher than TR. TR TTK 1 second higher than VS. A 3 second gap between NC and VS. In short, Mattocks can hold their own ONLY with extended mags and with ranges up to 10m. Somewhere between 10m and 15m the odds turn and there is no chance for the Mattocks past that. Oh, and don't ask for Slug data. They need 20 hits compared to Mattocks 15 at 0m. They have far worse TTKs in most cases for MAX fights and are to be used for infantry only in my opinion. Not worth the 150 certs per arm if you ask me.
Mattock?? That weapon just give more range but sacrificing a lot of damage up close Max Kinetic ZOE will eat your mattock MAX ( At everyrange ) for breakfast everyday I'd say just stick to dual scats and give them slug if you want more range, only different in velocity which doesn't matter in the longest range anyway
The damage it sacrifices is insignificant against the majority of targets you'll shoot at compared to the range it'll give you. Dual Scats cannot kill a KA5 MAX at point blank (even with extended mags) so in that regard, it's in the same boat as the Mattocks. The velocity of slugs makes a noticeable difference between Scats and Mattocks in my opinion - at least 30 hours each with slugged Scatters and Mattocks. How many hours have you spent as an NC MAX?!
I'd say enough time and yes i do using scat and mattock in my alt nc character ( both with ext mag and slug on and off ) the velocity didn't make a difference IMO. Its still based on luck if u try to snipe so far away anyway and when there is enemy max around and you cant kill them up close with your shotgun then something is very wrong... And dont forget something that makes your max gets nerfed over and over, becoz people dont like to be instagibbed I'm using scat and mattock and at the hugging range if a heavy manage to put his shield first then for some reason I can't instagibbed him even without slugs
