[Suggestion] [Unlocks] Please decide: Specialization, Sidegrade or Upgrade

While in general I agree with this, I also hope that you mean that for example FLAK armor -upgrades- are still allowed, since the game spots a rock-paper-scissors balance and not competitive 1v1 balance like CSS or Unreal does.

Your gear -should- give you an inherent advantage against another -type- of gear.
i.e. if i run an AI MAX with AI armor, I will be safe from small arms fire, but rockets to the face/tank shells should down me much quicker.

Proper 1v1 balance and complete "personal" fairness is inherently unachievable in a combined arms game.

Yes, the homogenization of classes and roles in PS2 is a big problem, far greater than in any other MMO, since the classes are switchable at will at any inf. terminal.

I'm a big advocate of straight up specialization and removing the ******** infantry terminals that let you chose your class. Unprotected targets can become fortifications on a whim. A lone sunderer with 12 players can switch to HA in seconds and demolish 2 tanks assaulting it, I know, I've done it.
Any semblance of tactics or strategy goes out the window.

Pretty much.
I'm all for having Nanoweave, Flak etc to specialize your role. It's a great way to introduce more options!

But I don't quite support having 5 different levels of those armors that are straight up upgrades and means that anyone who has level 5 is straight up better than someone who only has rank 1 or 2.

Wait, when did infiltrators get c4? I don't remember seeing that anywhere...

It's a bit like the fully upgraded nano weave armour... from class 4 to 5 is 1000 certs. but it's only 12 % ish better than class 4. Some people would say that's an upgrade, but as you point out it's situational. If the enemy shoots me in the head... I'm dead.

It's a maybe instead of a absolute right of OP survival

But if you look at the straight up % values between the different levels of nano weave overall.... is it a huge difference? Maybe1 or 2 hits (if your lucky)... depending on weapon etc.... the combos are endless.... add different shield types etc etc

Oh it's definitely a tradeoff. But really only due to the current bugged-to-hell mess that is the underbarrel grenade launcher. In the very frequent occurrence that it fails to do any damage, despite direct hits, you are totally boned due to how long it takes to switch back to primary fire. I mean yeah, you can hotswap to pistol instead but that's just another great way to die.

And thats a problem with specialization, because if its an upgrade to a specialized item, it should provide huge benefits.
Nanoweave is debatable anyways since its pretty much 25% more health straight up no matter the damage type, so its an "upgrade" in my book. If it came with a downside like increased explosive damage, it would be a specialization.

I would expect to have FLAK armor and small arms armor, where either you expect to be shelled a lot or you expect a lot of infantry with small arms. So for Bio-domes you take small arms, for open maps you rather take FLAK, etc.

And I expect the benefits to be big, yes, since you expose a weak-point that should be equally big.

Obviously those changes would create a chain-reaction where you would need to look at explosives in general and their cost. Right now grenade-spam would make small arms armor very weak since it counts as explosive damage for example, so that would need a look-over.
Thats balancing for you, everything you do has wide-reaching consequences creating a butterfly effect.

Its not impossible, just needs a bit of effort and thinking from the dev.

LOL

had to start my game up and double check as well

Don't see C4 anywhere for infiltrator

Its one of the stupidest things ever. Medics get C4, infiltrators that can cloak and infiltrate...dont.

I think a combination works best. Some upgrading isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't completely bump you out of the number space of other people. I mean, this isn't an MMORPG where a level 1 can't even hit a level 50 character, let along do enough damage to register on his life bar. An upgrade that makes something, let's say, 50% better however isn't a gamebreaker, you can still lose if you have that.

Personally I prefer specialization. Focus on one area while loosing effectiveness in others. I hate it when 2 guns feel the same.

That doesnt even make sense.
Basically you said you want different definitions so you can have a fake issue.

Side grade means that its different but not better over all.
That simply does NOT conflict with the idea of specialization.

Now you could make specialized weapons that were unbalanced then they wouldnt be side grades and that would mean they did it wrong.

For instance I have a gun does everything fairly well. A side grade would be a gun that does something better and something else worse. That is also specilzation.



Go away with your contrived and useless concepts.

I already explained specialization and sidegrade multiple times in this thread.

I can call my chair a "spaceship" - that doesnt make it a spaceship.

*shrug* I dont know what you mean and since you don't seem to want to explain yourself its quite pointless.

Are you a child?

It was obvious what I meant. Ill explain because maybe you are a child.

You making up and using bad definition/word combinations for common and obviously understood words doesnt mean they are valid.

If infiltrators could plant C4, they would be overpowered. They would be able to cloak, run up behind a fairly unguarded sunderer at night, put the C4 under the back, then BOOM.As for getting C4 and using it, you actually have to be willing to take risks with it. It is more of a sidegrade because you're greatly putting your life on the line to try tank busting. As it currently stands, C4 is ridiculous because it can bypass one way doorways. (Then again, placing claymores and prox mines at completely unexpected positions is one. Ever tried a Claymore at a biolab teleporter, then some poor sap on another team spawns there and sets it off? Good fun.)

Same with Engie using tank mines. An infiltrator's proximity mines are a direct upgrade, but IR sights can detect those. Also, Flak Armor 3 will keep you from completely dying. It takes your shield out and 50% health. If you have a biolab, wait about 1 minute and you'll be at full health again. The only real upgrade that I find is a med kit, but you really need to be able to get your shield, hide, then use it. It's not an easy task in the heat of battle. A lot of upgrades help, but they don't make people overpowered by any means.

Laser tradeoff - big *** laser saber on your weapon that people can easily identify.
Compensator tradeoff - reduces hip fire accuracy & makes you show further out on the map to an enemy when firing

(you threw those in with the 2 others that you were calling upgrades, but they really are sidegrades)


I believe iron sites give you better standing/moving ADS COF or something like that. You can say scopes are an upgrade but you do get more or less tunnel vision with a few and the more zoom the less situational awareness close up.