[Suggestion] Upgrade the LA and why

I have to agree with Rovertoo here. It is a Light Assault, not a light recon. Even though I think the spotters should be with the LA and the infiltrators should be very happy with the jammers, it is now too late. The sh*tstorm that would ensue if recon was taken away, even if they got the jammer tools, would be a thing of awe.
However good the idea's are, we have to make sure it fits in the game, augments the correct abilities without being OP, and does not upheaval the community that relies on at least the general lines never changing. So we have to augment the LA on different ways. I've already thrown in a lot of them, but if people like, I can put down either a list or a full description how why and the resulting damage/benefits of all of them.

Well nothing about the idea fails to "fit with the game" (infiltrators whose abilities focus on infiltrating?!).

But you're totally right to imply that the playerbase is neither smart enough nor accepting of change enough to handle these suggestions. Those traits are why the playerbase can't have nice things, like classes whose core abilities make them all valuable contributors to a point-hold.

To prevent confusion, I agree your suggestion would have been better than the current setup . All prerequisites for the idea are met but the last one, the community. I'll not say they aren't smart, but too many people will certainly not accept the change. If only the idea was implemented at the start of the game.
Have you seen other idea's that augment the LA? there are a lot to dig in and admire. The LA is still a more or less blank class with only one ability, and you can write down a lot of abilities that would simply add to the class without increasing it's overall power dramatically. As an example. If the infiltrator would only have it's stealth and you would add the recon darts, it would certainly augment him and his teamplay, but not make him OP.

LAs' mobility is worth two abilities to be honest.

I'm very unconvinced removing Infs main utility and replacing it with some sort of negative version of it would exactly be progressive or postive for the game or indeed for Inflitrators.

It would likely be great for LAs to be sure, but LAs aren't the entire game.

Move C4 from LAs to Infs and you'd be more balancing the change, but equally opening a whole new can of worms.





I'm not even convinced Jammers are viable unless severely limited, as they'd basically take out everything from senor darts, to crossbot sensor darts, to motion sensors to scout radar to proximity radar.
And you'd likely just have everyone laying them everywhere and basically taking all forms of radar out of the game.

Even as a Heavy, these ideas are BEAUTIFUL.
I say, let the LA have a bit of fun

How about a noxious gas grenade that does damage over time? Not only would this solve a lot of camping, especially around chokepoints, it would give the LA a more defined role by allowing us to flush out enemies out of buildings. I don't know how other players feel about it but indoor fights are usually a no-go for me while playing as a LA. I'd happily forgo the C4 for something like that.

Maybe this would help a little (however I see that author of this thread want more meaningful changes than only a new type of jets): https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/burst-jets.205996/

What is more powerful then being able to show up where ever you want and then poof off into the never ever sphere before you get shot back. Then reappear a bit later somewhere else?

LA is a team player, if players used him in such a way......I know some players have broken defenses with it by flying up over a ledge, and shot a group of us who were defending a staircase and opened it up for thier allies.....

But if you just use him as a general purpose infantry kill farming class...your not going to get as good results.

LA is also good for ambushing players in a base. ...sit on a roof, wait for the enemies to clear out, then shoot some in the ***, duck back into your roof cover and come up somewhere else once they think the situation is resolved...

If anything, the LA could use maybe a reduction in it's showing up on the minimap....it makes them kinda hard to find at times, as that map doesnt tell you exctly what height hes on, but it does kinda nullify his flanking ability.

I really hope that is a dummy account, because someone who has played just over 30 minutes is hard to believe.

So let me start with the team player part first. Your suggestion is that the LA is a great team player, because the LA can lone wolf himself into a flank and make an opening? Granted, it would be beneficial for a team, but it isn't strictly the teamwork we where looking for, and it is hard to do this in a real teamwork way. All other classes hold and push lines (HA, MAX), or support with healing, recon, repairs and turrets. You gain and hold a strong position. A LA must leave this strong position and go without healing or cover fire towards the enemy, Which immediately brings me to your first point.

It is rare that an LA can fire, kill and disappear. you see where the fire comes from on the radar and their bullets, they are still subject to recon devices, they can and will be q spotted so you can follow them on the radar. The moment you know they are there, they will have a much harder time. Another problem for the LA is enemy LA. They will also get to the roofs and kill you. Besides, there are ample buildings, especially high buildings, that other classes can get on top of. Every tried to go over the roofs towards a control point? The second and top floor can and will fire on you. So much for the surprise and disappearing.
Next is that a lot of points where infantry are attacking or defending are indoors. Parts where it is hard to just appear and disappear. Also, his arsenal is short-medium range. What will you do with a shotgun? If you jump down, you won't easily disappear.
Yes the appearing and 'disappearing' is a strong tactic, but infiltrators are not bad at it themselves. Either long range, or an SMG infil can appear, kill one or two guys and disappear. Other tactics involve that the amount of people is so high, they have too much happening on their screen. Then you can just waltz into the enemy mess, throw 2 mines and then start killing about 5 ish people with the SMG and another few with the mines before they get you. A LA needs to cover that distance and has a much harder time not being seen, as people are looking further away.

If you are really desperate to kill the flanking of the LA, what is the point of the class? The LA has a hard time in straight up encounters, and without the support other classes have, is doomed to fail.

I've seen this before, but I think it is too strong. You make a point undefendable. No shield regeneration, in combination with a good confusion, would be too strong. I might agree with a gas grenade that is near transparent, but will give false damage indicators from time to time, but won't do actual damage.

I've discussed this once with the OP, in that exact setting. It would be a nice addition, but only if it gave less total hight than the jumper. The LA would get much more powerful with this thing, as you can use this in a fire fight.

The problem is the reason LA's do it is BECAUSE it is so easy and efficient. They don't have to worry about keeping a vehicle running,it's much easier to just run around as LA until the opportunity arises to instagib a MBT than to pull a tank,maneuver past all the long range infantry AV and contantly spawning C-4 fairies and then MAYBE reach the enemy vehicles. Anybody who says it's hard is full of BS and people who have tried it know how easy it is in the heat of combat or even against 2/2 MBT's,that's why they do it over tanking or vehicle play because it's not difficult it's easy and they don't have to use any resources unless they throw the C-4 it's a win/win. An infantry class that can fly should not have access to C-4,that is not balanced and it's not even close to fair.

Is a Grapple Hook ridiculous?

I only read a portion of the first page tbh, and drawing the question "What else can the LA use", a Grapple Hook is all I can think of. The ability to cling to things, whilst being able to use Secondary, or probably Primary weapons at the same time whilst being latched onto say... a vertical cliff face, or the ceiling of a room.

Similar to Zelda Ocarina of Time; Launch, if it's in range it'll pull you to it. Tbh, it does sound a bit ridiculous :/

I was also thinking some kind of new smoke screen, rather then a big ball of Smoke, allow LA's to fly up and maybe drop a high density smoke blanket that will enshroud a circular-flat area (bending to landscape terrain) to hide front line teams. Also, maybe not really that useful, just a thought.

... or use the Grapple to pick up a single friendly troop and relocate them by dragging them into the air... XD Snipers on top of the Spires in small bases, get ready for it. The physics would be as bad as "Just Cause 2" multi-player mode.

Only farmers and dumb people are easy targets. Running around for "targets of oppertunity" is something completely different from targeting someone and killing them.
I am usually doing AP Lightning or AP+Halberd vanguard tanking close to enemy positions. If something is legendary, it's the Vanguards disability to properly deal with infantry. Yet I rarely ever get C4red... I do kill LA's the most, as they keep trying and failing.

Awareness is the problem. People in tanks know there's an enemy with C4 around, and they don't try to look for them. They just sit there, focused on some point somewhere in front of them. They don't look sideways other than where vehicles might come from, they don't look up. They just sit there, being targets.
Are LA to blame that there's so many people who do not pay attention to them? Any vehicle in the game is faster than LA. The only way an LA can C4 you is because you stood still too long and didn't pay enough attention. Even if they come from directly the front and you can't avoid their first C4, you can still accelerate fast enough with a vanguard without abusing the gear trick to prevent them sticking 2 C4 on you. 1 C4=no kill.

So we come to this: C4 can only be used on those who stand still long enough and don't have enough awareness. Neither is exactly difficult to have, while LA need to avoid a large scale of infantry and other tanks that might spot him in the process, as well as any IR vision weapons, proxy radars that vehicles have equipped (and darts/motion sensors put down by others). All to get that C4 on top...
The only reason it's easy and efficient is because people refuse to learn. They die to C4, they do the exact same thing 5 minutes later and expect the LA to not drop C4 this time. You cannot blame LA for that, only the tank drivers for not taking them into account.

I am in the camp which think the LA class was a mistake in the first place. Had the game been more like PS1 where you could just build a kit, for instance, around a jet-pack with a balancing act in usable slots in load-outs it wouldn't seem so "out-in-left-field".

I honestly don't know what you could add to the LA class that doesn't end up abusing the massive multiplier that is the jet-pack or end up being a simple place-holder for lack of anything else to do.

Playing an LA is almost a sub-game by itself.

Although I invested certs into max level of jump jets and also drifters I really played with LA at least. I would say it is the weakest and least effective class. Everyone today is very smart to look above and c4 killing is quite difficult. I had few bright moments but most of the time I was just flying target for everyone. Maybe it is just me but I preferred every other class to LA.

Well gosh, sounds like there's an even greater need for EMP grenades in that scenario.

Oh wait, which class has EMP grenades again? Oh yeah, infiltrators!

Look, I've openly stated that this would've been a better original direction for LA/infil to go, but that I don't expect players to be able to handle the change if it's made now. Your post is confirmation of my assumption that players can neither handle nor imagine change.

The medic revive mechanic in this game is so strong that the whole infantry combat revolves around it. Since the LA has very little synergy with the medic, this leaves LA the odd-man-out. LA also has both higher skill floor and skill ceiling i.e. it is difficult to use but is very effective when used by a high-skilled player. These are the main factors in the LA classes problems and will not be easily fixed with new tools, weapons or other trinkets.

Personally, I'm pretty happy with how the LA handles right now. I play it a lot, I recognize it has problems but still have no real buff suggestion to make. Superior mobility + C4, good intel gathering, good weapons... If only the medics could fly up and res me on top of that building

PS. One of the most important skills of a LA in a squad is to know when to spawn something other than a LA.

I really like the smoke ability and the goggles. Falls right in line with the type of assault I see the LA doing.

I crossed out the Impulse pack mainly because I don't quite get it. Why would I need to jump higher if I can have a jetpack? Moving faster sounds cool, but things are already acting so strangely out there... people, planes and vehicles sputtering around. I dunno.

What if the grenade launcher was for support type grenades only? Smoke would be the main one I guess? I like the chaos idea! Just not crazy about it doing damage.

False signature is interesting as a force multiplier of sorts. It's a bluff, but could be really useful in some circumstances. Only thing that makes me stop and wonder about it is it kinda sounds more like an infiltrator type of ability. Falls in with other electro-magnetic types of capabilities that I'm not sure I would associate with light assaults. I could be missing something though.

Good ideas, keep them coming.

Desperate to kill the flanking of the LA? naw lol...But what "support" tools could the LA get that wouldnt overlap classes? Maybe he could get an increase in movement speed when Jetpacking....cuz using that Jetpack is certainly slow.....maybe a boost to it's power or something so he has more agility over the other classes.

Ive been on plenty of rooftops, as an HA. the game seems to be redesigning maps to where everyone can kinda get up high, sorta limiting the use of an LA....Drop pods putting HAs on really high rooftops, galaxy drops and the like.

And no, this is not a dummy acct. I was a BR67 until about a month ago when the poor performance of this game drove me up a wall for the last time and I deleted my toon. IM sure ill be driven nutz again...... So much pumping 50 rounds into guys and dying to them, or guys I shoot to **** dont die and someone else flanks me and kills me cuz I had to sit firing into 1 guy for to long...and no, its not cuz I was missing lol.

My KD was 5.75....95% HA, low SPM of only like 153 or so, but I did jsut fine hahah. So, no scrubby noob here. I have about 2 yrs on this game, joined Dec 2012.

The LA doesn't need a buff period. These guys are the bane of my existence, not only do they pop up literally everywhere (surprise attacks). They can even 1 shot your tank/MAX/infantry with C4.

This is a joke right? If you believe LA need a buff you are using LA wrong....incredibly wrong