Just some thoughts, leaving this as feedback. Got a bit wrong all, turns out the Damage was increased rather than ROF, not sure why I thought the ROF was increased instead, but it still means the TTK is higher so its not a massive deal, but my bad for that.
Correction, ZOE increases damage, not RoF. Anyway, I agree that the ability is stupid and it shouldnt have happened, and that whoever thought it was a good idea (Higgles) deserves a severe haircut, with Fire. And what i really find annoying is that the requested ES MAX ability for VS, jumpjets, was discarded as being OP without any explanation as to why.
Really? I was under the impression it increased ROF not damage Oh well, Its not a big deal as the TTK is still increased, my apologies guys
Because not standing in the stream of TR bullets fired upon you is borderline heresy. Technically also not correct. ZOE at max rank increases damage dealt by 25% on AI weapons. (As of the last patch info I have.) Meaning it takes: Quasar 5.9 rounds to kill (6) under 10m, 6.9 rounds (7) at 75m. Down to: 4.8 rounds to kill (5) < 10m Same holds true for the Cosmos. With two weapons equipped; a MAX fires off 5 rounds at exactly the same speed as it fires off 6 rounds. All ZOE does against infantry, is compensate for poor aim. Blue Shift & Nebula go from: 6.9 rounds (7) @ <10m, to 5.59 (6) to kill. Here is the issue then? Note the 1 less bullet to kill only takes effect as of max rank, and only effects the TTK on two of the AI weapons. The flood of average players will NOT have dumped the 500, then 1000 certs for the last 2 levels. Meaning; they are killing you at exactly the same speed as a non-zoe max. (This is making the assumption also that they have dumped SC into two weapons.)
So.... you don't like it at all, and want to see it heavily nerfed. I think it's safe to say everyone prefers different, non-sucky options compared to nerfed-into-uselessness options. Except maybe people who are bitter. If you don't like it (think it's an inappropriate ability for MAXes to have at all), what would be a suggested alternative? I am ALL FOR Vanu MAX Jetboots, btw.
Well, SOE should just nerf them down or give them an legal Aimbot, Invisibility and the Ability to never fall under 10% life... prob. the Vanu Burster one hit Galaxys... at least this would make the desicion clear and all know they really dont care about Balancing.... I just wonder how ZOE max can stay so long in game nearly UNCHANGED!!! I dont get it... so many months now...
I don't want to see it nerfed per se, id rather see the ability removed in favour of something else. Jump-jets are a possibility, perhaps being able to place down some sort of barrier that people cant cross to block doorwars, theres a lot of possibilities,
He has a point though, how the **** has something so obviously OP managed to stay in the game for so long? It has been ruining the ground game for ages now unless you are VS, the only conclusion has to be that the people working on the game don't actually play it. I mean, even before ZOE was patched in, did the idea of removing any downside to using a MAX for one faction and basically creating a super, dual-wield HA that can fire while sprinting, not set any alarm bells ringing at all? It baffles me.
I think the current IDEA behind ZOE could be saveable still, although if you disagree with it on a fundamental level, I can respect that. I've seen suggestions of adding a "charge up time" to it, where the added damage taken applies, but the bonus move speed and damage don't. Something between 1.5-2 seconds? If such a thing were implemented though, the "charge up time" SHOULD NOT affect any kind of total ability lifespan. So if, lets say at max rank, ZOE has 12 seconds of "uptime", I should not lose 2 of those seconds from just activating the ability. Or, they could also give it a mirrored, power-down period as well and leave it on infinite lifespan. That would certainly stop the "ZOE flicker effect" many people witness, and the ZOE MAX would not be able to instantly shut off the ability to protect themselves from an incoming rocket or tank shell, because they'd still be taking that bonus damage for another 2 seconds. As for a completely different ability (other than KICK*** ROCKETBOOTS), it would probably have to be something defense oriented to keep in theme with the other Empires. Some people would argue that Lockdown is not defense oriented; perhaps not for the MAX users themselves, but in a strategic sense. Lockdown is like throwing down Engineer turrets; they're a defensive line / chokepoint holding tool. Aegis shield is clearly more of a "self-protective" defense style, but it has clear benefits for highly coordinated squad play. I do also think both abilities deserve buffs (reduction in deploy time/lockout timer for redeploying, possbiliy the ability to shoot with 1 arm while Aegis is up [pending appropriate balance testing, lolwut] ). I can't think of anything good atm, actually.
As sad as the answer is, its simple, SOE don't really get how to balance their own game. Why do you think weapons have such poor attachment choices? (Can use a 2x scope on my SMG but not my Rhino) Who thought harassers with AV guns was a good idea? Who relies on the community for pretty much all aspects of game direction? Its a sad state of affairs really.
Back when they introduced this stuff and put it on the PTS all the smart Vanu cried out and said, "DO NOT PUT ZOE IN THE GAME". Anything that is released as OP is doomed to become nerfed into the ground and useless later. To put ZOE in line with the other MAXs they would have to remove the movement increase entirely so that 1 pro = 1 con, just as the other MAXs have.
Wrong, just removing the mobility bonus and calling it balanced would make the ability Tactical Suicide. See, its a 25% damage boost, but you take 30% more damage.
Hah just noticed this https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/nc-balance.160868/page-5#post-2301556 See what I mean about relying on players for all aspects of this game?
I'm all for balancing ZOE, but only in conjunction with a balance pass to the rest of the OP: Vulcan (especially Harasser Vulcan, why they nerfed Saron and buffed the Vulcan two GU's in a row is beyond me.) Striker (still OP. Going down to two 5 round striker salvos in a Magrider is no fun, either nerf the Striker or buff the Lancer or both. I cannot dish out but a fraction of the Striker's damage if I choose to go anti-armor lock-on, say with the Annihilator. It will literally take me 6 Annihilator rounds to destroy a MBT, each round taking roughly 10 seconds to load, lock and fire. Meanwhile just two 5 round Striker salvo's will obliterate my Magrider.) Marauder. Fracture. Mosquito Hellfire. And I don't know what it is, and I hear this from everyone I play with, I typically lose 75% of infantry on infantry engagements with the TR. Sure, being able to shoot an Eidolon Battle Rifle with no bullet drop is great, but it still takes 4 shots to the head for a kill at any distance over 50 meters. I think it is time for a balance pass on small arms, getting the DPS of all the factions weapons closer and slightly reducing whatever positive traits they are supposed to have (VS - accuracy, next to no bullet drop, NC -close range effectiveness, TR- ROF) I can confidently tell you right now that in the past 6 months of playing on Connery I have seldom seen a victory with equal population against the TR, this has been so consistent that if I am leading a platoon, it is now a given that if we don't have at least 60-65% population of a skirmish that we're going to lose and only a few minutes into a 50/50 fight I usually just redirect everyone out of it to somewhere with more favorable odds. This is the case every time, indoors or out, ZOE notwithstanding. I think this speaks volumes as to the existing level of weapon imbalance. What else accounts for the TR's sweeping WDS Pre-Season victory? So yes lets talk about ZOE, great, but lets not pretend to ourselves that all of the above is not a serious issue as well.
