Why are people still playing TR?

First of all, this is not a "TR UP, buff pleaz" thread. And I'm aware that there is a huge "Refurbishing the TR as a Faction" thread that has been around for many months. But in the current state of the game, TR is just the most boring Faction to play. I don't intend to argue much if it's effective or not, but if it's fun to play or not.

Why do I think so? Let's start:

1. Almost all TR weapons share the 143/750 damage model. There's just no diversity. It's boring.
2. Most TR weapons have horrible horizontal recoil. Some of them have random horizontal recoil which can't be compensated for. You just try to send more bullets down the range and pray that it hits. So the skill cap for TR weapons is very low. The limit of how good you can get with it, is the weapon itself.
3. Although "moar Dakka" is a TR Faction trait, VS and NC get weapons with higher RPM and DPS, which are more accurate on top of that. Getting owned in your Faction domain where you are supposed to rule? Boring.
4. Speed is a Faction trait, but the Empire Specific Ability for the fastest MBT in the game is to root itself in the Ground and become mobile Artillery. You have to camp and wait for the enemy to come to you. Boring.
5. Same with the Max Empire Specific Ability. It'll get you killed 9/10 times rather than giving you an advantage. Not to mention that staying in a corner and waiting for enemies to come by is boring.
6. The Prowler has no viable ES AV and AI secondary weapon. Having to play with a Halberd or Basilisk/Cobalt all the time is boring.
7. The TR ESRL The Striker has been neutered so much, that you are better off using a Grounder, SKEP Launcher or Annihilator 8/10 times. Not to forget that you have to keep your lock on targets at least for 5-6 seconds while trying to avoid snipers. Then you see all your rockets shoot up to the Moon. Boring.
8. All in all, the TR is better off using NS weapons 8/10 times. What's the point of having ES stuff if the common pool is the better option? (The only option in some cases) Boring.

What do you think about the current state of the TR as a Faction?

Note: You can make constructive comments or just make edgy comments like "LoL L2P n00b". It depends on your level of maturity, dear Forumsiders.

what if TR got a rainbow cannon that shot unicorns which shoot thunder out of their horns, would THAT make you happy?!?!??

Because the reasons you listed are reasons why I quit playing VS. They don't just feel like they are unique.

All factions to a degree feel like they lack any real personality imo and all factions have their own problems it isn't just TR

and yet TR infantry weapons are some of the best weapons:
The Carv-9, trac-5 and Cycler TRV all great weapons if you like short range combat. Yes TR could use a Cycler TRV like carbine, but thats more or less it.

Ohh and the prowler is still a good tank.

Thats also a Thing i don't understand... this is a scifi shooter... why the **** do you Play the conventional faction... thats like playing Dragon Age as a Peasant who then gets killed by the darkspawn after 10 minutes of digging up a field.... 11/10 best game

Because better red than dead

On a serious note though, it's because they look like proper soldiers (looking at you VS) and are not in the Super Hype Force (looking at you NC). As for weapons - and this I got the hard way in BF3 - stats don't matter jack**** to me. With AEK971, M16A3 and stuff like that being lauded as "the omfgbestestleetprouber" guns, I ran with the standard AKS-74U, and I could ruin anybody's day with it. Same goes for weapons here - I have weapons that I think are awesome and I do well with them, like T5 AMC and T7 MCG. Armistice is quite good too. I don't need variety, since I won't be using them all at once. Horizontal recoil? Most battles are medium to close range, where I find it easy to manage.

Also, dakka trait is not really about ROF as much as mag sizes. TR universally has equal or larger mag sizes than its competitors.

Maxes and MBTs are the only thing that really feel different faction to faction, and the maxes part is really just NC maxes being different, because they have to get to almost point blank ranges to be effective, all 3 faction maxes ES abilities suck nuts as well. ESFs are just reskinned models of one another with slightly different stats with the scythe being the best because its got the smallest hit box head on.

As for infantry weapons who cares, they all kill in almost the same amount of time whether its a 500 rpm or 800 rpm, and they all shoot bullets, well the vanu shoot lasers but they function the same, with the only different weapon in the game is the disco ball shooter for the vanu, everything else is bullets coming out of a gun and killing people.

I personally think that faction traits are two spread out between all the other factions. Probably too late to change that with the currently existing stuff, but as long as faction traits are reintroduced via new items for purchase, there's a chance we can get some identity back.

I'm talking weapons that say "I AM A TR SOLDIER" like the T7-Mini Chaingun does.

Because we're a republic. A republic ensures the individuals rights can not be trampled by the majority. FOR THE REPUBLIC!!!!

Why do people still play TR?

Because they are good, have offensive orientated weapons and are relatively easy to play........ also likely because all 3 sides are pretty balanced these days.

If you mean why don't more people play them, then it is likely for exactly the same reasons as in PS1 in the Western world anyway (VS was always most popular on PS1 far eastern servers).

TLDR: I think TR is boring and not fun. Ill use 8 points to try and disguise my opinion as facts.

I don't get the whole TR bashing on forums lately. Where is this thing about TR being a bad faction coming from? Is it same person recreating threads once or twice per week?

TR are a good faction, weapons are just as diverse and powerful as any other. Faction traits are distinct. Prowler is excellent vs infantry, needs Anti armor gunner and/or AP rounds to be good vs other armor. TR max is distinct in that it has good anti infantry rate of fire and range (as opposed to NC range, and VS rate of fire). Only things I can agree with is Striker is easily replaced by annihilator, and lockdown mechanic for max and prowler is much more situational than Vanguard/NCMax shield or Magrider turbo/ZOE (meaning: just as useful, but useful in fewer situations).

I went through a phase where I used NS weapons on TR for a few weeks when I started playing (mostly because my NC was already BR90 when I switch to TR, with a lot of bought NS weapons), in the end I found TR weapons that felt better for every class, including pistols. It just took some getting used to. I was already familiar with the feel of NS weapons from previous character, that's the only reason they felt better for a few weeks until I got a decent feel for TR weapons. It's kind of a crutch really. Should only use NS weapons if you're totally unfamiliar with faction weapons playing different faction in some sort of event on Test Server (like server smash thing recently between mattherson and waterson for example).

Those are my opinions, above are OPs opinions. Just the way I see it and way he sees it, doesn't mean either is right. In the end my only advice would be to try another faction for a while. You will sooner or later discover that there is just as much to complain about. It will be about different things, but just as many of them. Telling you this as someone who has played since release, TR BR77, NC BR92.

I don't normally break down lists by number in replies; but, this will be an exception.

Damage model is not obvious visually so any disinteresting factor is mitigated by never directly being encountered.

This argument I hear people throwing around a lot; but, it really doesn't pan out very well. In fact, getting good with a TR weapon (and, yes, you cvan get good with a TR weapon) is actually more challenging than with a simple recoil pattern because you have to learn a convention to manage the innate recoil system and then how to manage potentially multiple targets within that convention and the immediate environment. TR recoil used to be really bad and the horizontal aspect truly uncontrollable; but, in a previous recoil balancing pass that I do not know when to cite, there's been an adjustment that allows much better user input into the horizontal recoil patterns when firing fully automatic; and, the most previous pass on TR weapons reduced horizontal recoil overall.

There is no TR weapon whose recoil pattern can not be broken by good mouse control and occasional strafing. In fact, I implore you to get good at firing fully automatic and figuring out how to move the mouse so that you cause the normal horizontal recoil pattern to collapse into your recticle tracking targets and moving between targets. Don't burst fire, if you can avoid it, because that subjects you to the full effects of the recoil.

Though TR do gripe about it occasionally, this is really a non-issue, similar to how your first point is a non-issue.

Only if you use Anchor mode incorrectly do you wait for the enemy "to come to you." I'm certain that a shield that offers no functional assistance to the average lifespan of the tank across all tanks, and a one-second long burst of forward speed every half-minute or so that only really lets you run away, must somehow pale in comparison to an ability that can remain activated and offers constant reload and shell velocity increase. You are correct in that, functionally, it appears to clash with the MBT's speed profile. Failure to properly figure out how to use Anchor mode to one's advantage is a user failure, not a failure of Anchor mode. If speed/initiative and engagement range are two of the most powerful flexibilities in this game, the Prowler is no slouch.

It was terrible back in PS1 and it's no better in PS2. In PS1, they even had the corridors to theoretically make it more viable, and no jet pack class to drop instant death packages, and it was still not very good. The real strength of the TR MAX has always been the damage potential of its AI weapons and the anti-MAX potential of the Pounders.

That's actually funny because I've never seen a Vanguard without an Enforcer or a Magrider without a Saron. It's as if they don't know what a Halberd is, save for on a Harasser. At the same time, the Vulcan remains useful when applied correctly; not being pulled often is a different matter. Meanwhile, no argument about ESAI secondaries is valid until the C85 Canister is good at something.

This is actually a failure of the constant lock implementation as opposed to the Striker. In PS1, it also required holding lock on the target; but, in PS1, weapons that required constant lock didn't have a alpha-delay before lock was achieved and you were locked as long as the target was in the crosshair. The VS MAX Starfires also behaved like this. Fire and forget was the same in PS1 as it is now in PS2. It still has much better cumulative damage than any other lock-on in the game.

Besides, the same reason you used - sniper exposure and having to actively track the target - could be applied to the Pheonix. Even the Lancer has this issue, saved only by virtue of its ability to be fired from beyond Infantry render distance (though now you are predicate on the Infantry being back where the Vehicles are, or further).

Now you are trying to justify yourself using blanket statments. I won't put in any more effort on this comment than you have put into it.

Because: Better Red Than Dead

and because VS has spandex and NC reminds me of sweedish smurfs.. also see sig.

dude git gut, tried tr today and carv is for sure

TR has best aesthetics and music.

I like their motto.

Better weapon sounds than the farting/burping noises NC guns make.

They got Pounder HEG and Claymores.

The other 2 factions are rebel scum and wacko fanatics.

Coming from a NC "main" player I find the TR to be the most fun faction to play when I play alts, not because I think they are OP or UP but for the fact that the TR is the faction which is the most different from NC. The TR gives me more replay value than VS.

VS on the other hand takes the cake as the most boring faction IMO, sure they have smooth weapons but after having played NC and TR quite a bit I have spent enough time with smooth VS-ish weapons like Tx2, EM1, T16, T32, Carnage AR, etc to not find anything interesting with that faction outside of weapons like lasher, Phaseshift, Saron, etc. And it doesnt help either that I find the VS esthetics ugly.

I know you play some NC, so if you are burnt out on the TR faction traits come and play more with us and dont use the few TR style weapons we have in our arsenal when you do, instead use the most NC flavoured weapons you can find. When I feel bored with NC I create a TR on some server and just just play with Lynx, MCG, Striker, MSW-R, Carv etc for a week or so to experience something fresh.

Because my outfit is TR.
And I don't have yet BR 100 on TR character.

Coming from the Fart Cannon Kings. *cough* Mini-chaingun *cough*