The issue is they suffer the drawback of ARs tailored to long ranges, without getting that much in return.
They get a hipfire advantage (and that would be about it). That and rather severe drop-off marks them as CQC-up-to-mid weapons (precision Carbines aside). Maybe giving Carbines a universal 0.75 ADS movement modifier would be a good (yet radical) idea, as it would reflect them being compact versions of ARs.
i like shotgun slugs and they are fast enough that if you know how to lead a little the other player most likely can't react in time and will be hit. i probably had my best KD when i was using my nova with slugs and a 4x scope. since i have switched to the lasher because it has a huge effect on the flow of combat in large scale engagements, far more than any standard weapon.
They could also increase the Hipfire bonus to just below SMG levels. That would help them out quite a bit. Either that or make the draw speed faster (is that a thing they an do?) for both equipping and bringing it up to ADS.
ive been using the pandora with slugs recently just to get the high damage and it works well most the time but the ungodly amount of bullet drop needs to go away...its so bad that the slug doesnt even hit as high as the sight says it will hit at closer ranges...i really hope that all factions get a buff in the amount of drop the slugs get...as for high precision i am a fan of the solstice burst...not as good at range as the sniper rifles but very good at medium and not to shabby at close as long as you remember its a burst weapon...the nice thing for vanu is the higher bullet velocity is nice when it always feels like you are shooting marshmallows
Actually the hipfire on CQC Carbines is just below SMG levels. I like the idea of decreasing equip / ADS times though.
So LA with sniper rifles would be annoying is basicaly the general consensus. When isnt getting 1 shotted by a sniper annoying? They are always (mostly) in some far away place anyways. Ive always felt LA should have been the sniper class with infil being an actual infil, but they went and removed all aspects of bases from ps1 that helped infils infiltrate and gave them no reason to infiltrate in ps2, they even removed the REK , so they had to give infils something.
as fun as it would be, it would really wreck the game if LA's had long range options other than a customized carbine.... medics and engineers would be screwed. I wish the jetpack flew like an esf, that would be fun.. and then stil allow us to hipfire sorta like nosefiring. or even if we cant fire but if we had forward thrusters and vertical thrust like an esf and basically jetpackign would be like an esf on afterburner
Planetside 1 was great for that. They did add the stalker and it suited infiltrating perfectly, if only it replaced the hunter cloak instead of being an addition. The hunter cloak, wraith flashes with heavy guns, smgs and OHK sniper rifles at the edge of render distance is the problem with infiltrators. Not all of them are OP but its a really cheesy set of tools for the infiltrator. The only real counter is the darklight flashlight. Close quarter and mid range fighting is really good in planetside 2 but anything over 150m is just a pain. Ranges are really deceptive without a decent zoom its very difficult to judge distances and you only have a heartbeat to nail a sniper as he fires and cloaks.
There is no good reason why LAs shouldn't be given Battle Rifles at least. People who think it would be broken are remembering their experience of getting OHK sniped by invisible cloaked infils over and over and applying that to an LA w/ a Battle rifle, thinking that having a jetpack will somehow transform the LA class into some tree-born nightmare. They are mistaken. Why? Because: Battle Rifles are the worst performing primary weapons in the game. They have the lowest DPs, slowest TTK, lowest KDR, lowest KPU, and lowest KPH in the game (except the 3 starter carbines, whose KDR/KPH are barely lower due to new player bias skewing the numbers). Outside of 8m it takes three headshots minimum to get a kill, giving an aware target plenty of time to move. There is no spot on the map accessible to LA that can't also be reached by an infil bailing from an ESF or dropping onto a beacon. Fights on Hossin constantly have BASR snipers in the tall trees. SE Indar has at least a dozen or more snipers on the cliffs overlooking any base fight of any decent size. There's usually a sniper or two at the top of every Tech Plant and Amp Station. Yet none of these are game-breaking. And An LA on a high up perch with a Battle Rifle will never be as good of a sniper as an infil would be at the same spot. The Battle Rifle's effective range is much shorter than sniper rifles - about 150m for most people. Meaning they'll be close enough to often take return fire from their victims There are many, many tools readily available that could easily counter that LA, like: enemy snipers, enemy LA, Lightnings and MBT cannons, Gals, Libs, ESFs, any vehicle armed with a Walker or Kobalt, AV wall turrets, AI/AV MANA Turrets, HA Rocket Launchers, etc The LA has no cloak, and my own personal experience with Battle Rifles and my LA/Pulsar C setup tells me he will draw the attention of every single sniper in the area as soon as he starts using his Battle Rifle.
Except that it would be pointless because the long range carbines (I'll use the Pulsar C in this example) will kill some one in less time at the same range, and is still vaguely useful at shorter ranges.
IME that's only really true at ranges <100m and only if the target is out in the open. If they're at all behind cover or farther than 100m Battle Rifles are the superior option - even with their higher skill floor. Even the best long range carbines (Pulsar C and AC-X11) peter out at around 150m. But in competent hands, Battle Rifles can keep going for at least another 75m. So no, it's not pointless.
Giving a class your nich weapon that you only use if you're to poor to buy a SMG is not a nerf. If anything it gives the gun more value and encourages it's use.
How many times have I wished as an Infiltrator: "Man, I wish I had jump jets so I could get into that spot, right there." That's why Light Assaults don't have scout or battle rifles. Light Assaults aren't "scouts." They are this game's attempt to create mobile light infantry, and their task is to storm the castle by getting around many choke points that defenders rely on, and taking up flanking positions. Flanking requires mobility.
People who want scout rifles or even worse, battle rifles on LA are really weird. The carbines are infinitely better with HVA for almost every possible situation.
