"Why Use Anything Else...

Here is one way how to get data: http://ps2oraclestats.com/monthlystats/
Sum up 'Playtime' for top 5 weapons in every weapon class.

LMG: Orion(2000) + Gauss SAW(2000) + Carv(1800) + MSW(700) + GD-22S(600) = 7100 hrs
Carbine: Mercenary(2600) + Solstice(2600) + TRAC(2500) + Razor(1100) + Pulsar(1100) = 9900 hrs
Sniper Rifle: Bolt Driver(1400) + Spectre(600) + 99SV(600) + Ghost(600) + M77-B(500) = 3700hrs
Assault Rifle: Gauss Rifle(1000) + Cycler(1000) + Pulsar(800) + Carnage(400) + H-V45(400) = 3600 hrs

Total time:24.300

Percentage of HA usage stated by OP: 80%
Real percentage of LMG usage: 30%

Nerfers pulling numbers out of their behind confirmed.

PS: Even if 80% of infantry was HA that still wouldn't mean class is OP. There is no objective reason that all infantry classes have to be equally represented on battlefield. There is no reason that for every HA there should be also 1 engineer, 1 medic, 1 light assault and 1 infiltrator present.

PSS: Stop pulling numbers out of your behind, I've linked page which extracts weapons stats through official API. Use it.

Which is exactly what you did - heavy can use carbines and shotguns..compare it to something like AR which is class specific (or sniper) and you see the difference.

LMG is played nearly 100% more than AR

Wrong, HAs cannot use carbines. Carbines are LA and Engineer only.

I think you meant SMGs, not Carbines.

Infiltrators can use SMGs and Combat Medics can use both Shotguns and SMGs, so even this is imprecise.

CipherNine didn't pull anything outta his behind. He stated :

Which is true (ofc numbers are not accurate, but that doesn't matter for the discussion). Cipher made no wrong conclusions. Also HA can't use carbines.

OP is a BSer.

Just a thought......if HA is so popular doesn't that mean it is a significant reason why so many people play the game? Why would devs take away something that encourages people to sign up? (yes I know a lot of people are F2P as well but there has to be some impact on membership).

It's all been said before so I'll just keep it relatively short.......tactics appropriate to your class like ambush, explosives, sniping, turret, mines, hit and run. If desperate, pull a Max or HA yourself for a bit. And there is some great hyperbole out there:

• I emptied a whole mag into him and he didn't die (tr: I missed with a lot of bullets)
• 80% or more people play HA (tr: I get killed by HA 80% of the time when I don't use smart tactics)
• HA is easy mode (tr: I get killed by HA because they are designed to be killing machines and little else)
• Overshield is OP (tr: validate my choice of other class by getting rid of their class ability but not mine)
• There is no down side to HA (tr: apart from all the things they can't do and their glow in the dark, slow me down and notice me shield effect).

Which is ok for a snap shot but it needs to be worked out taking into consideration all weapons within a group plus all weapons a class " can use " ..

Ie: I haven't used the SAW or GD on my heavy for over a year and I use an SMG loadout more often ..

Also if only using the Top 5 shouldn't the cross faction NS-15m LMG ( 1400 ish ) replace the GD-22 ?

Same goes for the NS-11C carbine

You probably meant shotguns and SMGs.

Explain why should we compare shotguns and SMGs which are accessible to all classes to AR which is class specific?
Are you saying only heavy assaults use shotguns and SMGs?

That's true. However the point was that OP makes things up. And it was proven.

Oh yeah I agree that 80% is a wild claim ..

I like EMPs as a counter and use them even against individual heavies, although I wouldn't mind something more subtle like single targetable EMP projectiles or something. From stalker point of view, outsmarting a good HA is hard since infiltrator cloak sounds are loud, EMPs are slow to throw for ambushes and HA has more firepower.
I see infiltrator as some kind of counter against heavy assaults with EMPs, but it's mechanics and tools otherwise seem a bit clumsy so it's no wonder that HA is preferred most of the time.

E: To be clear, I wouldn't want HA to be nerfed. Instead make the infantry combat scene more interesting

Time to invalidate all the above whining rubbish.

Planet side 2 is a combined arms game based around large scale teamwork, not 1v1's.

Please also see the class descriptions on the home page.

If this is not good enough for you, if that really doesn't sink in and/or you don't like it, please quit the game or play bf4/cod/CSGO as those are good for 1v1 stat faps. Your whining would be understandable there but here, it is ridiculous.

And don't go saying I'm being toxic. The whining is as toxic as it gets as its opting to nerf core gameplay in favour of 1v1 kids.

Get a grip and realise what you're playing. You're not special.

Thank you.

HA moves 25% slower when shield is on -> easier headshots, that is why people talk so much about going for headshots when engaging HA. if he does not activate shield then he has the same HP as you do and everything comes down to weapon choice and skill, most weapons have hip fire superior to LMG. No matter how pro you are it is hard to hit ADAD strafing target while ADSing.

HA shield is already balanced in by reducing movement speed, if it is to be nerfed, then the best solution is tweaking the movement speed reduction which is already in game instead of coming up with new ways of balancing HA and changing multiple different things(removing 0.75 weapons etc.). It looks like the most elegant solution to me, and should not take too much development time balancing it.

Using your example, DBG( in the past SOE) should remove Vanguard Shield,PPA,Orion,Betelgeuse etc and int he past ZOE,Striker,Phoenix should have been taken out cause 80% of the players used it and it was OP back then.

And pls, you are a genious i see.Pls tell me ,why is HA OP now and why wasn't in 2012 or 2013 cause i play since beta, and HA never were so OP as right now.So is it the HA that is OP, or just 80% of the players who has every right to use it.Bias in the air folks.

Except that weapon stats do not say anything about how many players are using a class.

The character I play most is VS, and I don't play as heavy assault very often but when I do I NEVER use the Orion or other VS HA weapons. Wait does that mean I don't play heavy then? Going by your 'facts' it does.

PS
By weapons I was not including rocket launchers.

if A is more than 2x B, it means B can't be greater than both the two parts that make A.
whatever you want to "distribute" the carbine usage between LAs and engineers, LMG equip time wont be greater than both the carbine values. it may be (and probably is) greater than LA equip time, but it is lower than engineers one. do I want an engineer nerf because it is the most used class? course not holy cow.

and btw we can't compare numbers just taking some weapon into count, if you wanna do the math just take ALL the weapons, or stick with the result we already come with.

totally wrong.
being the vehicle class cannot be taken out of the balance equation. vehicles get kills, just like jetpacks, cloaks, selfheal, shields.
there is a reason why ppl who drive roll no HA. that reason fills a place in the balance of the game, face it.

stop pretendind this game is cod ffs.

I guess that kinda makes sense, but 25% less movement speed isn't really a drawback compared to the advantage.
Also VS heavies still move faster than me because I usually have a 0.5 weapon while VS seem to use the Orion or the Betelgeuse exclusively -> 0.75 * 0,75 = 0,56.
Which is very strange, since according to them, the advantage is absolutely negligible and barely noticeable...

Edit: The last part kinda got me thinking - I can't name a single VS LMG besides those two .

does it matter? it says what class is most played, which doesn't really matter too imho, lol

ursa!

But A isn't greater than 2x B ...

If you take the stats from Ciphers post ...

It's a long way from x2 ...

Even if you give Engi's a 60/40 split it's still not greater than LMG usage ...

Only people using numbers lie. Like that number you just made up.

87.6% of all stats are made up on the spot. Numbers don't lie!