You can't throw a dead cat...

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by theVelvetAlley, Jul 3, 2015.

  1. Larkaywatt

    What if we just *gasp* get rid of the I-win button altogether? Instead of a huge amount of or all of the damage done to the HA being removed, just give the HA a -5% or so passive damage reduction, like mini Nano-weave armor.

    but dead cats OHK.
  2. Crator

    Or, give everyone the over-shield!
  3. BrbImAFK


    Shield is fine. Leave the shield alone. HA is meant to be hard to kill.

    I'll say it again - Problem with heavies is NOT the shield, it's the ridiculous versatility of the class. Especially on top of the shield. HA deserves the shield. It doesn't deserve to be able to kill infantry, vehicles, MAX's, air etc. etc. all with a single loadout, while still having regen implant to top up health and carrying enough medkits to give your average pharmacist green-faced envy!
  4. Larkaywatt

    Cloaking infil also activates glowy shoot me shield XD
  5. Farlion

    Why would anyone throw dead cats in the first place?
  6. Larkaywatt

    I'm honestly pretty okay with the shield, but that just stuck out as my main problem with the class. The rocket launchers really give it the versatility, considering without it the HA wouldn't be able to kill MAXes and vehicles.

    Hm... Mustarde started a thread about removing MAXes a bit ago. What if we replaced it with an anti-vehicle oriented support class, giving it the rocket launcher instead of the HA? 3 assault classes, 3 support :D
  7. FateJH

    You might ask the Mongols when they catapulted corpses into the besieged city of Caffa, Crimea, in the 14th century.
  8. Larkaywatt

    That is disturbingly horrific.
  9. Talis

    That is psychologically valid: people usually decide on a thing and make up a reason why it happened afterward. However, while what you say is probable, I do believe the issue here isn't actually about Heavy Assaults beating everyone up... it is about how versatile they are as a single class within a role-based game. When asked, however, most people will describe that phenomena as "they beat everyone up". They aren't wrong to describe it this way, even if it sounds easy to dispute.

    The concept of balance is very important to people in competitive scenarios. The usual backbone of balance is as follows:

    1) The more specialized a role is, the less general it should be.

    therefore

    2) The more generalized a role is, the less specialized it should be.

    What this means is: no class should be a specialized-generalist; i.e.: no class should have both traits.
    This logic doesn't come out of thin air - in fact it comes from how physics works in reality. For example, we all have a limited amount of time to live our lives. During this time we can develop many skills, but no one can develop every skill. This 'law' in nature forces specialization. I can't be a doctor, an astronaut, and a pro basketball player at the same time, simply because the amount of time required to become proficient at all those skills exceeds the average human lifespan.

    Returning to Heavy Assaults: I believe the animosity towards Heavy Assaults stems from the perception that they are too specialized for how generalized they are. In other words: the balance is a bit off. The game revolves around combat, and that combat mostly consists of Infantry and Vehicles (including aircraft). The Heavy Assault class is the only class that is - by design - able to engage both Infantry and Vehicles effectively.

    There are 6 classes in the game:

    Infiltrator - Effective vs Infantry
    Engineer - Effective vs Infantry & Ground Vehicles
    Medic - Effective vs Infantry
    Light Assault - Effective vs Infantry & stationary Ground Vehicles
    Heavy Assault - Effective vs Infantry, Air, & Ground Vehicles
    Max Suit - Effective vs Infantry, Air, & Ground Vehicles (requires nearby Terminal)


    In terms of overall versatility, the Heavy Assault and Max Suit exceeds the capability of the other 4 classes. The Max Suit, however, requires a nearby Terminal to switch between roles. In fact, the Max Suit can only ever effectively fill 2 of the 3 roles at the same time (it only has 2 arms). The Heavy Assault class, however, can fill all 3 roles 24/7.

    Regarding the argument: "Heavy Assault is the front line infantry..."

    zombielores answered this dilemma already: no military (now or ever) would have their General Issue soldier carrying around ALL of their specialized equipment. As explained above, this is physically impossible - and by "physically" I mean because of "physics", not how much you bench press.

    Specialized equipment (like a rocket launcher) is almost always more expensive, and therefore isn't mass-produced on the same level as a rifle. It also requires training, which costs resources (you have to pay, feed, and house the soldier while he is in training... the longer he is in training, the longer you pay for it). It simply doesn't make sense to train EVERY single soldier how to do EVERY single task; that's what teamwork is for. Humans group together to increase their strengths, but also to decrease their weaknesses.

    Now, one might ask: "Well, but in a science-fiction future like Planetside, couldn't every solder be trained in everything?"

    Sadly, no. Because no matter where you are in time, you are already in the future of someone else's past. For example we, right now (in 2015), are already in the 'future' compared to the 1600's. ALL of our soldiers come equipped with the high-tech ability to open tin cans (the can opener was invented), however that is now considered a 'general' ability. It is no longer specialized. Specialized, to us now, is the guy who disarms improvised explosive devices, or a trained marksman (sniper).

    The point is, Planetside may be in our future, however they are in their own present and, therefore, still have their own specializations - their own maximum potential. Every soldier simply cannot be at that maximum potential, otherwise it wouldn't be the maximum.
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  10. Mythologicus

    And throwing apparently explosive cats at approaching supersoldiers isn't?