Imagine you've been invited to a panel, very much like what Luperza did with the ESF pilots, regarding the Infiltrator. What would you talk about? Would you discuss sniping/CQC? Talk about cloaks? Gadgets? Discuss, but keep it civil.
I think what is most important for the future of the class is giving infiltrators more reasons to play its two main roles (sniper and CQC). I think we are well equiped for those two situations and the combat is both fun and rewarding, but we need a more things to keep us there. For snipers, once the nanoweave imbalanced is fixed, we will very capable at long range and able to adapt to changing combat very well but we need a reason to be at a distance. right now we have combat-based reasons to be far off ( sniper rifle is more effective, and a better field of view to identify priority targets) but we lack a tactical reason. We need some kind of tool or ability that gives a tactical advantage to the team for having snipers far off. My suggestion is an alternate dart gun with a charge up time that fires an emp type projectile that disables vehicle huds for a few seconds. If snipers were able to actually help friendlies kill enemy vehicles, while at the same time sniping enemy infantry trying to kill friendly vehicles, people would stop saying we are only at range to pad K/D. For CQC infils I think there needs to be a reason for them to be in every CQC battle. hacking would probably be the best way, but the devs would have to do an in-depth rework that made hacking a VERY important part of every base. turrets and terminals are not enough. We need doors, energy walkways, ammo towers, grav lifts, etc. Hacking things should either make the base much easier to attack or much easier to defend depending on who owns the most hackable content. if people needed an infil every time they wanted to use a grav lift, or jump pad, or find an alternate path around the main choke point, the class would not be labled a lone wolf killing class. This is not to say I want infiltrators to be overpowered, but I think adding more roles is a good thing for every class and should be a focus of development. There are a lot of niches, not only for infiltrator, that I think are not being filled right now. Light assault needs more things to do that require their jetpack. Heavies need more ways to defend the people they are tanking for. Medics need more ways to help teammates once they have brought them back to life. MAXes need a reason for teammates to try and transport them after big meatgrinder battles are over. I am not saying these classes are underpowered or overpowered, but there are so many ways they can be expanded and since the infil update is coming up I think these kinds of changes would set a good precedent for the future class updates.
What tools can you think of that will make the Sniper a helpful asset at range apart from obviously killing?
I would speak exclusively about the cloak. How it is simply the least functional aspect of the class and how it borrows mechanics from other games which simply don't belong together, turning it into a baffling and self-contradictory mess. The infiltrator is a multi-purpose class and it definitely needs help in plenty of other areas, but the one thing everyone should expect it to be able to do is infiltrate significantly better than its peers, and it simply can't. Stealth gameplay is the area I feel most qualified to speak about. I could talk about sniping problems and the like, but I shouldn't be the one doing that, and I suspect neither should whoever is doing it right now. Edit: That said, it is my personal opinion that snipers could benefit greatly with unique interaction with respawn and revive timers. If snipers were a counter to medic overuse, either by an absolute "no revive" effect or simply a significant revive time penalty, they would actually have a place in large scale infantry conflicts that wasn't made redundant by tanks.
Well the dart idea I listed, the charge time would make it less effective the closer you are because you make yourself more vulnerable while charging it up. I also think if they do the recon drone right that it will have a use for long range snipers. I would also like a utility slot item like binoculars that do silent spotting and range finding. I don't personally need a range finder, but a lot of people would benefit from it. The silent spotting would be useful in a number of situations, and maybe they could even add more info to targets spotted with the binoculars like player health, suit slot, weapon, etc.
Would you like the old PS1 Infiltrator to just be copy pasted into PS2 and replace the existing one, or would make a bit of a mix and match between them?
I would spend the time by providing an overview of the Infiltrator Class in outline form, and then discussing our/their thoughts on it. Exploring what defines the Class in terms of what it can do, how it is played, some of the problems it faces, and where it is going. I would cover the following main categories: Roles (gameplay) Unique Abilities/Weaknesses Problems Changes Community Other Issues I have run many of these types of meetings (planning, running, debriefs, etc.), and I have had very good success with using pre-made content outlines to help anchor the direction/structure of the meeting, provide a shared reference and launching off point, etc. I typically provide a handout or email with a VERY bare bones outline ahead of time to each person and then again at the meeting. I also welcome anyone's input/feedback/requests before the meeting to modify or add to the outline. The outline would look as follows: I. Roles (gameplay): 1) Sniper 2) Surprise Close-Quarters-Combat 3) Hacker 4) Recon 5) Infiltration II. Unique Abilities/Weaknesses: A. Abilities (+) 1) Cloak 2) Hacking 3) Sniper Weapons 4) Radar B. Weaknesses (-) 1) Can't Destroy Vehicles 2) Have 100 Less Health 3) Don't have access to Shotguns III. Problems: 1) Bugs 2) Power Creep (the gradual unbalancing of a game due to successive releases/unlocking of new content; Nanoweave, Flash Scout Radar, etc.) 3) Style Drift (The divergence of they way a Class is played from its previous style or objective into something different) 4) "Give Away" of Unique Abilities 5) Playability in changing game system 6) Playability within new content 7) When Counters to roles/abilities "too strong" 8) Cert Tree Costs (Dart too high) 9) Team Tactical Usefulness IV. Changes: 1) Planned Changes: modification to existing game 2) Planned Changes: new stuff to existing game 3) Infiltrator Update: goal, plan, status V. Community: 1) Devs 2) Players 3) Forums 4) Player/Community concerns/interests 5) Non-Infiltrator player concerns/interests VI. Other Issues & New Issues: 1) Anything related to the above but has not been covered 2) Anything that is a new issue that has not been covered Typically such a broad based meeting is spent just going over and getting familiar or providing more clarity on each category/point. You go through each category/point pretty quickly, and the idea is to get people involved and able to contribute, while also keeping things flowing and on schedule so you can keep everyone's interest/attention and you can tackle everything on the agenda. Any topic that people don't have much to say about can be covered quickly and then you move along. While actual in depth exploration of a specific point is ok if the whole group is into it and it fits in the time, it's often best to identify which specific members of the group are interested in that issue, and then flag it and coordinate a follow-up meeting (or email/forum thread) with just those people to focus on and explore that point. As we progress, we make note of any new issues being added, as well as any issues that should be looked into more. Usually there is plenty of time after the review of the outline for the meeting to develop in any direction people want it to.
#1) Class difficulty and Training Lessons I would begin by discussing what everyone referred to as "the 100 pound training weight on the class."The infiltrator is by far the most challenging infantry class to learn. It is the least forgiving in combat, the most technical, and misunderstood. You all know what I am talking about if you play this class primarily. Especially if you dabble a little bit in the other classes when the situation dictates. Trying to keep the word count down, its harder to learn how to "effectively" play the infiltrator then the other classes. As a new player, having NEVER played an FPS previous to PS2. I can tell you i felt every ounce of that 100 pounds when learning this game. The only reason I didn't give up and quit was because of you guys. I came here with questions, and I got answers and inspiration from you guys to ask MYSELF questions about why i was failing and learn to improve. Each failure slowly pushing me towards a long tedious road to victory. I still do not consider myself near the level of some of you guys though. I have a long road ahead still. I ENJOY the high skill ceiling in the sense that it is something to strive for and the learning adventure can be rewarding once you get the basics. Some kind of VR training lesson for infiltrators is probably a great idea especially before the PS4 console launches. There needs to be some kind of crash course for new infiltrators which explain the different invisibility states of cloak. After experiencing the surge of new Vanu on Waterson it wouldn't hurt to add a "how to hack terminals" lesson into the infiltrators course. That question comes up allot and you would be surprised how people are not often observant enough to notice the text on the terminals. Special emphasis on using ReconDarts would be wise as well. In the beginning the darts to not appear to be very attractive to a newer player. Waiting to get these fully certed is a mistake many new players have made, and will continue to make without being told the value of them. Something as simple as showing a noobie that detecting enemies gives exp, and also provides valuable knowledge of which path is safe for travel would work wonders on getting them to think more critically when using darts. A proper definition of cloak would also be advisable because many of us initially assumed we were 100% invisible and got a nice surprise at the start of the game. When expectations do not match reality you have UPSET players. Any time you challenge someones perceived truth you run the risk of pissing them off. This can be completely avoided. I think as long as Sony provides new players with basic knowledge on how to actually function with the class properly that should alleviate some of the growing pains and frustration new infiltrators experience. A higher skill ceiling is excellent for a games longevity, so long as new players are not overly frustrated or confused when they begin. #2) High Cert Investment Required My first days in planetside 2 were quite sad. When I began this game it was a race to 100 certs so I could obtain my XM98. (Lower grade BASR) Starting out sniping isn't such a horrible idea HOWEVER the infiltrator requires a HUGE CERT INVESTMENT before the class begins to feel effective. That is not good news for a significant portion of players who will choose the infiltrator as their first class in the game. These people are going to jump into PS2 unaware of the challenges they face ahead and their impressions of the game are going to be different then those who select a different class first. Maybe with stalker cloak and the pistol synergy coming in the future this will not continue to be true. At present, a noobie infiltrator HAS to start out sniping. They will be dealing with Nanoweave on top of their inexperience with the landscape, or wonky PS2 sniping mechanics. If they dislike sniping... getting set up for SMG play is very expensive. Jumping into CQC on any other class is allot less painful. I really hope Stalker Cloak changes this reality. Sony should very much consider keeping the first rank of stalker cloak fairly cheap for entry level players so they can possibly bypass these issues for the PS4 launch. #3) More Hacking / Objectives I am not saying hacking is bad. I could just be so much more effective. I agree with everything IlXanderil said regarding adding hack-able objectives to increase our CQC value. I am particularly fond of the animated blast door in the VR Training Lesson. It would be awesome if we could hack blast doors to make more points of entry for our team. I would consider adding defensible assets like laser which could be disabled, or re-enabled but not destroyed. I considered lasers in the past, but if they are placed by players it could be difficult to control abuse. This way would be much more predictable for everyone. #4) Jumping Objectives I know Sony wants to keep the high ground specific to the light assault, but that cannot always be done. Players are very creative and will find ways to reach areas the game designers never intended. I would advocate instead of being restrictive with base design, just give massive favor to the jetpack. Provide LA cover, and easy vantage, but don't punish those of us who do manage to find our way up to the roof just embrace it. Turn the entire situation into a little meta game. I would encourage parkour style advantages where an infiltrator (or other classes) are tempted to be good jumpers. Entice the infiltrators to use their cloak to sneak past the light assaults, on upper areas. Using cloak would make sense and give the infiltrator a greater ability not to be spotted on route to an exposed objective. Light assaults would have a huge advantage above battle freely moving from roof top, making use of cover and ambush points. The infiltrator who ventured skyward could attempt to sneak past them. Using careful jumping to reach objectives creates a jumping puzzle / adrenalin rush style event. Any class could venture up here, however the ones most suited to get past enemy defenses would be the ones who could get there quickly (LA) or discreetly(INFI). I could also possibly see a beefy MAXX trying this out, but that would be hilarious and awesome to behold. In short, we already do this. Infiltrators are known for getting into all sorts of crazy sniping nests, or ambushing from weird and wonderful places. A grappling hook, or climbing gear is one of our most requested tools for a reason. The most successful of us can move and jump around a tower or base and know how to vault over specific fences or jitter step our way to get into windows. Base designs should just embrace the cat and mouse dynamics that already exist between infiltrators and LA. Every time patches are done to address jumping routes I feel slightly sad because some of my most fun and effective infiltration moments involve climbing and jumping to unexpected locations. My most heart pounding moment in this game is being chased by two [NUC] light assaults on the roof top area of a biolab. While every class could do these things infiltrators can do them undetected and that makes a big difference. The entire concept of the class is "stealth" entry but Sony seems intent to force us to use our cloak entirely for this purpose. I will tell you right now... THIS IS NOT HOW WE PLAY. We climb, jump and distract our way into bases as much as possible. We use scythes, flashes and spawn beacons to get places we shouldn't. I even have a disco tank i use as a distraction. I might get some flak for this however I just feel jumping is so essential to the class, and is often overlooked or underestimated.
Eh, it would certainly be progress of a sort, but I don't think that an infinite duration cloak with no weapons restriction is a good idea in this game. The original Planetside certainly had the right idea about keeping a separate cloak visibility for every stage of movement, but it was also a much slower game, with different environments and no diversity in graphics settings. I'm a much bigger fan of binary visibility mechanics anyways, or at least ones which are balanced as if they were. For instance, imagine if the "no-render range" of our current cloak was dynamic, and it was what changed based on how fast you were moving. In other words, players would fade in with distance (possibly to a more visible version of the existing cloak effects - I find them so obvious that they could accomplish the idea of a cloaked player being present without giving that player much of an advantage) based entirely on how fast they were moving. Other options exist, of course. Even a cloak with absolutely no detection counter-play could still be balanced if it was outright impossible to use as an ambush tool. It would be the equivalent of infiltrators "teleporting" into safe areas deep within enemy territory and then having to do the rest of the job fully visible, but from a highly advantageous position. I'm sure people would hate it, of course, but that wouldn't be an impediment to its balancing, at least.
Its seems you have a very platformer like mentality. I actually didn't know you could jump up the back of sunderers and get on top until I watched that video. Getting vertical seems like a no brainer, but whenever its talked about for the infil people say we would be intruding on the LA's territory, and doesn't fit with our class. If we ever got a panel with the devs I would be interested in hearing what they have to say on infiltrators taking to the rooftops and cliffs.
Most was allready said, so i keep it short: - I would talk about the reason for a long-range sniper headshot, currently there is none. Mentioned a few times, a simple "headshot = no revive" would make them far more usefull for the whole team, and not only for your statistic. - our Cloak and why i like "disguise" camo more for infiltrating more (needs more intelligence to use and act like an enemy, or find the infiltrator in your base) - our role for the team, dartgun can be fine against smaller strikeforces, like if you are in a small squad with 3 or 4 guys and you want to see how many enemys are inside the building. but during a "real" battle there is no use, you shoot until there is no one left. - Mobility and why the LA is so superior at Infiltrating. - New tools like the drone and what i would wish for it (customizable equipment, vehicle-marker, dartgun, hacking-device for the sneaky gameplay, pistol and integrated explosive like SW Battlefront for offensive) - Hacking and why it feels so bad (blow all the things up!) - Spotting Improvements (Implants?) for Infiltrators, targets will be shown longer, if implant: even through walls.
consistent cloak: having different cloak shaders/quality isn't an option. If we don't get consistent cloak, then the whine will persist ( new thread every week about completely (in)visible infiltrator on various settings).
If I were invited to an Infiltrator Panel I would like to talk about a wide array of topics. I would primarily focus on the design direction this class is currently following, and ways we could change this direction for the betterment of the class & the game altogether. In my opinion this class needs to be less about SMGs & Sniper Rifles and more about sabotage and electronics warfare. This class is a far cry from the stealthy sabotaging support class from PS1 and is more like a BF3 Recon with a cloaking device. Don’t get me wrong I like this class, but I feel like it is going down the wrong direction and has been for quite some time. Rather than take the route paved by PS1 that was undoubtedly balanced, SOE decided to turn the class into an ambushing flanker class which is an almost universally hated concept across all games I've played that have them (Rogues in WoW, Rogues in NWN, Operatives/Assassins in SWTOR, etc), with a splash of Recon for utility. The problems with this development direction are threefold, with the first and foremost of which being the near uselessness of player-based reconnaissance in this game. Many forms of intelligence that you would wish to have as a leader is given freely by the game (approximate number of troops, what bases are under attack, how far along the cap timer is, number of generators up/down, etc), or given by the Recon Dart/Scout Radar (actual number of soldiers, relative location, relative direction of travel). The second main problem with this development direction that ties in with the first is that it does nothing to alleviate the redundancy issue with having more than one or two Infiltrators per battle. One or two Infiltrators can cover an entire base with Recon Darts, which is our only real utility. Adding more Infiltrators at this point is useless, as each one added brings substantially less utility then the one before it. Medics, Engineers, and Heavy Assaults do not share this issue as having more of either is always beneficial. Having more healing/revives, ammo/repairs, and vehicle destruction capability is not something that quickly loses its value unlike Recon (whose value is minimal already). The third problem is the perception of imbalance. Ambushing flanker classes are notoriously difficult to balance in my experience. When played correctly the opponent has almost zero chance of fighting back, while when played incorrectly the flanker has almost zero chance to win. Multiple nerf/buff cycles take place over the course of the game in order to alleviate these issues, and both sides are typically unhappy with the situation regardless of how it changes. Even now you can see this taking place in PS2. I’ve witnessed and have been a part of numerous discussions on this class’s balance, with some posters believing we are still weak and underpowered, and with some who believe the opposite. I don’t think this will change unless the class’s direction does. I have a suggestion that I have been milling about for a while that answers all three of these problems, both giving the class a useful role that is relatively unique, one that allows for greater efficiency & less redundancy with more Infiltrators (like the Medic, Heavy, and Engineer), and one that very nearly removes the question of balance in combat. It revolves around two components: Hacking & Bolstering, and adapting the class to those changes. An Infiltrator on the attack would focus on sabotaging enemy equipment and generally making it harder for the opposing team to adequately defend. This is very similar to what we have right now, but all hacks would temporarily switch a hackable object to your faction’s side or disable it. Affected objects would include the standard terminals & turrets, but would also add things such as Ammunition Towers/Pads, teleporters, defender-only jump pads, shields, etc. All malicious code would be automatically rewritten by the NS systems after a certain period of time. Bolstering on the other hand would be primarily what a defending Infiltrator would focus on. This would be injecting empire-specific algorithms and code that increases efficiency. Examples would include bolstering a generator to have overload attempts take longer, bolstering a turret to have it fire faster or overheat slower, bolster friendly medic tools to have them heal faster or revive with health + shields, etc. Like the malicious code of hacking, these bolsters too would be rewritten by the NS systems after a certain period of time. These changes would allow the Infiltrator to have a role outside of simply killing targets, and their temporary nature would make it an ongoing struggle for multiple Infiltrators to keep everything running at peak efficiency or not running at all. They give the Infiltrator something to do on the attack, on the defense, and even in the field away from bases altogether. As a trade off for such an increase in utility, I think it would only be fair to strip down some of the Infiltrator’s combat ability because after these changes we could conceivably bring the combat prowess of the Heavy Assault & the utility of the Engineer/Medic. This is debatable but in a perfect world I would have the Infiltrator be limited to pistols, perhaps Infiltrator-specific ones, but with a more suitable ammo pool. In a not-so-perfect world the class would simply be limited to the weaker Scout Rifles & Sniper Rifles, with a long gun user being forced to equip a cloak less suitable for CQC akin to the Hunter we have now while the pistol users would have access to something like the upcoming Stalker. The Recon Tool would also be removed in favor of the Remote Electronics Kit, which would replace the Advance Terminal Hacking passive & would have to be equipped prior to use like any other tool in the game. This tool itself could have multiple cert pathways, with a line for faster hacking or longer range hacking as examples. The role the Recon Tool provides could be given to an AWACS Galaxy or a Satellite Module on the Sunderer. I believe the cloak itself is relatively fine. I think it requires a lot of skill and patience to use effectively, and would hate to see it turned into an ‘easy mode’ button. I do think that it could use some quality of life changes, especially if the above changes to the class were made. Being that the class would be by default weaker in combat due to its weapon selection I think it would be only fair to bring our shields back up to 500 and have those shields be able to recharge while cloaked. The time between the cloaking stages would have to be shortened considerably to the point of being instant and cloaking while crouched & unmoving would render the Infiltrator invisible so that we could more easily hide from opponents when outnumbered. The class’s weapon selection & the specifics of the hacking/bolstering are debatable, but I think the general idea is solid. It would change the class from an overpowered stealth assault to a more reasonable utility class on par with Medics & Engineers. It would not be a non-combat class by any means as this is still first and foremost an FPS, but it would require finesse, patience, and forethought to use in that capacity as it should be. Overall I feel like this is a pipe dream, but if I were elected to an Infiltrator Panel these are the sort of changes I would push for. It would alleviate many of the complaints I’ve read on these forums and in game, giving the class a much needed boost in utility, tones down some of the perceived imbalance in the combat department, and gives Infiltrators better control over their own visibility. TL;DR for those who don't have the patience to read: Goal is to change class from a stealth assault class to a utility class. Remove useless Recon role and focus on hacking/bolstering instead. Limit weapon selection to alleviate class being too powerful in combat and reinforce utility role. Quality of life changes to cloak to foster somewhat easier & more predictable use. Comments and questions are appreciated.
Do you think they will actually fix the inbalance? You sound quite confident, but I'm not so optimistic. This is the most major issue facing this class right now, imho.
I'm confident they will address it, but I don't know if they will completely fix it. Either way, any kind of fix will be better than how it works now so I can almost guarantee our effectiveness will increase. I hope it will be a complete fix that lets all BASRs one shot headshot from all ranges, but there is no way to guarantee that.
Interesting post Astraka. I like the concept of overclocking turrets lol. There are some very nifty ideas there that could be useful to move the class towards a support role. I think I would be afraid of the outrage which would occur if SMG's were removed, and imagine at this point its too late to remove them from the infiltrator for customer service reasons. That said its a shame similar ideas were not explored sooner. I think your on to something with the general concept there and it would be really interesting to hear developer thoughts regarding that kind of direction. Recon is so overdone. Hacking should be the longterm solution for infiltrators becoming more useful. Regarding snipers, Sony really need to improve the BASR. I think most infiltrators are unified in the sense we know there is a problem that needs to be addressed. The suggestion for giving snipers the ability to equip binoculars was pretty legit too. It is really hard to find ways to get snipers more involved due to the distance. I am going to imagine the drone should help a little here, but until we know more about what is going to be used on it that is a hard call.
You are probably right about them never taking away SMGs. While I'm not exactly upset by that (I do very much enjoy using them and specifically bought them for my Infiltrator), I worry that having access to such potent weaponry would limit the amount of utility we'd be able to bring as I said before. The intent was to bring CQC Infiltrators to a point where they're just as effective in combat as Medics & Engineers, whereas right now I feel like we have to potential to be a great deal better then those two classes - sometimes all of them - in combat situations. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that to bring more utility we'd have to give up combat ability. As far as developer thoughts on my ideas, I feel like it is fairly unlikely that anyone even reads these forums aside from RadarX checking for TOS violations. I've considered putting them on the Ideas/Suggestions board but let's look at it realistically, the only thread I can see that has had a developer comment had nearly five hundred upvotes - I'd be legitimately surprised if my ideas got five upvotes in this forum. Still, it would make me awfully happy to see what someone in charge thinks. I appreciate the comments.
I agree with giving infiltrators more stuff to hack: doors, jump pads, base defenses, anything that will lead to easier penetration by ally forces. I like the idea of head shots meaning no revive. I don't snipe but that seems like reason enough to play long and not overpowered. As for cloaks what we have is quite decent. If you don't think so, then you aren't playing right. I propose a non-cloaking ability such as a decoy ability where the enemy sees two infiltrators running in opposite directions. It should either disable the primary for a short period or have a long recharge (and be only available at full charge) so opponents don't see two infiltrators shooting smgs at them. If you have a non-cloaking idea please share. Smoke grenades please. Too OP? Then a smoke cloak that isn't . EMP grenades that affect vehicles if only for a short time. Change the decoy grenade to a decoy mine with a trigger like C4. I play TR but is there much difference between Prox mines and Bettys? Give Claymores a longer area of for triggering detonation and/or a further blasting zone. Have Bouncing Bettys function as they are with biggest AOE Allow proximity mines to be placed on walls and ceilings and do more damage with smaller AOE than Bettys. Gadgets? Laser guides for a special rocket launcher. Infiltrator + HA team-ups. If too OP make the infiltrator stick a beacon it to the sunderer by hand. Beacon can be destroyed. No grapple hooks, no jump packs, no cheesy gimmicks. Faster speed? Just a little please.
Personally I think the issue is rather that the Infiltrator and Light Assault have been incorrectly conflated. They share certain traits, but they also have traits that the other ought to have. For example- Having the Infiltrator as both a long-range sniper and as a short-range, well, Infiltrator, doesn't mesh. It's a dichotomy of One or the Other that no other class has (aside from maybe the MAX, with AV vs. AI). I feel like Light Assault should be the ones to have access to Sniper and Scout rifles, but no shotguns. The Infiltrator is the one that gets access to Shotguns. That way, the Infiltrator is limited to short and medium range combat- situations where the cloak goes from "Nya nya, you can't see me when I'm picking you off" to "Cause confusion and utilize distraction" with the cloak doing its job of keeping you out of enemy peripheral vision, and forcing them to focus to try and find you. Things like the NanoArmour cloaking and Recon Dart support this idea of the Infiltrator as a Front Lines only fighter. And give them back their extra 100 HP. And for heavens sake, give them their C4! If you don't want to get blown by it (same as with, you know, Proximity Mines!) then you keep an eye out for infs. Vehicles have access to thermal, so that's not an excuse either. Light Assault, on the other hand, has maneuverability and positioning, things that are critical for good snipers. A sniper that can get to high cliffsides and odd under and overhangs, but can't turn invisible is rather better both to fight and to be than one that can occasionally still get to odd areas and turn invisible. Remember- you have guns. If they can see you, you can see them. And no C4. They're soldiers, not bombers. Essentially- Re-name the Light Assault as Infiltrator, and give them the Cloaks. And re-name the Infiltrator the Sniper and give them the jetpacks. You have balance and fun and reasons for playing each, without any of the class role confusion that exists now.
