I will attempt to offer some constructive criticism on Zealot Overdrive Engine, so I don't think anyone would disagree that ZOE is hands down the best MAX ability in the game, playing all three factions on a fairly regular basis has made that fairly clear to me. So I want to give my feedback as to why ZOE is a problem, I want to refrain from calling it over-powered however I would say that it is really really good in comparison to the other MAX abilities, too good. I have a few reasons why ZOE is so good, the first is Mobility that MAX's are big, lumbering hulking mechs, they are designed to be very powerful but slow, the one advantage infantry has over a MAX is mobility, moving faster and being more agile, ZOE takes that away, allowing the Vanu MAX to chase down infantry, and in most cases force the infantry to stand and fight, if you attempt to run you will most likely be gunned down anyway, and you can no longer outrun or outmaneuver a ZOE Max. Secondly, both lockdown and Aegis shield share something in common, those abilities are situational, ZOE is not, you grab ZOE and keep it on 100% of the time, the reason you do this is because there is next to no downsides to ZOE, Il get onto the increased damage taken in the next piece, however both lockdown and Aegis shield are designed to be used in very specific situations, with ZOE you keep it on 100% of the time and have no real reason to turn it off Thirdly, ZOE has next to no drawbacks The reason I say it has no drawbacks is because you take increased damage, however due to the fact that a medic can continually revive you and engineers can repair you, its not a big deal. The increased damage output and speed makes up for the increased damage since it is easier to avoid rockets coming at you unless at point blank range, with lockdown you cannot move, with Aegis shield you cannot fire, however with ZOE the amount of damage you take increases, but since you have such a low TTK most things are dead because they can shoot you anyhow. ZOE is the black sheep in the MAX family, ZOE maxes are the best performers according to higby, however since ZOE is already in the game, and due to the way the mechanics work I am not sure we can meaningfully nerf it, in an ideal situation ZOE would be a situational ability such as lockdown and Aegis, not a stick on 100% of the time ability. So the suggestions I would have would either be to heavily buff Aegis/Lockdown or give players a reason not to use ZOE all the time, it needs to be a situational ability with bigger/different drawbacks for its use, in order to bring it into line with the other MAX abilities, those are my thoughts. TL-DR Version: There is no reason to not use ZOE unlike Aegis/lockdown ZOE makes the max too maneuverable ZOE has meaningless drawbacks Would like to hear some thoughts on this, apologies for the lengthy text
Yes yes, ZOE is best ability for max. But why the **** does there have to be 100 different threads where ppl QQ about em, im sure devs have already noticed that something must be done. It doesnt speed up the process by making new thread about it. next time post it on the MAX section.
I would argue that the one drawback makes the paper-thin MAXes feel even more meaninglessly fragile, and as such no matter how good or bad the ability is, it will feel like **** one way or the other. The ability is all over the place and feels like it has no real purpose, except switch the type of weapon most likely to kill you from rockets to bullets, and make the lucky rockets still kill you faster. I.e.: it makes the MAX partially counter one of it's main counters while making it much weaker to bullets, the thing it's supposed to be countering to begin with. The other ES abilities might not be any better, but they at least have clearer use cases. The ZOE ends up being always on or just not equipped.
ZoE needs a cooldown similar to the NC Max Shield, there's no chance of them re-adding that though, it just makes too much sense, and SoE hate anything that's logical.
Steps to combat ZOE: 1. Shoot it. With your gun. 2. Profit. Steps that people seem to take to combat ZOE: 1. Deer-in-the-headlights OH GOD IT'S PINK! 2. Die because you didn't shoot it. 3. Cry on forums, creating new thread because you think your opinion is important enough to deserve the first post.
You must be new here. Here's what I do when I see a Scatmax looking at me: run away. Here's what I try to do when I see a ZOE max looking at me: run away. Except they can catch me.
ZOE penalizes you for taking 25% more damage just to be able to need 1 less shot to kill, I use it on my Comet load out for the mobility so I'm not a sitting duck against MBT's and Harassers. The rest of my MAX loadouts I still use charge. There was a cooldown on ZOE on PTS for a short time, they removed it because it was really really really bad.
Being dead is, in fact, a drawback. If you argue dying is not a drawback, then go ahead and nerf lockdown. Oh yes, you have to take more fire and die, but that doesn't matter because you can just be revived and repaired! Also, get rid of kinetic armour, it's useless. All it does is give you extra health which is pointless because if you die you can just be revived. Same goes for nanoweave! Nanoweave is UP! I think you get the point I'm trying to make. You can't simply claim ZOE has no drawbacks when it just does. As had been said a thousand times already, the best counter to a ZOE max is that gun you're holding. Just focusing fire for a bit will bring them down pretty damn quick. I agree though that ZOE is the least situational ability. It really feels like an NS ability and I personally wouldn't mind it being one as long as we got a situational empire specific ability as well (*cough* jumpjets *cough*). However, ZOE definitely isn't OP anymore. The strafe speed was ridiculous, but that's been fixed now.
only 1 less shot lead to a much faster ttk , ( if you keep the same firerate ) also its one less shot to kill ON ONE ARMS the TTK is much faster with 2 arms shooting at once so it make the ZOE more efficient than anything at any given range BOTH ARMS SHoot with more damage so its more like 2 less shot while firering both arms ( damage wise ) The difference bettween SLOWER ROF and Faster ROF weapons IS 1 LESS SHOT so ok give the NC faster ROF weapons but we Keep our one less shot to kill DEAL ? Since its not big deal for you
But apparently pink has some strange effect on enemies. To hear them tell it, things that are pink are damn near invincible. Can I paint my tank pink?
I'm not claiming it has no drawbacks, I'm arguing that the drawbacks are nearly irrelevant when compared to the bonuses, the drawbacks to both Lockdown and Aegis shield are far greater than those of ZOE
What this guy said. A single NC heavy sitting at 40m (aka out of my effective range for Blueshifts) takes my ZOE max down in less than a clip. I die in about 2 seconds if i run into 3 people and they actually shoot at me. TL;DR: shoot the ZOE max. If shooting doesn't work, try again until it does TL;DR of TL;DR Shoot the damn ZOE max TL;DR of TL;DR of TL;DR, because OP still doesn't get it: Shoot. The. *******. Pink. Crab.
I Since I've exhausted my patience demonstrating why the ZOE can be dealt with, and why the other MAXs are awesome depending on what players use them, and why strengths and weaknesses and differences can be fun, and all my examples and encouragement does nothing to change the mind of a freaking noobsausage, then I'm just not going to bother repeating myself and just say; L2Play. SOE needs to stop listening to people like you, especially those that haven't given them a dime towards the game.
This biggest problem with ZOE: In my max I die rather fast to decimators/rocket launchers. The main reason behind this, I cannot strafe like a child after consuming copious amounts of sugar. When one or more infantry decides to rush me with a launcher, there is no dodging because my max (designed to be less maneuverable than infantry) cannot side strafe like a child after consuming copious amounts of sugar. The major problem with ZOE, it enables the max to dodge attacks much easier than the other factions max suits. My solution to this failure of game design: eliminate the strafe like a child after consuming copious amounts of sugar on the ZOE ability. Make the strafing movement speed the same for all maxes.
I'm actually in favor of a Lockdown buff for TR. I saw one I really liked in Firefall (which isn't bad for still being in Beta, by the way). It's called Turret Mode in that game. http://firefall-wiki.com/w/Turret_Mode "Toggled activation ability that locks the [MAX] in place. While in Turret Mode, the [MAX] has increased damage, rate of fire, accuracy, and a damage absorption shield which reapplies itself." Basically, the unit gains a 250-health shield (its max health is 1500 for comparison) that soaks up damage. It's got very high AoE resistance. That part's important. Every 8 seconds that shield heals 250 points. It can never be more than 250, which prevents insane stacking of shield bonuses, and it helps the unit resist things like long-distance mortar strikes and grenades. To take out a Turret Mode enemy, you generally have to flank it, since, like the TR MAX, it's limited to 180 degree front rotation. If the TR MAX got a defense buff while Deployed that greatly increased C4 resistance it would go a long way toward making the ability viable for defense.
It could be balanced by adding a secondary ability. Give the TR and NC something nice with synergies to their empire specific ability, and the VS something more situational. Maybe something like this: VS: drifter jumpjets, limited fuel NC: smokescreen + thermal vision while the screen is up, on a cooldown TR: 40kph sprint mode, weapons disabled and turning speed impaired while sprinting and it takes a second to enter/exit sprint mode
