Player Response Updates

[Marsman]

http://www.planetside-universe.com/index.php#781 :D

Player Response Updates
The PlanetSide Development Team has been lurking the official forums and other feedback channels, watching for what players are looking for to help balance the battlegrounds and improve the overall flow of the war for Auraxis. After much review and internal design consideration, the team will be initiating the following enhancements.

Vehicle Weapon Clip Size Changes
The follow changes affect how much ammo is carried in each vehicle's clip.

Basilisk: Was 250, now 100
Deliverer: Was 250, now 100
Harasser: Was 250, now 150
Liberator (rear gun only): Was 250, now 150
Lightning (20mm only): Was 250, now 150
Magrider (PPA only): Was 250, now 150
Marauder (GroundPounder): Was 20, NOW 50!!!
Marauder (12mm): Was 250, now 150
Mosquito: Was 250, now 150
Prowler: (machinegun only): Was 250, now 200.
Vanguard: (machinegun only): Was 250, now 200.
Vehicle Ammo Box Size Changes
Vehicle Ammo Box Capacity Changes
The following ammo boxes have had their capacity changed.

20mm ammo: Was 100, now 200. (affects Deliverer Lightning, Vanguard)
12mm ammo: Was 100, now 300. (affects Basilisk, Harasser, Mosquito, Prowler, Marauder, Skyguard).
Liberator bombs: Was 10, now 20.
25mm (Liberator tailgun): Was 100, now 150.
GroundPounder: Was 50, now 100.
Flux cannon: Was 50, now 150.
150mm cannon: Was 100, now 50.
The change in 150mm ammo box capacity affects the Vanguard's ammo supply, which was far in advance of its other-Empire counterparts.

MAX Armor

TR MAX Dual-Cycler is now Anti-Infantry.
TR MAX Pounder is now Anti-Vehicle. Its projectiles have been given extra accelerant and now fire in a flatter, longer trajectory with higher velocity. The warheads have been changed to punch through armor. The Pounder is now a sort of light tank cannon now.
TR MAX (all): Anchoring and un-anchoring are slightly faster now, reducing their vulnerability.
VS MAX (all): The COF of VS MAXes will not enlarge as quickly now while jumping. This allows them to use their weaponry more effectively while in the air.
Anti-Vehicular Weapons
The ammo boxes for all of the current Anti-Vehicular Weapons have been increased in capacity.

Striker: Old - 5; New - 15 (per ammo box).
Phoenix: Old - 3; New - 9 (per ammo box).
Lancer: Old - 6; New - 18 (per ammo box).
The AV weapons suffered from not being able to carry enough ammunition for the player to feel like they were effective in the field. By the time they fired all their ordnance, they had only killed a couple things. This helps in that regard.

The Lancer's Cone of Fire while turning has been reduced. Its projectile speed is slightly faster as well. This allows it to be more accurate and lets the Lancer capitalize on its "direct-line of fire" capability, making it more effective.

The Decimator will become available through the Anti-Vehicular certification. It will no longer be a part of the Special Assault arsenal.

Special Assault
The Rocklet and Thumper ammo boxes have both been increased in capacity.

Rocklet: Old - 6; New - 15 (per ammo box).
Thumper: Old - 6; New - 12 (per ammo box).
Rocklet users won't run out of shells so fast, making the weapon more attractive.

Thumper users will be able to carry a wider variety of grenades to carry because they can carry more of them in each box. By loosening up inventory, this makes this weapon more useful. Both of these changes also enhance the Punisher.

Jackhammer
It will now take longer for the Jackhammer to switch between its primary and secondary fire modes.

Shotgun Shells
The shotgun shell ammo box has been decreased in capacity.

Shotgun shells: Old - 30; New - 16 (per ammo box)
This brings the Jackhammer and Sweeper back down into balance with other weapons' damage potential and inventory requirements.

Ancient Tech (Core Combat) Weaponry

Maelstrom grenades now cost ten energy to fire instead of five. The original cost was too low for balance. That became obvious during the balance pass.
Implants


Stamina drain from the Range Magnifier and Enhanced Targeting implants has been removed.
The stamina drain on the Personal Shield implant has been decreased to approximately one third. Damage still reduces the shield on a one-for-one stamina cost. This change only reduces the cost of leaving it on.
Minor points, but still should be listed: Advanced Regeneration and Advanced Targeting have been renamed to Regeneration and Enhanced Targeting (since there is no basic Regen or Targeting implant).
Vehicle Adjustments
Several vehicles will have their gear ratios and maximum speed adjusted, allowing for better torque on hills and faster acceleration. Also, certain vehicles will see their collision damage reduced to prevent an increase in the much maligned vehicle mowing from the above changes.

ANT: Substantial improvement to gear ratio.
Basilisk: Slight improvement to gear ratio.
Wraith: Slight improvement to gear ratio.
Harasser: Substantial improvement to gear ratio, increased top speed to 80 kph.
Skyguard: Substantial improvement to gear ratio, increased top speed to 80 kph.
Thresher: Substantial improvement to gear ratio, decreased collision damage.
Enforcer: Substantial improvement to gear ratio, decreased collision damage.
Marauder: Substantial improvement to gear ratio, increased top speed to 75 kph, decreased collision damage.
Deliverer: Slight improvement to gear ratio, decreased collision damage.
Lightning: Increased top speed to 75 kph.
Galaxy: Increased top speed to 85 kph.
Mines
Proximity Mines will now do 50% more damage to vehicles.

Respawn Delay Improvements
We are running tests on the Test Server that are intended to find a solution allowing respawn delays to be minimized without radically changing the balance between offense and defense. Stay tuned for further details during testing.

Even More
A few more additions will be part of the following update, but are not included in the current Test Server build. These are listed below.

Hand Grenades
Hand Grenades will now come in clips of three, though they will require the same amount of inventory space as before. i.e. A clip of three grenades will take up the 2x2 inventory space that a single grenade consumed before.
Ancient Tech (Core Combat) Weapons
Hand-held AT weapons are getting "recharge capacitor units" (Ancient Tech "ammo") that you can buy at AT equipment terminals or at facilities with the Equipment module benefit. This allows them to be recharged in the field, making these weapons more attractive.
MAX Armor
TR Burster will only do direct damage to non-aircraft targets. It will no longer inflict splash damage on infantry and ground vehicles.

[Rbstr]

OMFG!!! Praise be to SOE!
wrong lik though it leads to OBO only

[ORANGE]

Is it just me or is the link a little off?
'Yeah it was me stupid IE'
"Me don't likes the mg ammo change in the prowler thing is already a pea shooter now they just made it so now you gotta shoot for two mins on a guy and reload a few times before doing it over all though pretty cool"

[I Hate Pants]

whats the good word on the cycler????? More ammo??

[ORANGE]

No there are several TR weapons that need some balancing but im not seeing on there but oh well they fixed a lot of other stuff.

[TheRagingGerbil]

whats the good word on the cycler????? More ammo??

Hhahahhhahahhhh! Good one.

[SpunkJackel]

Proximity Mines will now do 50% more damage to vehicles

O_ Holy cow....

[Queensidecastle]

Proximity Mines will now do 50% more damage to vehicles
Kickass. That has been a long time in coming. Also the Lancer is going to be pure pwn now. It would have been really nice if pistols also got a slight clip upgrade to compensate for the unkillable Rexos. The Repeater and Beamer were flushed in effectivness by the the Rexo buff. Well the Beamer has always been shite... Sure would be nice if THE DEVS WOULD LOOK AT INFILS FOR ONCE :mad: Its beyond comical at this point. A huge balance pass on like every weapons ammo concerns and they still forget Pistols and Infils heh

Surely its coming because there isnt a single thing left in planetside for them to ballance now :p

[Madcow]

Proximity Mines will now do 50% more damage to vehicles.

How close does this put mines to Boomer damage? It's gotta be real close, but I've not seen the numbers.

[Queensidecastle]

The only downside is like 1 land mine and your skyguard is pwned. They defenately needed to do more damage to AMS, Tanks, Sundys and Deliverers tho

[Zatrais]

Can't wait for these changes, hopefully i'll get my beloved MAX suits back in working condition :)

[Incompetent]

Indeed, mines need to do different damage depending on what they are hitting, it will be nice now that the Van even notices them, but think of my poor harrasser. Though this does make it so you'll need infantry support to breach a mine field, which is nice.

[SpunkJackel]

With this new mine buff they ought to put in a "Leg Blow Off Animation", so when an infantry takes a bad step KABOOM, leg that way, leg this way, total testicular vaporization, and a torso flying through the air...if there was no blood I'm sure they could keep the T rating...somehow...plus they need those sweet Call of Duty mine explosions...yea baby, now that's a mine. :blowup:

[KIAsan]

WOW, CE really got a buff here. I predict we will start seeing the 'nerf' the mines posts really soon. They probably should have reduced the number of deployable mines from 20 down to 10, since they are much more powerful now.

[Rbstr]

Yeah the new mines are going to put a dent in alot of people transport, a basil will be destroyed in one mine now

[Diddy Mao]

All seems fine except for 16 box for shotties I have to cary twice as much for sweeper now and that's only 1 clip for the jh

[Ducimus]

You kidding me? The Shotshell changes are long overdue, for far too many reasons that i have time to list here. Suffice to say, shotshells being what they are currently, have a dramatic effect on some aspects of gameplay with reguards to the NC.

[SilverLord]

You kidding me? The Shotshell changes are long overdue, for far too many reasons that i have time to list here. Suffice to say, shotshells being what they are currently, have a dramatic effect on some aspects of gameplay with reguards to the NC.Agreed. They had everything overwheling in my opinion. The Vangaurd couldn't be beat, the JH was too powerful/bugged, way too much ammo for it. As you need 4 boxes for the MCG or lasher, you needed 2 or even if your lucky 1. It was just crazy in my opinion.

[TheRagingGerbil]

Shotgun ammo decrease is not going to change a thing. Honestly, how many of the surging bunny hoppers do you think actually survived long enough to reload more then two or three times?

Not many.

Most will just fly into a situation, guns ablazing. Sure they may take down a handful of guys, but then they immediately die. The NC will be just fine, and all those crying for nerf will still be crying.

[gonnagetyou]

I guess you guys better watch were your going now and don't drive too fast when you're getting close to the action, and if you see me standing in the middle of a field or running away, you better ask yourself why. I love using myself as bait to get vehicles into my minefields. That's worked more times than you can imagine. People just can't resist the urge to run some guy down out in the middle of no where. :)

[Acaila]

Thank fuck implants are getting looked at finally. The changes to adv targeting and personal shield are great.

[shaizan]

I like the changes. It is good that CE will be more helpful against the rolling blue and yellow fortress that is Vanguard. It lauged in the face of mines before (and most everything else), but now maybe we can have something to counter it.

I agree with the TheRagingGerbil, I do not think the shotgun shell ammo box change will have as large an effet on the Jackhammer surgile phenomena as would be hoped. I think that is a shame. Hopefully the Jackhammer secondary will be brought back into the realm of common decency by this change. We shall see...

[Ducimus]

The shotshell box changes are not going to effect Surgile/HA in and of itself.

Its the bigger picture you have to look at.

-------------------
From a Terrans perspective, i've always had rexo for 2 primary reasons.
-Space to hold ammo (4 boxes doesnt last long beleive it or not)
- Space to hold "the extras" (rek, nades, engie/medic gun, deci, etc)

With that loadout, i am also restricted from operating 90% of the vehicles in the game.
-----------------

Looking at an NC with the current shotshell size.
- You don't need alot of space for ammo which in turn....
- allows more space for "the extras"

All that i need rexo to carry, an NC doesn't.

So in essense, you have adaptive, versatle "heavy infantry" capable of operating 90% of the vehicles in game.

Thats the effect of the current shotgun ammo count.

[Rbstr]

I'm loving the targeting thing, its my staple implant

[Onizuka-GTO]

Me too I love Advanced Targeting - oh sorry i mean ENHANCED Targeting. :love:

[shaizan]

Since they renamed Adv. Targeting and Adv. Regeneration due to there being no basic versions I pose the following question: Where in the game can I find a BNT (Basic Nanite Transport) or a BMS (Basic Mobile Station)?

[Angel_of_Death]

:lol: Good point and so true.

[Onizuka-GTO]

Since they renamed Adv. Targeting and Adv. Regeneration due to there being no basic versions I pose the following question: Where in the game can I find a BNT (Basic Nanite Transport) or a BMS (Basic Mobile Station)?

Well I guess for the BMS is the spawn tube. its a basic station but immobile, and as for a Basic Nanite Transport.....Cables? :lol:

[Seer]

AV is fine and doesn't need to be changed, I'm very happy with the present balance of av. The drastic increase in av ammo will enable each soldier to put out a massive amount of damage over time versus vehicles.

Multiplied across every AV equipped soldier in the field, it could tip the balance permanently in favor of infantry and we would go back to the days where we all had to walk around on foot and vehicles were destroyed the minute they poked their pathetic heads out of the gate. AV should not be powerful on an individual basis. An individual soldier, as another poster stated once, should not be able to spawn, walk outside the ams bubble, and lay low a tank that had to be manned and transported to the front.

I say this as a dedicated AV soldier. It's a sacrifice to be one--I have to carry four boxes of the giant ammo, and as a result I can only carry 100 energy rounds for my pulsar or lasher. However the tradeoff tends to be worth it, as I can destroy light vehicles outright and generally pose a threat to all the armor within 250 meters as long as I have ammo to spare. Four reloads and I'm done, but when I die I spawn close to the field and am ready to do it again in seconds. Not so for any vehicles I managed to destroy. I'm very expendable, they are less so.

Even more darkly they imply that Av will be looked at in the near future. Have they already forgotten that it was them who gave vehicles shields and more armor to enable them to be more effective combat vehicles? I enjoy being an av soldier only because of the threat the variety of vehicles in planetside pose. It will be to no one's advantage if they are again banished from the field.

[SilverLord]

I agreed with Seer to some point because I don't want PS to turn into InfantrySide. On the other hand, I agree that the ammo for the AV weapons needed a boost, just not a damage buff or what not isn't needed at all.

[GreyFlcn]

Lasher
The Lasher's clip size is being increased to hold 25 rounds, and its reload time is being shortened. *And it will lash at close range :)

Bolt Driver
Snipers can stay out in the field longer. They won't feel so required to bring an AMS with them when going sniping because they can now carry twice as much ammo as they could previously.
Bolt Driver: Old - 5, New - 10 (per ammo box)

http://planetside.station.sony.com/game_updates/development.jsp?category=Testing

[Ducimus]

Multiplied across every AV equipped soldier in the field, it could tip the balance permanently in favor of infantry and we would go back to the days where we all had to walk around on foot and vehicles were destroyed the minute they poked their pathetic heads out of the gate.


And this is a bad thing? I for one hate vehicleside. And fondly remember the big massive outdoor battles the game used to have in its first month or two.

Those were the days i tell ya!

On the otherhand, other people hate Infantryside. The hard part for the dev's it seems is finding the happy balance between the two. But right now, the game is too vehicle intensive. Putting Deci to AV will tip the scale the other way, hopefully not in a lopesided way, but enough to where it puts infantry back on the map again with vehicles on equal footing.

Theres somethign inheirantly wrong when every Tom, Dick, and Harry has their ass in a reaver or lighting or whatnot at a base cap. Theres far too many people who are unwilling to unass that piece of equipment their driving.

[Krinsath]

The problem in the early days was that the tank armor was too low, so yes...tanks died in droves to infantry and it wasn't really worth getting them. The problem is that they doubled the tanks armor and did nothing to the damage done by AV. This produced a situation where AV was no longer any good against vehicles and you had to gather ten people and an AMS to stand a chance against any tanks...you simply could not do any damage to vehicles with the amount of ammo you could carry.

Now, what the devs have changed in terms of vehicle surviability is exactly zero. The Phoenix, Striker and Lancer all have the *same* Time To Kill on a vehicle that they've always had since the armor increase, so vehicles won't be dropping any faster unless there is a mass exodus from SA to AV (which there could be, but then there's less rocklets and thumpers). The only difference is that now instead of having to run back to a tower or AMS or base every three seconds for more AV ammo, the AV trooper can now stay in the field for about as long as they'll be alive if they're hunting tanks (since the battle tanks are almost one shot kills on infantry).

This also gives the AV weapons a clear advantage over their new cousin the Decimator. Simple reason being that for less space, I can carry more killing capability. The only question is how fast do I want it done. The deci kills a MAX in 2 shots, the Phoenix in 3. The AV weapons are *far* more accurate at range and will probably be used any time there's space between the infantry and the MAXes.

Really, this isn't a direct buff to the AV weapons themselves, as they function exactly as they always have and vehicles will be as they always have. This is a buff to increase the amount of time that they are able to do what they've paid 3 certs (which is quite a bit considering you could have the tanks they're hunting for that much) for.

[Seer]

Krinsanth, you missed my point. The limiting factor in av was not the amount of damage I could turn out per second. I tend to stay alive long after I deplete my ammo.

The limiting factor was ammunition. It will take av soldiers longer, but they will have the ammo to do it. When AV users in a given area have the ammo to do it, more of them are firing and firing longer. This will result in a large increase in damage to vehicles.

Ducimus, the balance is incredibly delicate. I think this issue may be very close to all or nothing. You either have powerful vehicles or you have a field full of infantry, because infantry will tear up anything they think they can by sheer force of their ability to respawn, and respawn, and respawn.

And no, I don't see why Planetside shouldn't have vehicles. It's exactly the kind of game that should. Though I do agree with you that people need to know when to leave them.

[Hamma]

Interesting list there, glad the TR MAXs are getting love

[Krinsath]

Krinsath[sic], you missed my point. The limiting factor in av was not the amount of damage I could turn out per second. I tend to stay alive long after I deplete my ammo.

The limiting factor was ammunition. It will take av soldiers longer, but they will have the ammo to do it. When AV users in a given area have the ammo to do it, more of them are firing and firing longer. This will result in a large increase in damage to vehicles.

1) You presume that the AV troopers are actually managing to hit anything and are targeting vehicles instead of the easier to kill MAXes around. And yes, if you're a vehicle that is operating on your own around enemy AV infantry, you're *supposed* to be killed...AV = Anti-Vehicle, not Audio/Visual. PS is about teamwork...make sure you have proper support before heading out.

2) Who's to say that the AV troopers won't be carrying decimators? They're not nearly as lethal at range as the "AV weapons" (of the current AV cert)

Here is the basic equation of warfare...

Open Field:

Vehicles > Infantry

In cover (forest, cities, etc.):

Infantry > Vehicles

There's a reason armor is not widely employed in cities, because AV troops can down tanks very easily from concealed positions. In PS, the open field will still belong to the tanks. I drive a Lightning and when out in the open I have no problem hammering through infantry, even the decimator and AV equipped ones.

Where there are forests and around bases and near steep ridges, the infantry will dominate because the tanks will not be able to effectively fire back. That's the way things really work too. Armor is a spearhead, but a spear is much larger than just that head. Don't forget to bring along a transport or two full of infantry to clear out those ambush sites...and don't think because you're in a tank that you're invincible.

Really, it's a change that brings PS more in line with how things should work. Vehicles should be scared of Anti-Vehicle troops...just like Infantry are concerned with the Anti-Infantry MAXes and aircraft are concerned with the Anti-Aircraft weapons. Prior to this, why worry? They'd never inflict enough damage to kill you before they had to run to get more ammo.

[Seer]

I am presuming nothing about other AV users, but I'm constantly shooting at and killing vehicles in the field. I prefer to engage vehicles over maxes, since when I do engage vehicles I am either forced to, like one is attacking me, or I have prepared for it. With a prepared advantage, like height, trees, or distance, I can do so with near impunity. These things are everywhere in planetside.

Av weapons are among the most potent weapons in planetside. They are either guided or extremely fast and vehicles have very little choice when it comes to receiving their fire. Their one weakness is ammo constraints--tripling their ammo boxes, in my eyes, at least doubles their effectiveness.

[Krinsath]

Av weapons are among the most potent weapons in planetside. They are either guided or extremely fast and vehicles have very little choice when it comes to receiving their fire. Their one weakness is ammo constraints--tripling their ammo boxes, in my eyes, at least doubles their effectiveness.

Which would bring them right back to where they were before the balance pass when their effectiveness was halved by the double armor. :)

Actually, you're overestimating the impact it will have a bit. Prepared infantry, in the right positions, will certainly be more effective against vehicles. However, isn't that how things SHOULD work?

Vanguards and Prowlers will probably not have that much more difficulty as their main guns are effective infantry killers. The lighter vehicles will have a tougher time of it, but they're light vehicles...hunt in packs or with support to keep the AVs heads down.

As it stands though, this is all conjecture. You could be right, I could be right, or neither of us could be right. We just have to wait and see.

[Seer]

What I'm describing is how things are. I can engage vehicles effectively with a prepared advantage right now.

Anyway, your statement that AV should be brought up to the point it was before the armor increase really is telling. They increased the armor in order to afford the vehicles more protection against AV weaponry. Now they're engineering it out again on the other side. It's mudflation, and it's unnecessary in this game.

I guess we'll see.

[Krinsath]

Things aren't really being engineered the other way though. The TTK is what really matters. Before, the TTK was insanely low. By the time the tank realized it was under serious attack, it had maybe two seconds to react before it was too late.

The TTK is still the slow rate it was before, so the driver has that much longer to figure out "Hmmmm...I'm being shot at, I should really go somewhere and repair" and drive off. With the exception of the Phoenix, it's amazing how effective driving over a hill is to keeping AV off your back.

I'm all in favor of any change that requires PS players to think more tactically rather than driving blindly into the face of the enemy with guns blazing.

[Seer]

I'm aware of that they have the same ttk, but my point remains that this TTK will be much greater when averaged over multiple av users. In a given fight there are likely to be dozens of soldiers equipped with av. I'm not thinking about the individual here. The role I see infantry av weapons as having is as a 'last resort' infantry level vehicle countermeasure. The best anti vehicle weaponry should be, imo, other vehicles.

They shouldn't be very effective on an individual basis. The number of av weapons in the field requires no teamwork, no preparation, and sometimes, even, very little skill.