[OF] Additional BFR Balance Considerations

[Hamma]

http://www.planetside-universe.com/index.php?newsid=1082

[martyr]

this is why i love this dev team.

active rebalancing for the win; i have to say i don't mind BFRs a bit now, i think they're doing a brilliant job of fitting them into the game despite the lack of a required crew

[NightWalker XI]

interesting mr. bond, very interesting, im glad the devs are taking these steps, it will improve the gameplay alot IMO...

[6thEdition]

I actually don't notice anything different about them really.. :(

[LiveWireTehSoda]

I saw that grunts were actually repellign bfr attacks today and I was very pleased WTG devs WTG!

[Warborn]

Doubling the duration of EMP will be huge, as will be the decimator buff. Jesus, infantry aren't too bad against BFRs right now, but they're going to be their worst nightmare next patch. Just how it should be.

And it's interesting that Samhayne remarked on how BFRs form a front between two sides. That's the same thing I was noticing myself yesterday. For once the fights are decided between two bases, rather than exclusively against the walls of a single base. It's great. If only those magriders weren't so well suited to that sort of action, with their really-good-at-long-range gun.

[hazzer2007]

Just dont change the BFR's. Change the inf power over BFR's, nothing else!!!

[Marsman]

While the whiners will say the devs haven't moved fast enough, I personally commend the devs for their delicate touch. As history has proven balance is a tough act in planetside and it would be all too easy to over buff or over nurf things into a ping-pong game of too-much and/or not-enuf.
By tweaking things in small amounts the devs have not only had time to gauge their effectiveness, they also allowed the community time to adjust to new tactics in countering the new forces on the battlefield. Being conservative has proven to provide the clearer picture of current situation as the newness wears off and a truer image of battlefields with BFR's emerges.
The devs seem to have a very precise idea of how they want BFR's to be in PS and it sounds to me like their approach has been dead on in bringing that vision to light. Devs: Keep up the good work guys. The community on the whole sees your efforts and appreciates the steps taken so far in making PS the game we all want to play.

[Knightwyvern]

While the whiners will say the devs haven't moved fast enough, I personally commend the devs for their delicate touch. As history has proven balance is a tough act in planetside and it would be all too easy to over buff or over nurf things into a ping-pong game of too-much and/or not-enuf.
By tweaking things in small amounts the devs have not only had time to gauge their effectiveness, they also allowed the community time to adjust to new tactics in countering the new forces on the battlefield. Being conservative has proven to provide the clearer picture of current situation as the newness wears off and a truer image of battlefields with BFR's emerges.
The devs seem to have a very precise idea of how they want BFR's to be in PS and it sounds to me like their approach has been dead on in bringing that vision to light. Devs: Keep up the good work guys. The community on the whole sees your efforts and appreciates the steps taken so far in making PS the game we all want to play.

I agree 100%. I love how the BFRs take the battle to the field, it makes combat much more in depth, strategic, and realistic. BFRs are indeed a powerful weapon, but they should be a carefully played trump, deployed in specific locations under specific conditions for devistating effect. Therefore I think it's a good idea to make them pretty specialized, which the devs are accomplishing fantastically.

[Kam]

They need to make it so BFRs cant just sit at the nanite tower and heal constantly. This equals impregnable base turret.

[Warborn]

They need to make it so BFRs cant just sit at the nanite tower and heal constantly. This equals impregnable base turret.

For the healing to matter, it must be getting damaged enough to drop its shields. And I assure you, the healing of that silo thing doesn't do more damage than what it takes to drop a BFR's shields.

[Lise]

20 seconds of BFR nerfdom once you hit it with a Jammer. Ouch. I'm still iffy on Decimators though... I'm afraid that the ammo buff for the empire AV weapons has really marginalized the Deci, in my mind. Still, it's great to see the devs taking an active part in making BFRs work, which I think they can.

[AbramsVS]

Decimator still means nothing to BFR :(
6 rockets into Colossus doesnt do anything to this beast......DEVs should adjust the BFR that way that it can take max 6-7 Decimator rockets to its shield.

[Warborn]

Decimator still means nothing to BFR :(
6 rockets into Colossus doesnt do anything to this beast......DEVs should adjust the BFR that way that it can take max 6-7 Decimator rockets to its shield.

The idea is not that one grunt should be able to take down a BFR, it's for a few grunts to be able to. Yes, one guy shooting a decimator will do little if he's the only one firing at it, and so it should. After all, what's the reacquisition timer on a grunt's loadout?

But if you get a few grunts to fire at the BFR, it should pose a threat. Hell, even right now a few decimators firing in tandem is nothing to scoff at. Even worse is if the grunts get to jam you and then run inside your shields. HUGE damage, those things can do. Once the next patch goes live and there's a 20 second duration for jamming, and decimators do 50% more damage, there is no way in hell I'm going to bring my BFR near a base until it's been secured by infantry. It will definitely be a step in the right direction.

[AbramsVS]

The bad thing is that now almoste evry BFR that movin onto base got at least 2-3 guys that hiding in its shield.....usually AV weapons guys or snipers.....
As devs will tweak it more i think we will get BFR+10 soldiers+tank....

[Warborn]

The bad thing is that now almoste evry BFR that movin onto base got at least 2-3 guys that hiding in its shield.....usually AV weapons guys or snipers.....
As devs will tweak it more i think we will get BFR+10 soldiers+tank....

That's the idea.

[AbramsVS]

Then it will be the same......whats the point of lowering BFR stats if they will be surrrounded better then they was?

[hazzer2007]

They need to make it so BFRs cant just sit at the nanite tower and heal constantly. This equals impregnable base turret.

flails do it but i don't hear anyone complaning about that

[Warborn]

Then it will be the same......whats the point of lowering BFR stats if they will be surrrounded better then they was?

Would you rather fight a large number of BFRs and fewer mixed troop/vehicle elements, or a low number of BFRs and many mixed troop/vehicle elements? They're aiming toward the latter. Currently, it's around the former, where sometimes you get a decent number of non-BFR players in a fight, but usually the fights are dominated by BFRs still. They're aiming for the latter, where BFRs are not really so much the deciding factor in the fight but still have their role to play and are enjoyable to pilot.

[Kam]

flails do it but i don't hear anyone complaning about that

That's because flails don't have huge shields protecting them from small arms fire or light rounds. I can drop a flail in 30 seconds with a lightning even when it's in the towers influence.

[internetn]

The idea is not that one grunt should be able to take down a BFR, it's for a few grunts to be able to. Yes, one guy shooting a decimator will do little if he's the only one firing at it, and so it should. After all, what's the reacquisition timer on a grunt's loadout?

But if you get a few grunts to fire at the BFR, it should pose a threat. Hell, even right now a few decimators firing in tandem is nothing to scoff at. Even worse is if the grunts get to jam you and then run inside your shields. HUGE damage, those things can do. Once the next patch goes live and there's a 20 second duration for jamming, and decimators do 50% more damage, there is no way in hell I'm going to bring my BFR near a base until it's been secured by infantry. It will definitely be a step in the right direction.


For once I agree with you warborn, like two nights ago I dropped a BFR with a sniper rifle, a bolt driver! (I will admit that it took no skill only luck) and last night I took down a BFR with a Anti Tank Max, ran into its shields blew the Gen, and then finished it off. If you were blessed with a capable squad, then you could easily take down a BFR.

1. Hide and wait untill BFR crouches
2. When BFR crouched, use anything from jammers to emp blasts
3. Guy with deci or anti armor weapon rushes in and destroys shield Gen
4. Squad creates hell for BFR
5. Do the /emote cabbagepatch over the dead BFR

See, very easy.. I almost think the BFR's were the Devs way to convince people to join organized outfits and use tactics.. ooohhh you sly devs you!!!