I'm Probably Wrong but... (a small concern)

[Baron]

Thinking about the class system combined with the skill tree training mechanic I started to feel a little concern.

Once a battle becomes indoor / CY (thinking of that wicked awesome AMP station), would we only see Heavy Assault and MAXs?

Since there's no real limit to skills we can train, at some point the majority of players will have some level of Heavy Assault so when you're in a city / base / CY environment ..why would you use any other class?

Maybe it's just late and I'm not thinking this through correctly...

[xSlideShow]

Thinking about the class system combined with the skill tree training mechanic I started to feel a little concern.

Once a battle becomes indoor / CY (thinking of that wicked awesome AMP station), would we only see Heavy Assault and MAXs?

Since there's no real limit to skills we can train, at some point the majority of players will have some level of Heavy Assault so when you're in a city / base / CY environment ..why would you use any other class?

Maybe it's just late and I'm not thinking this through correctly...

It seems like all of the classes will still be viable indoors. Although it's really is going to come down to what they allow classes like the engineer to do inside and if light assault will have something to make them useful inside besides being "light". If they do with what I think they are gonna do with engineering which is let them place things inside... Then it will be a very crucial class for any solid indoor defense.

The light assault sounds like it will be a counter class for the engineer then and will be needed to counter them. But this doesn't mean that your not going to see an influx of heavy assaults and maxes. This doesn't change with how things are now however.

Edit- By counter I mean it's speed will allow it to close the gap quickly and if it can arm with things say Timed Explsoives? It will be crucial in removing that barrier the Engineer just layed out or one of the many other things they may be able to throw down. We really don't have enough class info yet. I would set your worries aside for now.

[TRex]

''Light Assault is basically the 'glass cannon' character .He can do the most damage the quickest. He's very agile , but he's also very vulnerable ''

big zergy battles you will find a lot of maxes and heavy armour , but expect a few that think outside the box to use anything at their disposal .

[Bags]

That's how it already is. We'll see thumpers too, I'm sure!

[Baron]

That's how it already is. We'll see thumpers too, I'm sure!

This is my point ..PS1 today, EVERYONE has rexo HA because of virtually unlimited certs. Hence my concern for the PS2 system

[Marth Koopa]

Perhaps Lights will have some basic hacking and Heavys will not?

Someone's gotta open the doors, unless doors are no longer invincible and can be blown up with explosives.

[Tycho]

We don't have all the information for each class yet but I can see a need for each role in a base fight. Of course you are going to see a lot of HA and Maxes. They will be needed. You are also going to need the support/medic class for rezzing/healing because you cant squad spawn indoors. You'll need the engineers for their deployable turrets which I believe have to be manned to work and whatever other goodies they have. You'll need the light assault to jump up on the walls and to flank defenders in the CY and the towers that are obviously going to be part of the walled defense of the base.

I really wouldnt worry to much right now. From the information thats been released I think the classes are going to work out just fine. I know that we all have concerns that SOE is going to royally screw this up. Beta will hopefully reveal any flaws and we all hope SOE will listen and fix what doesnt work.

[Raymac]

I think it really depends on the base design. If all the bases are really clausterphobic and 75% of the fight is in identical looking stairwells, then everyone will just run Heavy Armor and weapons.

Considering what we've seen so far, especially with the scale of the bases, I have alot of faith in the devs to design bases that cater to more than just 1 class. Even still, I think HA will inherently be stronger indoors than outdoors so they will likely be more common there. So my guess (and my hope) is there will be more heavy assault indoors, but not to the extent we see in PS1.

[CutterJohn]

Thinking about the class system combined with the skill tree training mechanic I started to feel a little concern.

Once a battle becomes indoor / CY (thinking of that wicked awesome AMP station), would we only see Heavy Assault and MAXs?

Since there's no real limit to skills we can train, at some point the majority of players will have some level of Heavy Assault so when you're in a city / base / CY environment ..why would you use any other class?

Maybe it's just late and I'm not thinking this through correctly...

Having classes is exactly what will prevent everyone from being heavy. They can no longer do everything. Jump troops will be needed to bypass chokepoints. Medics will be needed to heal/rez, perhaps buff. Cloakers to wreak havoc behind the lines. Engineers to place defenses/dispensers/turrets/heal max units.


Is everyone a heavy in TF2? Is everyone assault in BF2? Is everyone juggernaut in Tribes? No. Classes have strengths and drawbacks. Other classes are necessary.

[TRex]

Don't forget , as higby stated in other thread ,even heavy assault will have to decide whether to go AI or AV at any one time. Plus from the magazine feature sounds like there will be a lot more courtyard areas and larger rooms overall . So it wont be all corridors . I'd expect some maxes at front , heavies just behind them and light armour dudes at the back picking people off left right and centre , repairing where needed and healing ( but not all at same time ).It's going to be a real coordinated effort .
The thing we don't know about yet is , once in a base or facility , how hacking is implemented and how you can change class /replenish supplies at that end. If it's too easy and everyone can do it , we end up in pseudo br40 territory again. Hopefully its a dedicated infiltrator cert or something .

[Gandhi]

As long as we don't see Maelstroms again I'm cool with it.

[SKYeXile]

I jsut hope all the people with HA can also have AV or MAX CRASH 24/7.

[xSlideShow]

I jsut hope all the people with HA can also have AV or MAX CRASH 24/7.

In the other thread Higby made it seem like you could only carry one or the other. Not sure how it's gonna work... And by seemed by Yes, most of the classes are setup that way, can spec in a couple really diverse roles but they're making trade offs... so if you want an MCG (yes, there is an mcg) you wouldn't packing any AV equip.

I don't mind the idea of not carrying AV if I have a MCG/Lasher/Jackhammer. I'm under the impression maxes might be a bit more vulnerable to normal rounds.

[SKYeXile]

In the other thread Higby made it seem like you could only carry one or the other. Not sure how it's gonna work... And by seemed by he just straight said it.

i thought i imagined somebody saying that...le sigh...*CERTS COMET*

[Redshift]

This was my first concern too, but tbh it's too far along to worry about it, just have to trust higby et al. have thought about it

[TRex]

i thought i imagined somebody saying that...le sigh...*CERTS COMET*

He didn't comfirm yet that you couldn't carry AV and still use a normal (non HA) weapon like a pulsar , just not mcg and av at the same time.

Otherwise i really, really, really hope jammer grenades work on maxes or else this new game is going to get very old fast .Every numb nut and his brother will be in an AI/AV on each arm max all the time .

[Senyu]

With the devs saying light assualt are like glass cannons I hope they do make a show in tight coridor battles dishing out damage. Just not as tough as heavy or rexo.



But the question is, can I snipe peoples face off in close quarters? I will most certinely try

[Xyntech]

Hopefully an AI on one arm, AV on the other arm MAX will be an effective jack of all trades, but master of none. Killing infantry fast, but not before they have a chance to do some serious damage to it, able to do a lot of damage to other MAXes, but not being the best at that either.

Dual AI or dual AV MAXes would then come in and devastate in their one field of specialization, while having little option for dealing with anything else. Dual AI mowing down infantry before they can respond, but being blow away by an enemy MAX who has even a single AV gun equipped. Dual AV decimating enemy MAXes faster than anything else, aside from maybe a few vehicles, which would only be found outdoors.

[Captain B]

As some others have already mentioned, I think the classes will be more useful in close quarters than many certs are now.

Large bases means you aren't going to use light assault to jump walls and bypass enemies to stop and wait to recert; you'll push that advantage and breach the defenses. Large, defensible indoors (as has been suggested) may mean you have close quarters fighting for the heavies and MAXes as well as warehouse-like rooms where snipers can pin and stay behind cover. That is to say nothing of being skilled out of one or more classes by your own choices. Sure, heavies have nice armor, but you spend your skills on other classes, so even though they may be better, as a class, for indoor combat, you don't have anything really useful to contribute but armor and a gun whereas your cloaker or engineer or whatever class is highly skilled.

I think it'll all be fine in the end.

[TRex]

In the Q&A with Matt Higby (linked from Bags sig) he states that more advanced classes or roles like Maxes will probably only be unlocked via a heavy certification into the heavy armour class. Same idea goes for the liberator .
Should balance itself out , and thankfully this may mean we don't have a load of people download the game , and start off with a max and fill the place.

[Xyntech]

In the Q&A with Matt Higby (linked from Bags sig) he states that more advanced classes or roles like Maxes will probably only be unlocked via a heavy certification into the heavy armour class. Same idea goes for the liberator .
Should balance itself out , and thankfully this may mean we don't have a load of people download the game , and start off with a max and fill the place.

We can't just trust unlock times to balance the game for us though. That leads to Orbital Strike spam type problems.

But I trust that there are enough ways to balance things so that Heavy Assault and MAXes aren't the only viable options indoors.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: It all comes down to map design/base layouts.

You have to provide out of the way paths for cloakers to sneak in. You will need plenty of hard to reach entry ways for Light Assault to jump jet into. You will want sheltered vantage points for snipers to conceal themselves within.

Well balanced bases will be the most important deciding factor on whether we see a lot of classes used in base battles or only a few.