Gameplay: infil mag boots/gloves & "para-sail"

[Tallon]

Let me start off by saying I dont know too much about planetside but this is just an idea i had to share somewhere(twitter didnt seem right and i loathe facebook).

Please don't tear me into tiny purple pieces.

What if the Infiltrator class had a loadout option for magnetic boots and gloves that would allow him/her to climb and cling to various metal objects (base walls, ceilings, scythes, liberators). When in operation, this item would interfere with the cloaking mechanism making one visible

coupled with the boots is the idea of a "para-sail" type of thing allowing signifigant horizontal movement while falling, as well as allowing a safe landing. two ideas i have had (or borrowed) for reusable items allowing greater mobility are "wing" suits (those ones that make you look like a giant flying squirrel) or a "ribbon chute" (credit for this one goes to the devs of MDK). non-reusable would just be para-sail that you cut loose once you are over the target.

now let me give you a scenario:

It is night. the VS are intent on taking a base and stage a diversionary raid with some scythes on one side of the compound while their main force moves in from the other. the scythes dive on the base, but not before their payloads (at most an infil each) detatch and make their silent and unseen approach to the inner base from above...

so...great? OP? Terribad? please let me know. and feel free to add your own ideas around this concept.

P.S. the reason there are two ideas in this thread is that they are two parts of the same concept.

[Zekeen]

It's a bit too much really, even without enhanced mobility, infiltrators will be causing mass carnage. Also, on such a scale of a game, there will be TONS of infiltrators. Giving them so much more would make them very overpowered. Sure, scaling would be fun, but difficult to implement (it'll take 6 months just for exit/enter vehicle animations).

And para sailing boots would take away the unique-ness of glide packs that light infantry are getting.

[Xyntech]

It's a pretty good idea.

Given it's limitations, along with being restricted to the lightest armored class, I don't think its slight overlap with the Light Assault classes vertical mobility.

The biggest potential problem would probably be with the Infiltrator now also being the Sniper class. Climbing up to some insane obscure remote location and going to town. Personally, I don't think that would be too huge a problem. They wouldn't be able to easily get to those spots in an instant like Light Assault, so if they have the time and patience to find a good spot, let them have it.

Also, it may be a bad idea to allow them to clamp on to vehicles. I'm not sure. People are already thinking of using the Lock Down ability of TR MAXes to lock a bunch onto a Galaxy. I'd leave this part up to balance tests to determine, since even without the vehicle scenario, the boots and gliders could be a lot of fun. I'd even just take one or the other.

Originally Posted by Zekeen

And para sailing boots would take away the unique-ness of glide packs that light infantry are getting.

I agree, however it could be balanced still. My impression is that the glide pack side grade would still offer a tiny amount of vertical lift along with it's enhanced horizontal gliding ability. The Infiltrators version could be done in such a way that they were always falling, but at a safe speed and with the ability to freely glide horizontally while falling. Only useful when descending from a high point to a low point, not even useful for crossing a flat horizontal gap.

[Tallon]

Originally Posted by Xyntech

Also, it may be a bad idea to allow them to clamp on to vehicles. I'm not sure. People are already thinking of using the Lock Down ability of TR MAXes to lock a bunch onto a Galaxy. I'd leave this part up to balance tests to determine, since even without the vehicle scenario, the boots and gliders could be a lot of fun. I'd even just take one or the other.

I guess I forgot to add it, as it seemed only tangentially related, but i had thought a "lift weight limit" on each plane would balance that out. the closer you are to the limit, the less responsive the aircraft becomes to the point where it wont lift if the weight is exceeded. that way you could set the limit of a mosquito to, say, one pilot plus one infiltrator. This also solves the galaxy lockdown problem to a degree; you can only fit as many maxes as 12 infantry weigh. Any more and the galaxy doesn't lift

[Koenside]

I love the idea of wing suits for infiltrators.

[berzerkerking]

sounds great. Magnetic boots would allow for scaling structure to assasinate targets, and para-sails on the suits would allow for nightime stealth gliding almost invisble to the enemy. This should be implemented before closed beta.

[Alderego]

I got to admit that this sounds fun, but there should be some limitations to it like some others pointed out.

I'm quite in favor of making you chose between either the stealth suit, the boots
/gloves or the glider. Limiting what such a light-weight guy can cary and use seems quite logical to me, next to the balance issues that might pop up otherwise

The same goes for where you can "hook up" to a vehicle, maybe just limit it to the bigger ones? Gal/liberator in the sky, tanks/APC on the ground. Something like that.

You could take your idea along a different path though: not a paraglider but a zip-line: Anchor one point where you stand, slide down to another point you shot the line at a certain distance away. Maybe even allowing you and your squad to climb up a vertically hanging line or something? (I'm thinking mostly of the jungle/forest continent here, where hiding in the trees could create interesting possibilities)

Anyway, just ideas I guess