Concerning the Terran Republic - Yes, I'm complaining.

[True Sorrow]

Don't get me wrong on this, I still love the game and everything. But this is kinda important. Don't think I'm some NC/VS loving noob, my main is TR and I still like them - they're the empire that is the most fun to play as.

I know some people are going to hate me for this, but it need to be said.

TR IS BLEEDIN' UNDERPOWERED. VERY UNDERPOWERED.

There, now to the facts...

The Knife
As everyone has figured out by now, the knives are all the same - VS, NC or TR. They've got the same damage, speed and all. But the chainblade is the loudest. This barely affects me, but it sure affects the TR cloakers - the chainblade's sound is easily recognized, a lot easier than the other knives. The other's mask into the backround, but how often does a motor-powered chainblade go unrecognized?

Empire-Specific Medium Assault
You'd think that since NC and VS both got good Medium-Long range ESMA's, the TR should get that as well? WRONG! Don't try to argue against this, it's a known fact. Otherwise, because of it's large clip and high firerate, it would be called 'Overpowered'. The Gauss rifle and the Pulsar both owns the living crap out of it. What would be logic, if not a huge advantage in Close-Combat? It's not even a good advantage, it's only slightly better. It's CoF blooms too much, it would be more useful if it bloomed vertically less and horizontally more. But it's a known fact that the Cycler has an advantage over the Pulsar in Close-Combat, but what about the Gauss? The Gauss is THE best ESMA that has ever reached Planetside. It goes even above the Cycler - I'll say it's atleast 50-50 on battles between a guy wielding a Cycler and a guy wielding a Gauss rifle.

Empire-Specific Handguns
Sure, the Repeater is better than every other pistol in terms of accuracy. But the damage it dishes out is too low to make it a useful weapon. It's probably higher than the Beamer, but it lacks the ammo benefit. The most damaging handgun is the NC Scatty. That gun is almost on the same level as a Medium Assault gun. Wish I could say the same about the Repeater - sure, accuracy is good, but when does a sidearm become handy if not when you've got your rifle slots filled with Anti-Vehicle or Sniper Rifles? The only pistol that is useful in any given way is the Scatty. I've managed to kill; perhaps, 2 rexo's with the Repeater, not even close to my 8-in-a-row with the scatty.

Heavy Assault
Let's see how the Mini-Chaingun (Over-done Cheesy name) compares to the Jackhammer and the Lasher. First of all, the MCG would own in Short-Medium ranges. Well, it does a decent job at it. However, it's hard to use. It took me a long time to get used to the CoF and all. But even now-a-days the MCG can be hard to control while sidestepping. Beyond Medium ranges, the MCG fails so miserably, even the Repeater seems supreme. Let's see how the others do in terms of handling - the JH is basicly to get as close as possible and then strafe a bit, but most of the time the target dies before you even have a chance to start strafing. The Lasher, mother of all anti-aiming weapons. The projectile just needs to be a fair bit close to the target and it'll damage. As I and many others thought when we heard this, the latter damage couldn't possibly be that high. Perhaps just a little bonus if you're missing. Then I tried it, easy as hell to use. Basicly third-person camp and then load projectils while backtracking around a corner. The victim can't even see you, let alone hit you and you're doing a crapload of damage on him. Compared to the MCG, this is all too easy. With the MCG, you have to maintain a certain distance; or the other HA's will dominate you, strafe a lot; or you won't be able to dish out enough damage before he damages you, duck once in a while to maintain a good Cone of Fire, or you'll hit nothing but walls, floors and ceilings, also keep a steady-as-hell aim on your target; or you'll keep missing - WHICH YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT AFFORD TO. Outdoors, the MCG's performance is on a level only slightly above the MA's - if not even that low. It does "Okay" indoors, it does outperform the MA's in Close ranges. However, the Sweeper has a tendancy to completely dominate it if you just pop out a bit. The only special thing about the MCG is it's ammo capacity - a 100-round clip can easily kill up to 4 health and strong rexos. It has also enough ammo to solo out a MAX in a single clip - but how often do we see that happen if the MAX user is decently skilled and has the correct class?

Anti-Vehicle
The Striker, with homing ability that locks on to vehicles and MAX units. Too bad it completely sucks against flying things and fast things. It also demands a lot of skill and a good position, as you have to keep the aim on the enemy or you'll lost your lock. Even if a different enemy just passes by them, you'll lose your lock. The lock has crappy range as well, Mosquitos and Reavers can easily escape the thing by turning around when the big, fat, red text "MISSILE LOCKED ON" flashes on their hud. Even if they don't turn around, the missles still suck the casbah. It takes 6 missles to kill a Mosquito, this causes a lot of problems when the magazine size is 5. You're almost certainly killed before you've unloaded the 4th shot. Sure, it takes 2 Decimator shots to kill a mossie, but it's hard to hit them in-air with a dumb-fire rocket. I also believed the Striker is a rushed weapon, mainly because the reticule stop identifying targets over a certain range. In Planetside, this usually means that the weapon's projectile won't go that far, but the Striker's missile goes way further than what the dumb-fire reticule says. Sure, the homing mode states the correct range, but it's still pretty weird. What would be better is if they made the Striker's homing missiles laser-guided instead - so we can correct the aim after our own liking and not miss because a different enemy passed by the targeted one so the lock went to hell. The NC Phoenix has one major advantage - the ability to steer the missile around corners, into bases and such. This can be used in order to gain cheap kills by picking off already wounded soldiers. In this category, the VS Lasher reigns supreme. I've used it myself - not against vehicles, but foomen. It's the greatest anti-sniper weapon that has ever hit Planetside. But it's also severely unbalanced, due to it's almost insta-hit nature.

The Deliverer Variants
The Raider; if I recall the name correctly, has 4 gunning positions - which is twice as many as the other Deli's. However, I belive that the armanents on the Deli's are meant for taking on Infantry - funny thing how the standard Deli can take on a Lightning with only 1 gunner. But an even funnier thing is that the VS Aurora can kill a rexo with around 2 indirect shots? For the Raider to even come close to killing someone that fast would take firepower from all 4 gunner positions. What rarely happens is that all 4 gunners are shooting at the same target. It's also harder to find 4 gunners, compared to 2. Yet, the Raider shoots standard bullets, while the Aurora and the Thunderer has explosive ammunition.

The Heavy Tanks
Let's start with the VS Magrider - It's cool, it can float over water and it has superb anti-Infantry weaponry. It's good for killing Infantry, basicly. The NC Vanguard is good for killing... Everything. From Infantry and MAX's to other heavy tanks and big BFR's. It takes a single slightly indirect hit to kill a rexo - it has become a popular tactic to basicly drive up to towers and fling shells inside, those who are inside have no chance to react since they die within 2 shots. The only way the Prowler can match this is if it uses both the bullet-shooting turret and the big cannon. Too bad that the turret barely does any damage. The Prowler can only kill a rexo if it hits directly on. The Prowler is also tall - making it easy to see, even over hills and such. It also degrades it's ability to shoot into buildings. One thing to take note of is the Prowler's cannon's Rate of Fire. Although, it still doesn't make up for the massive damage that the Vanguard causes.

Feel free to take my whining seriously, as I've had enough of stealing weapons and vehicles from other empires. Remember - I love the game, I just don't love the balance issues. Sorry if this has offened anyone, but it needs to be said. Please don't ban me or even dislike me for this. Regards, TS.