Gameplay: EMP's for our ATV's

[blue oktyabr]

Any individuals reading this who have ever played Command and Conquer 3, will be very familiar with some of the things they are about to read. These concepts have been undeniably formed from gameplay in C&C3 and information I've read about how EMP's worked in PS1.

I also would like to apologize in advance, as I am quite new to the Planetside community and lack first hand knowledge pertaining to PS1.

THE IDEA:
A tactical EMP burst which can be unlocked using certs for the ATV and activated while mounted, disabling electronics within a 15 meter radius* (size subject to change and may be increased using further certifications).

USE:
With this cert unlocked, an ATV driver could use his advantages of speed and manuverability to get in close to the enemy and activate his EMP gadget (wich would probably replace any mounted weapons on the vehicle).
Within its limited range, all:
-vehicles will be disabled, preventing them from firing, moving, and tracking*
-esplosives will be destroyed
-shields will be depleted, including Nanite Mesh Generators
-MAXes will be unable to fire or move*
-jetpacks will become nonoperational
-cloaking devices become nonoperational
-turrets, both manned and automated will also be unable to shoot or track

This would also affect the ATV and driver wich deployed the burst, and any allies within range.

PROS:
If this were added to the game it would introduce a whole slew of complex, and unique strategies which are currently unavailable in any other FPS. Few gaming moments compare to the gratification a NOD commander would get in C&C3 when they were able to get their Raider Buggy EMPs to connect with an enemy tank column. In PlanetSide 2, this addition would provide a high risk/reward gameplay mechanic which many gamers have come to enjoy (similar to the popularity of throwing C4 on a vehicle and running it into a mass of enemies in Battlefield).

Example of Raider Buggies in C&C3 (jump to 1:38):

Example of C4/ATV usage in Battlefield:

CONS:
This could be extremely irritating for the player who's vehicle has just been EMP'd. It could render the game quite frustrating to play if it becomes a heavily exploited trolling technique instead of a real strategy.

To combat this, the longevity of the EMP's effects should probably be limited to around 15 seconds (up for debate). Perhaps a reduction in this time for allied players might be considered as well. This would drastically reduce the amount of trolling which could be committed using this method and render it more of a moderate nuissance. After all, in real life, an outfit planning on using EMP's would probably be prepared with some form of countermeasures in case they got too close, right? Also, while preventing players from exiting hatched vehicles may be considered, this could increase the annoyance factor. The ability to exit an EMP'd vehicle should probably be available in order to keep gameplay responsive for those on the recieving end.

BALANCE:
I know many of you are wondering, "could that possibly be balanced? ATVs are so cheap, and en masse it could become incredibly hard to stop." Well, it is my belief that it would be. I understand that C&C3 isn't an MMO FPS. However, a lot of the balancing concepts remain the same. Both games include similar unit models (tanks, APCs, air vehicles, base defenses, infantry) and tactics as far as troop movements go (the more allied units there are in one place, the more capable of handling threats they become).

If you don't agree with my RTS/MMO FPS comparison, I would like to again draw attention to similarities with the C4/ATV combo in Battlefield. I understand that on a larger scale, things might be more complicated, but it is still quite similar on a smaller scale as far as gameplay and balancing goes.

Variables subject to change for balance purposes would include the amount of damage ATV's can sustain, blast radius of the EMP, duration of effect, items affected and in what ways they become disabled. There could also be various certs and equipment available to combat EMP's which may affect duration, or deny an EMP's effects entirely. The possibilities in the cert tree are endless.

Any additional ideas or feedback to improve on this thread are greatly appreciated. I'm very interested in the opinion of the community on this concept. Also, even if you don't have anything to add, make sure to post your opinion and rate, so that the thread can get noticed if you think it's a good idea.

Thank you for your time!


EDITS:
*EMPs should not hault movement of vehicles, but instead perhaps just a movement penalty should be incurred (Thanks to Cuross)
*EMP usage should require the use of a consummable with an associated price, similar to grenades, to cut down on spam (Thanks to Cuross)
*the effective range should be reduced to somewhere near 5 meters (Thanks to Cuross)