MAX Abilities

[Blackwolf]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I don't think that the MAX's firepower will be "equal to any other infantry unit" like you keep saying. The MAX AI weapons will outclass most infantry weapons, and aside from HA, MAXs are the only other class that can equip AV weapons. MAX AV weapons also have much better firerate than the single-shot launchers available to HA. Of course, if a max splits it's weapon types, which may end up fairly common, it will lessen its advantages. But I expect a full AI MAX to easily outgun other infantry classes at shorter ranges.

Anti-Infantry (the part of the MAX suit that causes the most damage and fear among players) will be exactly equal to the HA infantry class. The damage from a single shot of it's AV will also equal the damage of the HA infantry class. It will outclass the HA in RoF with AV, but not with AI weaponry. It also adds considerable firepower above and beyond HA weapons when it comes to AA work.

In other words MAX suits do their best work as AA units supporting infantry and vehicles. This was how they worked best in PS1, especially the TR Burster which was an absolute beast.

The problem with PS1's balance was that the AV MAX suits were pretty much a joke. They could tear a vehicle apart, but like most other "AV" in the game, the vehicle they targeted could tear them apart a LOT faster. AV MAX suits were a joke and were essentially used as secondary AI suits. AI suits were feared, especially the NC Scattermax. But when it came to infantry combat, they died quickly (well short of the 2 minute mark most of the time) because of the Decimator and the fact that most PS1 infantry certed Rexo HA/AV and carried at least 1 Decimator (many carried 2). This was a weapon that could kill a MAX suit in 2 shots and could do it with minimal risk to the infantry using it.

PS2 MAX suits appear to be a bit tougher, but I doubt they will stand a chance once effective counter measures become common knowledge. Most of what I've seen says that a single HA can tear a good deal of health out of a MAX suit with just their LMG weapon. I can't get an idea of how much damage an AV weapon does against them since I haven't seen friendly MAX suits hit by them in the videos.

Yes the MAX suit can double up on weapons. What does it actually allow? Kill rates of .2 seconds instead of .4 against infantry? Is that really a noticeable difference in firepower? Dual AI guns won't be effective for anything other then sustained suppression fire (unloading one gun, then unload the second while the first reloads). Best combination for pure AI work would be the AI weapon and a freaking flamethrower for close cluster effs. Or AI/AV so that you can counter other MAX suits as well as infantry.

I'll add that I doubt the HA's big guns have been released yet. We've seen a single shot RL for each empire and an LMG but no sign of the MCG, Jackhammer, or Lasher. Nor have we seen any sign of the ES AV weapons like the Striker, Phoenix, and Lancer. I say this based on the fact that, while effect, those LMGs are not "HA" grade weaponry as it was known in PS1. They match the firepower of PS1 and PS2 MAX suits pretty well though. Same goes for those RLs. Effective, but no where near as effective as the ES AV weapons, and very common pool at that (they all do the same thing, fire 1 round and lock onto air targets).

In other words, I think HA will have access to some very powerful weaponry that will absolutely put the MAX suit to shame. They stated that there was going to be a MAX killer class and my money's on HA. I've also heard that the HA will have certain restrictions that will allow it to equip one of it's big guns in conjuction with a smaller second gun. So a TR might sport a MCG and the smaller RL that we see in the footage, or he might go with the LMG that's in the footage, and carry around Striker as well (for PS1 illiterate people, the Striker was a 5 shot lock on weapon that could lock onto ground and air vehicles and fires very quickly. PS2 version would be incredibly deadly given the weaker vehicles).

Point being, we've yet to see everything that the DEVs are going to give the infantry. They have stated that there will be an anti-MAX class and I'm betting that when it comes out, any problem (which probably doesn't exist) would be solved. Timers never solved problems, they caused them.

And as One Big Hebrew said. Judging the game by the global chat you see in the beta videos is like judging a writer at a comicon by what the mouth breathing neck beards in line say about him. I count on what I actually see, and I don't see a "prevailant MAX problem".