beta thoughts, and a question

[Zetre]

so far, i've really been liking this game. I love MMOG's and i love action games, and this seems to be a nice hybrid of the two. There is nothing more satisfying than loggin on with people you know, and dukin it out with other people, that you usually don't know, and dingin'. And you don't have to run around for 20 minutes at a time like in other MMOG's and it's skill based, instead of based on how well you know the game. So far, i really like it, but i really think that things need to be worked around soon.
First off, the maxes are giving me fits. it takes wayyyyy too many shots to take them down. Yesterday, we easily took down a group of peeps 3 times the size of our squad, with 1 AA max, one AV max, 3 AI maxes, and one combat engineer/medic/hacker/infiltrator kinda guy. This is really dissapointing. They take way too many hits, and the AA and AV weapons work wayyyy too well against infantrymen. That needs to have some nerfing to the MAX, no pun intended.
The other thing that really dissapoints me is the special assult guns. An entire decimator just to take down a vanu max(vanu maxes are less armored than the other two empire maxes) and 3 clips of grenades from the thumper is WAYYYY too much. I also saw a dude get hit dirrectly with 3 or 4 rocklets, and tons of splash, and live to tell about it because of his trusty amp. It's getting kinda rediculous. All of these, plus the max weapons kinda being lame really are getting to me. I love the idea of the game, and the overall fun that it has to offer, but if things aren't changed soon, then i believe i might have to revert to DAoC, which doesn't offer half of the online fun and overall goofyness that PS has dished out.
Finaly, the almost forgotten question.
I mostly use the decimator, since it's the only gun i have found usefull to drive off the massive hords of maxes that are now found left and right in planetside. So what does the secondary fire do. It almost looks like it's a guidable rocket, but it's not. The only use i've found for it, is making kills look really really cool, which is good and all, but really isn't that usefull. So someone help this poor fool.

[BladeRunner]

I think the only benefit to secondary mode is that you can choose when the rocket detonates, in case you miss.

[Viva]

I too am seriously thinking of buying a Decimator just for the number of Maxs that are running around. I love being a part of the infantry but everytime I take a CC the first thing through the door is all to often a Max.

[LesserShade]

Hit the trigger to detonate the Decimator when in secondary mode.. so you can shoot it and blow it up overtop of soldiers or something if it is not going to hit them.

I can only suggest trying out the MAX for yourself, it is not as easy as it looks, but the main thing is that the MAX are living high on the hog right now being that most people are still at low BR. Once people start getting more certs, I think you'll find that the MAX isn't all that bad. However, do keep in mind that an AI max is designed to mow through infantry, so you won't always be able to take it down 1 on 1.

Here are some things that may help you own MAX. Get yourself an AV cert. That TR striker or phoenix will be your new best friend outdoors, you will be able to take down MAX at a comfortable range, before they get a chance to close in and smoke you. The special assault cert you have is good for indoors. The decimator packs a lot of punch and can drop a MAX without reloading, but it's hard to hit max effectively outside because of the missile's speed, indoors this isn't much of a problem. Also, if you can get yourself into a tank or reaver, you'll find that even AV MAX aren't all that much of a threat 1 on 1.

[Zetre]

yeh, and thank you for the detonate thingy, i really appreciate that.
The only strat we've found for fighting off maxes is vehicles (which obviously can't do well indoors) and other maxes. I kinda think this is lame. I think that the armor just needs to be toned down a lot, and their weapons need to be more realistic. For instance, the NC sparrow should shoot crazy rockets that only fly well with a lock, and the falcon should be the equivilan of the bazooka in BF1942, slow firing, armor peircing, not HE, but have a lock to make it max quality.

[Zetre]

uh dude, when we didn't do the hoass strat of max beatdown(we got sick of using whore strategies) We got aniahlated. We all were using heavy machinery against the maxes, and it was like 7 or so of us, vs maybe 3 maxes (not all AI), and we got worked. I was using decimator rockets too. Most of us had some sort of anti vehicular, or heavy anti infantry. And by the way, our sqaud consists of all lvl 7 or above people. Here's my thoughts, if you care at all. I think that the maxes should just be toned down, and that they should be vunerably to many more things. They shouldn't be easily taken out with light fire, but should be mildly vunerable to heavy armor peircing guns, like the guass, and shouldn't be able to take many anti vehicular hits. I also think that they should give more benefits to low armor classes. Right now, the game plays kinda slow as even a standard, and there really isn't even a point to being a standard, becuase you can't carry a lot, and can't take a lot of hits. Hm.. that's just my two cents. I guess i don't know a whole lot of what the devs are doing right now, but if i were them, that's what i would pull off.

[LesserShade]

Here's how I see it. With AP armor loaded, that actually does do pretty signifigant damage to a max. Here's the important part though. As a MAX, you can do one thing.. shoot your one gun at the bad guy. I don't play MAX, i'm always in reinforced, and I like that better because of how flexible I can be. I can heal myself and repair my own armor, I can hack CCs and cap bases, I can use my AV weapon to absolutely hose a MAX outside 1 on 1, I can switch to cycler or chaingun to tackle infantry, I can ride in most vehicles, I can get that armor at an AMS and from any equipment terminal without having to wait for a timer like the MAX does.

I admit that MAX can be very tough inside, and especially tough when you are <BR10 or so. I thought that the MAX wasn't nearly as much of a problem at BR20, and even at BR10 they weren't bad. I was however carrying weapons specifically to combat MAX though like the striker or chaingun with AP rounds.

[Zetre]

i guess i'll have to give that pheonix a try. But i still think that they are way too powerfull for the game balancing, and way too powerfull indoors.

[Streamline]

I dont necessarily think the MAX is overpowered. The some of the weapons are anemic. Top run speed of a base foot soldier blows. Strafing is actually faster than running straight forward. The whole physics of running bothers me. Like when you jump down the side of a hill. You'd think that you'd accellerate for at least a moment til you hit the bottom of the hill. But no, instead you stick. And i know sliding is posible. It happens when you cant quite get to to the top of a steep surface. Also, the amount of time between jumps seem a tich to long. I know this is to inhibit hopping. But it's still too long. Maybe it should take longer the more times to try to jump. So you could make two "not bunny hops" but moderately quick jumps in a row. But then the 3rd one would be hard or not posible.

Hand frags and plasnades are disappointing. Spash and overall damage does seem very adaquit. imho...

Freelooking in driving vehicles.... grrrr i cant see behind me! I got no mirror! Give me more range of motion. I'd spend stamina just to be able to rubberneck and look behind myself.

External view of flying vehicles blows. It needs a real external freelook.

Hack times on bases. Should very depending on how much potential resistance is on the continent. So we're not all standin around waiting for the timer. Or running around in the SOI. When there is a base down the road being hacked by a single stealth/hacker doing skeeter jumps to only deserted easy target bases. And the NTUs are at 10%.

ANTs... NTU is a resource. Once collected it should be protected. Much the same way money is protected in an armored car. They shouldn't be so easy to destroy. Maybe even reguarded a prize if you can jack one thats full. And/or raise it's top speed and give it a little turbo-booster. My dream for the ANT in the future is a slightly bigger, two man, land travel only, with larger NTU capacity and more trunk space.

Reaver... needs air brakes, slightly faster turn speed, two man version, zoom, more powerful rockets, missle warning alert, some type of dropped bomb weapon, and auto land if you bail under a certain hieght. Like say the autoland hieght was 15 feet. You can jump out and the craft uses it thrusters to auto land in that distance. If it can't find the ground then it trys again till thrusters give out. No ground, no thrust, no autoland = plummet. The skeeter too, exept for the rockets.