The VS are, objectively, at a massive disadvantage. Thoughts from a nine year vet.

Anuv · 2012-10-23, 12:53 AM

I started playing Planetside in 2003. No other game I have played since has left me with the same impression that PS1 did. It's the best game that has ever made, hands down. The incredible balance between all three factions was managed extremely well considering the size of the battles. Every side had something going for it - that alone made for some incredible battles and scenarios.

But now? There's a problem. Unlike in the first game, with different pros and cons balancing one another out with each faction, the VS are now the most disadvantaged faction (by far) on several different fronts. The following are some examples.

Vehicles:
The Magrider's main cannon is locked in a forward vertical arc. You cannot turn the main cannon around in the same way that the Prowler and Vanguard can. This is, in my mind, the single largest disadvantage any MBT could ever have - so the fact that the devs decided to switch the cannon placement from PS1's configuration to this is completely unbelievable. The big draw of the Mag in PS1 was mobility. Now? All of that is now rendered inert by fixing the main cannon forward. You cannot engage new targets behind you in ANY reasonable amount of time. This is the single largest thing that anyone can do to design a terrible tank. It would be one thing for all the tanks to behave like this - but to have only ONE act this way? It needs to be reverted to the PS1 style, plain and simple.

The Scythe is, hands down, the worst aircraft to use out of the three. The corresponding air controls are terrible at the moment and that completely shows through with the Scythe. Whoever decided that the mouse X axis should control roll and not turn should be fired. To add insult to injury? The keys aren't even inverted. Has SOE even flown ANYTHING in a game before? Please, revert to Planetside's original air config. Again, having the Scythe be completely unique compared to TR/NC puts it at a huge disadvantage (much like the Mag).

Weapons:
The entire draw of VS weapons from Planetside was their ability to instantaneously switch between anti-armor and anti-personnel rounds by using the right mouse button. NC and TR had to carry AP ammo in their inventory and manually switch magazines if a MAX unit appeared - something the VS never had to worry about.

Now? There's literally no advantage to VS weapons at ALL. All weapons fire the same ammo - however, TR still have a high rate of fire and huge magazines, two very important things that provide a huge advantage in close quarters infantry fights. NC weapons still hit extremely hard too, again making their weapons very powerful despite their slower ROF. As for the VS? Their weapons have absolutely nothing going for them. When one faction has weak guns and high ROF and one has low ROF and high power being middle of the road is NOT an advantage. You get the worst of both worlds.

The battle rifles perform objectively worse in close engagements. TR and NC alike are able to kill VS who get the drop on them with much greater ease than the other way around. High capacity OR high damage are huge advantages to have - being somewhere in the middle is absolutely terrible. All VS players know the feeling of getting the drop on an unsuspecting soldier only to be killed despite half an entire clip hitting square on. It's extremely, extremely frustrating.

The VS sniper rifle is, objectively, the worst one in the game. The recoil is horrendous and it deals the least damage. The extremely strange "bounce" that the weapon does after firing makes it terrible to use under any circumstances. The awful scope provides zero help at that. It would be easier to score kills with it if iron sights were default instead of the current scope and recoil system.

The Beamer is completely unusable in its current state in relation to the TR and NC sidearms. The difference is night and day. Poor damage and a terrible fire rate make for a very useless pistol. The ADS mode is extremely cumbersome in relation to TR/NC. It doesn't help that the amount of time it takes to kill a given soldier is easily double to quadruple the time for TR/NC pistols. And, again, there's no ammo versatility advantage like in PS1. A complete downgrade in EVERY single respect.

The Quasar is laughable compared to the NC/TR anti-infantry MAX options. The number of MAX kills with this weapon can be counted on one hand in every major engagement. Terrible damage, slow ROF, bad accuracy, zero use. Again, so mediocre and middle-of-the-road it hurts. It neither has a huge ammo base nor hits hard, putting it in a completely irrelevant category.

The Lasher? I don't even think I need to write anything. So, so bad. The Minigun is better in every single way.

Color:
I'll never hate on the purple. Ever. HOWEVER, the color choice of the VS is a MASSIVE problem considering Planetside 2's engine. It provides a MUCH sharper contrast with the new lighting system and that is a big, big problem in battles that are indoors/at night. The red color of the TR is much, much more muted than purple against the black backgrounds inside most bases. Soldiers and tanks alike stand out in sore thumbs compared to both red and blue. It's extremely easy to spot a VS soldier in a dimly lit room than a TR soldier. Anyone can see that, plain as day. And that's a massive, massive disadvantage for anyone hoping to get the drop on TR/NC.

I don't expect SOE to change the Vanu's color, of course, but it is a VERY important thing to consider when designing the lighting system.

I've been a part of the Planetside universe for almost a decade. I point out these things only to enhance SOE's balance of all three factions and to ensure that players feel compelled to take part in each group equally. People who join one faction for a big advantage (whether it be a gun, tank, or something else) will be a huge problem otherwise upon release. And since this game requires three factions to be balanced together? All the more reason to mention this stuff.

Thanks.

Roy Awesome · 2012-10-23, 01:00 AM

The magrider is straight up overpowered in any armored engagement. If you get hit, you are a retard. If you are range, it's even easier to dodge shots. Press A and D.

Bittermen · 2012-10-23, 01:28 AM

No bullet drop is pretty helpful.

Ghost Runner · 2012-10-23, 01:56 AM

I have to Say the VS killed me just fine while playing against them this weekend the Magrider is near impossible to hit with unguided rockets if the pilot is awake (it happens but its rare)
Their guns are awesome at close range (this is were I usually die to VS troopers) and balanced at medium range(its a crap shoot) and terrible at at long range (If they get drop usually still loose at this range). There sniper rifle picks me off plenty so aside from the crappy scope seems on par to me.
The Scythe possibly the easiest plane to fly in this game not sure where you have a problem with this.

Try playing NC and TR for a while then compare I bet you will find the Reaver fly's like a brick and the mosquito is paper thin. The Vanguard is slow and the prowler is under powered.

Also I find it easiest to spot TR at night and NC during the day the VS are easier to see in the day then TR but harder then NC. They blend in really well at night better then NC and TR imo.

Just my thoughts on your post.

FortySe7en · 2012-10-23, 02:00 AM

A 9 year vet of PS1 doesn't make a 9 year vet of PS2. With factions, there will always be an unbalance. All factions have their strong points and weak points, which may or may not be tuned out.

People need to stop looking at this as "I played planetside 1, so this is how this game should be". Instead look at it as a NEW GAME and talk about the mechanics in place.

Carver · 2012-10-23, 02:42 AM

All I could agree with is that the VS Anti-Infantry Max guns are pretty horrible. They have an effective range of about 8 feet. And even then they aren't especially deadly.

Kitsune · 2012-10-23, 02:42 AM

Meh, vanu take some getting used too.

I can't seriously complain about much besides how our rocket launchers can not 1-shot people like the others can, and But I will agree with you 100% on MAX's Quasar. It's stupidly inaccurate for something that shoots that slow and that little of damage. It's a disgrace that I have to spend materials to get a MAX unit that has worse damage, slower, less accurate, and it has a long cooldown timer. All it has to show for it is it's a bit tougher and there's no headshot damage that I know of.

(I do hate Max units atm though... I'm not kidding when i say we are getting punished for using them. Long cooldown, unfathomably large cert demands like 480 for a 2nd quasar, 750+ to not have a cooldown at all, another 750+ for decent armor or regen, and a cheezy "special" ability to move quicker...)

As for the Scythe, all air vehicles are weird. Until they have A2G or A2A rockets, they really can't do anything worth while unless you have some uncanny skill with that main gun. The scythe is amazing in 1 fact though... It has no metal bars blocking your view.

Mags, I can't say I like them either. All they need to do is incrase turning sensativity of the Mags and it should fix itself.

Timealude · 2012-10-23, 03:00 AM

Out of all the ones you listed, I think the only one that has a huge disadvantage is the sniper rifle...Not because of the reasons you listed but because of the bullet degradation. No bullet drop is nice for automatic weapons but our snipers can always be out ranged by any other sniper in the game.

ringring · 2012-10-23, 07:40 AM

The colour purple is practically invisible at night/dark ... idk what red looks like though

Canaris · 2012-10-23, 08:45 AM

is this guy for serio?

PClownPosse · 2012-10-23, 09:06 AM

I wish there was a VR training room so we can quickly try all weapons for ourselves.

My one and only character is an NC and I will say this:

Based on my unscientific observations, certain TR guns mows me down ridiculously fast at close ranges while I haven't seen anything of equivalence against the VS.

Edit: but, I remember the VS being somewhat gimped upon ps1 release as well, and frankly that was the reason I played them from the onset. It was like hard mode, lol.

Maarvy · 2012-10-23, 09:08 AM

Anyone who complains about the magrider is clearly retarded , Even in its latest neutered state it out performs the other mbt's hands down .

Jonny · 2012-10-23, 09:15 AM

Oh god, this ranting over bias post is here as well as the ps2 forums.

Most people find that:

The magriders forward facing turret is more than made up for the fact that it is basically a large slowly turning turret itself, which can strafe to avoid incoming fire.

VS are harder to see at night than any other faction, from my experience playing against them.

I'll agree the lasher looks terrible at the moment and the sniper rifle I'm not keen on, but thats my opinion.

Weapons need tweaking but i have no problem killing people, I usually win 1 on 1 engagements with the new faster rof medic weapon, though its bad at range to compensate. I think you might just need to practise.

Don't get your gripe with the scythe, its very manouverable and apart from that I don't see any major differences and I enjoy flying in this game in any aircraft. Why should the controls have to be inverted for you?

Sturmhardt · 2012-10-23, 10:10 AM

Sorry dude, you just suck at being vs :P
Especially the vehicles are really cool for the vs, the weapons are not underpowered either. I would love to drive the Magrider... But I am nc. Tried it and loved it though.

Serpent · 2012-10-23, 10:42 AM

VS vehicles are the best in the game IMO. The weapons ARE UNDERPOWERED but they do not need a huge buff- just for plasma (bullet) spread at range (or maybe just a range buff itself).

Yes, the Lasher needs an immense buff, and our weapons overall suck compared to the other factions (which should be dealt with) but our vehicles are the best.