area denial weapon is a device used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traver an area of land. The specific method used does not have to be totally effective in preventing passage (and sometimes is not) as long as it is sufficient to severely restrict, slow down, or endanger the opponent. Most area denial weapons pose long-lasting risks to anyone entering the area, specifically to civilians, and thus are often controversial.

The Mass Driver is a semi-automatic, multi-shot grenade launcher useful as both a breaching tool and an area denial weapon. Firing smart HIND explosive rounds, the weapon is highly effective against all forms of dropsuit and light vehicle, while its lightweight frame and compact design make it easy to wield in both urban and open terrain engagements.

I would like to mention one tactic against that may seem unintuitive.

In the right situation where you are not seen ahead of time, run at the person and stay close. Any shots at you will hurt them as well, and with your won shots going at them they often suicide or die really quickly.

This obviously wont work if they are tracking you running at them and hurting you on the way.

I am really glad to see a post by someone who thinks things through instead of the regular posts we see on these forums.

CCP are now considering it.

What will you do if it makes it in the game? Change your tactics? Find another weapon? QQ?

I'll probably change my tactics and put more skill into sidearms.

P are now considering it.

What will you do if it makes it in the game? Change your tactics? Find another weapon? QQ?

I'll probably change my tactics and put more skill into sidearms.

Ever since TF2, the grenade launcher-esque weapon has always been my favourite. I love learning the skill it requires to hit people at odd angles when they are above you on slopes. I waited to skill into the mass driver until the de-sync issues were solved and now I get many more kills with it that I ever did with the AR.

I can't quite tell if the MD is OP or just right - I do seem to be pretty good at getting direct hits when people feel most safe against me. On the other hand as an area denial weapon used in CQC when you've learned to not hit yourself with the splash damage it's found it's niche all right. I went 27/7 as an Amarr Logi a few days ago.

You have no idea how much of a relief it is to see a post about Mass Drivers by someone who understands their design.

It's amazing how quickly the "DURR DURR DURR MASS DRIVERS USE NO SKILL LEARN 2 PLAY NOOB" meme has infected the forums these days.

Much of the recent wave of QQ has cropped up in the wake of the flaylock nerf, despite no change to Mass Drivers occurring in the meantime. There's this strange notion about splash weaponry being automatically mindless that persists no matter how much someone elucidates the tactical limitations when compared to a hitscan weapon. Mass driver users that are mindlessly spamming rounds are just as likely to blow themselves up in the process, a phenomenon you'll never see with an assault rifle.

I also anxiously await the inevitable ad hominem attack on your OP due to your character name. It's only a matter of time.

Thanks again for the well-written analysis, its in short supply these days. o7

What are you trying to prove by that score. I can get that using a scout and a smg if im not being hard headed and trying to get kills with my nova knife lol

The MD-using community is looking to guys like you to be our advocate, our voice. Please convince the devs, especially CCP Logibro (the dev who, ironically, seems to screw over logis the most), that nerfing the MD is a bad idea.

The MD-using community is looking to guys like you to be our advocate, our voice. Please convince the devs, especially CCP Logibro (the dev who, ironically, seems to screw over logis the most), that nerfing the MD is a bad idea.

Because it's a logi suit (with actual equipment, not distorted into an assault), and an unusually high score for myself in the past few months. Basically, by only changing the weapon that I use to MD I have boosted the number of kills that I get.

The MD-using community is looking to guys like you to be our advocate, our voice. Please convince the devs, especially CCP Logibro (the dev who, ironically, seems to screw over logis the most), that nerfing the MD is a bad idea.

Sounds like you found a play style that suits you. Your kill total went up when switching to MD, mine went down (though my usefulness to my squad went up because I could provide suppression) both are anecdotal and neither is specific to situations, fits, SP invested or squad synergies. Anecdotal commentary is not reason enough to alter game mechanics, especially when there is conflicting anecdotal information saying the converse as well.

0.02 INK
Cross

PS ~ For those keeping score at home I use the AR currently because I found that during Uprising a free AR with zero SP support was providing a higher rate of performance for me than a Proto MD with a million plus SP poured into it. I like the concept of the support value the MD provides, but much like the LR I'll put SP into it when CCP makes it clear that it'll be a weapon with tactical utility on par with the AR not the equivalent of in game flavor text (as the AR is now and the MD will more than likely become if the "minimum distance" et al trend continues).

For what its worth - Logibro is indeed just a community team member and not involved with balancing work, and I've seen no evidence of a MD nerf on the horizon anytime soon. (Forge guns are in the same category: A LOT of forum QQ, but no real traction convincing the devs that they're broken) If I do, I'll certainly be speaking up about it.

Part Two
Tactics against it.

Stay at a distance, don't rush them. Remember they have 6 shots while you have 60. flank them, take them out while reloading. Oh my favorite, use a smg and strafe around trust me it works.

Part Three:
Mass driver versus assault rifle

Mass driver pros:
Effective at cqc-mid range combat.
Effective at tight spots
Decent damage

Assault rifle pros:
Good at most of the distances
Plenty of ammo
Aim assistance
Easy to use

Mass driver cons:
Slow rof
Useless against higher elevation
Low ammo

Assault rile cons:
None.

The weapon itself is well balanced, the frustration of all the people I know playing Dust including me about this weapon is the fact that when more than 3 players are using it, and using the freedom version or anything that is especially cruel, gives the average player the idea to leave and stop playing DUST altogether.

Your tactics you mention are good against one, when you have 3 and I have seriously witnessed 4 people using it near each others, you cant do squat.

You have probably noticed the bigger corps running around in proto suits using proto weapons in normal matchmaking because they make a ridiculous amount of money out of districts, well when they are armed with these weapons and there is no FF, its pretty difficult to play the game AT ALL.

I use my MD to scare people away. The only times I get a lot of kills are when people are stupid enough to still come at me. I still get more kills with my Exile AR than my EXO-5 MD. The MD just makes it easier to play a support logi role, no ADS means I can keep an eye on my teammates.