of dying to players I've outmaneuvered and out-aimed just because their proto asses can fit over 2x my HP. Don't get me wrong, I like the tier system in general, but having over 2x the HP = over 2x the TTK = they can f--k up significantly and still kill me with ease. It's no wonder the new player retention rate is so low.

Proto? Lol. Let them waste their isk.

Lose two suits theyll b negative for game.

Find good efficient counter fittings to proto or get better, squad up and use proto on ur own.

Disclaimer, I have proto nothing

Restrict public contracts to ADV gear max.

Leave FW and PC for PRO gear.

There is no "good efficient counter" to a 1k HP CalLogi. Is there?

"get better and use proto" takes many months of capped-out SP gain.

A squad of 6 competent players in STD gear is still going to get crushed by a squad of 2 or 3 protobears.

The argument from ISK is meaningless, many players have enough ISK to lose 1000s of proto suits and not care. Especially with PC being a magical ISK-pooping unicorn that no one has to spend money to defend any more.

Restrict public contracts to ADV gear max.

Leave FW and PC for PRO gear.

How about a militia variant of everything and militia only matches.

I don't know how someone who can aim with an assault rifle can "outmaneuver" someone and not kill them. If you hit them with most of your shots you'll do far more damage than even the beefiest suit can handle. I do this all the time with an exile AR of all things. I don't even use damage mods.

of dying to players I've outmaneuvered and out-aimed just because their proto asses can fit over 2x my HP. Don't get me wrong, I like the tier system in general, but having over 2x the HP = over 2x the TTK = they can f--k up significantly and still kill me with ease. It's no wonder the new player retention rate is so low.

If he isn't dying fast enough... evade (have a way out before engaging). Preferably your way out leads your opponent to other blues for the assist.

Example:
I'm rolling STD Min Assault, with 3x basic shield extenders, and basic repper. I come up against bricked Cal Logi from the side and start unloading with a basic AR. After 1 second of perfectly on-target fire (~425 DPS), the enemy still has significantly more HP than me. Any half decent player, by that point, will bunny hop, turn on me, and start AR-ing back with a Duvolle. With a few levels of proficiency, his AR damage oustrips mine, and combined with the fact that he STILL has more HP than me after a perfectly-aimed sneak attack, he has a very good chance of winning. I roll Amarr Logi on my main, and even at ADV level, I can do the above to many, if not most, MLT/STD players.

My point is, that shouldn't be necessary. I see two options for bringing dropsuit tanking in line with weapon scaling: either standardize slot counts across tiers, keep module scaling power gaps how they are, and make it PG/CPU limited, or keep the increasing slot counts, but bring HP-per-module scaling in line with weapon scaling. Proto gear should certainly give you an advantage, I just don't think that the relative level of tank achievable by current protosuits is reasonable.

Heh, you used to get more base HP the higher the suit tier you used. Proto is supposed to give you advantage because you earn it through investing time and SP. But even if they have better tech, it doesn't replace skill. It's just more of an uphill battle from your end. Punishing veteran players isn't the best way to balance things. Ask any pilot.

You just proved my statement. Up to a point. Nobody is invincible, just a little harder to kill than others. The difference in EHP is literally a few extra militia AR rounds when you break it down. You're probably never going to take a proto suit head on in a standard/militia fit with ease, but you're not supposed to. That dynamic of being able to build and improve your character is an essential core mechanic to the game's meta. It gives you a reason to grind out that SP- to get better. This is what separates Dust from a bubblegum FPS.