Samuel Zelik
D.A.R.K Academy
D.E.F.I.A.N.C.E
48
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Posted - 2013.10.06 16:36:00 -
[1] - Quote
Nova Knives are arguably the most conditional and hardest weapon to use in Dust at the moment; they are also one of my favorite weapons. However, because the Scouts (pretty much the only suits that can use them decently well) are extra squishy, and the speeds at which people can strafe and backpedal, Nova Knives are neither a combat weapon, nor one that can hit moving targets one-on-one easily. The only thing they are really useful for are killing campers (which a Shotgun is just as, if not more, effective), having fun with people who try to hack stuff, or Turret Installation campers. There's really no benefit to using them and nothing that gives them a spark of originality.
NOTE: The first section below is the only section one needs to read to understand the gist of my idea.
Proposed Enhancement/Solution: Grapple Stun
The first reaction of some people may be, "OOO! Grapple to climb up walls/buildings!"; however, that is not the type of grapple I'm referring to. This wouldn't be something that would act as equipment, rather it is an alternate attack for the NKs.
Imagine to the bottom of each NK there is a retractable wire attaching each NK to a somewhat compact cuff on each respective wrist. Now imagine that when the one of the NKs are thrown, the cuff will boost the cord (the cord extends) and knife outward, and once the NK reaches a certain distance or collides with an object, the NK will come flying back, hit the cuff, and from there the player grabs the knife once again (it's handle being parallel to the player's middle finger).
OK, so now the knives can be thrown for the length of the cord (let's say 2 meters as an example); what now?
Let's give the Nova Knives an effect; if one of the Knives hit a player, let's have the player "stunned" by forcing them into crouch position, disabling their fire for a short period of time, and reducing their turn capabilities. Woah! This sounds so OP! Well, yes, IF they were to be "stunned" for like 5 seconds, so in these next paragraphs, I will elaborate on some things.
How long does the action take/improve with skill progression?
The action of throwing a knife and returning it to the hand (described above) will take 3 seconds at 2 meters (the maximum length of the cord, the time for the action would reduce according to the distance because the shorter the distance, the faster the Knife will come back); I'd also like a skill book, Nova Knife Handling, to be added to reduce the action time by 10% per level, thus the fastest this action could be done would be 1.5 seconds. The skill book would be usable once the NK skill is at level 5, and Nova Knife proficiency at least at level 3.
How long do these effects last/change with skill progression?
So there are three effects of throwing the Nova Knives to cover: the crouching, the disabling of fire, and the reduced mobility; the only one I will cover is the reduced mobility because the others are self-explanatory.
By mobility, I mean the rate of turning and speed at which the person can move is temporarily docked; the victim can neither rotate as fast, nor walk/run as fast. The effects would reduce the speeds by 50%, and the person cannot sprint or leave crouched position during the time stunned.
This reduction has to be somewhat significant, but not too OP, so let's create another skill book; a Nova Knife Enhancement skill book. The base time these effects would last would be 1.25 seconds. The skill book would be unlocked with the same requirements as NK Handling, but the effects would be to increase the time these effects last by 12% per level; at max, the stun would last for 2 seconds.
How long does the action/stun overlap at max?
The proto Knives take about .25 seconds to charge. The time overlap between action and stun at max would be the 1.5 seconds from the throw, the 2 seconds of stun, and the .25 seconds of the charge. That means there's .25 seconds to optimize a strike; if the distance is shorter, there is slightly more time. Nevertheless, slowing down an enemy can be huge. There's a benefit to getting a guy to almost stop, even if only for a brief period of time, especially when a teammate is nearby. If working as a team, even the standard NK would have some limited use (more than it does now).
Where would this action be mapped control wise?
Nova Knives have no ammo; the reload button (square) is the perfect place. In addition, a player can choose to throw one or two Knives at a time, depending on the number of times the button is clicked (once throws one Knife, two in rapid succession throws two Knifes, the time for throwing both Knives should either remain the same or be slightly longer).
How does this fit Lore-wise?
I really don't know enough to answer this one, so I hope someone else will. My only idea would be some sort of limited-range EMP would activate upon the Nova Knife's contact. |
Talos Vagheitan
King Slayers
58
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Posted - 2013.10.06 17:25:00 -
[2] - Quote
Sounds interesting, and I am all for buffing the nova knives in some way.
Honestly thought, once the scout suit itself gets some of the toys it was promised, active camo in particular, I think the nova knives will be much more effective.
Also, fixing the known bugs the Nova Knives already have should take priority before adding new abilities for them.
I'm not a scout, but the consensus I gather seems to be that if the bugs were fixed, the Knives could operate as intended and be quite effective.
Another factor is the speed of strafing and backpedaling. It's too fast. Many times I've seen a Nova Scout running towards from close range, and I'm usually able to just gun them down while running backwards. That probaby shouldn't be possible, especially for a Caldari Logi, who are somewhat slow.
I have also seen numerous posts about the intended 'role' of the scout. The scout suit in general should be getting some tweaks and love in the near-term. Once that happens I have a feeling the knives will work out just fine.
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